Snow Crash

YT is taken away on Rife’s helicopter. A second helicopter appears behind them. On board is Raven, who is “goggled into the Metaverse” (310). Removing his goggles for a moment, he waves at YT with a smile on his face.

In the Metaverse, Hiro rides a motorcycle past a benefit concert that has been organized in honor of Da5id. He arrives at the part of the Metaverse occupied by Rife’s organization. Using his hacking skills, he bypasses the security daemons and slips inside. He finds himself in a brightly colored but incomprehensible room that seems to be made of Rife’s “fiber-optic network” (313). Hiro and Juanita realize that Rife has been using the United States government to write code that will allow him to release Snow Crash against the benefit concert attendees, many of whom are hackers and programmers. Raven is already at the facility, collecting the logic bomb that will disperse the code. 

Raven reveals the logic bomb, which is fitted to the sidecar of his motorcycle. Hiro chases after him, trying to decapitate Raven’s avatar before he can reach the benefit concert. Since Hiro wrote the code for the body disposal program and no one can regenerate in the Metaverse without his body being disposed of, Hiro can effectively prevent Raven from returning to the Metaverse.

Rife tries to contact his security team or the people aboard the Raft, but his communications are blocked. He orders the helicopter to set down so that he can “make a goddamn phone call” (316) using a pay phone. While he is distracted, YT attacks the guards and tries to escape. She wants to reach the safety of Mr. Lee’s Greater Hong Kong. As she reaches Greater Hong Kong, she is grabbed by a security team but manages to call for help. The Rat Things in Greater Hong Kong relay her call for help. This call is picked up by Fido, her dog which was kidnapped and turned into a Rat Thing. Fido rushes to help “the nice girl who loves him” (318), overcoming its programming to get to her in time.

Hiro contacts Raven over the Metaverse’s communications system as they race toward the concert. They discuss their fathers; both men were in the same prison camp in Nagasaki, and they escaped just when the Americans dropped the nuclear bomb on the city. The men helped each other survive. Hiro understands why Raven wants revenge, but he tries to reason with him. Raven refuses to listen, explaining that “there’s no such thing as enough” (322) revenge. The men resume their race.

Couriers attack Rife’s helicopter with harpoons. YT jumps from the rising helicopter and grabs one of the helicopter’s runners. Rather than lose his hostage, Rife orders the helicopter to descend. YT rappels along one of the ropes attached to the couriers’ harpoons. She falls into traffic but is saved by her drop protection technology. With Raven still plugged into the Metaverse, the helicopter is dragged from the sky, and when YT throws a rope into the rotor blades, it is destroyed. Raven signals YT with a thumbs up. She shows him her middle finger. Rife survives and hijacks a pizza delivery car. He drives toward Los Angeles airport. YT grabs a skateboard and rushes away to call her mother “for a ride home” (325).

Hiro and Raven continue their duel on their motorcycles. They are almost at the concert. When Raven realizes that he does not need to beat Hiro to accomplish his goal, he leans down to detonate his bomb. Hiro may have a better understanding of the Metaverse and may be able to beat Raven in a fight, but Raven sets off the bomb anyway. He believes that he has “nuked America,” accomplishing his lifelong ambition. Hiro activates SnowScan.

Raven’s bomb is a visual spectacle that attracts everyone’s attention. Four scroll-bearing naked female figures appear. Rather than reading out the Snow Crash virus and infecting everyone, however, they read a short commercial for “Hiro Protagonist Security Associates” (328).

Uncle Enzo, Mr. Ng, and one of Mr. Lee’s representatives arrive at Los Angeles Airport. Enzo brings a “replacement” skateboard for YT but she is not present. The men make a plan to stop Rife from fleeing to Houston. A young Mafia officer reminds Enzo of an officer he once met in Vietnam; he stops to tell the story, explaining how he shot the officer in the “back of the head” (331). He is displeased to hear that his men have lost track of Rife. Armed with a straight razor, Enzo goes to kill a group of maintenance workers he suspects are in Rife’s organization.

Enzo discovers that one of his men has been killed by a “long wooden pole” (333). He doubles back and finds that Raven killed his young officer. They fight, and both men get badly hurt. Enzo slips away, and after asking Rife what to do, Raven gives chase. Enzo uses the “RadiKS Narrow Cone Tuned Shock Wave Projector” (334) on the skateboard he had intended to give YT The function shatters Raven’s glass knives, and Enzo approaches the stunned Raven with his razor.

Rife leaves the injured, unarmed Raven behind. He runs for his plane, but he is stopped by a “wall of billowing orange flame” (336) rushing toward him. The flame is caused by Fido, YT’s dog that has been turned into a Rat Thing. Fido destroys the plane with Rife onboard as YT watches, having just arrived at the airport. Helicopters arrive, filled with Mafia-employed media and soldiers. The soldiers immediately chase someone who fled in a pizza delivery car. YT goes to find her mother. When asked whether she would like to return home, YT says “home seems about right” (337).