Little Brother Chapter 10 Summary

  • What would you do if you knew there were spies in your network?
  • Marcus gets into some smart ways to turn spies to your own advantage, maybe even spy on the spies.
  • He also explains the public and private keys for a certain kind of crypto and how they work to create secure messages. This is the basis for a web of trust.
  • It's kinda like a phone book. Or a keyring. Marcus has lots of great similes in this section.
  • Party invitations that keep things secret are issued—if you bring a guest, you must have known them for at least five years.
  • Marcus gives some background on the Sutro Baths. He and Jolu are there setting up for the party, complete with ice chests of beer. A friend of Jolu's brother runs a complete underage drinking service that delivers such things.
  • It's 8 p.m. and the party will start at 9. Marcus and Jolu have a drink and chat.
  • Jolu admits that he's always scared (10.61) and that he won't be helping Marcus too much longer.
  • It's not just that it's frustrating for Jolu to see Marcus attempt to take down the government. It's also that Marcus is white and Jolu isn't. That means Jolu would be in bigger trouble if they got caught.
  • Just when the conversation is going to get deep into racial inequity in America, three of Jolu's friends show up for the party.
  • Meet Ange. She's short, geeky, wears big glasses, and has a flask of vodka on her.
  • More and more people arrive, and the party's getting well under way.
  • Marcus makes an announcement, saying that he and Jolu are there on behalf of M1k3y. He explains how the web of trust works and shows the shiny new laptop he and Jolu made the night before. It's running a random key generator and will let them build the web.
  • People are confused and look at Marcus like he's crazy.