Neal Stephenson and the Sci-Fi Ghetto
In 1992 Neal Stephenson published "Snow Crash", one of the most prescient — and entertaining — visions of the future of the Internet ever written. He instantly became a cult figure among computer geeks. Last year Stephenson released "Cryptonomicon," a historical thriller about cryptography and the invention of the computer. (Online excerpt.) It became a best-seller, and suddenly Stephenson had stormed out of the AV club and into the mainstream.
We caught up with Stephenson, who was in the throes of creating his next work, tentatively titled "Quicksilver," and peppered him with questions about nerds, Linux, the science-fiction ghetto and not getting rich.
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