How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
Robert gestured in the way that was supposed to revert vision to unenhanced reality. But he was still seeing purple light and ancient, leather-bound manuscripts. He tapped the explicit reversion signal. Still no onset of reality. "I'm stuck in this view." (15.137)
When it comes to virtual views, the person wearing the computer is supposed to be able to choose. But here in the library, Robert learns that the library has all the power over what he sees. (Unless he—gasp!—takes out his computerized contacts.) This will be the source of some of the fighting over the library: when everyone is used to choosing their own view, losing that power might be reason to protest.
Quote #8
Xiu had helped design the hardware security layer. It solved so many problems. It made the Internet a safe and workable system. Now she was its victim... She thought again of the bag of tricks that sat on the floor beside her feet. She had spent the whole semester building those gadgets, her mechanical daydreams. Maybe— (27.25)
So many ways of analyzing this bad boy: there's the "Individual vs. System" angle: so Xiu once developed the security that she is now trapped by. (If she were a bad person, we'd probably call that poetic justice; since we like her, it's more like a tragedy.) Then there's the "Technology and Power" angle: sure, she's stuck in a car, but she has a whole set of toys that might help her out. And then, like the Radners and Tommie, there's the "Fight the power" angle: she's stuck in a car, but she'll make it do what she wants if she has to cut it open. (Which she does.)
Quote #9
"I don't remember anything after Miri and I got to campus. And the police are still holding what I wore. I can't even see the last few minutes of my diary!" The kid waved his arms with the same desperation Robert had seen in him the first day they met. (33.55-6)
Here's a pretty extreme form of power: Juan lost his memories, his wearable computer, and all the info about what actually happened to him. So he's reduced to learning about what happened to him from the news, which is a weird way to learn about yourself. But here, Juan doesn't really have any power over the government. Heck, Juan doesn't even have any power over the Friends of Privacy. No wonder he's so desperate.