The Price of Return

When a lookalike robot arrives to take his place as the rightful lodger of his flat, Pep Gun decides to run for his life. He ends up in the countryside, where he lives under a tree, learning to suppress his fear of nature. Pep is without any sign of identity, no phone or card or key, so as not to have the internet of things locate him, and he's wondering how to get his life back. Pep believes the way in must go through fame, as online personalities tend to get protected somewhat, so he decides to write a book, which is the cheapest thing you can do, and also the only thing when living under a tree. With a global cult book under his belt surely there must be a place for him again. Things turn for the better when a local landlady on horseback takes an interest in him and sets him up in her attic to write. Pep types like mad while keeping his benefactress willing to support him.

The price of return relates how the internet of things can mess up our day to day experience. I finished the book in March, when everybody was shell-shocked and unable to read anything but death numbers. I waited for people to begin wondering what they actually want out of this new normal dictature. Winter approaching, it feels like the time is here. And so is the price of return, offering a glimpse, a proposal, of what an out of control cruelty trip may be capable of.