The first Underground Railroad was a network of secret routes and safe houses used by black slaves in 19th century USA. It enabled as many as 30,000 slaves to escape to Canada.
According to Wikipedia:
The escape network was not literally underground nor a railroad. It was figuratively “underground” in the sense of being an underground resistance. It was known as a “railroad” by way of the use of rail terminology in the code. The Underground Railroad consisted of meeting points, secret routes, transportation, and safe houses, and assistance provided by abolitionist sympathizers. Individuals were often organized in small, independent groups; this helped to maintain secrecy because individuals knew some connecting “stations” along the route but knew few details of their immediate area. Escaped slaves would move north along the route from one way station to the next. “Conductors” on the railroad came from various backgrounds and included free-born blacks, white abolitionists, former slaves (either escaped or manumitted), and Native Americans.
Back in those days, being black and travelling under your own steam was met with unwanted attention. In the near future, any of us could be in a situation where it would be safer to travel incognito. I envisage a new Underground Railroad for Cloakers.
It would be operated, as in the 1800s, by sympathizers and those who are above suspicion. With technology that can identify and track faces and vehicles, this will mean hitching a ride within vehicles that are on their regular journeys:
- Commuters
- Long-haul trucks
- Trains (perhaps freight trains, like modern-day Hobos)
Transfer stations could be:
- Countryside
- Train passing loops
- Places of work
- Truck stops
- Park and Ride car parks
A key factor that could ensure success (in setting up the network) is that travelling in such a way would probably not be illegal – not for a long time anyway.
