Tedi was very hesitant about this question. In a way, Tedi always wanted to go on a journey in search of self-identification. Without communicating the hesitation that lied within Tedi’s mind, an answer of yes was provided. Alex presented Tedi with another permission notice but this time it was for a chatroom labeled ‘Architecture of Identity’. Upon entering Tedi no longer saw Alex’s name in the chatroom and immediately noticed a blank profile where the name Tedi Verona should have been. A user approached the blank profile of Tedi and said, “Hey, you must be new here. There is risk involved with being in here but the basis of this chatroom is that you can create any identity you want and talk to whomever about whatever”. The prohibition of identity delusion was nowhere present in Tedi’s mind. Tedi created the profile of a 24 year old girl with interests in snowboarding, interior design, and arcade games. The next time Tedi entered the chatroom, a profile of a 27 year old male who liked fishing, hockey, and fashion was created. Tedi was in awe. The profiles created were all based on Tedi’s interest but they were ones that Tedi felt were contradictory and not able to converge in one persona in the real world. Tedi chatted with many people about diverging interests without fear of judgment. This form of self-exploration brought Tedi a new kind of joy.
Weeks later at work Alex stopped by Tedi’s desk and said, “there’s a rumor that they are doing rounds tonight. Do not enter ‘Architecture of identity” and self-identify with anything other than your government created profile”. Tedi was unsure about what rounds meant and never found the time later that day to ask Alex about it. Later that night Tedi entered the chatroom intending to re-create the government profile and see if that changed the affordances of exploration. When Tedi entered the chatroom, the last created profile was still there, a 22 year old girl in search of friend to share secrets with. Within seconds Tedi’s computer shut down. The octagonal device plugged into the wall stop admitting a blue light and began flashing red. Within what felt like mere minutes, banging appeared on Tedi’s door. “Open up! NIA enforcement!”. Tedi panicked but soon realized there was no favorable outcome. Tedi opened the door. Two NIA enforcement officers whisked away the computer, disarmed the octagonal device, and left Tedi with a document. The document explained Tedi’s ban from the so called ‘private’ internet for the next five years and deemed a second offense to result in a lifetime ban or imprisonment. All that remained in the room was a young boy named Tedi who would no longer be able to explore his fluid identities outside the societal perception of what is ‘normal’.