Chapter 5 Summary

Hiro is out on The Street, and sees the avatars around him. Avatars are the way people look in the Metaverse, and the avatars' appearance is only limited by the user's computer equipment. Hiro approaches The Black Sun, a simple black building on the street with crowds of avatars in front of it. Hiro passes through the avatars in front of him. In the Metaverse, you can walk right through other avatars. He steps through an invisible wall in front of The Black Sun. All of the avatars are screaming, because only a select few people can enter The Black Sun. The crowd is full of airbrushed pinups, rock stars, businessmen, and the occasional black-and-white, a grainy avatar of a person accessing the Metaverse through a cheap terminal. Hiro notices a tall black-and-white avatar in the crowd. The avatar looks back at Hiro...