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104-652: In his 1999 essay " In the Beginning... Was the Command Line ", Stephenson explained the title of the novel as his term for a particular software failure mode on the early Macintosh computer. Stephenson wrote about the Macintosh "When the computer crashed and wrote gibberish into the bitmap , the result was something that looked vaguely like static on a broken television set—a 'snow crash ' ". Stephenson has also mentioned that Julian Jaynes ' book The Origin of Consciousness in

208-480: A virtual reality –based Internet might evolve shortly. Resembling a massively multiplayer online game (MMO). The Metaverse is populated by user-controlled avatars , as well as system daemons . Although there are public-access Metaverse terminals in Reality , using them carries a social stigma among Metaverse denizens , in part because of the poor visual representations of themselves as low-quality avatars . Status in

312-409: A "form of speech" is also a world in which nothing actually is understood , a world in which what a speech act does is disconnected from what it means. Rorty's Achieving Our Country summarizes the content of Snow Crash , using it as an example of modern culture that "express the loss of what he [Rorty] calls 'national hope'... the problem with Snow Crash is not that it isn't true—after all, it's

416-552: A century later. A few years later, in 1811, employees of John Jacob Astor 's Pacific Fur Company set up a trading post at the mouth of the Columbia River and set up the first permanent U.S. settlement – Astoria. However, the settlement was not as profitable as Astor had hoped it would be. It was sold to the British North West Company in 1812 and became part of its Columbia District . In 1838, Charles Wilkes , on

520-516: A fire in 1992. However, the concrete pilings that held the massive hangar doors erect still stand. Along the coast just south of Cape Arago are several parks that were formerly the location of early homesteaders, as well as the former Seven Devil's Trail. The homesteaders eventually abandoned their claims in favor of living closer to the nearby rural villages and towns. Today, nothing remains of these small farms and ranches, though several state parks mark their locations. However, south at Cape Blanco sits

624-449: A future film adaptation for Paramount Pictures . In 2013, Stephenson described Cornish's script as "amazing", but also warned that there was no guarantee that a film would be made. In July 2016, producer Frank Marshall said that filming could start in 2017. In August 2017, Amazon Studios announced that it was co-producing an hour-long science fiction drama television show based on Snow Crash with Paramount. The announcement stated that

728-399: A futurist for Blue Origin and Magic Leap . Software developer Michael Abrash was inspired by Snow Crash ' s Metaverse and its networked 3D world. He left Microsoft for Id Software to write something in that direction, the result being Quake . The story for the 3DO game Immercenary was also heavily influenced by Snow Crash . A direct video-game adaptation of Snow Crash

832-523: A historically viable trade for the region. In the North Coast region near Astoria, and in Lincoln County, large tracts of land are second and third generation woodland, having been logged and replanted in the past. Because of the salt carried inland by constant onshore winds, only the hardiest varieties of small plant can thrive close to shore. Coastal strawberry and Pacific silverweed are common along

936-459: A luxury European car, Windows by Microsoft to a station wagon , Linux to a free tank , and BeOS to a batmobile . Stephenson argues that people continue to buy the station wagon despite free tanks being given away, because people do not want to learn how to operate a tank; they know that the station wagon dealership has a machine shop that they can take their car to when it breaks down. Because of this attitude, Stephenson argues that Microsoft

1040-471: A mandatory read for the Xbox development team. The novel was optioned shortly after its publication and subsequent success, although to date, it has never progressed past pre-production. Canadian science fiction director Vincenzo Natali in particular has argued against a two-hour feature film adaptation because of a perceived lack of fit with the form; since the novel is "tonally all over the place", he feels that

1144-407: A media magnate named L. Bob Rife beginning to emerge. Lagos's research showed that the ancient Sumerian ur-language allowed brain function to be "programmed" using audio stimuli in conjunction with a DNA-altering virus. Sumerian culture was organized around these programs (known as me ), which priests administered to the populace. Enki , a figure of legend, developed a counter-virus (known as

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1248-472: A mini-series would be a more suitable format for the material. In late 1996, it was announced that writer-director Jeffrey Nachmanoff would adapt the novel for The Kennedy/Marshall Company and Touchstone Pictures . Marco Brambilla was attached to direct the film. In June 2012, it was announced that English director Joe Cornish , following his 2011 debut film Attack the Block , had been signed as director of

1352-605: A series of incendiary bombs in the forests at Mount Emily with the intention of starting several forest fires in the area. Though the fires did not become the major infernos that the Japanese intended, the bomb site is now on the National Register of Historic Places as the Wheeler Ridge Japanese Bombing Site . Fujita returned in 1962 and gave his family's 400-year-old sword to the city of Brookings. He

1456-531: A single hundred-meter-wide road, the Street, that runs around the entire 65,536 km (2 km) circumference of a featureless, black, perfectly spherical planet . The virtual real estate is owned by the Global Multimedia Protocol Group, a fictional part of the real life Association for Computing Machinery , and is available to be bought and buildings developed thereupon. Access to the metaverse

1560-455: A story—but that it isn't inspirational". This lack of inspiration is offset by something else Snow Crash and other works like it offer: These books produce in their readers the 'state of soul' that Rorty calls 'knowingness', which he glosses as a 'preference for knowledge over hope' (37)"; this preference for knowledge "contribute[s] to a more fundamental failure to appreciate the value of inspiration—and hence of literature—itself". Habitat ,

1664-699: A theme Stephenson carries over to his next novel The Diamond Age . As described in both novels and the short story " The Great Simoleon Caper " (1995), hyperinflation has sapped the value of the US ;dollar to the extent that trillion -dollar bills are nearly disregarded, and the quadrillion -dollar note is the standard "small" bill. This hyperinflation was created by the government overprinting money due to loss of tax revenue, as people increasingly began to use electronic currency , which they exchanged in untaxable encrypted online transactions . For physical transactions, most people resort to alternative currencies such as

1768-668: A voyage commissioned by U.S. Congress, landed on the Oregon Coast and raised the American flag. British claims were slowly lost with the increasing number of pioneers traveling to Oregon along the Oregon Trail , and 8 years later, the Oregon Treaty was signed with Britain, ending the half-century claims to Oregon and the Oregon Coast by the British. After Oregon attained statehood in 1859 and

1872-621: A wiki-like private knowledge base known as the Library. However, unlike Wikimedia , contributors to the Library (stringers) are paid if their contributions are used, making the Library more of an information marketplace than a public knowledge repository. Many virtual globe programs, including NASA World Wind and Google Earth , bear a resemblance to the "Earth" software developed by the CIC in Snow Crash . One Google Earth co-founder claimed that Google Earth

1976-679: Is Coos Bay , population 16,700 in Coos County on the South Coast. U.S. Route 101 is the primary highway from Brookings to Astoria and is known for its scenic overlooks of the Pacific Ocean. Over 80 state parks and recreation areas dot the Oregon Coast. However, only a few highways cross the Coast Range to the interior: US 30 , US 26 , OR 6 , OR 22 , US 20 , OR 18 , OR 34 , OR 126 , OR 38 , and OR 42 . OR 18 and US 20 are considered among

2080-457: Is Oregon's historic lighthouses, most of which date to before 1900. Because the Oregon and Washington coasts have been traditionally thought of as some of the most dangerous seas in the world , several lighthouses and a lightship were commissioned to aid sailors in navigating. Of the original 12 lights, nine are still in use. However, in recent years, two private lights, Pelican Bay Light and Cleft of

2184-418: Is a form of narcotic. Hiro's friend and fellow hacker Da5id views a bitmap image contained in the file, which causes his computer to crash and Da5id to suffer brain damage in the real world. Hiro meets his ex-girlfriend Juanita Marquez, who gives him a database containing a large amount of research compiled by her associate, Lagos. This research posits connections between the virus, ancient Sumerian culture, and

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2288-513: Is a great variety of plants within the coast region. In some areas, large trees are uncommon. This is because severe winter storms and poor soil limit the growing height of many species. Shore pine (Pinus contorta subsp.contorta) are common in these areas. However several species of fir , pine , and cedar can be found, including a few endemic species, such as the Port Orford cedar (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana) . Because of this, logging has been

2392-463: Is an annual problem, especially in the winter, when storms push in from the North Pacific. Tillamook is particularly affected by these yearly floods, because of its location on a major floodplain . Sandstone cliffs occur rather sporadically in this region. This is due to relatively slow uplift rates as well as fairly constant sediment wash from the Columbia River. Future uplift from the subduction of

2496-693: Is distributed in the form of an addictive drug and within Reverend Wayne's church via infected blood. There is also a digital version, to which hackers are especially vulnerable, as they are accustomed to processing information in binary form. Hiro heads north to the Oregon Coast , where the Raft, a huge collection of boats containing Eurasian refugees, is approaching the West Coast of the United States . The center of

2600-630: Is interspersed throughout the original text, which remains untouched. Oregon Coast The Oregon Coast is a coastal region of the U.S. state of Oregon . It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to its west and the Oregon Coast Range to the east, and stretches approximately 362 miles (583 km) from the California state border in the south to the Columbia River in the north. The region

2704-472: Is known about these early peoples, as very few archeological sites exist from before 3,500 years ago. Several tribes and language families would eventually form along the coast. Major groups included the Clatsop , Tillamook , Alsea , Siuslaw , Coos , and Coquille . The lifestyles of these tribes were very similar and sometimes interlinked, with the defining differences being the languages they spoke. Because of

2808-489: Is made up of sea cliffs and miles of beaches. Among the landscape of the region exists the Oregon Dunes . There are seven incorporated cities on the south coast: Reedsport, North Bend , Coos Bay, Bandon , Port Orford , Gold Beach , and Brookings . Cape Blanco , which is approximately 6.4 miles (10.3 km) north of Port Orford, is the westernmost point in Oregon. Cape Blanco extends further west than any point of land in

2912-525: Is not a specific geological, environmental, or political entity, and includes the Columbia River Estuary . The Oregon Beach Bill of 1967 allows free beach access to everyone. In return for a pedestrian easement and relief from construction, the bill eliminates property taxes on private beach land and allows its owners to retain certain beach land rights. Traditionally, the Oregon Coast is regarded as three distinct sub–regions: The largest city

3016-532: Is not really a monopoly, as evidenced by the free availability of other choice OSes, but rather has simply accrued enough mindshare among the people to have them coming back. He compares Microsoft to Disney , in that both are selling a vision to their customers, who in turn "want to believe" in that vision. Stephenson relays his experience with the Debian bug tracking system ( #6518 ). He then contrasts it with Microsoft's approach. Debian developers responded from around

3120-473: Is through L. Bob Rife's global fiber-optic network , which grew from a collection of small cable television franchises into a global telecommunications monopoly and superseded the traditional telephone system . Users of the Metaverse gain access to it through personal terminals that project a high-quality virtual reality display onto goggles worn by the user, or from low-quality public terminals in booths (with

3224-591: The Corps of Discovery made many observations about the landscape and local life, as well as establishing relations with the local Clatsop Indians. The expedition began their return trip to Washington D.C. in March 1806. The Lewis and Clark Expedition would have long-lasting effects for the Pacific Northwest and began the settlement of the U.S. west coast, even though heavy settlement of the Oregon Coast would not come until half

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3328-762: The Juan de Fuca Plate will eventually create sandstone cliffs similar to those found further south and north. The North Oregon Coast is also a part of the Graveyard of the Pacific . The weather on the North Coast is moderate. The average low in the winter is just under 40 °F (4 °C), while the high temperature is just above 50 °F (10 °C). The average high reaches its peak in early September at 70 °F (21 °C). The most rain occurs in November and December averaging over 11 inches (280 mm) each month. July and August are

3432-508: The Lewis and Clark National Historical Park along with Fort Stevens . Further south outside Tillamook sits the Tillamook Air Museum , which is housed in one of the two former military blimp hangars of the former Naval Air Station Tillamook . The structure was originally known as "Hangar B" and was part of a pair of hangars built by the U.S. Navy in 1942. "Hangar A" was destroyed by

3536-598: The Microsoft , Apple Computer , and free software communities. Stephenson explores the GUI as a metaphor in terms of the increasing interposition of abstractions between humans and the actual workings of devices (in a similar manner to Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance ) and explains the beauty hackers feel in good-quality tools. He does this with a car analogy. He compares four operating systems, Mac OS by Apple Computer to

3640-613: The Patrick Hughes House . The Hughes House is now a part of Cape Blanco State Park . Located in Port Orford just south of Cape Blanco is the famous Battle Rock, which was the site of a major battle between local natives and members of an 1851 expedition led by Captain William Tichenor in order to begin railroad construction. Today, visitors can climb Battle Rock, though this is discouraged as frequent climbing has begun to erode

3744-514: The Steller's sea lion and harbor seal , as well as the less common northern elephant seal and California sea lion . The Sea Lion Caves near Florence, and the bay front in Newport are the best places to see Steller's sea lions and harbor seals, though they can be observed in many other places. Seal pups can sometimes be seen on sandy beaches resting. Signs are often posted on beaches warning of this, as

3848-653: The Washington on a sand bar, and the ship was attacked by natives, in which one crew member was killed and the mate wounded. Gray returned in 1792 aboard the Columbia , where he met with British Captain Vancouver off the Strait of Juan de Fuca . Gray mentioned the river to Vancouver, which Gray had named the Columbia. Vancouver quietly dismissed this claim by Gray, thinking that the Columbia

3952-475: The contiguous United States (lower 48 states) except Cape Alava , in Washington . Though the landforms of the region are relatively consistent, the South Coast shows a change in ecology. It is in this region that the western redcedar and Sitka spruce forests give way to the more southerly coast redwood , Port Orford cedar , and Douglas-fir forests, which also include the northern extent of Oregon Myrtle trees (aka California Bay Laurel). The weather on

4056-591: The 1986 virtual environment , applied the Sanskrit term avatar to online virtual bodies before Stephenson. However, the success of Snow Crash popularized the term to the extent that avatar is now the accepted term for this concept in computer games and on the World Wide Web . The novel's Central Intelligence Corporation—the result of a merger between the Library of Congress and Central Intelligence Agency —operates

4160-877: The Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind was one of the main influences on Snow Crash . Snow Crash was nominated for both the British Science Fiction Award in 1993 and the Arthur C. Clarke Award in 1994. In the 21st century, an unspecified number of years after a worldwide economic collapse, Los Angeles is no longer part of the United States since the federal government has ceded most of its power and territory to private organizations and entrepreneurs . Franchising , individual sovereignty , and private vehicles reign supreme. Mercenary armies compete for national defense contracts, while private security guards preserve

4264-407: The Columbia River, because of the dangerous Columbia Bar . Ships wishing to make the passage require the aid of specially trained bar pilots . Along the coast are the cities of Seaside , Cannon Beach and Tillamook . Seaside and Cannon Beach lie directly on the Pacific Ocean, whereas Tillamook lies inland along Tillamook Bay . Because of the low lands that exist on this region of coast, flooding

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4368-408: The Command Line is an essay by Neal Stephenson which was originally published online in 1999 and later made available in book form (November 1999, ISBN   978-0380815937 ). The essay is a commentary on why the proprietary operating systems business is unlikely to remain profitable in the future because of competition from free software . It also analyzes the corporate/collective culture of

4472-616: The Hood to Coast race or Lincoln City's glass float hunt. Because of many headlands along the Oregon Coast, beaches vary in length from dozens of miles to less than a quarter of a mile. Though less common, surf fishing also occurs along sections of the beach. However, not all Oregon beaches are sand beaches. Large surf-smoothed stones are common and several stone beaches exist. Some beaches are also shrinking, due partially to human interactions and partly to invasive species of plant such as European Beachgrass . Another popular destination for visitors

4576-461: The Mafia and fights Uncle Enzo to a stalemate (though both men are severely injured in the process), while Rife is killed as he attempts to flee the airport on his private jet. Y.T. is reunited with her mother, and Hiro and Juanita reconcile and agree to rekindle their relationship. Stephenson originally planned Snow Crash as a computer-generated graphic novel in collaboration with artist Tony Sheeder. In

4680-468: The Mafia. He meets Y.T. (short for Yours Truly), a young skateboard Kourier ( courier ), who refers to herself in the third person , during a failed attempt to make a delivery on time. Y.T. completes the delivery on his behalf, and they strike up a partnership, gathering intel and selling it to the CIC. Within the Metaverse , Hiro is offered a datafile named Snow Crash by a man named Raven, who hints that it

4784-555: The Metaverse is a function of two things: access to restricted areas such as the Black Sun, an exclusive Metaverse club, and the sophistication of one's avatar. Various fictional technologies are employed in this world and help define it, including skateboards and motorcycles with adaptive "Smartwheels", cybernetic guard dogs known as "Rat Things", and a prototype portable railgun weapon named "Reason". Stephenson's "Metaverse" appears to its users as an urban environment, developed along

4888-549: The North and Central regions cause division between them to be made along geological lines. The North Coast, which stretches from the Columbia River to Cascade Head, possesses longer stretches of unbroken beach (due to silt deposits washed southwards from the Columbia River), a higher concentration of logging zones, and larger, but less frequent sandbar -enclosed bays. Astoria serves as a staging ground for ships entering and leaving

4992-520: The Oregon Coast is a popular travel destination. Hiking , sport fishing , cycling , kite flying , scuba diving , surfing , sandboarding , and boating are common activities for visitors to the region. Historic areas, such as Fort Clatsop, Battle Rock , and Oregon's lighthouses are all popular sites for visitors. The Oregon Coast is also known for its scenic areas, such as Cape Perpetua , Cape Blanco and Cape Arago . Likewise, each region has its own distinct draws in addition to those found throughout

5096-451: The Oregon Coast, and is a major industry in several of Oregon's port cities, especially Astoria, Newport, and Coos Bay. Because of this, Oregon has strict regulations concerning the harvest of fish for sport. Charter boats usually take groups out for half day and full day fishing trips for Chinook salmon , Coho salmon , and Pacific halibut . However, several other activities, many of which are more local than others, take place throughout

5200-472: The Oregon and Washington Coasts. Heceta Head was later named after Bruno de Heceta. At the same time as the Spanish expeditions, British mariners also began to explore the region, led by explorers Sir Francis Drake in the 16th century and later by James Cook and George Vancouver in the 18th century. British expeditions made many discoveries in the region. Drake called the area New Albion , though

5304-411: The Oregon coast each year, mostly boats and surfing boards being tasted. Every few years—a total of 25 since 1900—a human is bitten. Every Oregon victim has survived. The last was Joseph Tanner, October 10, 2016. It is generally accepted that the first indigenous peoples arrived in the region around 11,000–13,000 years ago, likely drawn by the rich natural resources of the area. However, very little

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5408-480: The Raft and recovers the nam-shub of Enki, which Rife had been concealing. With help from Juanita, who had previously infiltrated the Raft, the nam-shub is read out, and Rife's control over the Raft is broken. Rife flees the Raft, taking Y.T., and his mercenary, Raven, attempts to activate the digital form of Snow Crash at a virtual concert within the Metaverse. Hiro is able to neutralize the virus, and Y.T. escapes. At Los Angeles International Airport , Raven ambushes

5512-459: The Raft is L. Bob Rife's yacht, formerly the USS ; Enterprise nuclear-powered aircraft carrier . Rife has been using the Raft as a mechanism to indoctrinate and infect thousands with the virus and to import it to America. Y.T. is captured and brought to Rife on the Raft, who intends to use her as a hostage, knowing her connection to Uncle Enzo. With help from the Mafia, Hiro fights his way onto

5616-507: The Rock Light have been built, with permission from the Coast Guard . Both lights, along with Cape Arago Light, are private property. The Oregon Coast is also host to many recreational activities. Hiking, camping, sport fishing, and cycling are the most common activities and are ubiquitous to the Oregon Coast. Sport fishing has traditionally been the primary outdoor recreational activity along

5720-517: The Signifier: 1967 to the End of History , Walter Benn Michaels targets Stephenson's view that "languages are codes" rather than a grouping of letters and sounds to be interpreted. Michaels contends that this basic idea of language as code is central to the construct of Snow Crash ("... a good deal of Snow Crash 's plot depends upon eliding the distinction between hackers and their computers, as if—indeed, in

5824-483: The U.S. economy as well as changes in regulations governing the harvest of fish and timber. Oregon's public lands claim was challenged in 1966, when a motel owner fenced off beach area for the private use of his guests. Responding to citizen complaints, state legislators put forward the Oregon Beach Bill , proposing to reestablish the beaches' status as public land. Concerns about private property rights threatened

5928-401: The abundance of food in the region, most settlements were permanent. Many of the tribes subsisted primarily on seafoods such as clams, salmon , and seals , as well as berries. European exploration of the Oregon Coast began in the 18th century as Spanish mariners sailed northward from Mexico to explore and later stake claim to the region, led by explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa 's claim of

6032-550: The advent of Mac OS X . A recurring theme is the full power of the command line compared with easier-to-learn graphical user interfaces (GUIs) which are described as broken mixed metaphors for 'power users'. He then mentions GUIs that have traditional terminals in windows. In a Slashdot interview in 2004, in response to the question: ... have you embraced the new UNIX based MacOS X as the OS you want to use when you "Just want to go to Disneyland"? he replied: I embraced OS X as soon as it

6136-636: The author's acknowledgments Stephenson recalls: it became clear that the only way to make the Mac do the things we needed was to write a lot of custom image-processing software. I have probably spent more hours coding during the production of this work than I did actually writing it, even though it eventually turned away from the original graphic concept... The books themes include history , linguistics , anthropology , archaeology , religion , computer science , politics , cryptography , memetics , and philosophy . Snow Crash takes place under anarcho-capitalism ,

6240-622: The beaches and highway. Local sandstones of the Central Coast were uplifted during the Neogene Era . Higher layers of exposed sandstone are often varying shades of orange, and are often quite soft to the touch, often being very brittle, and relatively easily eroded. Lower exposed layers, though less frequent, reveal harder sandstone deposits. Unlike the higher layers, they are often gray-brown in color and hard in comparison. This lower sandstone often breaks off in large, squared chunks. The weather on

6344-472: The beaches of the Oregon Coast. Both occur nearly year-round, regardless of weather or water temperature. The coast is home to several excellent golf courses. Among them is the Bandon Dunes ranked by Golf Digest as the 6th best public golf course in the U.S in 2015/2016, up from 7th in 2009 Many historical sites dot the Oregon Coast. The most prominent is that of Fort Clatsop outside of Astoria, which

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6448-408: The bill's passage. In response, Governor Tom McCall staged a dramatic media event on May 13, 1967, flying two helicopters to the beach with a team of surveyors and scientists. The ensuing media coverage resulted in overwhelming public demand for the bill, which passed and was signed by McCall on July 6, 1967. The Beach Bill declares that all "wet sand" within 16 feet (4.9 m) vertical feet of

6552-477: The central coast is similar to that of the north coast except the frequency of sunny or partly cloudy days is higher in the summer, approaching 75%. The South Coast region, which extends from Reedsport to the California border, is distinct from the North and Central Coast regions because of its mountainous nature, due to tectonic uplift and terrane accretion in ancient times. Much of the coastline in this region

6656-439: The cities of Lincoln City , Depoe Bay , Newport , Waldport , and Yachats . Because the usable lands of the region are squeezed between the mountains and the ocean, most urban areas are relatively small but are still larger than those of the South Coast region. The southernmost area of Central coast is the intermediary zone for this region and the more mountainous South Coast region. Exposed sandstone cliffs are also common along

6760-464: The coast due to their reproductive advantages and salt tolerance. Like many forested regions of the western United States and Canada, many large species of animal can be found in the woods of the region. Most common are the Roosevelt elk and black-tailed deer , as well as bobcats and North American cougar . All four species, though common now, were uncommon in the past, having moved more heavily into

6864-512: The coast region of the state, several of which occur in the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area . Most common are All-terrain vehicles and sandboarding. Many equipment rental and specialty shops exist to cater to these activities. Horse riding is also a common pastime along many beaches and dunes along the coast, and several horse trails exist in the nearby forests. Surfing and bodyboarding are also common sports along

6968-513: The coast, such as the sea otter . Strict regulations as well as modern human aid has seen a return of some species in recent years. The Oregon Coast is the location of the Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex , which consists of six wildlife refuges, covering 371 acres (1.50 km ), spread over a distance of 320 miles (515 km). Due to several factors, including climate, weather, and terrain, there

7072-607: The completion of railroads throughout the Coast Range, development of land quickly began along many of the Coasts bays and rivers. Logging and commercial fishing soon became the primary industries in the area, and several ports were built to facilitate both industries. In 1870, the first lighthouse at Cape Blanco was built and was soon followed by both the Yaquina Bay Light and Yaquina Head Light in 1871 and 1873, respectively. The last Coast Guard operated light, Cape Arago Light ,

7176-417: The construction of U.S. Route 101 along the coast. The Parks and Recreation Department , a branch of the highway commission, bought land for 36 state parks along the coastal highway, an average of one every 10 miles (16 km). With the completion of the highway-and-parks system, coastal tourism skyrocketed. Recent years have seen a drop in both the logging and fishing industries , due mainly to changes in

7280-474: The corporatized American Mafia ), or various residential burbclaves (quasi-sovereign gated communities). In this future, American institutions are far different from those in the actual United States at the time the book was published; for example, a for-profit organization, the CIC, has evolved from the CIA 's merger with the Library of Congress . Hiro Protagonist is a freelance hacker, and pizza delivery driver for

7384-505: The dangerous roads in the state. The Oregon Coast includes Clatsop County , Tillamook County , Lincoln County , western Lane County , western Douglas County , Coos County, and Curry County . The Oregon Coast is divided into three different regions based on their geological formations: the North Coast, Central Coast, and South Coast. Three primary landforms appear along its shoreline: sea cliffs, beaches, and stacks . Minor land variation, city size, and socioeconomic differences between

7488-472: The developers of Google Earth noted The Metaverse as an influence. The concept of the Metaverse also inspired the rebrand of Facebook to Meta Platforms Inc. in 2021, and spurred author Neal Stephenson himself to found a company in 2022 called Lamina1 to support the creation of virtual worlds using blockchain technology. In the Beginning... Was the Command Line In the Beginning... Was

7592-468: The driest averaging under 2 inches (51 mm) of rain each month. Most days are cloudy or partly cloudy throughout the year. The summer has the most sun with approximately half the days sunny or partly cloudy. The Central Coast, which extends from Cascade Head to Reedsport, while similar to the North Coast, possesses fewer sandy beaches, more sea cliffs and terraces, and a greater number of bays. Several small urban areas exist in this region. Among these are

7696-606: The entire Pacific and shores in the name of the Spanish Crown. The earliest expedition recorded along the Pacific Northwest coast, however, was led by Spaniard Juan José Pérez Hernández aboard the sloop Santiago in 1774. Pérez's findings were kept a secret and much of the credit for his findings went to later explorers. Pérez's expedition was followed soon after by the 1775 expedition led by Bruno de Heceta and Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra , in which Pérez served as pilot. These further explorations led to many discoveries along

7800-517: The exact location of New Albion remains a mystery. Vancouver would make the most extensive explorations of the region during his expeditions. Meanwhile, American Captain Robert Gray , aboard the sloop Washington , visited the Oregon Coast in his 1788 voyage to the west coast of the Americas. In August, 1788, Gray attempted to gain entrance to the mouth of the Columbia. However, Gray accidentally grounded

7904-408: The largest collections of tidepools and are popular places for exploring them. Also common along the coast are kelp forests and rock reefs. Both areas harbor much of Oregon's marine life, including many species of fish, such as the numerous species of rockfish , flatfish , and greenlings . Because these areas provide a shelter from oceanic currents, these zones share many invertebrate species with

8008-563: The law prohibits disturbing them. Formerly, populations of sea otter could be found on the coast. However, fur hunters have wiped out the Oregon populations. Prior to the sighting in February 2009 in Depoe Bay, no sea otters had been sighted in over 103 years. Occasionally, large Humboldt Squid wash up onto the beaches after following warm currents which dissipate leaving the squid to die of hypothermia. Several species of whale can be observed in

8112-492: The legend of the Tower of Babel . Juanita advises him to be careful and disappears. The Mafia boss Uncle Enzo begins to take a paternal interest in Y.T. Impressed by her attitude and initiative, he arranges to meet her and offers her freelance jobs. Hiro's investigations and Y.T.'s intelligence gathering begin to coincide, with links between the neuro-linguistic viruses, a religious organization known as Reverend Wayne's Pearly Gates and

8216-571: The low tide line belongs to the state of Oregon. In addition, it recognizes public easements of all beach areas up to the line of vegetation, regardless of underlying property rights. The public has "free and uninterrupted use of the beaches," and property owners are required to seek state permits for building and other uses of the ocean shore. While some parts of the beach remain privately owned, state and federal courts have upheld Oregon's right to regulate development of those lands and preserve public access. Due to its scenery, wildlife, and history,

8320-499: The nam-shub of Enki ), which, when delivered, stopped the Sumerian language from being processed by the brain and led to the development of other, less literal languages, giving birth to the Babel myth. L. Bob Rife had been collecting Sumerian artifacts and developed the drug Snow Crash to make the public vulnerable to new forms of me , which he would control. The physical form of the virus

8424-565: The night of June 21, 1942, occurred at Fort Stevens when a Japanese submarine I-25 surfaced offshore, and fired 17 rounds at the fort. However, Fort Stevens took no damage in the attack. The second attack took place two and a half months later when the I-25 surfaced off Cape Blanco, the night of September 9, 1942. Launching a small "Glen" seaplane , and using the Cape Blanco Light as a guide, pilot Nobuo Fujita and copilot Okuda Shoji dropped

8528-430: The novel, just because—looking at code will do to the hacker what receiving it will do to the computer"), but at the same time, trivializes the role of meaning in linguistic works. The body that is infected by a virus does not become infected because it understands the virus any more than the body that does not become infected misunderstands the virus. So a world in which everything—from bitmaps to blood—can be understood as

8632-492: The onshore tidal zone. Because of the rich diversity of life, most animal species along the Oregon coast depend on these keystone zones for survival. Many varieties of birds make their home on the Oregon Coast. Because of the variety of birds found in the area, bird watching is a common pastime. Birds along the Oregon Coast can be divided into four categories: The Oregon coastal waters are known to have 16 species of shark present: There are one or two shark bites reported along

8736-556: The peace in sovereign gated housing developments . Highway companies compete to attract drivers to their roads, and all mail delivery is by hired courier. The remnants of government maintain authority only in isolated compounds, where they do tedious make-work that is, by and large, irrelevant to the society around them. Much of the world's territory has been carved up into sovereign enclaves known as Franchise-Organized Quasi-National Entities (FOQNEs), each run by its own big business franchise (such as "Mr. Lee's Greater Hong Kong", or

8840-456: The penalty of presenting a grainy black-and-white appearance). Stephenson also describes a subculture of people choosing to remain continuously connected to the Metaverse by wearing portable terminals, goggles and other equipment; they are nicknamed " gargoyles " due to their grotesque appearance. The users of the Metaverse experience it from a first-person perspective . Within the Metaverse, individual users appear as avatars of any form, with

8944-479: The region with the beginning of timber harvest. Likewise, smaller species, including nutrias and Virginia opossum can also be found, as well as the Townsend's mole , which inhabits many lowland and floodplain areas. The marine ecology of the Oregon Coast is some of the most diverse in the world. More than 29 species of marine mammals make their home on the Oregon Coast, including several species of seal , including

9048-572: The sandstone seastack. Also in Port Orford is the Port Orford Heads State Park , which is the location of the original Coast Guard lifeboat station. The station is now a museum for the historic station and maritime history, including the 1942 Lookout Air Raid . Finally, Oregon has the distinction of being the only U.S. state (Hawaii and Alaska did not attain statehood until 1959) to receive hostile action during World War II, being both shelled and bombed. The first attack, which took place

9152-433: The sole restriction of height, "to prevent people from walking around a mile high". Transport within the Metaverse is limited to analogs of reality by foot or vehicle, such as the monorail that runs the entire length of the Street, stopping at 256 Express Ports , located evenly at 256 km intervals, and Local Ports , one kilometer apart. Distributed republics are loosely connected state-like entities dispersed across

9256-411: The south coast is similar to that of the north and central coasts except the frequency of sunny or partly cloudy days is higher in the summer, approaching 90%. Because of the Oregon Coast's physical complexity, many different species of plant and animal can be found in the region, both terrestrial and marine in nature. However, past human interaction has caused a decline in several species of animal along

9360-880: The state, such as the Astoria Column in Astoria, the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport, and Mount Emily outside Brookings. The South Coast's commercial airport is the Southwest Oregon Regional Airport in North Bend and the Central Coast is served by the Newport Municipal Airport . Oregon's beaches are popular destinations for visitors. Horse riding , clam digging , and surfing are popular activities. Certain beaches are host to events such as Seaside's Beach Volleyball Tournament and finish for

9464-563: The television show would be executive produced by Cornish and the Kennedy/Marshall Company's Frank Marshall . In December 2019, it was announced that HBO Max had acquired the series with Paramount continuing to produce and Cornish remaining executive producer. HBO Max passed on the project in June 2021, and it reverted to Paramount and Kennedy/Marshall. Google co-founder Sergey Brin called Snow Crash one of his favorite novels. One of

9568-507: The waters near shore, especially during migration in late December and late March, such as gray whale , orca , and humpback whale . Harbor porpoises are also relatively common. Because of this, whale watching is a common tourist attraction along the coast. Tour boats often take passengers on whale watching tours, though it is possible to do so from shore. It is sometimes the case that whale carcasses are beached on Oregon shores. One such beaching, which occurred near Florence in November, 1970,

9672-401: The world within a day. He was completely frustrated with his initial attempt to achieve the same response from Microsoft, but he concedes that his subsequent experience was satisfactory. The difference he notes is that Debian developers are personally accessible and transparently own up to defects in their OS distribution, while Microsoft pretends errors don't exist. The essay was written before

9776-455: The world. The concept was reused by Stephenson in The Diamond Age . Snow Crash established Stephenson as a major science fiction writer of the 1990s. The book appeared on Time magazine's list of 100 all-time best English-language novels written since 1923. Some critics have considered it a parody of cyberpunk and mentioned its satiric or absurdist humor. In his book The Shape of

9880-512: The yen or "Kongbucks" (the official currency of Mr. Lee's Greater Hong Kong). Hyperinflation has also negatively affected much of the world, resulting in waves of desperate refugees from Asia who cross the Pacific in rickety ships hoping to arrive in North America. The Metaverse , a phrase coined by Stephenson as a successor to the Internet, constitutes Stephenson's early 1990s vision of how

9984-681: Was a part of the Juan de Fuca Strait. Vancouver was loath to later admit Gray's correct discovery of the Columbia River. In 1803, with the successful purchase of the Louisiana Territory from France, President Thomas Jefferson ordered an expedition to the west coast, which was led by Captain Meriwether Lewis and William Clark . The Lewis and Clark Expedition reached the Oregon Coast in early winter of 1805, where they built Fort Clatsop near present-day Astoria. During their stay at Fort Clatsop,

10088-412: Was available and have never looked back. So a lot of In the Beginning...was the Command Line is now obsolete. I keep meaning to update it, but if I'm honest with myself, I have to say this is unlikely. With Neal Stephenson's permission, Garrett Birkel responded to In the Beginning...was the Command Line in 2004, bringing it up to date and critically discussing Stephenson's argument. Birkel's response

10192-461: Was built in 1934. However, in 1874, Oregon State Land Board began to sell public tidelands to private landowners. Soon, resorts were built alongside the beaches in towns such as Seaside, Newport, and Rockaway Beach . The completion of railroads from the primary population centers in the Willamette Valley , the beginnings of tourism started along the coast. In 1911, governor Oswald West

10296-549: Was elected on the promise to reclaim Oregon's beaches as public land. Though the legislature favored the privatization of these lands, West was able to make an argument for public ownership based on the need for transportation, and in 1913, the Oregon legislature declared the entire length of the ocean shore from the Columbia to California as a state highway. Legislators also created the State Highway Commission , which began

10400-613: Was handled by blowing it up using dynamite. This has become the well-known exploding whale incident. Tidepools , which occur frequently along Oregon's rocky shores, are unique, contained ecosystems housing up to many hundreds of species of animal. Red , green , and brown algae are common sights. Many species of invertebrates can also be found in these coastal tidepools, and include sponges , sea anemones , mussels , sea stars , limpets , crabs , shrimp , barnacles , sea urchins , and sea cucumbers . Sunset Bay State Park , near Coos Bay, and Strawberry Hill, near Yachats, are among

10504-399: Was in development in 1996, but it was never released. The online virtual worlds Active Worlds and Second Life were both directly inspired by the Metaverse in Snow Crash . Former Microsoft Chief Technology Officer J Allard and former Xbox Live Development Manager Boyd Multerer claimed to have been heavily inspired by Snow Crash in the development of Xbox Live, and that it was

10608-573: Was made an honorary citizen of Brookings days before his death in September 1997. His sword is now on display at the Brookings Public Library. The coast is Oregon's top tourist destination. In the mid-1980s, the coast's economy was dependent on natural resources . Limits placed on logging and fishing caused further decline. As of the late 2000s, tourism and retirement have provided economic growth. As of 2006, roughly 210,000 people live on

10712-436: Was modeled after Snow Crash , while another co-founder said that it was inspired by Powers of Ten . Stephenson later referenced this in another of his novels, Reamde . Stephenson's concept of the Metaverse has enjoyed continued popularity and influence in high-tech circles (especially Silicon Valley ) ever since the publication of Snow Crash . As a result, Stephenson has become "a sought-after futurist" and has worked as

10816-459: Was the site of the Lewis and Clark Expeditions winter stay on the Oregon Coast in 1805–1806, as well as the nearby Peter Iredale which was grounded on the Clatsop Spit 100 years later in September 1906. However, over one hundred and eighteen–one hundred and nineteen years of deterioration have destroyed much of the original ship. Now only a small portion remains above the sand. Both are part of

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