Stephenson Expounds!

February 10, 2005 3:33 AM

Reason interview with Neal Stephenson containing (among other things!) libertarian-statist-terrorist triangulation, the epidemiology of domination systems, praise for 17th century financial & philosophical sophistication and... oh and an apologia for his endings :D [via SE, also see :]
posted by kliuless (23 comments total)

I'm a little confused about your choice of links.
posted by absalom at 5:05 AM on February 10, 2005

I'm more than confused; I'm clueless.
posted by mischief at 7:00 AM on February 10, 2005

The interview was good (Thanks--I am a Stephenson Junkie!) though was a bewildered by all that followed.

Anyone have any dirt on what he plans on doing next? I am seriously jonesing for more Stephenson.

I vaguely remember talk of a book set in the Baroque/Cryptonomicon universe, but in the future.

I also was never satisfied with knowing how Enoch and (I assume) King Solomon fit into the scheme of things.
posted by sourwookie at 7:04 AM on February 10, 2005

Anyone have any dirt on what he plans on doing next? I am seriously jonesing for more Stephenson.


SPOILERS:

Pure fanboy speculation here, but anyone else make the connection between the 'heavy' gold in baroque cycle and the giant collection of gold recovered in cryptonomicon? Could it be that the plates are still there?

Just a thought

/SPOILERS.
posted by delmoi at 7:26 AM on February 10, 2005

Oh, and there's no reason to lard up posts with superfluous links on random topics.
posted by delmoi at 7:48 AM on February 10, 2005

Delmoi: The heavy gold used in the data sheets for D. Waterhouse's engine were made of heavy gold. They were the same gold sheets recovered from the V-million sub that sank off of the Philippines.
posted by sourwookie at 7:57 AM on February 10, 2005

kliuless: Are you saying that Stephensons' endings are as random as your links??
posted by tweak at 7:58 AM on February 10, 2005

You can draw a tenuous connection between The Diamond Age and Snow Crash -- one of Nell's teachers might be Y.T.

I wonder if you could draw a link between Cryptonomicon/Baroque and that universe... crypto takes off, but is first exploited by less-than-completely-savory types, which helps create the world of Snow Crash, which leads to Diamond Age.

Naq gur jbeyq bs Qvnzbaq Ntr, juvyr ab cnenqvfr, zvtug whfg zvtug or gur fbeg bs uhzna-raretvrf-perngrq jbeyq gung Ebbg jnf nsgre jura ur jnf fhccerffvat nypurzl va snibe bs fpvrapr.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:25 AM on February 10, 2005

Jnf Ebbg npgviryl fhcerffvat nypurzl? Jnfa'g ur na npgvir cenpgvgvbare?
posted by leotrotsky at 8:32 AM on February 10, 2005

Ebbg jnf gelvat gb fhccerff (jvqrfcernq) nypurzl nf cneg-naq-cnepry bs eriryngvba-onfrq xabjyrqtr, va snibe bs (cebgb-)fpvrapr; gung'f jul ur jnagrq nyy gur Fbybzbavp tbyq fdhveeryrq njnl. Ur fgvyy hfrq vg jura vg jnf pbairavrag.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:55 AM on February 10, 2005

This is so not fair. This is a topic near and dear to me and now I can'y play along.
posted by sourwookie at 9:04 AM on February 10, 2005

That is not a typo in my above post--it's a very simple substitution cypher. ;)
posted by sourwookie at 9:05 AM on February 10, 2005

Gung jnf qvfpbapregvat, EBH_Krabcubor.

V frr cbffvovyvgvrf sbe Zngg'f arkg Ncevy Sbbyf wbxr.
posted by IshmaelGraves at 9:32 AM on February 10, 2005

Paste babel(!) here.
posted by speedo at 9:34 AM on February 10, 2005

Dammit, and I just spent the last 30 minutes scribbling "And __e _o__d __ ..." on paper.

Naq abj rirelbar ryfr va gur yno vf ybbxvat ng zr shaal.
posted by casarkos at 9:38 AM on February 10, 2005

Jung qvq Fbybzba zrna jura ur fnvq gung ur naq Ebbg jrer "Jvfr"? Gung'f nccneragyl fhccbfrq gb or nabgure nggrzcg gb yvax Ebbg gb gur pbaprcg bs n "Jvmneq" va Gbyxrva, ohg jung qbrf Fbybzba zrna ol vg?
posted by gsteff at 9:55 AM on February 10, 2005

The best thing is that ROT-13'd English looks sort of like the mind-control language in Snow Crash. If you squint. While drunk.

gsteff: I think that Fbybzba and Ebbg are "jvfr" because they've gnyxrq jvgu Tbq, naq erprvirq eriryngvba sebz uvz.

It's a weird, weird book.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 11:35 AM on February 10, 2005

I think ROT-13'd English kinda looks Lovecraftian. Especially if you use lots of apostrophes.
posted by sourwookie at 11:58 AM on February 10, 2005

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A
C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A B
D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A B C
E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A B C D
F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A B C D E
G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A B C D E F
H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A B C D E F G
I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A B C D E F G H
J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A B C D E F G H I
K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A B C D E F G H I J
L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A B C D E F G H I J K
M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A B C D E F G H I J K L
N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A B C D E F G H I J K L M
O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A B C D E F G H I J K L M N
P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O
Q R S T U V W X Y Z A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P
R S T U V W X Y Z A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q
S T U V W X Y Z A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R
T U V W X Y Z A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S
U V W X Y Z A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T
V W X Y Z A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U
W X Y Z A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V
X Y Z A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W
Y Z A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X
Z A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y

"Enoch Root"

M I S I V K H C H Q H Q J A Z A S H R Z M J H E R G
posted by leotrotsky at 12:00 PM on February 10, 2005

gsteff: I think that Fbybzba and Ebbg are "jvfr" because they've gnyxrq jvgu Tbq, naq erprvirq eriryngvba sebz uvz.
posted by delmoi at 10:16 PM on February 10, 2005

gsteff: I think that Fbybzba and Ebbg are "jvfr" because they've gnyxrq jvgu Tbq, naq erprvirq eriryngvba sebz uvz.

That's a very intresting hypothosys. However, Jr ernyyl unir ab vqrn jul Rabpu xabjf nobhg Cuvybfbcure'f Zrephel (gung'f jung vg'f pnyyrq, evtug). Jr xabj gungf ubj ur, bnaq qnavry fgnlrq nyvir, gubhtu. Vg'f cbffvoyr ur qvfpbirerq vg ba uvf bja.

Gur bar guvat V ernyyl qba'g haqrefgnaq nobhg gur obbx vf jul qnavry xrcg gur tbyq njnl sebz Arjgba. Vg frrzrq yvxr ur pbhyq unir tvira uvz fbzr, naq rnearq onpx nyy gur sevraqfuvc ur pbhyq rire jnag. Ur hfrf gur rkphfr gung vg'f 'fcbxra sbe' ohg ubj qbrf gur Pmne xabj ubj zhpu tbyq gurve vf? Pbhyqa'g qnavry fvzcyl fnl gurer jnfa'g rabhtu gb znxr nyy; gur pneqf bhg bs gung fghss?
posted by delmoi at 10:16 PM on February 10, 2005

Thanks for the Reason link. I am just about 100 pages from the end of "System..." Reading this book has been the most difficult of the three, I think I'm just running out of steam.

There is a term that comes up repeatedly in "System" - the term is "Schlob" except the "b" is one of those funky symbols. I don't have the energy to go back and find the first use of the term. What does it mean? Does it mean "tower" or "prison" or is it a place name?
posted by vito90 at 9:55 AM on February 11, 2005

Delmoi,
Gung qvqa'g znxr zhpu frafr gb zr rvgure. Gur bgure guvat gung pbashfrf zr, whfg n gval ovg, vf jul Arny srryf pbzcryyrq gb pbafgnagyl funer gur Revpugubavna zlgubybtl.

Vito - schloss is the German word for castle.
posted by dejah420 at 11:21 AM on February 11, 2005