‘The Diamond Age’ by Neal Stephenson: A Nanopunk Fairytale

Neal Stephenson is an American speculative fiction author descended from a line of scientists and engineers. His work often lands in the (post-) cyberpunk genre which is best illustrated by William Gibson—whose works popularly inspired the Matrix films. Cyberpunk stories present a future world buoyed by an advanced technological culture which is contrasted by a radical, subversive or dystopic society. In other words, it’s the stuff of a Hacker Punk’s dreams. Stephenson’s own work heavily focuses on history, culture, language, and philosophy in the face of technical and scientific advancements. Stylistically, his pop-cult glittered work is lighter and easier to follow than that of Gibson, though his plots retain a high level of complexity. His use of simile and metaphor emphasizes a melding of traditionally contrasted technology and nature, which mirrors the genre as a whole. Neal Stephenson’s novel, The Diamond Age: Or, A Young Lady’s Illustrated Primer is one of his most popular works and received both the Locus and Hugo Award.

Stephenson’s sci-fi epic is set in a future which relies heavily on nanotechnology. Society is separated into phyles—groups, clan, and communities with shared cultural values or ethnic backgrounds—whose globally spaced enclaves have essentially eliminated the boundaries of the nation-state. The largest and most successful (read wealthy) phyles are those of the Neo-Victorians of New Atlantis (a mostly Anglo-Saxon capitalist oligarchy); the Han (a neo-Confucian Chinese society); and the Nippon (a capitalist Japanese society). Relationships between the three Great Phyles, the independent, but impoverished thetes, and several lesser phyles–such as the anarchic hacker-collective, CryptNet, and the hive-minded, sexually liberated Drummers–are regulated by the Common Economic Protocol (CEP), which is comparable to the modern UN.

Consumption, and therefore power, is regulated through the use of the Feed, a centralized system which sends raw materials to Matter Compilers (MCs) which produce goods, including food. The largest Feed source is controlled by the New Atlantians. The centralized system of the Feed promotes hierarchical structures; this fact greatly benefits the advance of capitalist societies like the Neo-Victorians and Nippon. The major cultural conflict of the novel centers on the development of the Seed, a new technology which uses a decentralized and open system of production. Both anarchist and eastern groups view the Seed as a means of liberation from capitalist and hierarchical social models.

This complex sociopolitical conflict is the background for Stephenson’s nanopunk bildungsroman. When the wealthy Neo-Victorian “Equity Lord,” Alexander Chung-Sik Finkle-McGraw commissions engineer John Hackworth to create the Young Lady’s Illustrated Primer, an interactive nanotech book meant to provide a supplementary and subversive education to Finkle-McGraw’s granddaughter, neither of the two New Atlantian men imagine a copy will end up in the hands of a poor thete girl. Part nanopunk exploration of culture, technology and globalization and part fairytale, The Diamond Age primarily follows young Nell and her unusual education via the stolen Primer. The Primer’s interactive adventures, which feature an imagined Princess Nell, raise the real Nell from her impoverished upbringing and launch her onto the main-stage for social and political upheaval.

On a more intimate level, The Diamond Age is also a story about familial love. Lord Finkle-McGraw commissions the illicit Primer because he loves his granddaughter; Hackworth creates and steals a copy because he loves his daughter, and Harv gives the stolen copy to Nell because he loves his sister. After the death of their father (a quintessential cyberpunk criminal), Nell and Harv are primarily raised by their mostly absent mother, Tequila, and her string of abusive boyfriends. Nell’s older brother, Harv, is the only true source of love, nurture, and stability in Nell’s first four years of life, and both children seem destined to the abuse and criminality that defined their parent’s lives. The introduction of the Primer, however, irrevocably diverts the downward trajectory of Nell’s life. The interactive Young Lady’s Primer imprints with Nell and uses an evaluation of her environment in order to create fairytales and tutorials, which spur her education and development.

“If the item of stolen property had been anything other than a book, it would have been confiscated. But a book is different—it is not just a material possession but the pathway to an enlightened mind, and thence to a well-ordered society,” 

The Primer, however, is more than just a technological entity. Hackworth’s own aura is embedded in the code that he creates, and Miranda, the beautiful and talented ractor (interactive actor for a virtual entertainment) who voices most of the Primer’s stories, provides the human touch necessary to seal the bond between the girl and her book. Realizing that the Primer is acting as the young girl’s primary sources of development and education, Miranda, and in turn, her boss Carl, become increasingly invested in Nell’s growth and wellbeing. Eventually, Miranda gives up a traditional racting careering in order to focus on the Primer fulltime, in essence becoming a sort of stand-in mother for Nell. Through their bond, Stephenson’s novel provides an interesting reimagining of love and family in a nanotech world. In The Diamond Age, technology is used as a bridge between space and physicality, launching love into brand new realms.

Much of the technology imagined in Stephenson’s The Diamond Age has sprung from fantasy to reality since its 1995 publication. The nanotech ‘smart paper’ used throughout the novel is a more advanced rendition of the modern tablet. Paper-thin Mediatronic screens parallel our flat screen TVs. Augmented and virtual reality both make the expected appearances. However, the most interesting, and central technology of The Diamond Age is the Matter Complier (MC), which is essentially a more advanced 3-D printer. Contemporary society circles around the debate of what will happen when 3-D printing becomes more readily available for the individual consumer. In the book, however, the MC is a fully realized technological stage for global conflict and revolution. This adds a level of modern relevance to the novel, despite its (dare I say it) ‘advanced age’.

---

In recent years, silver screen films like Blade Runner: 2049 and small screen renditions like Netflix’s Altered Carbon have proven that 80s cyberpunk is certainly not dead. So, if you’re looking for an easy dive into the genre, Neal Stephenson’s post-cyberpunk coming-of-age story, The Diamond Age, might be your perfect literary spring point.

Make sure and let me know who your favorite cyberpunks are and what you thought of Neal Stephenson’s nanopunk masterpiece in the comments. I’m always looking for more spec-fic recommendations.

---