I have to find it. I only understood about half the jokes, but I loved the energy and density of ideas per page, and all the permutations of computers and technology and rebellious future coolness.
Meanwhile, I went on reading Stephenson: Zodiac and Diamond Age , sure, but also Cryptonomicon which helped me decide to become a mathematician , every last page of The Baroque Cycle , and the thriller Cobweb co-written with J.
Frederick George. At first, I classified Empress of Forever as more space opera than earthbound cyberpunk. Structurally, the virtual and real plot strands developed in parallel.
But in the decades since cyberpunk was invented, the distinction between virtual and real has collapsed. This means that if you want to write a novel with a classic cyberpunk structure, you need a replacement for the virtual world. Freed from the constraints of human bodies, these minds inhabit what feels like a fantasy realm. In both Dodge in Hell and Empress of Forever , the post-Singularity fantasy realm is created by the brilliant hacker billionaire protagonist, who thereby acquires quasi-divine powers.
Empress of Forever creates contrast by catapulting a nearly-present-day version of the arrogant programmer Viv into the star-spanning future empire. Viv slowly figures out that the Empress who kidnapped her and tossed her into this strange realm is another version of herself. The Empress is fighting an intractable war with beings who have the power to destroy the fabric of reality.
