My boyfriend Matt gave me an invitation to visit the Black Moon node. I took one look at the address and shook my head in silent disgust; my boyfriend had been duped by one of those hoaxes that reach Urban Legend status. It took some restraint but I sent him a polite email explaining how it was impossible for that address to go anywhere and that he had fallen prey to a mere joke. A couple hours later I was seated at a small table belonging to a rather popular outdoor cafe, sharing a cup of imported coffee with Matt. We chatted about the usual pleasantries and gossip for a while, and when the conversation began to lag he brought up the Black Moon hoax.

I was not going to say anything on the subject, opting to show my little newbie some mercy and courtesy. When he began to assure me it was not a hoax but a real node on the Net I drew a deep breath and began to lecture him on private and public Net addresses, emphasizing that the private address he gave me would never work in the public spectrum, and as I did not have anything configured to respond on that address nothing would happen if I did try it. I'm not sure if he was testing me but during my lecture he began to grin and get excited. He grabbed my hand, pulled me out of the chair, and drug me to the old library. He urged me to try the address from their network. To humor him and put an end to the discussion I dove into the Net and called up the address.

I was ready for a long wait followed by a polite message that nothing was located at that address, but when a Gatekeeper's challenge supervened I nearly fell to the floor from shock. I knew the library would have no need for a Gatekeeper; they had nothing they needed to restrict. I backed away from the node, wondering what I had got myself into when I noticed Matt had also dove and was calmly watching me. I started to say something to him when he took over my connection and brought us both to the Gatekeeper. Matt exchanged a series of credentials with the Gatekeeper then pulled the invitation he had sent me from out of my own datastore and flung it at the Gatekeeper. At this the Gatekeeper turned around and pulled open a hole in the node he was guarding and sent us on through.

I had no idea there were such places on the Net. Sure the Net has it's own Underground elements here and there, I had even observed a few in action, but nothing was like the Black Moon. I'm sure my jaw was agape as I beheld this hidden node. It was obvious this node was created and run by members of the hacker elite. I was working on fathoming how they managed to route traffic through an address that should not ever work when my boyfriend relinquished control of my connection and began moving away from me. I chased after him but ran into a barrier.

Fear and confusion swarmed me. I didn't know what Matt had got me into, and why he was able to move freely while I was restricted. It was then I looked around and noticed quite a few others milling about, some crossing the barrier which held me back, and others bouncing off it as I had. Without any warning the node plunged into blackness, I lost control of my connection yet again. The only illuminated feature in the entire node was Matt; he was elevated above all of us. My audio was cut off and I did not know what he was saying but at a gesture the node was lit with a dizzying array of colors and patterns.

The people in the node were now grouped by color and pattern, including me. I had turned a translucent monochrome, and I was not alone. Six others, likewise altered, were with me. Suddenly my audio came alive and I heard Matt's voice welcoming us to the node of the Black Moon, and the challenge of its Hunt. I must not have been the only one confused for I saw the others looking quizzically. Matt said a node full of rules, regulations, and information was deposited in our personal datastores for us to consume at some later date. He explained that we were each hand picked to partake in their Hunt; we would be matched up with a few existing teams and given an option to join it. I cannot speak for the rest of us in our group but I was about ready to decline when Matt revealed the prize: the winner of the Hunt would be inducted into the elite group who created this node. In that moment I not only agreed to play, but I was determined to win.

I was matched up with three teams, but after a chance to dive their credentials I opted to partner with Tracy, the last active member of her team. The supervening events would overflow my datastore. Tracy and I are now in the running to win this Hunt. We are five challenges away, and only two behind the leader. Tracy thinks she has our next clue figured out and tonight we'll meet at the local corner market and close the gap by one.