Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson

Written in 1992, Stephenson satires everything in the American society. From large corporations to religious beliefs to drug use, giving the reader a grim view of the future. In his future the mafia operates its business in the open, the government is reduced to a few states and is considered just another corporation, and religion is more interested in your money than saving your soul.

Stephenson introduces new technology, the Metaverse, a computer-generated world. The Metaverse is an entirely different world consisting of avatars (computer-generated bodies in human form with basic facial features and expressions), streets, houses, and monorail of transportation.

Snow Crash is a virus transmitted via computer through the monitor screen people see snow, in the bloodstream laced with other drugs or in the Metaverse throught the use of 'Brandy with the magic scroll'. Once a person is infected the virus reduces the person's intellectual abilities making them susceptible to being controlled or a 'zombie-like state' and their speech becomes incomprehensible or 'speaking in tongues'.

Stephenson links four different explanations to show the reader how a person is infected: 1) ancient and extinct culture of Sumer/Sumeria, 2) Tower of Babel story (Gen 11:1-9), 3) origin of language and 4) binary code of computers. By combining these four elements Stephenson not only gives us a history lesson and learning experience but asks the question could all of these possibly be related?

Our hero, Hiro Protagonist is a hacker and social misfit who stumbles into this via his friend and one time lover Juanita Marquez. Our villian, L. Bob Rife who uses the Sumerian culture to begin his own cult in an attempt to control society. Aided by his new fledling partner, YT (a girl teenage courier), and the Mafia Hiro manages to thwart Rife's plan and find a cure for the virus, Snow Crash.

Snow Crash: The Power of Language

is.gseis.ucla.edu/impact/f93/students/tracy/tracy_midterm.html

Brown Univeristy: Snow Crash

www.stg.brown.edu/projects/hypertext/landow/cpasc/scifi/ns/snowcrashor.html

Snow Crash

www.tpoint.net/~inchorost/homepage/ideaweb/snow.html