As I mentioned in class, this should be of interest to any fans of Snow Crash, or fiction in general...

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SnowCrash

The Shown Their Work entry seems especially relevant, as now I know more about Sumerian mythology than I ever cared to know.

As I was reading Snow Crash, the most consistently jarring ( as in, taking me out of the story ) aspect was Hiro's swordplay. Though he's the greatest hacker in the world ( both real world and Metaverse ), he's equally proud of being the greatest swordsman. He carries his katanas everywhere, and uses them extensively-- not just in the Metaverse, but the real world. A modern-day samurai, with the emphasis on " modern-day ".