Sometimes there's a double-anglebrace-enclosed term in the text that refers to a chapter subheading, and then you must practice your <<haqr smarts>> in order to find it. If all else fails, you could ask Bruce Sterling at his secret email address— bruces@well.com. He will know.
THE SHURIKEN AWARDS
We may sometimes succumb to the temptation to rate things the way snotty critics do, by awarding stars. However, we will award them as *shuriken*, a cyber kinda star:
^ ^ ^
< X > < X > < X >
v v v
A shuriken is a throwing star— a shiny-steel, sharp-edged, sharp-pointed weapon from Japan (which is cyberpunk's original home in certain misty urban legends). The shuriken itself as an assault weapon would rate one-half shuriken on a scale of four. A hydrogen bomb would rate five shuriken. You get the idea.
Occasionally we may add Propeller Beanies to the Shuriken:
<<<o>>> <<<o>>> <<<o>>>
__|__ __|__ __|__
/_____\ /_____\ /_____\
This indicates nerdly interest over and above a cyberpunk rating. Propeller head is an ancient term for <<nerd>>. The real name for that key on the Macintosh is not COMMAND, but PROPELLER, and this is why.
_________________ /| |\ | | || | | / O || | | ( C O/ \O || | | \__/ O || | /\_________________/\| \/____________________\/
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