Snowden claims that he had no real political viewpoint at age 22. Instead, he adopted a mishmash of inherited family values and ideals he found on the internet. His parents, working largely in the federal sector, were dismissive of politicians, if not politics. He discovered that the patriotism his parents taught converted easily into nationalist affinity in a post-9/11 world.

After his stint in the Army, Snowden reappraises his binary, good-versus-evil view of the world. He decides that the technology of communications can succeed where the technology of violence has failed. He views the internet’s founding ideals as comparable to those of the American state, and he sees the internet as an instrument that can further democracy around the world. In his position as an intelligence community contractor, he wants to play a role in this noble mission. To be considered among the very best, he knows that he will have to specialize his skillset.

Snowden decides to become a “systems guy,” a systems engineer who analyzes problems and then fashions or invents solutions. Over the course of his career, Snowden begins to view his country as a broken system in need of repair—the one system he cannot fix.