In the beginning was Cyberspace

This is a text available in the About section of D3's website. It occurred me to publish an English translation here as well (machine-translated + a few manual improvements).
We made our best to be as less original as possible. Have fun trying to get all the uncredited references.

In the beginning was Cyberspace.

Open to all, it became home to the minds of many good people, the natives. Self-declared independent, with its own rules and no physical borders. Above all, it was free, full of potential, and full of hope for the future.

Soon, the abundant fertility of the soil attracted the attention of those who had been distracted. Forces from ancient kingdoms began to invade. Some preached the sacred Law, others came only for the promise of gold. After all, if a new sun was rising, it should shine for everyone.

The settlers applied their ancient knowledge: laws were passed, walls erected, land sold, fiefdoms and walled gardens built. The common space grew smaller and smaller, until it almost disappeared. Legislators, lost, gave into the temptation of suppressing rights as the way to bring order to this lawless land of evildoers and outcasts - fearful reactions from those who don't understand where they are and fear the unknown. New-intermediates drained rivers and lakes, built walls, and begun collecting tolls. We all applauded and admired the convenience of the highway.

Later, we understood. The ancient knowledge had yielded known results: a handful of untouchable emperors and a widening gap between them and the rabble. Profit became the command, surveillance the currency. The promise of democratization turned into a weapon of manipulation. Disinformation spread. Hate returned.

And existentially we doubted: after all, it had not been a great idea? The green of the fields turned to ash, hope to pessimism. We wanted change but didn't know how - maybe there is no longer a way. And legislators remain lost - maybe everything is lost. And the walls keep rising, without slowing down. They have reached the State, the schools, the newsrooms. All of Gaul has been occupied.

All of it?! No! Across the world, small groups of unyielding people still resist. Among them is the digital rights movement, which combines the technological expertise of hackers with an uncompromising defense of human rights in the digital realm.

And so we tell you: do not mistake the gray walls you see now with the green fields they conceal. The Internet can be free and beautiful, but we have lost the way. It is urgent to return to the origins, to break down the walls. To open instead of close, to decentralize instead of centralize. To be become ever freer. To understand and to think critically about technology, so that we can use reason - not faith - when legislating.

We can and are capable of doing better. A better Internet is possible, a better world is possible. It is also extremely difficult - but that does not intimidate us.
Nor do we know how to be otherwise.
One battle at a time, always for Freedom.
Join the digital rights movement too!