Cryptonomicon
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Cryptonomicon is a 1999 novel by Neal Stephenson that concurrently follows the exploits of World War II-era cryptographers affiliated with Bletchley Park in their attempts to crack Axis codes and fight the Nazi submarine fleet, alongside the story of their descendants, who are attempting to use modern cryptography to build a data haven in the fictitious state of Kinakuta, a small nation with geographical and political parallels to Brunei.
Contents
Plot introduction
Cryptonomicon is closer to the genres of historical fiction and contemporary techno-thriller than to the science fiction settings of Stephenson's earlier works, and features fictionalized characterizations of such historical figures as Alan Turing, Douglas MacArthur, Winston Churchill, Isoroku Yamamoto, Karl Dönitz, Albert Einstein, and Ronald Reagan, as well as some highly technical and detailed descriptions of modern cryptography and information security, and subjects ranging from prime numbers and modular arithmetic to van Eck phreaking.Explanation of the novel's title
When Stephenson came up with his title, he was not aware of the word's origin, and was simply seeking a Greek-sounding word that also had 'crypto' in it. Cryptonomicon translates to 'Book of Hidden Names'. The Cryptonomicon referred to in the novel— described as a "cryptographer's bible" — is a fictional book summarizing mankind's knowledge of cryptography and cryptanalysis.
Characters
In the World War II storyline:
- Robert "Bobby" Shaftoe, an abjectly gung-ho United States Marine
- Lawrence Pritchard Waterhouse, an American cryptographer/mathematician serving as a captain in the United States Navy
- Günter Bischoff, a Kapitänleutnant in the Kriegsmarine, who commands a U-Boat for much of the story, and later he takes command of a new, advanced rocket-powered submarine
- Rudolf "Rudy" von Hacklheber, a homosexual, non-Nazi German mathematician and cryptographer, who spent time attending Princeton University, where he befriended Waterhouse and Turing
- Paul Comstock, a US Army higher-up, who eventually founds the NSA and becomes a United States attourney general
- Julieta Kivistik, a Finnish woman who assists some of the WWII characters when they find themselves stranded in Sweden, and who later gives birth to a baby boy (Günter Enoch Bobby Kivistik) whose father is uncertain
- “Uncle” Otto Kivistik, Julieta's Finnish uncle, who runs a successful smuggling ring between neutral Sweden, Finland, and the USSR during WWII
- Mary cCmndhd (Smith), a Qwghlmian ex-pat living in Australia, who catches the fancy of Lawrence Waterhouse while he is stationed in Brisbane
- Glory Altamira, Bobby Shaftoe's Filipina lover, and the mother of Douglas MacArthur Shaftoe
- Alan Turing, a colleague and friend of Lawrence Waterhouse and Rudy von Hacklheber, and a world-renouned cryptographer
- Douglas MacArthur, the famed US Army general, who takes a rather central role toward the end of the WWII timeline
- Karl Dönitz, who is never actually seen as a character, but who frequently barks out orders to his U-Boats, including the one captained by Bischoff
- Randall "Randy" Lawrence Waterhouse, Lawrence Waterhouse's grandson
- Avi Halaby, Randy's business partner in the fledgling Epiphyte II corporation, of which he is the CEO
- Douglas MacArthur Shaftoe, Robert Shaftoe and Glory Altamira's half-Filipino, half-American son, named after the WWII Army general
- America "Amy" Shaftoe, Doug Shaftoe's daughter and Randy's love interest
- Hubert Kepler, aka "The Dentist," Randy and Avi's business rival
- Eberhard Föhr, a member of Epiphyte II
- John Cantrell, another member of Epiphyte II
- Tom Howard, yet another member of Epiphyte II
- Beryl Hagen, an accountant for Epiphyte II
- Goto Dengo, a soldier in the Imperial Japanese Army, subsequently a slave to the Japanese Army and later (in the modern-day storyline) a successful businessman in the construction sector
- Enoch Root, a mysterious, seemingly ageless priest serving in the ANZAC
Major themes
Technical content
Portions of Cryptonomicon are notably complex and may be considered somewhat difficult by the non-technical reader. Several pages are spent explaining in detail some of the concepts behind cryptography and data storage security, including a description of van Eck phreaking, as an example.Cipher text
Stephenson includes a precise description of (and indeed a Perl script for) the Solitaire cipher (called "Pontifex" in the book), a cryptographic algorithm developed by Bruce Schneier for use with a deck of playing cards, as part of the plot. He also describes computers using a fictional operating system, Finux.
Allusions/references from other works
Stephenson's subsequent work, The Baroque Cycle, in part provides the backstory to the characters and events featured in Cryptonomicon.The Baroque Cycle features characters who are ancestors of several characters in Cryptonomicon, predating the time and setting for Cryptonomicon. The subtext implies the existence of secret societies or conspiracies, and familial associations existing within those darker worlds.
Stephenson's works often reflect linkages between past and present, employing temporal discontinuity to illustrate these links.
Literary significance & criticism
Despite the technical detail, the book drew praise from both Stephenson's science fiction fan base and literary critics and buyers.Trivia
The original hardcover edition of Cryptonomicon had numerous typos, and there has been widespread speculation that these typos were deliberate and constitute a steganographically hidden code [link] [link] [link]. Hidden codes are not uncommon in modern novels on cryptography; for example, Dan Brown's Digital Fortress is confirmed to have a hidden code.See also
Editions
- ISBN 0-380-97346-4: Hardcover (1999)
- ISBN 0-380-78862-4: Paperback (2000)
- ISBN 0-060-51280-6: Mass Market Paperback (2002)
- ISBN 1-574-53470-X: Audio Cassette (abridged) (2001)
- ISBN B-000-09M9L-W: e-book (Adobe Reader)
- ISBN B-000-09M9LX: e-book (Microsoft Reader)
- Audio download from iTunes and Audible.com
- Translations into other languages: Dutch, French, German, Italian, Korean, Polish, Russian, Spanish. The French and Spanish translations divide the book in three volumes.
External links
- [Cryptonomicon website]
- [Cryptonomicon cypher-FAQ by Neal Stephenson]
- [Slashdot review of Cryptonomicon by Nathan Bruinooge]
- [Cryptonomicon Metaweb]
- [What's up with Enoch Root?]
- [Cryptonomicon Review.]
- [The Solitaire Encryption Algorithm], developed by Bruce Schneier
- [56 - Yamamoto and the Secret Admirers]
| Works by Neal Stephenson | |
|---|---|
| Full-Length Novels
| The Big U (1984) > Zodiac (1988) | Snow Crash (1992) | Interface (1994) | The Diamond Age (1995) | The Cobweb (1996) | Cryptonomicon (1999) | The Baroque Cycle: Quicksilver (2003), The Confusion (2004), and The System of the World (2004) |
| Short Stories
| Spew" (1994) | "The Great Simoleon Caper" (1995) | "Jipi and the paranoid chip" (1997) |
| Non-Fiction
| Smiley's people (1993) > In the Kingdom of Mao Bell (1994) | Mother Earth Mother Board (1996) | Global Neighborhood Watch (1998) | In the Beginning...was the Command Line (1999) |
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