lain.and.snow.crash >> Figures of God

Lain and Snow Crash both present issues of God and religion. This is a major element in Lain, as determining a "God" in the Wired means finding he who would control it. In our world, there is no one being who owns or controls the Internet, so there is no "God" of the web. In Lain, however, an answer to this problem seems to be apparent. This answer is very similar to Snow Crash’s discussions of God-like figures. The character of Eiri Masami in Lain claims himself to be the Wired's "God." He was a former member of Tachibana Labs who created Protocol 7, the way to connect the Wired and the "real world." Based on his technological discovery, Eiri Masami thinks himself as a God, and the creator of Lain herself. He believes that he can remain a God in the Wired, since has "those who will worship him" (Lain, Layer 10: Love). The same situation can be found in Snow Crash through the character of L. Bob Rife. Rife, a rich madman, has his own delusions of religion. He uses his own influence on the masses to use people for his own purposes. He uses his "Raft to bring more biomass. To renew America" (Stephenson, 110). "Biomass" refers to the massive amounts of people who follow Raft. If becoming a "God" means having a mass of people follow a leader blindly, then both Rife and Masami fit this description.