Paul Guyer Audience Profile Text: Snow Crash Author: Neal Stephenson Date of first publication: June 1992 Class: Upper Middle Class Professional Gender: UMCP - No negative gender statements are made, strong female characters in Y.T. and Juanita. Ethnic Background: UMCP - Ethnic distinctions, but no bias. Race is an issue with some of the Burbclaves, though this segregation is not portrayed favorably. Age: UMCP - No age restrictions placed on younger characters with respect to ability. Plot Outline 1. Main Plot Hiro's friend Da5id is exposed to Snow Crash and becomes catatonic. Hiro investigates and finds that Snow Crash is part of plan to control hackers. Hiro foils Raven’s attempt to unleash a bomb version of Snow Crash on assembled hackers. 2. Secondary Plots Y.T. causes Hiro to wreck his car while making a pizza delivery, but takes that pizza and delivers it on time. Uncle Enzo thanks Y.T. for ensuring that his product was delivered on time, gives her mob work to do. Y.T. is kidnapped and taken to the Raft, Enzo sends people to rescue her. Y.T. meets Raven on the raft and Raven identifies her as his girlfriend. While making love, Y.T. accidentally injects Raven with a poison that makes him sleep. Y.T. becomes concerned that Raven will be angry and try to kill her. Raven's helicopter catches Y.T.’s, Raven waves, letting Y.T. know that he is not angry. Topics Snow Crash A drug that can be administered orally and visually Human brain can be programmed like a computer Religion as a virus Metaverse Use of custom avatar to represent self in Metaverse Real world wealth and social standing is not a reflection of Metaverse wealth and standing Use of nuclear weapon as means of revenge Group of boats tied together to create a floating city Death in the Metaverse vs. death in reality Reality vs. Metaverse Mob is more powerful than the government Mob is concerned with loyalty and looking after its own Houses grouped in communities that are gated and patrolled by individual security agencies Skateboarders attaching to automobiles for transportation Library of Congress purchasing raw data Law enforcement handled by private agencies, not the police or government Themes Control through mind manipulation and religion as a method of manipulating the mind. Real world wealth, social status, appearances, and skills are not necessarily mirrored in the virtual world. The Mafia is better able to handle business than the government Main theme: Having information means having wealth and control. Quotations "I deal in information," he says to the smarmy, toady psuedojournalist who "interviews" him. He's sitting in his office in Houston, looking slicker than normal. "All television going out to consumers throughout the world goes through me. Most of the information transmitted to and from the CIC database passes through my networks. The Metaverse - the entire Street - exists by virtue of a network that I own and control." (115) "I got news for you man," Hiro says. "Most of the stuff you give me, I never put in the Library." "Why not? Hell, I give you all my best gossip. I thought you were making money off that stuff." "I just can't stand it," Hiro says, "taking parts of my private conversations and whoring them out. Why do you think I am broke?" (71) "This is the miracle of tongues," Rife shouts above the tumult. "I can understand every word these people are saying. Can you brother?" (120) "All people have religions. Its like we have religion receptors built into our brain cells, or something, and we'll latch onto anything that will fill that niche for us. Now, religion used to be essentially viral - a piece of information that replicated itself inside the human mind, jumping from one person to the next. That’s the way it used to be, and unfortunately, that's the way it's headed right now." (201) "So Rife can control two kinds of people," Nag says. "He can control Pentecostals by using written me in the mother tongue. And he can control hackers in a much more violent fashion by damaging their brains with binary viruses." (406)