Neal Stephenson, Chapter 1 from Snow Crash


1. Like many works of science fiction, Neal Stephenson’s cyberpunk novel Snow Crash presents a not-too-distant future based on an extrapolation of current trends. Identify the present-day economic, social, and technological trends from which Stephenson is working. Is his vision of the future credible?

2. After a detailed description of the Deliverator’s high-tech equipment, the narrator asks, "Why is the Deliverator so equipped? Because people rely on him. He is a roll model." How might the Deliverator be both a "roll model" and a "role model"?

3. How does the Deliverator’s life compare to that of the Burbclave inhabitants? Does he have more freedom? What constitutes freedom for the Deliverator?