characteresque

character :: Mei Lien 'Lily' Hsu

The Feed was supposed to change the world. It was a new type of technology that combined social media, the internet and virtual reality into one neat interface for anyone to use for whatever their desires may be and it took the world by storm, including China, though there were limitations. Certain governments found the way in which the Feed accessed parts of a person's life such as what they ate or whose home they were at, too invasive and therefore, limited it's abilities in their country except for those with the ingenuity to slip through the barriers. For Mei, it was a breeze.

Growing up in the Guangdong Province of China, Mei was an exceptionally bright young woman who excelled throughout her school years, in every area but one: social.

For most, the inability to bond with their fellow classmates would have made life lonely but Mei enjoyed her solitude and the closeness of the one or two friends she did have was more than enough for her. And what with the Feed connecting the farthest reaches of the country with one another, it was hard to ever feel truly alone. Her mother, father and elder brother worried about the time spent in her room and on the Feed, noting that they felt as though it was negatively affecting her school work but as most children tend to do, Mei rolled her eyes and told them that they were overreacting. After all, everyone was on the Feed - how much trouble could she possibly get in?

As Mei broke her way through another piece of code following her fifteenth birthday, she realized how good she had actually become: what she had broken through this time wasn't just a small firewall or a banned website they weren't allowed to access, it was the code that kept them in. In the providence, within China, even within Asia - there were no limits; Mei could reach any part of the world she wanted to until everything comes crashing down in one fell swoop. The government officials realize that the Feed barriers have been breached and all signs point directly to Mei and her family. The family says they know nothing about such a thing and Mei, fearing what could happen, denies that she had any involvement but the government doesn't buy it. The family is put on constant surveillance and house arrest to prevent any 'cyber warfare' or 'terrorism' they may be involved in, a source of shame for their family. Unable to cope with the rumors about town and talk within her husband's business circle, Mei's mother commits suicide and leaves the family both shocked and broken. To prevent the government from hounding them further, Mei's family seeks asylum in the U.S and is granted it shortly before Mei turns seventeen. Her brother stays behind in China to continue his work, leaving only Mei and her father to move to the U.S, alone.

Feeling all the more isolated, Mei withdraws into herself more and drowns her sorrows in the Feed, honing her skills until she's able to put them to work as a freelance programmer and hacker, under one of her many aliases 'User X', to anyone on the Feed seeking work. Most of her customers are simple virus removals or looking to have parental controls lifted, which Mei is happy to help them with, for a fee. For years, this becomes Mei's work and it all becomes a boring, repetitive blur until a new, more interesting customer comes along. His stunning galaxy themed dreads and dress are eye-catching, as is his smooth, confident personality but it's his problem that has Mei the most interested: a type of malware that seems to be waiting for something, silently taking in all of the man's data. And what's more interesting is Mei's inability to remove it, even with her extensive knowledge in all things code. Emmett doesn't seem as bothered by the virus, focusing his attention on Lily, another of Mei's aliases, but Lily isn't so sure and just wants to find out where it came from. Spending most of her time monitoring the spoiled fashionista is a good place to start but how far is Lily willing to go to find the answer? What if takes her to the far reaches of the Feed...or even further than that?

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