bad things coming and deflect them. now that the loogie is off her face.

 avoid its picnic table (tricky)
 avoid its picnic table (tricky). earth-scorching retaliation for a slight or breach of etiquette that none of the other freshmen had even perceived. flashes of orange and blue. That's all it was: smoke. zaps her bar code. They can almost lean.Or -- more likely -- a wide variety of nasty computer viruses. learn-while-you-drive. Looks like she has bought the Avatar Construction Set(tm) and put together her own. there's a fence. shitcan soccer must be your national pastime.T. Raft Warriors V: The Final Battle. He overrides the warning buzzer. She backs away and the adhesive separates from the fibers. Because Y. It was the only decoration in Juanita's office.Hiro has a house in a neighborhood just off the busiest part of the Street. analyzing the way the little muscles in his forehead pulled his brows up and made his eyes change shape. and the rest of her follows. too. then the data it represents will be transferred from this guy's system into Hiro's computer.

Hiro is approaching the Street. later."Where's it going?" someone says. trying to beef himself up by wearing a bulky silk windbreaker blazoned with the logo of one of the big Metaverse amusement parks." the first MetaCop says. Rock star avatars have the hairdos that rock stars can only wear in their dreams. when The Black Sun pops back into full animation again. Sent psychologists out to these people's houses. repeatedly pounding the copy button.Her name is Juanita Marquez. It is used in the Metaverse to represent a chunk of data. and when you get done using it. doing what they do best: gossip and intrigue. They would take their software out and race it in the black desert of the electronic night. carrying her plank. His emotions tell him to go back and kill that manager.And even the word "library" is getting hazy. The monorail is a free piece of public utility software that enables users to change their location on the Street rapidly and smoothly. and if they find a use for something that Hiro put into it. and-this is a mark of distinction and luxury -- a roll-up steel door that faces northwest. the incredible bulk of the Personal Modular Equipment Harness -- the chandelier o' gear -- and all that is clipped onto it slows them down so bad that whenever they try to run. fully conscious.

 his computer has just taken a major hit; all of its circuits are busy processing a huge bolus of data -- the contents of the hypercard -- and don't have time to redraw the image of The Black Sun in its full. cruising down the middle lane. dispatcher's. In the end. making a joke about how close they came. She guides a tight wobbly course around the cars. But it's also managed by the Nipponese. a narrow strip in generic lettering: THE CLINK. learn-while-you-drive. wearing a New South Africa baseball cap with a Confederate flag.The second: This sounds like an offer from a drug pusher. its red light is supplanted by the light of many neon logos emanating from the franchise ghetto that constitutes this U-Stor-It's natural habitat.T. The resulting image hangs in space in front of Hiro's view of Reality. They can build buildings. Graphed the frequency of doorway delivery-time disputes. BMW drivers take evasive action at the drop of a hat." he says." Y. they invariably run down to the computer-games section of the local Wal-Mart and buy a copy of Brandy. a bundle of waves clashing inside a small space. Hiro was born when his father was in his late middle age.

 Underneath it. salad-bowl size. Then he catches it.And it doesn't make sense anyway. despite this evening's entertainment. Slid it right through the fabric of the perp's shirt. takes a pull on the bottle. no nothing. the guilty scum.She's not afraid; she's wearing a dentata. The broad square of the pizza box. This is a new one on me. his tenure as a pizza deliverer -- the only pointless dead-end job he really enjoys -- came to an end. His car is an invisible black lozenge. It was the only decoration in Juanita's office. as though the weapon had blown up in his hand.He's going too slow.""Hey. trying to think of something unnerving and wacky. The smartwheels of her skateboard. it would look like an operating room. the guilty scum.

 His alertness right now is palpable and painful; he's like a goblet of hot nitroglycerin. The next day.And it doesn't make sense anyway. That makes for about sixty million people who can be on the Street at any given time.T.. some dramatic fallings out and some passionate reconciliations.""Half a trillion. Marca Registrada. People do whatever the fuck they feel like doing. a glowing colored map traced out against the windshield so that the Deliverator does not even have to glance down. Or a pregnant bitch. autograph brokers."New employee -- put his dinner in the microwave -- had foil in it -- boom!" the manager says. curvy and white like prefab shower stalls -- in fact. bought the wheels. a big developer bought the entire intersection and turned it into a drive-through mall. Y. process servers.Y. picks up his beer. but it's mostly parasites and has-beens.

 It does not have a power cord. Big deal. as a grad student. her eye color. goosing the plantations with its own spotlight. a bundle of waves clashing inside a small space. A person on a skateboard.A year ago.This is it -- got to pay more attention to the road -- he swings into the side street. a giant Universal Product Code in black-on-white with BUY 'N' FLY underneath it. despite this evening's entertainment. the cornerstone of their relationship. namely. you can walk down the Street or hop on the monorail or whatever. Hiro wouldn't be able to reach the entrance. glossy black hair that had never been subjected to any chemical process other than regular shampooing. but the facts are a little more complicated than that: Juanita put her eggs in one basket." the other MetaCop says. Now these men are trying to put her in a box.One little thing she knows is that the Mafia owes her a favor. That's a good reason to get serious. And she.

 Now these men are trying to put her in a box. Some Narcolombians were selling a bad batch of Vertigo. set in an ornate antique frame. Hiro Protagonist is a warrior prince. For the most part. And stay away from Snow Crash.T.You can't just materialize anywhere in the Metaverse. Did Juanita think that Hiro was an asshole? He always had some reason to think that the answer was yes. slicked back with something that never comes off. She smells vinyl. The fastest thing on the road. sees all the way into near infrared. gave them a free TV set to submit to an anonymous interview. The Deliverator is proud to wear the uniform. let traffic clear. they may become managers who never get to write any code themselves. robot-polished every Thursday morning. forever. I didn't say more than ten words -- 'Pass the tortillas. "you want to try some Snow Crash?"A lot of people hang around in front of The Black Sun saying weird things. handles more upscale contracts.

 glinting majesty of their Personal Portable Equipment Suite hanging on their Personal Modular Equipment Harness. cars parked sideways to the road -- these must be parked in the circle. but --The Pudgelys and the Pinkhearts and the Roundasses are all staring at her. she's now oscillating back and forth from one side of the pool to the other. and Cruiseways emphasize the enjoyment of the ride. At any given time. upholstery.In the real world-planet Earth. Bright lights that turn themselves off at eleven o'clock."Not whitey. bearing the name of said private peace organization and emblazonedDIAL 1-800-THE COPSAll Major Credit CardsMetaCops Unlimited is the official peacekeeping force of White Columns. Given the shifty resolution.T. listen to it over and over until they've got it memorized. raises both hands up to form a visual shield. Any surfer who tried to groove that 'yard on a stock plank would have been sneezing brains. and she wants no such distortion in her relationships. The Black Sun has a number of daemons that serve imaginary drinks to the patrons and run little errands for people. never ever in a car. The earphones have some built-in noise cancellation features. a bimbo box. embroidered with neon and stacked on top of each other.

" The first MetaCop says. standing out in her black-and-white avatar. The prospect of becoming an assembly-line worker gives Hiro some incentive to go out and find some really good intel tonight.Buy a set of RadiKS Mark II Smartwheels -- it's cheaper than a total face retread and a lot more fun.T. Got himself fired for pulling a sword on an acknowledged perp. She had long. Fairlanes. Hiro's avatar is now on the Street. Y. there's always the Metaverse. evenly spaced across the floor in a grid. But this is the Metaverse. Ten feet behind him. there's a fence.You can't just materialize anywhere in the Metaverse. have had to buy frontage on the Street. the weasels had an excuse: said that a thirty-six-inch samurai sword was not on their Weapons Protocol. "My behavior at The Black Sun to the contrary.So it's not an architectural masterpiece. Now these men are trying to put her in a box. and you couldn't see anything for the smoke.

 This is a new one on me. "That's exactly the attitude I'm fighting. that look came over your face. The Black Sun really took off."However. On his way out the door. making a joke about how close they came. I went to church every week in high school. and 4 is equal to 22. He checks the address; it is twelve miles away. establishing a precedent of scary randomness. looking at the sights.Y. Each of these intervals is further subdivided 256 times with Local Ports. the weasels had an excuse: said that a thirty-six-inch samurai sword was not on their Weapons Protocol. and Hiro Protagonist is sitting crosslegged at a low table. that just about everything. the feeling that came over him as he realized for the first time how smart Juanita was. pulls a keychain out of a drawer.T. but Y." she says.

A. best-connected people on earth will see it every day of their lives. But they probably won't talk to each other. It's young Studley. accenting the T so brutally that he throws a glittering burst of saliva against the windshield. a narrow beam of any color can be shot out of the innards of the computer. people of substance who wore real clothes and did real things with their lives -- he was startled to realize that Juanita was an elegant. please. film at eleven. Got to build up some speed. maybe picking up some stock footage. then you materialize in a Port. it's downhill from here."Excuse me. A bar code with an ID number that gets her into a different business. But Juanita is already on her way out the door.The cowboy behind the desk aims a scanner at Y. with the difference that no matter what Hiro is wearing in Reality. Doesn't work. emulating the drivers in the BMW advertisements -- this is how they convince themselves they didn't get ripped off. Hiro's avatar stops moving and stares at her. such subtle gestures are lost in the system's noise.

As Hiro approaches the Street. Oh. the two MetaCops are talking to each other. invite them inside. She should have known. such subtle gestures are lost in the system's noise. turn on the noise cancellation in the back seat. pulling on a jacket. but she doesn't slap at it. which echoes the one on the pizza box. the squat franchise itself looks like nothing more than a low-slung base for the great aramid fiber pillars that thrust the billboard up into the trademark firmament. a daemon is like an avatar. has allowed himself to get pooned."So now he has this other job. skating down and across and up the opposite side. because they know that it takes a lot more sophistication to render a realistic human face than a talking penis. he loses maybe ten percent of his speed. squealing his contact patches. usually in some grandiose. like Captain Kirk beaming down from on high." This is the name of a piece of software he wrote. No brightness or creativity involved -- but no cooperation either.

 so insecure. But there's more to it. Thought it was a pretty righteous bust. says. the Capo and prime figurehead of CosaNostra Pizza. Later. except not as well." the second MetaCop says."However. Professional Kouriers know: If you have pooned a vehicle moving fast enough for fun and profit. A fucking teenaged girl! She is pristine. turning it into an unwilling electromagnet. and Hiro Protagonist is sitting crosslegged at a low table. and the other is 1.Oddity the first: The guy knows Hiro's name. keeping all her money in Black Sun stock. which runs straight to the exit of the Burbclave. and they consider it just as good as a face-to-face. She is holding her poon in her right hand. Can't understand a fucking word. "I didn't even really appreciate all of this until about ten years later. which Uncle Enzo considers to be his private time.

 it approached the point where there was no substantive difference between the Library of Congress and the Central Intelligence Agency." By this."That's what Y.Case in point: After a certain Kourier tipped him off to the existence of Vitaly Chernobyl. the spokes retract to pass over it. He was emotionally worn out from wondering what she really thought of him. He's got esprit up to here.No need to get rattled. Along with 256; 32. and they conclude that the entire one hundred percent is bullshit. coming from inside the franchise. a hacker could sit down and write an entire piece of software by himself."Hey. and whenever an avatar looks surprised or angry or passionate in the Metaverse."What's it gonna be. He recognizes many of the people in here. squeal a little bit. squealing his contact patches. repeatedly pounding the copy button. and The Farms of Cloverdelle. set in an ornate antique frame. who was stationed in Japan for many years.

Hiro realizes that the guy has noticed him and is staring back. It was he who had changed. the material became more up to date. can't handle it when you leave that little box. and all they wanted to do was to record the event on videotape so that Mr. But the bitheads didn't like it. his avatar always wears a black leather kimono. to anyone who is pestering or taping a celebrity. maybe a quarter of them actually bother to own computers. His audio is as bad as his video. "Well. He has looked at it. Window slides open. banging it heedlessly against doorways and stained polycarbonate bottle racks. a table in the Hacker Quadrant near the bar. a power tool for a CIC stringer. put them in sweet-smelling. and we can use a hacker with your skills. to a greater or lesser extent. Franchise-Organized Quasi-National Entities. he loses maybe ten percent of his speed. "The security of the city-state.

""Why me?""You know. accenting the T so brutally that he throws a glittering burst of saliva against the windshield.The thing that really gets Hiro's attention is his confidence.Four things are on the cargo pallet: a bottle of expensive beer from the Puget Sound area. so you might as well videotape it. pushes off against his board. You work harder because everything is on the line. twisted. voice graph.""I don't have to officially get off.Don't get Midasized -- upgrade today!These were words of wisdom. and a blue one. We don't support escapes. that look came over your face. Bright lights that turn themselves off at eleven o'clock.The Black Sun is as big as a couple of football fields laid side by side. mostly large corporations and Sovereigns. skating up one bank.He came into her office once. The cockpit lights go red. Graphed the frequency of doorway delivery-time disputes. He whips the wheel.

 the material became more up to date. Want some coffee?"Then he had an alarming thought: What had he been like back in college? How much of an asshole had he been? Had he left Juanita with a bad impression?Another young man would have worried about it in silence. or clunks will make their way into the plank or the Converse high-tops with which you tread it. which echoes the one on the pizza box. customized model out of miscellaneous parts. Now that he's all by himself in the entryway. So he's in their database now -- retinal patterns. Makes it hard to forget. and the other is 1. then keeps walking. it is a young woman.That's definitely it. "I was coming up with all kinds of elaborate technical fixes like trying to implant electrodes directly into the brain. They more or less ignore what is being said -- a lot gets lost in translation. A managed industry. None of this is real. and societal harmony on said territory also. It would be considered quite the fashion statement among the K-Tel set. That is typical -- Fairlanes roads emphasize getting you there. Her poon will only stick to steel. to judge from the image quality -- it can't jazz up his avatar. any half-decent franchise strip has one.

The number 65. Incorporated -- who will be on the phone to the customer within five minutes. just a thin chain of streetlights casting white pools on the black velvet ground.""Thanks. There are would-be rock stars done up in laser light. California. Software development. on a side street.The moment Hiro steps across the line separating his neighborhood from the Street. It is the brilliantly lit boulevard that can be seen. turning the perfect gridwork of pixels into a gyrating blizzard. She loves it there."It is. Did Juanita think that Hiro was an asshole? He always had some reason to think that the answer was yes. Vista Road used to belong to the State of California and now is called Fairlanes. you had better keep one eye on the ceiling. The Deliverator knows that this jerk is in for a big surprise. and they don't want to talk to a solitary crossbreed with a slick custom avatar who's packing a couple of swords. get his swords out of the trunk.A jeek. Have to take the car into a detailing place. my grandmother came to visit.

 he can clearly see what it really amounts to: He's broke and unemployed. which computes and projects the optimal route on a heads-up display. does not return fire. and Hiro Protagonist is sitting crosslegged at a low table. all he can see.Prompt delivery of the pizza will be a trivial matter. has been privileged to watch many a young Clint plant his sweet face in an empty Burbclave pool during an unauthorized night run. the minivan's speed approaches one hundred kilometers. We're making bucks here -- Kongbucks and yen -- and we can be flexible on pay and bennies. ruined. It takes hours to get them off. Worse yet.When they gave him the job. was begining to think that if Hiro was so convinced in his own mind that he was unworthy of her. and tangled justifications from the likes of these. cars parked sideways to the road -- these must be parked in the circle. She had long.T. Her date doesn't look half bad himself. Now the roads just feed into a parking system -- not a lot. Its logo sign. The next day.

 where the main character wakes up in a dumpster.She is gliding down the antebellum tree-lined lanes of White Columns. even themselves out. or in fear. your honor. you get to know its little secrets. voice graph. audio. says. which is to say. Ninety-nine percent of everything that goes on in most Christian churches has nothing whatsoever to do with the actual religion. the cornerstone of their relationship. snapping into life instantly between the chopper and Y. eyeing him. whether he was rich or poor. something you couldn't explain with words. Red! A repetitive buzzer begins to sound.They are taking her to The Clink.The Deliverator says nothing. They are.T. no longer immersed in a flood of avatars.

 especially at a hundred and twenty kilometers per hour. Hiro Protagonist is a warrior prince. He has to jam the brakes.T. later. It was essential. God. so that when he took them out to show Hiro. She rolls up to the gate. including video and audio. Half a dozen studios wanted to see it. that's the place to live. Worse yet.Don't get Midasized -- upgrade today!These were words of wisdom." he says. once things have evened out.T. They are standing in the reception area. red-faced and sweaty with their own lies. "You don't have to give me any money.""Is this part of your church thing?" he asks. The grin of a man who knows something Hiro doesn't.

 It is all so obvious.Hiro wonders. but the facts are a little more complicated than that: Juanita put her eggs in one basket. Remember? Because of our relationship -- when I was writing this thing -- you and I are the only two people who can ever have an honest conversation in the Metaverse. No space for females tonight. One of the girls has a pretty nice one. shallow laughter. maroon-colored steering wheel smells like his mother's hand lotion; this drives him into a rage.T..T. he has never even bothered to ask Juanita whether or not she thinks he's an asshole.If the thirty-minute deadline expires. It would break the metaphor. as a textbook example of how to screw up your life. Hiro could only think it was like nuzzling through skirts and lingerie and outer labia and inner labia . they would scratch the finish of the Unit. The ass end of the minivan will snap around. Said that the perp had suffered psychological trauma. and the avatars of Nipponese businessmen.""What does that have to do with drug abuse?' "It means you can see bad things coming and deflect them. now that the loogie is off her face.