Nesson is a serial novel about living with technology and sprawl in the near future. Learn more or start from the beginning.

The old man rose early in the morning to ferry water down. He liked to think he was not unlike a lone monk waking before the rest of the monastery to ring the bells. These days even monasteries were on electronic alarms; the bells probably rang themselves now. Why was he here at the top of the middle of nowhere? Could some robot not do his job just as easily? Maybe “the middle of nowhere” was not accurate. How many million souls lived in these few miles? No one had bothered to count, but as far as he was concerned the number was too. Too many. Certainly too many to go on feeding this way. Still, an island in the middle of the pacific, especially one that was not there when he was young, was the middle of nowhere. Most of the islands inhabitants may as well not exist to the rest of the world. Yet they were numerous and needed to eat. Continue reading →

Nesson is a serial novel about living with technology and sprawl in the near future. Learn more or start from the beginning.

“But I can’t stay in here,” Helen argued as the group entered their hotel room. In response to the blank expressions she added, “There’s only one bed and you’re three men.” She knew two of them had not the slightest interest in her that way, but that was not the point. Actually, this was an issue she had to confront regularly on Open Acres. Communal living gave people the idea that there was no such thing as “your room” or “my room.” Helen agreed from a philosophical standpoint, but growing up in a typical sprawl household, she felt a physical need for privacy and personal space. The thought of being around other people while she slept, changed clothes, and attended to hygiene nauseated her. Continue reading →

Nesson is a serial novel about living with technology, sprawl, and consumerism in the near future. Learn more or start from the beginning.

As he folded he flaps of the last box shut, Marcus surveyed his store. He felt ambivalent pride when he saw the whole contents of his business and personal life in so few boxes. He slid the one he had just closed until it softly collided with the other four. The floor looked convincing; by sight, you might really believe it was rough unfinished wood, but the texture gave it away. The planks were too smooth, the box glided across the store with next to no friction. Between the boxes and the appliances haphazardly coated in plastic wrap, he guessed it might take half a pickup truck to haul everything.

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