The Metaverse

A three-dimensional virtual world developed by hackers and exploited by industry. The Metaverse is represented as a large sphere, with a main road called The Street which circles the sphere. The center point of The Street is called Downtown, and also referred to as Node 0. This is the most developed portion of the Metaverse. People are represented in the Metaverse by avatars, which could be photorealistic or fantastical. A person's economic status can be determined by the quality and customization of his or her avatar. A monorail system parallels The Street, allowing avatars to quickly travel between nodes. Neighborhoods branch off away from The Street, and people can build virtual houses. Hiro's avatar in the Metaverse looks just like he does in reality, but his avatar wears a black leather kimono. Hiro frequents the bar called The Black Sun, operated by his friend Da5id Meier...