"Fictional" - How so, David? If you define digital nomadism as working from the road via the internet - 'location-independent entrepreneurialism' - I know hundreds of people doing this successfully.
I'm part of a paid, private online forum of 'digital nomads' (though everyone hates that term) or 'location-independent entrepreneurs' that also places much importance on solving entrepreneurial loneliness via in-person meetups etc. There are hundreds of members. You have to be doing something worthwhile to be accepted. It's called the Dynamite Circle.
High-level scientific journals, when it comes down to it, really aren't that different from gossip magazines or HuffPo. Yes, worthier subject matter for sure, but in the end their judgements on publishing come down to virality and eyeballs.