History Literature / FallOrDodgeInHell

* ForWantOfANail: Richard's death is caused by forgetting to fast before surgery and eating a free apple, then assuming that it's trivial and forgetting to mention it before going under. This sets in motion the rest of the plot.

* StealthPun (Multi-lingual): An interesting part of watching Bitworld take form is trying to match its occupants to their original selves. Some are assigned names relating to how they appear there. It becomes apparent that the one who takes up residence in the spring, and thus becomes known as Spring, is [[spoiler:Verna]].

** Oddly enough, a character noted as a transgender woman while still in Meatspace is noted as being indecisive to their gender identity once they enter Bitworld.

** Not that cheap - the book makes repeated references to the growing demand for computational power to keep Bitworld afloat requires untold sums of money, and at least its early inhabitants mostly got in because they put a lot of money into cryogenics.

* Dodge dies from eating an apple after being told not to eat anything. Apples are commonly used to illustrate the forbidden "fruit of knowledge" in the Bible.

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Many events within the virtual afterlife closely mirror the Bible and ''Literature/ParadiseLost'', including the Tower of Babel, the Garden of Eden, the corruption of Adam and Eve, and the fall of Satan. Some events are specifically modeled after the Bible.

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Many events within the virtual afterlife closely mirror the Bible and ''Literature/ParadiseLost'', including the Tower of Babel, the Garden of Eden, the corruption of Adam and Eve, and the fall of Satan. Some events are specifically modeled after the bible.

* AuthorTract: Given that this book is a sequel to ''Literature/{{Reamde}}'', it becomes increasingly clear that Stephenson is very concerned about skin cancer. In ''Reamde'', Zula notes that the freckled Wallace has scars presumably where cancers have been dug out. Dodge also identifies by a scar on a terrorist's scalp that the man has terminal skin cancer, relating how he's seen similar scars on others. In ''Fall, or Dodge in Hell'', Dodge thinks about how, due to his fair complexion, he'd always assumed he'd die of skin cancer. Another character mentions that he always wears sunscreen and advises others to stay in the shade to avoid skin cancer.

* AmbiguousDisorder: Corvus seems to be somewhere on the autism spectrum. He's a genius who loves data and facts, but he's somewhat socially awkward and he tends to speak in a blunt and stiff manner when trying to relate emotionally to people. Pluto, on the other hand, is very clearly autistic.

* CleverCrows: Corvus is a genius and is closely associated with crows. It's the origin of his name, and he uses a crow motif throughout his life. In Bitworld, he lives as a giant crow who can turn into a man, but prefers being a crow.

* TheQuest: Corvus initiates a quest to save Bitworld in the last act of the story.

* {{Transhumanism}}: Humans become virtual life forms living inside a computer system, Bitworld.

* AuthorTract: Given that this book is a sequel to ''Literature/{{Reamde}}'', it becomes increasingly clear that Stephenson is very concerned about skin cancer. In ''Reamde'', Zula notes that the freckled Wallace has scars presumably where cancers have been dug out. Dodge also identifies by a scar on a terrorist's scalp that the man has terminal skin cancer, relating how he's seen similar scars on others. In ''Fall, or Dodge in Hell'', Dodge thinks about how, due to his fair complexion, he'd always assumed he'd die of skin cancer. Another character mentions that he always wears sunscreen and advises others to stay in the shade to avoid skin cancer.

* ArtificialIntelligence: If you don't consider the brains uploaded into Bitworld to be human, then they're basically AI that resembles the people whose brains they're patterned after. Also, native denizens of Bitworld have no human basis. They're AI who live beside uploaded humans. Those created by Spring are called Sprung and appear to be more or less indistinguishable from other late-arrival souls. Autochthons, created by El, look like beautiful, angelic people. There are also a races of artificial subhumans, including Beedles, who are ambiguously sentient.

* {{Transhumanism}}: Humans become virtual life forms living inside a computer system.

After the events of ''Reamde'', Dodge is enjoying his comfortable life as a video game magnate and technology pioneer. When an unexpected health disaster lays him low, however, his oddball will leads to the development of BrainUploading technology, ushering in a new way for humanity to experience life after death. But conflict both within and without the virtual afterlife, Bitworld, have serious ramifications for the future of humanity.

* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Enoch Root is still alive after hundreds of years. He makes occasional oblique reference to his age and the fact that he'll be around until his job is over.

* AmbiguousDisorder: Corvus seems to be somewhere on the autism spectrum. He's a genius who loves data and facts, but he's somewhat socially awkward and he tends to speak in a blunt and stiff manner when trying to relate emotionally to people.

* CallBack: Early on, characters make reference to the events of ''Literature/{{Reamde}}''. Enoch Root also repeats the "Initiated Nail Removal Immediately" joke from ''Literature/{{Cryptonomicon}}''.

* ReallySevenHundredYearaOld: Enoch Root is still alive after hundreds of years. He makes occasional oblique reference to his age and the fact that he'll be around until his job is over.

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Many events within the virtual afterlife closely mirror the Bible and ''Literature/ParadiseLost'', including the Tower of Babel, the Garden of Eden, and the corruption of Adam and Eve, and the fall of Satan. Some events are specifically modeled after the bible.