2048, A BRUSHFIRE Thriller by Matthew Wojtecki (Digital)

2048, the second volume in the BRUSHFIRE thriller series, takes place in the not so distant future. In the second half of the 21^st century, the War of Ideas took place: the creation of second-realms and individualist decentralized freedom cells spread across geographical regions and the practical ideas of liberty, voluntary interaction, and peace took hold.

The free society in 2048 is loosely based on Samuel E. Konkin III’s Phases of Agorism, in which the destruction of the State would be realistically accomplished through the establishment of pockets of free individuals, black and grey markets, and the spreading of the ideas of freedom and liberty, until the demand for an overarching State was no longer perceived as essential, and individualism and voluntary interaction prevailed.

The original creators of the freedom cells who led the world to a better place are still scattered about living their lives, including Maxine—the late Henry Tucker’s love—and the now washed up but stubborn punk-rocker “Warren” still reside in the Appalachian Mountains. Maxine’s nephew, Vince and his boy Tommy, who had been van nomads ever since Tommy’s mom left to pursue a materialistic quest for fortune in the never ending rat race, went to visit Auntie Max on her homestead on Jim Mountain Rd.

Although Max is very happy for the visit, she has an ulterior motive: her close friend she met during her revolutionary days, Isaac Hopper, is trapped in a geographical area previously known as New York City, now known as the “State-Zone.” The State-Zone is one of only a handful of remnant States where an overarching power hungry government rules over its citizens with aggressive force.

Together, Warren, Vince, and Tommy team up and use their knowledge including advanced hacking techniques, low-tech cyphers, IRC encrypted chat, and crypto-currencies to infiltrate and evade the authorities in the State-Zone and bring back Isaac to freedom.

But their mission, the rescue of Isaac, Auntie Max’s close friend and confidant, isn’t going to be easy. They are up against a powerful authoritarian hydra State: a massive surveillance apparatus, a relentless and murderous police state, and propaganda arm that will not stop until extremist terrorists known as the Trio (Warren, Vince, and Tommy) are brought to justice.

Will the Trio pull off the rescue of Max’s long time friend, Isaac Hopper? Will the forces of good, free individuals prevail against the Statist forces of evil?