The Wonders of Internet Networks

When Mark and I first began speaking with the man who would become our landlord about this apartment, we were very concerned about whether we could get the Internet here. We weren't so concerned with the lack of a refrigerator, which the landlord was very apologetic about and rectified the very next day, but we impressed upon him the fact that, without the Internet, our very survival would be in question.

There had been Internet service in this apartment he told us. We asked for the company's name. He didn't know. But he did point to a white plug in the wall and say cheerfully, “If you unplug this, they'll come.”

We thought he was joking. He wasn't. As it seemed our only option, we unplugged the cord. That night, there was a knock on our door.

By unplugging the cord, we had wiped out the Internet service of many, many people. Possibly hundreds. Maybe more. I began to feel giddy with power.

We also have a box which carries The Switch. It's a Very Important Switch. Apparently, not everyone has one. I suspect we're at the top of the line in our network.

According to an e-mail I received from Andrei, that may mean we should be getting our Internet service for free. That probably explains why no one from the Internet provider knocks on our door asking for money. Other people knock on our door asking for money.

According to Andrei, these mega-networks began when some neighbors decided to all go in on one Internet connection and shared the payments. Someone else wanted in, and then another neighbor heard what they were doing and it snowballed from there. Networking businesses sprung up, offering cheaper prices than the big providers. An Internet Utopia was born. Networks have their own digital libraries.

The big providers dropped their prices after that, but still can't compete with the cheaper networks with all the perks.

Andrei says he would be shocked if he had to pay for the Internet. He says it is like air. I say, forget air. Give me my hookup. I'm sure I can learn to breath e-mails.