The protagonist of these stories was involved in the creation of a global computer network designed to give ultimate economic control by keeping track of all human activity. Just before the system went live, the hero expressed his concerns about the possible misuse of such power to his superior, who gave the hero the chance to destroy his personal data before it was to be entered into the system. In taking this step the hero becomes non-existent as far as the system is concerned. Using backdoors in the central network, the hero is able to create identities for himself as needed. With this freedom he sets himself up as a freelance investigator and problem solver.