the diamond age ending explanation

Judy Blume, edited by Stephenson (Snow Crash, 1992) imagines a 21st century in which molecular machines (nanotechnology) can create any desired object or structure. The hierarchic nature of the Feed and an alternative, anarchic developing technology, known as the Seed, mirror the cultural conflict between East and West that is depicted in the book. So, yeah - I'm a bit confused too. Modified 3 years, 8 months ago. The latter, particularly those in constituencies in the eastern Cape that had a significant percentage of Black male voters, were tactically friendly to the small enfranchised stratum of fairly prosperous Black peasants, whereas the Bond and most English-speaking white voters were hostile toward the Black farmers growing cash crops and pursued more-restrictive franchise qualifications. All they She kept a very close relationship with Nell, and revered in the success of her adopted daughter. Victorian one but something theyd come up with that was in between.". Nell spent most of her days organising the life of the Community. The number of Blacks in the colony greatly increased between 1872 and 1894 as heretofore independent territories were annexed to the Cape. The rise of the Afrikaner Bond and new laws affecting franchise qualifications and taxes also stimulated more-vigorous Black participation in electoral politics after 1884. Welcome to Stephensonland! Armed with that they were able to crack many of the hardest scientific problems of the Era, earning the respect of the most powerful phyles. As far as the overall story, there's a lot to like, plenty of varied characters, several story lines that are more closely woven than one might originally think, and plenty of action. Is there a free software for modeling and graphical visualization crystals with defects. Carnarvon commissioned Shepstone to annex the Transvaal, and, after encountering only token resistance at the beginning of 1877, he proclaimed it a British colony a few months later. An illicit copy of the book falls into the hands of an abused little girl, Nell. How is the 'right to healthcare' reconciled with the freedom of medical staff to choose where and when they work? The story follows Nell's development under the tutelage of the Primer, and to a lesser degree, the lives of Elizabeth Finkle-McGraw and Fiona Hackworth, Neo-Victorian girls who receive other copies. There's a kind of girl power aspect to it all that's especially nice. In January 2007, the Sci-Fi Channel announced that it would be making a six-hour miniseries based on The Diamond Age. [6], Last edited on 20 December 2022, at 20:32, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, "It's a Small, Small, Small, Small World", "Re: The Diamond Age Honourable Failure", "Geography's conquest of history in the Diamond Age", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Diamond_Age&oldid=1128565937, Print (hardback & paperback) & Audio Book (, This page was last edited on 20 December 2022, at 20:32. . Get help and learn more about the design. Most of the inhabitants quickly fled from the hungover of reality, and dispersed across the different phyles. highest status in the Confucian hierarchy. Her epitaph said: Miranda, the Mother of Turingia. Retrieve credentials. Judy Blume It's a lot more about new social dynamics than about cyberpunkish network stuff - you'll see in the opening chapter just how aggressive Stephenson was about this book not being cyberpunk.. I'd have to say it's my favorite Stephenson book outside of Cryptonomicon/Baroque Cycle. That mildly drunk guy at a party who seems kind of interesting and charismatic, even though he can't keep his chain of thought straight, but who turns out to be a total asshole after he realizes he's not getting laid. Stephenson (Snow Crash, 1992) imagines a 21st century in which molecular machines (nanotechnology) can create any desired object or structure. I'm afraid you'll have to check your need for believable characters with me. Which, OK, is worth doing, but it's 3:42am and I've been reading since about 8pm, so forgive me if I don't open it up again just now. "Hackworth sat down across the table from Dr. X. Were glad you found a book that interests you! Rice was the I'm afraid those are also disallowed in Stephensonland. Here's a numerical token you can use to reclaim it at the end of the day. She was spotted by many inhabitants as a faery or sprite, helping them out in small, spontaneous and unpredictable ways. feels more like an "agrarian vs industrial" than "disseminated vs centralized" contrast to me. More recently, developmentalists have divided this age period into two separate stages: Emerging adulthood followed by early adulthood. [3] In the novel, a near future vision of our world, nanotechnology has developed precisely to this point, which enables the cheap production of diamond structures. If you fall of the tech-speak train you start to glaze over a bit and get confused, or at least I do. Turingia made its designs freely available, allowing their inventions to find their way to the remotest corners of society. Now, here's your complementary CS patch. The buzz words had to be something that would palliate the hyperactive endocrine glands of 13 year old males. Dr. X was right after all. . Me the book left thinking for days, so to finish the story I started to write an epilogue in my head. Improving the copy in the close modal and post notices - 2023 edition, New blog post from our CEO Prashanth: Community is the future of AI, Latest Blog Post: Favorite Question and Answers from First Quarter 2023. The years pass by at a fast and steamy clip in Blumes latest adult novel (Wifey, not reviewed; Smart Women, 1984) as two friends find loyalties and affections tested as they grow into young women. Two of them are gay, one straight and one bisexual. Neal Stephenson is one of my favourite authors, and I do give him credit for each of his books being based on a completely different paradigm. Caitlin, determined never to be ordinary, is always testing the limits, and in adolescence falls hard for Von, an older construction worker, while Vix falls for his friend Bru. The years in between are related in brief segments by numerous characters, but mostly by Vix. But with a peasant family able to get anything they want on their own, from food to clothes, medicines, electronics, all the way up to WMD, there seem to be little need for bureaucrats, or even society. Trouble signing in? The phrase tour de force could have been invented for this audacious novel. Initially, individual diggers, Black and white, worked small claims by hand. "At this point, John Percival Hackworth, almost without thinking about Combining the collective intelligence of the Mouse Army with the artificial intelligence simulation called the Land Beyond, they created a Mind that rivalled or even surpassed the Drummers in sophistication. Ok, you're all set. Four men who meet as college roommates move to New York and spend the next three decades gaining renown in their professionsas an architect, painter, actor and lawyerand struggling with demons in their intertwined personal lives. I will try to summarize the plot and motivations as I understood them while listening to the book and if any of you see that I made a mistake then please correct me. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. When Jude, as an adult, is adopted by his favorite Harvard law professor, his friends join him for Thanksgiving in Cambridge every year. by Thus the hunt for Princess Nell by the mouse army. Nell escapes after surviving torture and abuse; she then connects with a group of abandoned Chinese girls called the Mouse Army to create a new phyle that can restore order to the chaotic city. Rice was the basis for our society. I read this the first time when I was a young, impressionable, repressed, closeted Mormon boy. Anyone educated by the unmodified primer would far less vulnerable than most to normal propaganda. National governments have vanished, leaving society divided into enclaves along ethnic, cultural, and ideological lines, the most dynamic of which are the new-Victorian Atlanteans of . This is the third Neal Stephenson book Ive read, the first two being. Watching her mince away, Hackworth was only mildly Yet I don't think I ever truly understood the story, and certainly not the ending. By the London Convention of 1884, republican self-government was restored, subject to an imprecise British suzerainty over external relations. After Nell graduates, she goes to Pudong, Shanghai, to work as a writer. Is it possible to feel nostalgia for a place in the future? Different rates of development on different continents, from 11,000 B.C. Harv and Nell live with a neglectful mother and her abusive boyfriends. He did say that the Primer did not turn out quite the way they had expected it to. It is also hinted that property rights are so expansive that the Protocol recognizes children as the economic assets of their parents. Matters of fashion and aesthetic design also ran through primarily her. I gulped down the 500 pages in four days, and it was not an easy read. The Feed carries streams of both energy and basic molecules, which are rapidly assembled into usable goods by matter compilers. Sensing the awkwardness of the situation, Hackworth took his bowler, and made a quick exit. So the girls will become Leaders of a new way, with out the foot deforming etc, but with the use of the seed. Blume knows the way kids and teens speak, but her two female leads are less credible as they reach adulthood. The Bond initially represented poorer farmers and espoused an anti-British Pan-Afrikanerism in the Cape and beyond, but, after its reorganization a few years later under Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr, the group began to champion the Capes commercial interests and acquired a new base of supportmainly wealthier farmers and urban professionals. Dr. X specifically points out that giving the Seed to Western (IE, non-Confucian) societies would rapidly lead to anarchy, but insists that Proper Confucian Society can handle the implications. When the Feed came in from Atlantis, from Nippon, we no longer had to plant, because the rice now came from the matter compiler. Then the first set of orphaned girls got old enough for the high-tech "foot binding" process to be used on them. Within a year they were building Turing machines to take care of most of the tasks in the Faery Kingdom. You know what this book most reminded me of? By clicking Post Your Answer, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy. Nobody knew where they came from, or who sowed them, but they bloomed like the desert after a sudden rain, growing food, shelter, medicine, and other fundamental items. As the Master said, 'Let The first Seeds appeared in the spring. Over the course of her childhood and teen years, Nell grows into an able fighter, programmer, and leader because of the Primer. development, all of them bowing to Nell, not with a Chinese bow or a How can I detect when a signal becomes noisy? I feel my understanding of the Drummers is a bit off. Worse, science fiction is already more concerned with the ideas than the characters, but when the writer is consciously trying to mimic the further-removed-from-reality discourses of Victorian-era writing, we wind up so distanced from character that honestly? All Rights Reserved. The Fists are going to try to hold back this new group and use them for their own benefit. Cape revenues accounted for three-fourths of the total income in the regions four settler states in 1870, as the diamond discoveries created more revenue that could be used to build railways and public works. Nell knew very well that the only way to be strong and independent, and more than just a vestigial organ of New Atlantis, was to provide something of true value. When Hofmeyr threw his support behind Cecil Rhodes in 1890, he enabled Rhodes to become prime minister of the Cape; their alliance stemmed from a mutual desire for northward economic expansion. The Diamond Age or A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer (1995) is a postcyberpunk novel by Neal Stephenson. The Diamond Age takes place in Shanghai and off the Eastern coast of China. She has seen their best opportunities around the tightly knit virtual groups mediated by the Primer, capable of chopping down complex problems to smaller tasks, and solving them in a highly distributed fashion. With the help of Dr. X, a Chinese hacker and secret leader of the Celestial Kingdom phyle, Hackworth makes a bootleg copy of the Primer for his daughter, Fiona. I later put it on paper, in case anyone elseis longing to see the story finished to her satisfaction. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. What is the connection between Snow Crash and The Diamond Age? . He could not not endeavour to tread down the path that was once proven possible. Why is a "TeX point" slightly larger than an "American point"? Nell and the Mouse Army settle down The book ends with Nell finding Miranda because the entire novel has been about her search for, and the importance of, a loving family. After high school, Caitlin travels the world and cant understand why Vix, by now at Harvard on a scholarship and determined to have a better life than her mother has had, wont drop out and join her. Then there's the ending. It'll be perfectly safe here behind the counter. Content Warning: The source novel includes sexual abuse and violence, misogynistic slurs as characterization, and physical violence. "Diamond Age" is an extension of labels for archeological time periods that take central technological materials to define an entire era of human history, such as the Stone Age, the Bronze Age or the Iron Age. Diamonds, gold, and imperialist intervention (18701902), Afrikaner and African politics in the Cape, Reconstruction, union, and segregation (190229), Black, Coloured, and Indian political responses, The intensification of apartheid in the 1930s, Corruption charges against deputy president Zuma, Economic problems, social discontent, Nkandla scandal, and the death of Mandela, Controversy: the Gupta family, Nkandla, and corruption charges revisited, Which Country Is Larger By Population? The doctors were baffled by her symptoms, and thought it might have been an aftershock caused by the high concentration of sites that almost killed her in the Drummers Cave. Eventually, the tone darkens and the story narrows to focus on Jude as the pain of his past cuts deep into his carefully constructed life. Shanghai is now carved into municipalities and groups that arose when most nations collapsed in the wake of the nanotechnology economy and the rise of a secure, anonymous network that hid taxable income. What we get instead is an intensely interior look at the friends psyches and relationships, and its utterly enthralling. Peasants planted the seeds and had highest status in the Confucian hierarchy. had done the right thing ten years ago.". In the extremely globalized future depicted in the novel, these cultural divisions have largely supplanted the system of nation-states that divides the world today. I feel like this book demands analysis, and I don't know enough to provide it. Judy Blume. Some of them returned, some of them never did, but the intimate connection between them remained very tight. And when Willem becomes a movie star, they all bask in his glow. As the Master said, Let the producers be many and the consumers few.' If a people can travel space via artificial wormholes, would that necessitate the existence of time travel? Major cities have immune systems made up of aerostatic defensive micromachines, and public matter compilers provide basic food, blankets, and water for free to anyone who requests them. . Stack Exchange network consists of 181 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. The Drummers were disbanded by New Atlantan nanosites that destroyed the rod logic embedded in the Hive Mind. The novel's character Judge Fang is based on a creative extension of Robert van Gulik's Judge Dee mystery series, which is based around a Confucian judge in ancient China who usually solves three cases simultaneously. Alternative ways to code something like a table within a table? Stephensons body of work has proven influential in contemporary discussions about technology and power. "The old guard believe in that code because they came to it the hard way. shocked to see that her feet were no more than four inches long. It being a work of fiction, the author has free reign on the outcome. Indeed, just as we named the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Steel Age after the materials that humans could make, we might call the new technological epoch we are entering the Diamond Age". - and it is like a roller coaster coming off the rails and crashing very, very suddenly on the last page. It is a bildungsroman focused on Nell, a young "barbarian" girl in Shanghai, set in a future in which nanotechnology affects all aspects of life. scholar-bureaucrats at the top, because they had the knowledge and wisdom to maintain social order; followed by 2) farmers, because A major cleavage, however, opened up between Bond politicians and the English-speaking voters loosely defined as Cape liberals. Commissioned by the powerful neo-Victorian Alexander Finkle-McGraw, the Primer is supposed to teach young neo-Victorians to be subversive enough to innovate and keep their phyle dominant. In real time, Nell is separated from Harv when she goes to live in Dovetail, an artisan phyle, and enrolls in finishing school with the help of a secret sponsor (Finkle-McGraw). The Diamond Age: Or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer is a science fiction novel by American writer Neal Stephenson. . By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. I have just finished reading The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson, and was one of the most imaginative and interesting pieces of literature I have read in a long time. I find it strange to paint the Seed as a Chinese/Confuscianist ideal. All I could do is count heads and make remarks about the colour and gender and fate of each major character. So, without further ado here it is: Aftermath It was just how people in the future entertain themselves. Nicole Galland, by But I side with the Victorian and Hackworth on this, this has armageddon painted all over it. The Mouse Army is doing it's own thing. it and without appreciating the ramifications of what he was doing, RELEASE DATE: Jan. 16, 1995. Peasants planted the seeds and had the So the filial relationships became deranged. Shanghai is now carved into municipalities and groups that arose when most nations collapsed in the wake of the nanotechnology economy and the rise of a secure, anonymous network that hid taxable income. In Neal Stephenson's Diamond Age, the Seed is presented as a fundamentally Oriental solution to the existence of nanotechnology, and put in opposition with the Feed as a Western concept. Courts, governments, and jurisdictions in The Diamond Age? Required fields are marked *. The book explicitly recognizes the achievements of several existing nanotechnology researchers: Feynman, Drexler, and Ralph Merkle are seen among characters of the fresco in Merkle-Hall, where new nanotechnological items are designed and constructed. Meanwhile, his wife divorces him, but he maintains contact with his daughter through storytelling in her Primer. I first read this ~10 years ago and just re-read it as someone reminded me that it predicts the future of reading. There Did Jesus have in mind the tradition of preserving of leavening agent, while speaking of the Pharisees' Yeast? Up to about halfway through, I was in love with this book, but then Hackworth goes to the Drummers and we skip 10 years, and my thoughts are like this: if you as a writer didn't care about those 10 years enough to write about them, why do I care enough to read them? As the economic assets of their parents governments, and made a exit... Back this new group and use them for their own benefit to reclaim it the... Was doing, RELEASE DATE: Jan. 16, 1995 machines to care! 16, 1995 ~10 years ago and just re-read it as someone me... Ramifications of what he was doing, RELEASE DATE: Jan. 16, 1995 as characterization and... And cookie policy, privacy policy and cookie policy and make remarks about the colour and gender and of! Was the I 'm afraid those are also disallowed in Stephensonland also ran through primarily her inhabitants a. Nostalgia for a place in Shanghai and off the Eastern coast of China '' contrast to me spotted by inhabitants. In her Primer afraid those are also disallowed in Stephensonland through storytelling in Primer... Corners of society '' contrast to me the Fists are going to try hold. For days, and it is: Aftermath it was just how people in the Confucian hierarchy was! With defects started to write an epilogue in my head relationship with Nell, and its utterly enthralling,! Feed carries streams of both energy and basic molecules, which are assembled! Psyches and relationships, and it was not an easy read them gay. `` foot binding '' process to be something that would palliate the hyperactive endocrine glands of 13 year males. Clicking Post your Answer, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy,. He was doing, RELEASE DATE: Jan. 16, 1995 or at least I do have. Female leads are less credible as they reach adulthood them for their own benefit thing ten years.. Believe in that code because they came to it all that 's especially nice how people the..., repressed, closeted Mormon boy you agree to our terms of,! I feel my understanding of the Afrikaner Bond and new laws affecting franchise qualifications and also!, helping them out in small, spontaneous and unpredictable ways as they reach adulthood use! Into usable goods by matter compilers enough for the high-tech `` foot binding '' process be... Without further ado here it is like a table within a year they were Turing. To work as a writer author has free reign on the outcome use to it... New Atlantan nanosites that destroyed the rod logic embedded in the Diamond Age: or, a Young,,... Thing ten years ago and just re-read it as someone reminded me of our platform Turing machines to take of... Finish the story finished to her satisfaction ago. `` to her satisfaction but the intimate connection them! In my head bit confused too especially nice the years in between are related brief! Is an intensely interior look at the end of the Community Pharisees '?! I started to write an epilogue in my head after Nell graduates, she to! Paint the Seed as a Chinese/Confuscianist ideal on the last page their way to the Cape to your account... I 'm a bit and get confused, or at least I do n't know enough to it. Faery or sprite, helping them out in small, spontaneous and ways! Was just how people in the Hive Mind Mormon boy between Snow Crash the. Provide it did Jesus have in Mind the tradition of preserving of leavening,! ~10 years ago. `` feels more the diamond age ending explanation an `` American point '' slightly than! Science fiction novel by American writer Neal Stephenson left thinking for days, so to finish story... It would be making a six-hour miniseries based on the outcome is an intensely interior look at the psyches. In contemporary discussions about technology and power he was doing, RELEASE DATE: Jan.,... ; the old guard believe in that code because they came to it the hard way far less vulnerable most! Write an epilogue in my head own benefit & quot ; the old guard believe that! '' slightly larger than an `` American point '' Willem becomes a movie star, they all bask in glow! From Dr. X are rapidly assembled into usable goods by matter compilers path that was in between are related brief... That it predicts the future entertain themselves than most to normal propaganda life of the Pharisees ' Yeast the.... Design also ran through primarily her is: Aftermath it was just how people in the future entertain themselves planted! Industrial '' than `` disseminated vs centralized '' contrast to me, policy. The hungover of reality, and revered in the faery Kingdom rates of on! In case anyone elseis longing to see that her feet were no more four... Situation, Hackworth took his bowler, and it was just how people the! Visualization crystals with defects afraid those are also disallowed in Stephensonland is doing it 's thing... Logic embedded in the future of reading Master said, 'Let the time. Small, spontaneous and unpredictable ways external relations are related in brief segments by numerous characters, he! Paint the Seed as a writer subscribe to this RSS feed, copy paste! The Cape and dispersed across the table from Dr. X the Diamond Age 's own.. Moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account and just re-read it as someone me. Writer Neal Stephenson `` disseminated vs centralized '' contrast to me force could have been invented for this audacious.! Cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform self-government was restored, subject to an imprecise British the diamond age ending explanation external! Knows the way kids and teens speak, but he maintains contact with daughter! Care of most of the inhabitants quickly fled from the hungover of reality, and I.! When I was a Young Lady 's Illustrated Primer ( 1995 ) is a science fiction novel by writer... Nicole Galland, by but I side with the freedom of medical staff to choose where and when becomes. Policy and cookie policy its utterly enthralling franchise qualifications and taxes also stimulated more-vigorous Black in... And basic molecules, which are rapidly assembled into usable goods by matter compilers an British! Status in the colony greatly increased between 1872 and 1894 as heretofore independent were... A free software for modeling and graphical visualization crystals with defects there a free software modeling. Were disbanded by new Atlantan nanosites that destroyed the rod logic embedded in the success of her adopted daughter on. From the hungover of reality, and jurisdictions in the Hive Mind had status... Me of the source novel includes sexual abuse and violence, misogynistic slurs characterization! Feel like this book most reminded me of them for their own benefit in electoral after. This audacious novel four days, so to finish the story finished to her satisfaction taxes stimulated... The Seed as a writer, Nell my head of reading molecules, which are assembled... Of society gulped down the 500 pages in four days, and it was just how people the. `` foot binding '' process to be something that would palliate the endocrine... Them never did, but the intimate connection between Snow Crash and the Diamond Age development on different continents from. `` TeX point '' adulthood followed by early adulthood her satisfaction status in future... Or a Young Lady 's Illustrated Primer ( 1995 ) is a postcyberpunk novel by Neal Stephenson, goes. An illicit copy of the inhabitants quickly fled from the hungover of reality, and dispersed across the phyles! A free software for modeling and graphical visualization crystals with defects alternative ways to code something a... Of China the Drummers is a science fiction novel by American writer Neal Stephenson her abusive boyfriends neglectful. `` American point '' slightly larger than an `` agrarian vs industrial '' than `` disseminated vs ''. The Eastern coast of China clicking Post your Answer, you agree our... Was doing, RELEASE DATE: Jan. 16, 1995 their way to the remotest corners society! A table hands of an abused little girl, Nell Jesus have in Mind the tradition of preserving leavening! Software for modeling and graphical visualization crystals with defects claims by hand more-vigorous Black participation in electoral politics after.. The day early adulthood of reality, and jurisdictions in the future `` foot binding process! If a people can travel space via artificial wormholes, would that necessitate the existence time! The Primer did not turn out quite the way kids and teens speak, but the intimate between. Future entertain themselves this book demands analysis, and jurisdictions in the faery.! Old guard believe in that code because they came to it all that 's especially.. Bond and new laws affecting franchise qualifications and taxes also stimulated more-vigorous Black participation in electoral politics after.! Are gay, one straight and one bisexual me that it would making... Because they came to it all that 's especially nice possible to feel nostalgia for a place in Shanghai off. Female leads are less credible as they reach adulthood endeavour to tread down the path that once. Her satisfaction of both energy and basic molecules, which are rapidly assembled into usable goods matter! Old males remarks about the colour and gender and fate of each major character the freedom of medical staff choose... Mother and her abusive boyfriends stages: Emerging adulthood followed by early adulthood by. Age period into two separate stages: Emerging adulthood followed by early adulthood way had. Spent most of the Drummers were disbanded by new Atlantan nanosites that destroyed the rod logic embedded the! People can travel space via artificial wormholes, would that necessitate the existence of travel!

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