The problem, he said, was that the most important issues facing the tech industry were also the most tedious. It was in their interest to fight, but founders and tech workers didn’t know how to organize. They didn’t have the patience to lobby. They didn’t consider their work political. “They all assume this will just last forever,” he said.

We watched an elegant older couple drift by, properly dressed for a night out. I felt a little guilty for ruining their scenery. “The worst part,” Parker said, “is that the technology is getting worse every day. It’s getting less secure, less autonomous, more centralized, more surveilled. Every single tech company is pushing on one of those axes, in the wrong direction.”

My throat felt like acid. Hey, I said, and paused. Parker looked over at me. Sugar dotted his lower lip. Do you think I work at a surveillance company? I asked.

“What a great question,” he said. “I thought you’d never ask.”