diff --git a/www/common/common-util.js b/www/common/common-util.js
index 22f20f710..580b9f539 100644
--- a/www/common/common-util.js
+++ b/www/common/common-util.js
@@ -1,5 +1,10 @@
 (function (window) {
     var Util = {};
+
+    Util.tryParse = function (s) {
+        try { return JSON.parse(s); } catch (e) { return;}
+    };
+
     Util.mkAsync = function (f) {
         return function () {
             var args = Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments);
diff --git a/www/common/rpc.js b/www/common/rpc.js
index cefbfb666..e3c6a21a4 100644
--- a/www/common/rpc.js
+++ b/www/common/rpc.js
@@ -1,144 +1,198 @@
 (function () {
 var factory = function (Util, Nacl) {
+    // we will send messages with a unique id for each RPC
+    // that id is returned with each response, indicating which call it was in response to
     var uid = Util.uid;
+
+    // safely parse json messages, because they might cause parse errors
+    var tryParse = Util.tryParse;
+
+    // we will sign various message with our edPrivate keys
+    // this handles that in a generic way
     var signMsg = function (data, signKey) {
         var buffer = Nacl.util.decodeUTF8(JSON.stringify(data));
         return Nacl.util.encodeBase64(Nacl.sign.detached(buffer, signKey));
     };
 
-/*
-types of messages:
-    pin -> hash
-    unpin -> hash
-    getHash -> hash
-    getTotalSize -> bytes
-    getFileSize -> bytes
-*/
-
+    // sendMsg takes a pre-formed message, does a little validation
+    // adds a transaction id to the message and stores its callback
+    // and finally sends it off to the historyKeeper, which delegates its
+    // processing to the RPC submodule
     var sendMsg = function (ctx, data, cb) {
-        var network = ctx.network;
-        var hkn = network.historyKeeper;
-        var txid = uid();
+        // enforce async behaviour
+        setTimeout(function () {
+            if (typeof(cb) !== 'function') {
+                return console.error('expected callback');
+            }
 
-        if (typeof(cb) !== 'function') {
-            return console.error('expected callback');
-        }
+            var network = ctx.network;
+            var hkn = network.historyKeeper;
+            if (typeof(hkn) !== 'string') { return void cb("NO_HISTORY_KEEPER"); }
 
-        var pending = ctx.pending[txid] = function (err, response) {
-            cb(err, response);
-        };
-        pending.data = data;
-        pending.called = 0;
-        return network.sendto(hkn, JSON.stringify([txid, data]));
+            var txid = uid();
+
+            var pending = ctx.pending[txid] = function (err, response) {
+                cb(err, response);
+            };
+            pending.data = data;
+            pending.called = 0;
+
+            return network.sendto(hkn, JSON.stringify([txid, data]));
+        });
     };
 
-    var parse = function (msg) {
-        try {
-            return JSON.parse(msg);
-        } catch (e) {
-            return null;
-        }
+    var matchesAnon = function (ctx, txid) {
+        if (!ctx.anon) { return false; }
+        if (typeof(ctx.anon.pending[txid]) !== 'function') { return false; }
+        return true;
     };
 
-    var onMsg = function (ctx, msg) {
-        var parsed = parse(msg);
+    var handleAnon = function (ctx /* anon_ctx */, txid, body /* parsed messages without txid */) {
+        // if anon is handling it we know there's a pending callback
+        var pending = ctx.pending[txid];
+        if (body[0] === 'ERROR') { pending(body[1]); }
+        else { pending(void 0, body.slice(1)); }
+        delete ctx.pending[txid];
+    };
+
+    var onMsg = function (ctx /* network context */, msg /* string message */) {
+        if (typeof(msg) !== 'string') {
+            console.error("received non-string message [%s]", msg);
+        }
 
+        var parsed = tryParse(msg);
         if (!parsed) {
             return void console.error(new Error('could not parse message: %s', msg));
         }
 
         // RPC messages are always arrays.
         if (!Array.isArray(parsed)) { return; }
+        // ignore FULL_HISTORY messages
+        if (/(FULL_HISTORY|HISTORY_RANGE)/.test(parsed[0])) { return; }
+
         var txid = parsed[0];
+
         // txid must be a string, or this message is not meant for us
         if (typeof(txid) !== 'string') { return; }
-        var cookie = parsed[1];
 
-        var pending = ctx.pending[txid];
-
-        if (!(parsed && parsed.slice)) {
-            // RPC responses are arrays. this message isn't meant for us.
-            return;
+        if (matchesAnon(ctx, txid)) {
+            return void handleAnon(ctx.anon, txid, parsed.slice(1));
         }
-        if (/(FULL_HISTORY|HISTORY_RANGE)/.test(parsed[0])) { return; }
 
-        var response = parsed.slice(2);
-
-        if (typeof(pending) === 'function') {
-            if (parsed[1] === 'ERROR') {
-                if (parsed[2] === 'NO_COOKIE') {
-                    return void ctx.send('COOKIE', "", function (e) {
-                        if (e) {
-                            console.error(e);
-                            return void pending(e);
-                        }
-
-                        // resend the same command again
-                        // give up if you've already tried resending
-                        if (ctx.resend(txid)) { delete ctx.pending[txid]; }
-                    });
+        // iterate over authenticated rpc contexts and check if they are expecting
+        // a message with this txid
+        if (ctx.authenticated.some(function (rpc_ctx) {
+            var pending = rpc_ctx.pending[txid];
+            // not meant for you
+            if (typeof(pending) !== 'function') { return false; }
+
+            // if you're here, the message is for you...
+
+            if (parsed[1] !== 'ERROR') {
+                // if the server sent you a new cookie, replace the old one
+                if (/\|/.test(parsed[1]) && rpc_ctx.cookie !== parsed[1]) {
+                    rpc_ctx.cookie = parsed[1];
                 }
+                pending(void 0, parsed.slice(2));
 
-                pending(parsed[2]);
-                delete ctx.pending[txid];
-                return;
-            } else {
-                // update the cookie
-                if (/\|/.test(cookie)) {
-                    if (ctx.cookie !== cookie) {
-                        ctx.cookie = cookie;
+                // if successful, delete the callback...
+                delete rpc_ctx.pending[txid];
+                // prevent further iteration
+                return true;
+            }
+
+            // NO_COOKIE errors mean you failed to authenticate.
+            // request a new cookie and resend the query
+            if (parsed[2] === 'NO_COOKIE') {
+                return void ctx.send('COOKIE', "", function (e) {
+                    if (e) {
+                        console.error(e);
+                        return void pending(e);
                     }
-                }
+
+                    // resend the same command again
+                    // give up if you've already tried resending
+                    if (ctx.resend(txid)) { delete ctx.pending[txid]; }
+                });
             }
-            pending(void 0, response);
 
-            // if successful, delete the callback...
+            // if you're here then your RPC passed authentication but had some other error
+            // call back with the error message
+            pending(parsed[2]);
+            // and delete the pending callback
             delete ctx.pending[txid];
+
+            // prevent further iteration
+            return true;
+        })) {
+            // the message was handled, so stop here
             return;
         }
 
-        // HACK to hide messages from the anon rpc
-        if (parsed.length !== 4 && parsed[1] !== 'ERROR') {
-            console.log(parsed);
-            console.error("received message [%s] for txid[%s] with no callback", msg, txid);
-        }
+        console.error("UNHANDLED RPC MESSAGE");
     };
 
-    var create = function (network, edPrivateKey, edPublicKey, cb) {
-        var signKey;
+    var networks = [];
+    var contexts = [];
 
-        try {
-            signKey = Nacl.util.decodeBase64(edPrivateKey);
-            if (signKey.length !== 64) {
-                throw new Error('private key did not match expected length of 64');
-            }
-        } catch (err) {
-            return void cb(err);
-        }
+    var initNetworkContext = function (network) {
+        var ctx = {
+            network: network,
+            connected: true,
+            anon: undefined,
+            authenticated: [],
+        };
+        networks.push(network);
+        contexts.push(ctx);
 
-        var pubBuffer;
-        try {
-            pubBuffer = Nacl.util.decodeBase64(edPublicKey);
-            if (pubBuffer.length !== 32) {
-                return void cb('expected public key to be 32 uint');
-            }
-        } catch (err) {
-            return void cb(err);
-        }
+        // add listeners...
+        network.on('message', function (msg, sender) {
+            if (sender !== network.historyKeeper) { return; }
+            onMsg(ctx, msg);
+        });
 
+        network.on('disconnect', function () {
+            ctx.connected = false;
+            if (ctx.anon) { ctx.anon.connected = false; }
+            ctx.authenticated.forEach(function (ctx) {
+                ctx.connected = false;
+            });
+        });
+
+        network.on('reconnect', function () {
+            if (ctx.anon) { ctx.anon.connected = true; }
+            ctx.authenticated.forEach(function (ctx) {
+                ctx.connected = true;
+            });
+        });
+        return ctx;
+    };
+
+    var getNetworkContext = function (network) {
+        var i;
+        networks.some(function (current, j) {
+            if (network !== current) { return false; }
+            i = j;
+            return true;
+        });
+
+        if (contexts[i]) { return contexts[i]; }
+        return initNetworkContext(network);
+    };
+
+    var initAuthenticatedRpc = function (networkContext, keys) {
         var ctx = {
-            network: network,
-            timeouts: {}, // timeouts
-            pending: {}, // callbacks
+            network: networkContext.network,
+            publicKey: keys.publicKeyString,
+            timeouts: {},
+            pending: {},
             cookie: null,
             connected: true,
         };
 
         var send = ctx.send = function (type, msg, cb) {
             if (!ctx.connected && type !== 'COOKIE') {
-                return void setTimeout(function () {
-                    cb('DISCONNECTED');
-                });
+                return void Util.mkAsync(cb)("DISCONNECTED");
             }
 
             // construct a signed message...
@@ -150,9 +204,9 @@ types of messages:
                 data.unshift(ctx.cookie);
             }
 
-            var sig = signMsg(data, signKey);
+            var sig = signMsg(data, keys.signKey);
 
-            data.unshift(edPublicKey);
+            data.unshift(keys.publicKeyString);
             data.unshift(sig);
 
             // [sig, edPublicKey, cookie, type, msg]
@@ -169,7 +223,7 @@ types of messages:
 
             // update the cookie and signature...
             pending.data[2] = ctx.cookie;
-            pending.data[0] = signMsg(pending.data.slice(2), signKey);
+            pending.data[0] = signMsg(pending.data.slice(2), keys.signKey);
             try {
                 return ctx.network.sendto(ctx.network.historyKeeper,
                     JSON.stringify([txid, pending.data]));
@@ -187,7 +241,7 @@ types of messages:
             }
 
             // construct an unsigned message
-            var data = [null, edPublicKey, null, type, msg];
+            var data = [null, keys.publicKeyString, null, type, msg];
             if (ctx.cookie && ctx.cookie.join) {
                 data[2] = ctx.cookie.join('|');
             } else {
@@ -197,103 +251,101 @@ types of messages:
             return sendMsg(ctx, data, cb);
         };
 
-        network.on('message', function (msg, sender) {
-            if (sender !== network.historyKeeper) { return; }
-            onMsg(ctx, msg);
-        });
+        ctx.destroy = function () {
+            // clear all pending timeouts
+            Object.keys(ctx.timeouts).forEach(function (to) {
+                clearTimeout(to);
+            });
 
-        network.on('disconnect', function () {
-            ctx.connected = false;
-        });
+            // remove the ctx from the network's stack
+            var idx = networkContext.authenticated.indexOf(ctx);
+            if (idx === -1) { return; }
+            networkContext.authenticated.splice(idx, 1);
+        };
 
-        network.on('reconnect', function () {
-            send('COOKIE', "", function (e) {
-                if (e) { return void cb(e); }
-                ctx.connected = true;
-            });
-        });
+        networkContext.authenticated.push(ctx);
+        return ctx;
+    };
 
-        // network.onHistoryKeeperChange is defined in chainpad-netflux.js
-        // The function we pass will be called when the drive reconnects and
-        // chainpad-netflux detects a new history keeper id
-        if (network.onHistoryKeeperChange) {
-            network.onHistoryKeeperChange(function () {
-                send('COOKIE', "", function (e) {
-                    if (e) { return void cb(e); }
-                    ctx.connected = true;
-                });
-            });
-        }
+    var getAuthenticatedContext = function (networkContext, keys) {
+        if (!networkContext) { throw new Error('expected network context'); }
 
-        send('COOKIE', "", function (e) {
-            if (e) { return void cb(e); }
-            // callback to provide 'send' method to whatever needs it
-            cb(void 0, { send: send, });
+        var publicKey = keys.publicKeyString;
+
+        var i;
+        networkContext.authenticated.some(function (ctx, j) {
+            if (ctx.publicKey !== publicKey) { return false; }
+            i = j;
+            return true;
         });
+
+        if (networkContext.authenticated[i]) { return networkContext.authenticated[i]; }
+
+        return initAuthenticatedRpc(networkContext, keys);
     };
 
-    var onAnonMsg = function (ctx, msg) {
-        var parsed = parse(msg);
+    var create = function (network, edPrivateKey, edPublicKey, cb) {
+        if (typeof(cb) !== 'function') { throw new Error("expected callback"); }
 
-        if (!parsed) {
-            return void console.error(new Error('could not parse message: %s', msg));
+        var signKey;
+
+        try {
+            signKey = Nacl.util.decodeBase64(edPrivateKey);
+            if (signKey.length !== 64) {
+                throw new Error('private key did not match expected length of 64');
+            }
+        } catch (err) {
+            return void cb(err);
         }
 
-        // RPC messages are always arrays.
-        if (!Array.isArray(parsed)) { return; }
-        var txid = parsed[0];
+        try {
+            if (Nacl.util.decodeBase64(edPublicKey).length !== 32) {
+                return void cb('expected public key to be 32 uint');
+            }
+        } catch (err) { return void cb(err); }
 
-        // txid must be a string, or this message is not meant for us
-        if (typeof(txid) !== 'string') { return; }
+        if (!network) { return void cb('NO_NETWORK'); }
 
-        var pending = ctx.pending[txid];
+        // get or create a context for the provided network
+        var net_ctx = getNetworkContext(network);
 
-        if (!(parsed && parsed.slice)) {
-            // RPC responses are arrays. this message isn't meant for us.
-            return;
-        }
-        if (/FULL_HISTORY/.test(parsed[0])) { return; }
-        var response = parsed.slice(2);
-
-        if (typeof(pending) === 'function') {
-            if (parsed[1] === 'ERROR') {
-                pending(parsed[2]);
-                delete ctx.pending[txid];
-                return;
-            }
-            pending(void 0, response);
+        var rpc_ctx = getAuthenticatedContext(net_ctx, {
+            publicKeyString: edPublicKey,
+            signKey: signKey,
+        });
 
-            // if successful, delete the callback...
-            delete ctx.pending[txid];
-            return;
-        }
-        // HACK: filter out ugly messages we don't care about
-        if (typeof(msg) !== 'string') {
-            console.error("received message [%s] for txid[%s] with no callback", msg, txid);
-        }
+        rpc_ctx.send('COOKIE', "", function (e) {
+            if (e) { return void cb(e); }
+            // callback to provide 'send' method to whatever needs it
+            cb(void 0, {
+                send: rpc_ctx.send,
+                destroy: rpc_ctx.destroy,
+            });
+        });
     };
 
-    var createAnonymous = function (network, cb) {
+    var initAnonRpc = function (networkContext) {
         var ctx = {
-            network: network,
-            timeouts: {}, // timeouts
-            pending: {}, // callbacks
-            cookie: null,
+            network: networkContext.network,
+            timeouts: {},
+            pending: {},
             connected: true,
         };
 
-        var send = ctx.send = function (type, msg, cb) {
+        // any particular network will only ever need one anonymous rpc
+        networkContext.anon = ctx;
+
+        ctx.send = function (type, msg, cb) {
             if (!ctx.connected) {
                 return void setTimeout(function () {
                     cb('DISCONNECTED');
                 });
             }
 
-
             // construct an unsigned message...
             var data = [type, msg];
 
-            // [sig, edPublicKey, cookie, type, msg]
+            // [type, msg]
             return sendMsg(ctx, data, cb);
         };
 
@@ -314,21 +366,32 @@ types of messages:
             }
         };
 
-        network.on('message', function (msg, sender) {
-            if (sender !== network.historyKeeper) { return; }
-            onAnonMsg(ctx, msg);
-        });
+        ctx.destroy = function () {
+            // clear all pending timeouts
+            Object.keys(ctx.timeouts).forEach(function (to) {
+                clearTimeout(to);
+            });
 
-        network.on('disconnect', function () {
-            ctx.connected = false;
-        });
+            networkContext.anon = undefined;
+        };
 
-        network.on('reconnect', function () {
-            ctx.connected = true;
-        });
+        return ctx;
+    };
+
+    var getAnonContext = function (networkContext) {
+        return networkContext.anon || initAnonRpc(networkContext);
+    };
+
+    var createAnonymous = function (network, cb) {
+        if (typeof(cb) !== 'function') { throw new Error("expected callback"); }
+        if (!network) { return void cb('NO_NETWORK'); }
+
+        // get or create a context for the provided network
+        var ctx = getAnonContext(getNetworkContext(network));
 
         cb(void 0, {
-            send: send
+            send: ctx.send,
+            destroy: ctx.destroy,
         });
     };