History Literature / Distress

* InitiationCeremony: New residents on Stateless are encouraged but not required to go inland diving, an activity also open to tourists. It involves standing on a platform in scuba gear and being lowered rapidly through a tunnel into the sea that underlies most of the island. The purpose of the ritual is to remind residents of the fragility and artificiality of Stateless - because there's no government, inhabitants have the responsibility to work together and act like responsible citizens, because discord could literally sink the island.

* BarrierMaiden: The anthrocosmologists believe that the universe is dependent on one person, called the Keystone, whose consciousness is the only given, and whose beliefs determine all of reality starting with the Big Bang. Whoever comes up with the final TOE will be the Keystone. Mainstream [=ACs=] only want to protect Mosala, who seems like the most likely Keystone, but fringe [=ACs=] think they can determine the state of the universe by killing candidates with theories they don't like. People want Mosala dead for various reasons - some people want to promote an alternative theory, which posits alternate universes humanity might escape to before the Big Crunch, while others think that because her theory isn't dependent on physical reality, the universe will disintegrate into pure logic once it's finalized.

* {{Cyborg}}: Worth's body is full of technology, activated by eye movements and voice commands, to help him in his job as a reporter, including cameras in his eyes and a computer with a video editing program that can connect to external computers via a socket in his navel.

* HollywoodAutism: For ''Junk DNA'', Worth interviews James Roarke, a member of a group called the Voluntary Autists. Autism is portrayed as a result of lesions in a region of the brain called Lamont's Area, which allows a person to understand other people and have relationships. Roarke has suffered damage to Lamont's Area and now wants the whole thing removed so he can be cured of the desire for a relationship, as he believes intimacy is only self-deception. Despite the stereotypical and inaccurate portrayal of autism, Roarke makes some excellent points about how the concepts of "health" and "humanity" are weaponized against anyone who has a different emotional experience than the norm.

* OrganicTechnology: Stateless built itself from the ocean using engineered cells that convert minerals from the sea into solid rock, similar to coral. The whole thing looks so natural and organic on its own terms that when Worth finds a small park with trees and grass, it looks strange and unnatural.

* OrganicTechnology: Stateless built itself from the ocean using technology that converts minerals from the sea into solid rock, similar to coral. The whole thing looks so natural and organic on its own terms that when Worth finds a small park with trees and grass, it looks strange and unnatural.

* BioAugmentation: At the beginning of the book, Worth is working on ''Junk DNA'', a documentary about "frankenscience." His first subject is Ned Landers, the human biosphere, whose body has been modified to include algae that can digest anything and breathe any kind of air, allowing him to live off of old tyres if need be. He's also had some of his DNA translated into a new code called neo-DNA, including the cells that give rise to his immune system, allowing him to fight off any kind of DNA with no symptoms. He and his wife are working on modifying their eggs and sperm so their children will be the same way.

* HollywoodAutism: For ''Junk DNA'', Worth interviews James Roarke, a member of a group called the Voluntary Autists. Autism is portrayed as a result of lesions in a region of the brain called Lamont's Area, which allows a person to understand other people and have relationships. Roarke has suffered damage to Lamont's Area and now wants the whole thing removed so he can be cured of the desire for a relationship. Despite the stereotypical and inaccurate portrayal of autism, Roarke makes some excellent points about how the concepts of "health" and "humanity" are weaponized against anyone who has a different emotional experience than the norm.

* {{Cyborg}}: Worth's body is full of technology, activated by eye movements and voice commands, to help him in his job as a reporter, including cameras in his eyes and a computer with a video editing program that can connect to external computers via a port in his navel.