Neal Stephenson
Cryptonomicon



"There is a remarkably close parallel between the problems of the physicist and those of the cryptographer. The system on which a message is enciphered corresponds to the laws of the universe, the intercepted messages to the evidence available, the keys for a day or a message to important constants which have to be determined. The correspondence is very close, but the subject matter of cryptography is very easily dealt with by discrete machinery, physics not so easily."

—Alan Turing

This morning [Imelda Marcos] offered the latest in a series of explanations of the billions of dollars that she and her husband, who died in 1989, are believed to have stolen during his presidency.

"It so coincided that Marcos had money," she said. "After the Bretton Woods agreement he started buying gold from Fort Knox. Three thousand tons, then 4,000 tons. I have documents for these: 7,000 tons. Marcos was so smart. He had it all. It's funny; America didn't understand him."

—The New York Times, Monday, 4 March, 1996



Table of Contents

 Prologue
  1. BARRENS
  2. NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM
  3. SEAWEED
  4. FORAYS
  5. INDIGO
  6. THE SPAWN OF ONAN
  7. BURN
  8. PEDESTRIAN
  9. GUADALCANAL
  10. GALLEON
  11. NIGHTMARE
  12. LONDINIUM
  13. CORREGIDOR
  14. TUBE
  15. MEAT
  16. CYCLES
  17. ALOFT
  18. NON-DISCLOSURE
  19. ULTRA
  20. KINAKUTA
  21. QWGHLM HOUSE
  22. ELECTRICAL TILL CORPORATION
  23. CRYPT
  24. LIZARD
  25. THE CASTLE
  26. WHY
  27. RETROGRADE MANEUVER
  28. HUFFDUFF
  29. PAGES
  30. RAM
  31. DILIGENCE
  32. SPEARHEAD
  33. MORPHIUM
  34. SUIT
  35. CRACKER
  36. SULTAN
  37. SKIPPING
  38. MUGS
  39. YAMAMOTO
  40. ANTAEUS
  41. PHREAKING
  42. AFLOAT
  43. SHINOLA
  44. HOSTILITIES
  45. FUNKSPIEL
  46. HEAP
  47. SEEKY
  48. CANNIBALS
  49. WRECK
  50. SANTA MONICA
  51. OUTPOST
  52. METEOR
  53. LAVENDER ROSE
  54. BRISBANE
  55. DÖNITZ
  56. CRUNCH
  57. GIRL
  58. CONSPIRACY
  59. HOARD
  60. ROCKET
  61. COURTING
  62. INRI
  63. CALIFORNIA
  64. ORGAN
  65. HOME
  66. BUNDOK
  67. COMPUTER
  68. CARAVAN
  69. THE GENERAL
  70. ORIGIN
  71. GOLGOTHA
  72. SEATTLE
  73. ROCK
  74. THE MOST CIGARETTES
  75. CHRISTMAS 1944
  76. PULSE
  77. BUDDHA
  78. PONTIFEX
  79. GLORY
  80. THE PRIMARY
  81. DELUGE
  82. BUST
  83. THE BATTLE OF MANILA
  84. CAPTIVITY
  85. GLAMOR
  86. WISDOM
  87. FALL
  88. METIS
  89. SLAVES
  90. ARETHUSA
  91. THE BASEMENT
  92. AKIHABARA
  93. PROJECT X
  94. LANDFALL
  95. GOTO-SAMA
  96. R.I.P.
  97. RETURN
  98. CRIBS
  99. CAYUSE
  100. BLACK CHAMBER
  101. PASSAGE
  102. LIQUIDITY
 Appendix: The Solitaire Encryption Algorithm


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