Things I Read: Snow Crash - Ancient History By Way Of Cyberpunk

The eponymous Snow Crash of Neal Stephenson's novel is a virus capable of hacking into the human subconscious. It does so by using futuristic technology but for all intents and purposes is an idea rooted in Ancient History. Snow Crash is a subtle, yet deceptive sci-fi thriller. A 400-word novel that bridges the oft-ignored gap between ancient myths and hardcore hacking. You tell me why that's so oft-ignored.

The story concerns two hackers: the self-consciously named Hiro Protagonist and Y.T. (Yours Truly). Both moonlight as ‘Kouriers’ in an alternate future universe and are quickly drawn into a complex game with religious fanatics trying to take over the world. Well, two worlds really. Both our boring old reality and a much cooler futuristic cyber world known as the 'Metaverse'. Basically the Matrix before that was a thing.

Because of this, the book is comparable to William Gibson’s Neuromancer and just like that book bridges abstract ideas about culture and technology. It makes considerations about how language is akin to data, passed through genes and blended into society just like a virus into a computer program. Stephenson uses this to elaborate on speculative ideas. One example including how an ancient Sumerian God named Enki, helped humanity by developing a counter-virus to a malicious act undertaken by another deity whose name I've forgotten.

It's an idea rooted in a myth from Mesopotamia and a great example of how the novel gorges on history. It has a lot of interest in creation myths, especially those involving the traditionally monotheistic religions such as Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. If there's one big theme tying it all together it's the Tower of Babel: a story present in each religion and one that explains why there are different languages and hence why they're all corruptible.

These kinds of things determine the heavier themes but it also has a fairly basic good guy vs. bad guy plot, a bit like the extremes of 80's action movies. One scene, for instance, takes place on a boat where a great calamitous fight breaks out culminating in a race between the boat and a renegade kayak that quite honestly appears out of nowhere.

While parts like that are arresting, I much preferred the historical conspiratorial angle and particularly loved how it bridged highbrow and lowbrow content. Granted it's not the most serious book I've ever read but it's a lot of fun. Sometimes silly-fun.

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