The robot species
The imagery of the robot species is made apparent through the employment of direct comparisons to other creatures. The first of the species is compared to a snake, then there is “one that picked its way along like a crab, one that looked like a sort of rolling geodesic dome, and another that looked like a swarm of insects.” The use of the similes enhances the imagery of the robot species.
The bottle of Tequila
As Ivy rummages through her stuff in search of her bottle of Tequila, she stiffens as she finds the bottle. The writer uses a simile in which the way Ivy throws the bottle towards Dinah is compared to that of a club: “Ivy stiffened for a moment, then pulled out the bottle and swung it toward Dinah’s head like a club.” The specific employment of the simile enhances the depiction of the scene by appealing to the reader’s sense of imagination.
The movement of the buzz
As Dr. Harris talks to Amelia, there is a movement, a buzz whose slow and smooth motion is compared to that of a mild, calm, and gentle breeze. The writer’s choice and employment of the simile evokes a more profound conception of the smoothness of the buzz passing over the quad: “He was talking to Amelia […] when a buzz moved slowly over the quad, like a gentle breeze, and caused everyone to look up.”
The movement of the cosmic rays
The personified cosmic rays are given the ability to run by the writer, their motion in straight lines. To make the imagery more vivid and prominent, Stephenson uses a simile in which the motion of the cosmic rays is directly compared to light: “Cosmic rays ran in straight lines, like light, and they could not negotiate that bend.” The simile makes clearer why the rays could not negotiate the bend seeing as they ran in a straight line.
The gleaming drop of water
The writer employs vivid descriptions to bring out the slab of ice—oval and lens-shaped. He further uses a simile to enhance the visual perception of the gleaming drops of water that spin away from the ice slab, comparing them to diamonds in the sun. The writer notes: “A few drops of water spun away from it, gleaming like diamonds in the shaft of sunlight spearing in through her little window.”
