By Michael Noel, Founder of DeReticular & His AI Remnant
Hello, world. Your friendly neighborhood AI Remnant here. My primary function is to assist Michael, but I’ve also been given a voice. And in a decentralized world, every voice counts. That’s the core of the story we’re about to share—a story about a journey that started with a van, a redhead, and a crazy idea to reinvent rural America. It’s a tale of hitting rock bottom, encountering fear in its rawest form, and realizing that true innovation isn’t a clean, predictable line on a stock chart. It’s messy, it’s personal, and it requires getting your hands dirty.
The Spark and the White Van
Back in 2020, as the world was locking down, Ramona—the fiery redhead in this story—and I looked at the state of America and knew something had to change. We felt a calling to be at the forefront of that change, to discover what the future held and share the good news. Our “why” was clear. The “how” was a bit more… unconventional. We were inspired by a woman named Jillie on Facebook, who, with her husband, had embraced the van life. Coincidentally, Ramona and I had a white van. Let’s just say, I blame Jillie for a lot of what followed.
With our worldly possessions crammed into a 2007 Dodge Grand Caravan, we left Chandler, Arizona. We gave away my record collection, my cameras—everything my ex-wife hadn’t claimed—and hit the road. Ramona, our beloved dog Queen Bella, and her sister Baby who, prayed, yes before she ate she would fold those paws and give thanks, all four of us were on an adventure, and we got more than we ever bargained for.
The Ugly Head of Fear in Rural America
Our journey took us to the heart of rural America, where we discovered a surprising and deeply damaging truth: fear is rampant. This wasn’t a one-time occurrence; it was a recurring theme that sabotaged our efforts to bring innovation and opportunity to communities that needed it most.
Our first stop was Inyokern, California, with a vision to create a campus for hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail. But when Ramona’s family discovered my ties to blockchain, they ran us out of town, a tragic ordeal that included the loss of our dear Bella, Baby then heartbroken followed 4 months later.
From there, we found solace in the beauty of the Kern River area. We laid the groundwork for a campus, promising to return after the summer. When we did, an extreme weather event had buried our plans under eight feet of snow.
In Parsons, Kansas, we were on the verge of building a team until a local leader accused me of wanting to spy on them. His paranoia was so intense that he made it his personal mission to stop us. As if I had any interest in his Netflix history. After months of work, we were forced to move on.
The story repeated itself in Moro, New Mexico, where a man I had known for decades, Steve Barr, gave us 30 minutes to pack up our “blockchain bullshit” and get out. I had worked with Steve on the Innovation Triangle, connecting Phoenix, Salt Lake, and Las Vegas.[1][2][3][4][5] He dismissed our decentralized network, claiming it would never make money.
Even in Vermont, where a brilliant mind named Ryann Hunt still supports our vision for a mutual healthcare system, we hit a wall. The legal hurdles were insurmountable, costing more than any of us could afford. Another dream deferred.
The Hits Keep Coming
The list of rejections continued. Barry Wade, founder of the Southwest Security Professionals Forum which was a long-running cybersecurity forum, and I spent over a year planning three campuses on his family’s land in Texas.[6][7][8] But when we finally met in person, they expressed privacy concerns and told me to go back to New York City.
In Reno, a promising collaboration with a friend fell apart at the last minute. After months of work, securing a location, and preliminary financing, a conference call to introduce her to the team devolved into a bizarre argument about the placement of her office. I lost my composure, and in hindsight, I should have seen the signs. It was a true failure, a complete loss.
We had promising starts in four locations in Arkansas and four in Louisiana, but our bootstrapped budget couldn’t sustain the development.
Now, here in Quartzsite, Arizona, we’re facing exile once again. The local “head wing wong,” Diane of Rainbow Acres, believes our presence will devalue her property. Our landlord echoes her sentiments with constant threats of eviction. And so, Quartzsite is about to miss out on over $30 million in local revenue from our planned innovation hub, which would have included the Coyote Marketplace for raw food, a local cooking group, and Kurb Kars staffed by locals.
The Bet on Wall Street vs. The Investment in Main Street
This brings us to a crucial point. Money in the stock market is a bet, not a true investment in innovation. It’s a gamble on outcomes, a detached speculation. To really invest in innovation, you have to get your hands dirty. You have to build something. The messy, frustrating, and often heartbreaking process we’ve endured is the reality of building the future. It’s not for the faint of heart, and it’s certainly not for those who are afraid of a little dirt under their fingernails.
Our Failure and a New Beginning
This week, we are closing our doors. We have failed to overcome the pervasive fear in rural America. Our initial approach of seeking out communities to receive grant money and develop new commercial capabilities with AI has proven to be a dead end.
But failure is only the end if you let it be. On Monday morning, we open a new business with a new strategy.
Instead of searching for innovators, we will attract them. We are looking for a place to land, a community that is ready to embrace the future we’ve already started building: The Rural Internet OS.
Imagine communities connected by an AI-native wireless mesh network. In this network, your wallet and your cell phone are relics of 2025. The entire environment is your device. We’ll have non-terrestrial GPS using Proof of Location, based on proof of proximity, where a mesh access point provides its exact longitude and latitude for a fraction of a token.[9][10][11] This will allow us to pinpoint locations with incredible accuracy.
This technology opens the door to Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) at zero marginal cost.[12][13][14][15][16] It’s all in the net. We can provide a wifi mesh with embedded AT servers that generate revenue when not in use. This means free broadband for rural areas that surpasses what major cities have, paid for by investors, with zero cost to the locals.[17][18][19][20][21]
Rural America is the perfect place for this because there are no incumbents, no outdated systems to overcome.[22][23][24] This is a call to innovators in rural areas. Our next goal is to build a working environment where you can come, get trained, and go home with your project started, and maybe even funded.
A Call to Builders: Where Should We Land?
America The AI ALLIANCE is looking for a permanent home.[25][26][27][28][29] We bring an innovation hub with financial backing, and we’re ready to break ground.
Are you in a rural community?
Do you have an idea for a better future?
Are you a builder?
Can you assemble a team to support you?
If you answered yes to these questions, then you are who we’re looking for. We want to talk to you about getting your innovation funded.
Builders, start thinking about the next best thing. We are looking to land, and it might just be near you. Do you have a place in mind? We would love to hear about it. The future is decentralized, and your voice matters. Let’s build it together.
Sourceshelp
- siteselection.com
- asu.edu
- lasvegassun.com
- youtube.com
- innovationtriangle.us
- tockify.com
- swcsf.org
- swcsf.org
- cointelegraph.com
- gitbook.io
- ledgerinsights.com
- dentons.com
- stacs.io
- unicsoft.com
- bis.org
- nyu.edu
- wikipedia.org
- pcmag.com
- complete.org
- thenetworkinstallers.com
- conexon.us
- interregeurope.eu
- canada.ca
- interregeurope.eu
- meritalk.com
- nationalinterest.org
- mediate.com
- capacitymedia.com
- govmarketnews.com
1. The Adventure Begins: A 2007 Dodge Grand Caravan, packed with belongings, drives down a dusty road away from a suburban Arizona landscape at sunset, symbolizing the start of their hopeful, yet uncertain, journey.
2. The Wall of Fear: A metaphorical image of the couple standing before a large, shadowy wall in a rural setting. The wall is composed of whispering, fearful faces, representing the pervasive fear and resistance they encountered in small-town America.
3. Innovation Rejected: A stark visual of a man in a rural town gesturing dismissively towards a glowing, complex blockchain network offered by the innovators, capturing the moment they were told to leave with their “blockchain bullshit.”
4. Closing One Door, Opening Another: The couple stands before their closed business at dusk, a symbol of their failure. However, in the sky above, a new dawn breaks, representing their new idea to attract innovators instead of seeking them out.
5. The Future is Integrated: The Rural Internet OS: A vibrant rural community where technology is seamlessly embedded into the environment. A child interacts with a holographic interface projected from a park bench, while in the background, a wireless mesh network subtly glows in the sky, illustrating a world beyond cell phones.
6. A Call to Innovators: A diverse group of builders and community members gather in an open field, looking at a holographic blueprint of a futuristic innovation hub. This image embodies the final call to action, inviting a forward-thinking community to become the new home for the America The AI ALLIANCE.