The American long-distance telephone network crashes, and millions of calls go unanswered. A computer hacker reprogrammes a switching station, and calls to a Florida probation office are shunted to a New York telephone-sex hotline. An underground computer bulletin board publishes a pilfered document on the 911 emergency system, making it available to anyone who dials. How did so much illicit power reach the hands of an undisciplined few - and what should be done about it? This book is about the electronic frontier of the 1990s. It concerns activities that take place inside computers and over telephone lines - "cyberspace". By the author of "Involution Ocean" and "The Artificial Kid" and the co-author of "The Difference Engine".