Questions tagged [cryptonomicon]

Cryptonomicon is a novel by Neal Stephenson, taking place in two different time periods (around World War 2, and the 1990s), encompassing a large number of characters and including a number of technical concepts. Several historical characters appear in the story (such as Alan Turing and General Douglas MacArthur).

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What becomes of the gold in Cryptonomicon?

At the very end of Cryptonomicon, what becomes of the gold from Golgotha that has liquified and has become a “bright, thick river of gold.”?
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In Neal Stephenson’s "Fall; Or, Dodge In Hell", which Meatspace characters are identified with which Bitspace characters?

Spoilers for Fall; Or, Dodge In Hell.
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In Cryptonomicon, why didn't the Nipponese government dig up Golgotha after the war?

The Nipponese, fearing imminent defeat, bury most of their gold in a mountain in the Philippines. Presumably, they do it to prevent the Allies from getting hold of it. What was their plan for ...
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What happened to the Bong character in "Cryptonomicon"?

In Cryptonomicon, there are three people who escape from the Golgotha gold store in the 1940s, Goto Dengo, Wing and Bong, in the chapter called "Deluge". Goto Dengo and Wing play prominent parts in ...
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Possible anomaly in Cryptonomicon

Toward the beginning of Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon, Avi gives Randy two strings of sixteen supposedly random hexadecimal numbers as encryption keys: AF 10 06 E9 99 BA 11 07 64 C1 89 ...
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In Cryptonomicon, why does Mr Wing have to learn the coordinates of Golgotha from Randy?

In Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon, Mr Wing tries to learn coordinates of Golgotha from Randy Waterhouse. If I understood this part correctly, then my question is why? Clearly, Goto Dengo knew the ...
Sergei's user avatar
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What is in Enoch Root's mystery box in Cryptonomicon?

I read the book(s) long time ago and I don't have them with me now (sorry if some details are vague), but as I recall, Shaftoe gets addicted to morphine as a consequence of the treatment of his war ...
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What's the deal with Andrew Loeb?

In Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon, the character Andrew Loeb takes some pretty drastic action [1] against the protagonist towards the end of the book. I find myself rather puzzled at this as I didn't ...
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Would the hard drives of the computer in Cryptonomicon actually have been erased?

In Cryptonomicon, we first see a computer taken out by an EMP. Afterwards, its hard drives are erased by a large electromagnet, as we learn later. Considering that the electromagnet was in the ...
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Is it possible to use an EMP weapon, as described in Cryptonomicon?

In chapter 76, Pulse, we see a parking lot, a street, and (the contents of) a building across the street being taken out by an EMP gun. The target was a computer within the building. This is ...
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Was Enoch Root right about Heracles killing a large chunk of the offspring of Ares in original myths?

"... it appears that Heracles, backed up by Athena all the way, personally murders at least half of Hannibal Lecterish offspring of Ares." (“Cryptonomicon” By Neal Stephenson, Page 806, Enoch Root's ...
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What happened to Gunter Bischoff in Cryptonomicon

In Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon (spoilers):
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Who's Randy Waterhouse's father in Cryptonomicon?

I just read Cryptonomicon's chapter 70 - "Origin", and at the end of it I didn't quite get who's Randy Waterhouse's father. All of Lawrence Waterhouse's children are referred to as "Uncle" or "Aunt" ...
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