How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Hiro picks up the goggles. As he brings them up toward his eyes, he sees the image: a wall of black-and-white static. Da5id's computer has snow-crashed.
He closes his eyes and drops the goggles. You can't get hurt by looking at a bitmap. Or can you? (24.67-68)
The technology used to create—to write software, to code the Metaverse—can also be used to harm. Much like a sword, it seems that technology is always double-edged. Also, stuff you thought was safe? Totally isn't. We sure don't have anything that falls in that category today (cell phones, airport scanners, cars).
Quote #2
"You're a dead man," Rife shouts. "You're stuck on the Raft, asshole. I got a million Myrmidons here. You gonna kill 'em all?"
"Swords don't run out of ammo," Hiro shouts. (60.59-60)
If technology simply means a man-made tool, Hiro's sword definitely counts. It may not have lasers or bullets, but it gets the job done, and until the edge dulls, it's not going to stop working.
Quote #3
Most hacker types don't go in for garish avatars, because they know that it takes a lot more sophistication to render a realistic human face than a talking penis. (5.4)
Ah, technological elitism. Those hackers with their knowledge of how to render things in virtual reality, ruining the idea of talking genitals for us plebians.
Quote #4
"Think again. Glass knife. He had one on board the submarine. Either smuggled it on board with him, or else found a chunk of glass on the submarine and chipped it out himself." (39.78)
Raven and his deadly glass knives are a great example of why fancy technology will only get you so far: All the metal-detectors in the world can't tell whether you're letting a cold-blooded killer onto your sub armed with deadly but low-tech knives.
Quote #5
That's why the damn place is so overdeveloped. Put in a sign or a building on the Street and the hundred million richest, hippest, best-connected people on earth will see it every day of their lives. (3.39)
The Metaverse is a great example of how technological access skews toward the richest people in a given population. There surely aren't any examples of this phenomenon in the real world…
Quote #6
She stops […] and steps off her plank. The spokes, noting her departure, even themselves out, plant themselves on top of the driveway, refusing to roll backward. (4.27)
Self-parking skateboard wheels are yet another cool feature that Y.T. has as part of her Kourier gear. We figure you need all the help you can get to navigate the treacherous Southern California roads, especially with drivers like the Deliverator out there.
Quote #7
Ng Security Industries Semi-Autonomous Guard Unit #A-367 lives in a pleasant black-and-white Metaverse where porterhouse steaks grow on trees, dangling at head level from low branches, and blood-drenched Frisbees fly through the crisp, cool air for no reason at all, until you catch them. (12.1)
This is what heaven looks like, if you happen to be a dog jacked into virtual reality. It makes perfect sense that in the high-tech future, humans aren't the only ones who get increasingly hooked into technology.
Quote #8
"Take off your headset," Uncle Enzo says. "And turn off that walkie-talkie. You need your ears." (69.48)
This is how Uncle Enzo survived Vietnam and rose to the top of the Mafia food chain: He doesn't use technology when plain old common sense and situational awareness will serve him better.
Quote #9
"No piece of software is ever bug free," Ng says. Uncle Enzo says, "I guess there's a little bit of Asherah in all of us." (57.39)
Technology, like its human makers, is not infallible. Which is a kind of scary thought, given how much we all rely on it, right?
Quote #10
Hiro spends a lot of time in the Metaverse. It beats the s*** out of the U-Stor-It. (3.26)
That's the thing about technology: It can you build a better life elsewhere, even if it's not technically real. How long until the Metaverse perfectly mirrors reality, though? What will we think of people who choose to live there full-time?