Essay Questions

What is the metaverse and what rules exist in the metaverse?

The metaverse is a fictional universe created by the software engineers populating the fictional world where the action takes place. The metaverse is in a way a parallel universe that follows different rules that the normal world has. For instance, every user has to pick an avatar and the avatar cannot change, no matter the circumstance. Also, in the metaverse, there are places where avatars can pass through other avatars and buildings and places where their mobility is limited and are subject to the same rules as the ones existing in the real world. Another thing that characterizes the metaverse is the fact that the avatars cannot get high. Because of this, the instance where Da5id is affected by a drug is an unusual event that starts the other events in the novel.

What is Babel?

It is mentioned in the 13th chapter that Hiro searched some information about Babel. The term Babel does not appear in the novel again and yet Hiro searches information about it. In the Bible, Babel is the name given to an ancient city and to its tower built by the people who lived in the city. The Biblical story states that the people who lived in Babel wanted to build a tower so high that they could reach God. After they began building their tower, God punished them for their ambitions by mixing their languages and by stopping them from understanding one another. In a way, the people who live in the fictional universe where the action takes place wanted to build a tower of their own through the technological developments they frequently came up with. This however did not mean that it was something positive and the negative aspects of the human development is discussed in the book.

What is an avatar?

Hiro mentions the fact that in the metaverse, everyone has an avatar. The term avatar refers to a character built in any fictional world, be it a game or an online community. The avatar functions as a face for the person behind the screen without really revealing personal information about the person in question. While an avatar can also have a visual representation, it can also appear as times as only a name on a screen.