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Neal Stephenson read Neuromancer, but he also grew up on the great futurists­­Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Philip K. Dick, etc.­­who concealed their theories about the future in the science-fiction genre, one that was seen as little better than comic books throughout the '50s, '60s and '70s. Writing in Details earlier this year, Bruce Sterling wrote that Stephenson, "is the first second-generation, native cyberpunk science-fiction writer. Unlike most of the original '80s cyberpunks, he grew up in the new technoculture and, with a hacker's background knows how it really works."

For the most part, that's still the case. But it appears that the work of the current generation of sci-fi writers is being taken more seriously in some quarters. Certainly Wired magazine, which has put both Gibson and Stephenson on its cover, and Details, which sent Gibson off to interview U2 some yars back, have treated them with the respect that Philip K. Dick really didn't get for most of his writing career.

Like Neuromancer, Snow Crash is a defining work. With it, Stephenson created a world fully imagined, characters unique and yet familiar. They say that everyone in Hollywood and Silicon Valley with an eye to creating multimedia entertainment has read Snow Crash. Probably so. And so what? More importantly, most of us have read it. We recognize in Stephenson a like soul, a man whose eyes cut through society's facade like lasers, viewing the dark, twisted vortex into which we're plunging at a furious rate. What is inspiring about Snow Crash are the characters who, despite all odds, retain their dignity as they fight against the Evil, and­­remember, this is fiction­­come out victorious. It rarely turns out that way in real life. But at least we can dream.

Snow Crash was written during a period that began in 1988 and ended in late 1991. Stephenson listened to some of the leaders of the "Seattle Sound," while he pounded away at his epic work. Rock & roll courses through Snow Crash. It is a rock & roll novel the way films like Blade Runner, Performance, Breathless and Touch of Evil are rock & roll films. The spirit is there, make no mistake.

I don't pretend to know Neal Stephenson yet. Shortly after starting ATN, I gave him a call and told him about the magazine. He seemed vaguely interested. But at this point he doesn't have a direct Internet connection, nor does he have a web browser. (He told me the other day that he's trying to get an ISDN line into his house­­the waiting when one uses a normal 14.4 or even 28.8 modem drives him crazy.) So he hasn't seen ATN yet. I hope that changes soon.

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