Snow Crash

“That’s why Hiro has a nice big house in the Metaverse but has to share a 20-by-30 in Reality.”

The crushing banality of Hiro’s real world demonstrates the temptation of the Metaverse. Rather than living in a cramped, bland apartment, Hiro can live anywhere he pleases in the Metaverse. The Metaverse is a form of escapism from the crushing, pervasive horrors of rampant capitalism, though it remains fundamentally fake. The comforting, fake Metaverse is at least preferable to the small, uninteresting reality.

“Your avatar can look any way you want it to, up to the limitations of your equipment.”

Everything in the world of Snow Crash is commodified. Even in the Metaverse, where the only limits are one’s imagination and programming abilities, a person’s avatar is dependent on their equipment and thereby limited by their wealth. Whether directly or indirectly, self-expression and identity are perpetually tied to material wealth, both in reality and in the Metaverse.

“DIAL 1-800-THE COPS/All Major Credit Cards.”

In Hiro’s world, the police force has become another corporation jostling for the attention and money of all potential customers. Rather than traditional mottos about protecting and serving the public, the police now advertise their ability to take “all major credit cards” (36). In the future of Snow Crash, even justice has been privatized.