How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
Case tried to find the man called Corto behind the pale blue eyes and the tanned mask. He thought of Wage, back in Chiba. Operators above a certain level tended to submerge their personalities, he knew. (7.112)
Corto may be the extreme example of an isolated personality, but as Case points out, people isolate themselves from others all the time and for different reasons.
Quote #5
Zion had been founded by five workers who'd refused to return, who'd turned their backs on the well and started building. (8.26)
Here, isolation takes on a more positive role. The Rastafarians choose to isolate themselves from the rest of the world, so they could create their own free state. Bob Marley's "Exodus" absolutely should be their national anthem, in Shmoop's humble opinion.
Quote #6
The girl sat up in bed and said something in German. Her eyes were soft and unblinking. Automatic pilot. A neural cutout. [Case] backed out of the cubicle and closed the door. (11.122)
Thanks to the technology of this future, people can choose to isolate their own experiences from their memory. This example shows the dark side of future technology. On the other hand, think of all the boring chores you could forget ever having to do.