Eastern Standard Tribe by Cory Doctorow.
20 years in the future, IRC pals from the same timezones help each other out to try to further their Tribes way of life -- easygoing PST, hard-hitting EST, and stodgy, state-loving GMT. Each Tribe has agents in the other's territory, working in management consultancies, trying to undermine the enemy's competitiveness with hare-brained theories.
When our hero comes up with a great P2P scheme his friend and lover conspire to put him away in a mental hospital so that they don't have to share the profits.
Not as far "out there" as Down and out in the Magic Kingdom by the same author, but still a great read. Especially since it's free.
Posted by gustaf at February 11, 2024 09:17 PM