![]() ![]() Unlike the British Empire of old, the New Atlantans are but one phyle-albeit, one of the most influential-among many those born into it are free to leave, and those not may, if accepted, take an Oath to Her Majesty Queen Victoria II and join. ![]() So I was pleased to see Neal Stephenson invoke the Victorian zeitgeist in The Diamond Age, where the New Atlantans represent a vision of social order based on principle rather than authoritarian enforcement. While I would never want to live in the Victorian era, I do admire them for this polished and civil approach to discourse. The Victorian cadence and diction are so courteous, delightful without being overly flowery. They had protocols for social interaction-protocols embedded in unfortunate distinctions between classes, and laden with the constant threat of small talk about the weather, but protocols nonetheless. Sexually-repressive mores and cool, arrogant superiority aside, the Victorians embody a sense of order and etiquette that often escapes us these days. ![]()
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