History Literature / Daemon

* FormerRegimePersonnel: One small part of ''Freedom'' gives us the viewpoint of a mercenary who used to serve in the regime of Romanian Communist leader Nicolae Ceaușescu.

* SequelHook: ''Daemon'' ends with [[spoiler:Sebeck and companion setting off on a road trip across America, leading into their part of ''Freedom''.]]

* TheSiege: Late in ''Freedom'' anti-Daemon mercenaries carry out one against a Daemon community.

* StormingTheCastle: BookEnds. The FBI "attempts" one against Sobol's mansion early in ''Daemon'', which [[TotalPartyKill doesn't go well]]. Near the end of ''Daemon'', [[spoiler:[[SociopathicHero Loki]]]] returns the favor against the headquarters of an anti-Daemon task force [[spoiler:'''[[OneManArmy singlehandedly]]''']]. [[spoiler:Near the end of ''Freedom'', he '''''[[CurbStompBattle annihilates]]''''' the anti-Daemon forces.]]

* LudicrousGibs: What happens to anyone hunted by a Razorback.

* TheGameComeToLife: [[spoiler:The entire plot.]] Early on, the autonomous Hummer is believed to have been programed with videogame-style logic and [=CyberStorm's=] games are used to recruit talent for Sobol's cause. Once recruited, operatives use AugmentedReality glasses to carry out "quests" in the style of a {{MMORPG}}; agents gain levels and earn "network credits" for completing tasks such as building tools and weapons, infiltrating and suborning governments and corporations, recruiting and training new operatives. As the Daemon network becomes more sophisticated and populated by warm bodies, [[spoiler:the combat and infiltration operations become less important(which annoys Loki to no end) and focus shifts to building a new ''civilization'' based on sustainable communities and acceptance of technological and social change. This was Sobol's plan all along; comparing the shortcomings of modern society to the strong, stable {{Player Generated Econom|y}}ies of [=CyberStorm's=] virtual worlds inspired him to use his [[TheDevTeamThinksOfEverything decades of development experience]] to create a Player Generated ''Civilization''.]]

* [[TheDevTeamThinksOfEverything Sobol Thought of Everything]]: He had to, since Daemon is not self-aware. Then again, he's been the Dev Team for a multi-billion-dollar game company for ''decades'', so he has ''lots'' of experience in doing this.

* BatmanGambit [[GambitRoulette Roulette]]: Matthew Sobol programmed the Daemon to anticipate every circumstance he could think of and take advantage of it. However you can only anticipate so much before you have to guess. Of course, the [[JustifiedTrope essential component]] of a Batman Gambit is [[HumansAreBastards Bastard Humans]] [[ShapedLikeItself acting like Bastards]] = people who ''don't'' act like Bastards trigger positive Daemon events instead of negative ones. And Sobol, as a game programmer, had been [[TheDevTeamThinksOfEverything technically running Gambit Roulettes for a living]] for ''his entire adult life''.

* WholePlotReference: A three-way war between {{Playful Hacker}}s, {{Government Conspirac|y}}ies and {{Predatory Business}}es where EverythingIsOnline and the Establisment's trump card boils down to, "destroy the Internet." And LaResistance's ultimate goal is [[spoiler:to turn civilization over to a BenevolentAI which recognizes only a person's ability and [[RousseauWasRight intention]] instead of their [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney wealth]], [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections influence]] or [[AppealToForce capacity for violence]].]] Gee, this sounds a lot like Creator/JohnBrunner's ''Literature/TheShockwaveRider.'' But Suarez is a ''lot'' better at [[ShownTheirWork Showing His Work]] - and the Daemon has ''much'' cooler toys.

* {{Jerkass}}: Gragg/Loki. His character is introduced by describing how he orchestrates the gang-date-rape of a teenage girl at a rave so he can put the video on the Internet for money. Right afterwards, [[spoiler: he lets a acquaintance of his take the well-deserved bullets (for Loki anyway) from a pissed off group of drug-runners after Gragg/Loki stiffed them. He mentioned not liking the guy, but still quite the JerkAss move.]] He doesn't get any better, although... see JerkassWoobie.

** The Major is a key player in an faction not quite under governmental control. It's a bit of a stretch, but given that this is a cyberpunk work and the author has shown clear knowledge of anime/manga culture, [[GhostInTheShell a certain other Major]] comes to mind.

* {{Jerkass}}: Gragg/Loki. His character is introduced by describing how he orchestrates the gang-date-rape of a teenage girl at a rave so he can put the video on the Internet for money. He doesn't get any better, although...
** Let us not forget the scene right after, where [[spoiler: Gragg/Loki let's a acquaintance of his take the well-deserved bullets (for Loki anyway) from a pissed off group of drug-runners after Gragg/Loki stiffed them. He mentioned not liking the guy, but still quite the JerkAss move.]]

* WholePlotReference: A three-way war between {{Playful Hacker}}s, {{Government Conspirac|y}}ies and {{Predatory Business}}es where EverythingIsOnline and the Establisment's trump card boils down to, "destroy the Internet." And LaResistance's ultimate goal is [[spoiler:to turn civilization over to a BenevolentAI which recognizes only a person's ability and intention instead of their [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney wealth]], [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections influence]] or [[AppealToForce capacity for violence]].]] Gee, this sounds a lot like Creator/JohnBrunner's ''Literature/TheShockwaveRider.'' But Suarez is a ''lot'' better at [[ShownTheirWork Showing His Work]] - and the Daemon has ''much'' cooler toys.

* WholePlotReference: A three-way war between {{Playful Hacker}}s, {{Government Conspirac|y}}ies and {{Predatory Business}}es where EverythingIsOnline and the Establisment's trump card boils down to, "destroy the Internet." And LaResistance's ultimate goal is [[spoiler:to turn civilization over to a BenevolentAI which recognizes only a person's ability and intention instead of their [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney wealth]], [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections influence]] or [[AppealToForce capacity for violence.]] Gee, this sounds a lot like Creator/JohnBrunner's ''Literature/TheShockwaveRider.'' But Suarez is a ''lot'' better at [[ShownTheirWork Showing His Work]] - and the Daemon has ''much'' cooler toys.

* WeCanRebuildHim: In ''Freedom™'', Daemon gives cybernetics to [[spoiler:Loki after the Major performs a BorrowedBiometricBypass on him - AKA ''cuts out his fingertops, eyes and tongue''.]]

** Gragg/Loki's moniker is [[TheElricSaga Stormbringer]].

The 2010 sequel, ''Freedom™'' (yes, the trademark symbol is part of the title), picks up shortly after where ''Daemon'' leaves off and focuses further on the motives and goals of the Daemon's actions. Through the main viewpoint character, whose identity is a spoiler for the previous book, we learn that the Daemon has moved beyond merely attacking the old system to building a new one and making itself more appealing to the masses, who it needs in order to truly upset the status quo. We also get multiple looks through the viewpoints of the powerful parties both corporate and governmental who oppose it for their own reasons and are slowly but surely putting together plans to get rid of it for good. A storm is coming, and only one of the sides will be walking away after it erupts.

* AdventureFriendlyWorld: Daemon's darknet starts out as one, with "Logistics Defense sorcerers" like Loki having the time of their lives infiltrating {{Predatory Business}}es, clashing with {{Private Military Contractor}}s, and [[spoiler:killing spammers.]

* AdventureFriendlyWorld: Daemon's darknet starts out as one, with "Logistics Defense sorcerers" like Loki having the time of their lives infiltrating {{Predatory Business}}es, clashing with {{Private Military Contractor}}s, and [[spoiler:killing spammers. However, over time those threats are all but eliminated, shifting the darknet's focus from eliminating threats to streamlining the PlayerGeneratedEconomy, leaving them with little to do and way too much power to do it with. Luckily, Sobol anticipated this, and designed the darknet to adapt to its citizens' wishes; in this case, a player-generated avatar of Roy "Tripwire" Merrit which depowers Loki when he goes too far.]]

* AugmentedReality: Members of the Daemon's "darknet" wear CoolShades with {{Heads-Up Display}}s and haptic gloves. The shades are keyed to their retinas, and the gloves to their fingerprints. These turn RealLife into an [[AbsurdlyHighStakesGame Absurdly High Stakes]] [[MassivelyMultiplayerOnlineRolePlayingGame Massively Multiplayer]] AlternateRealityGame, initially in a figurative sense and eventually ''[[TheGameComeToLife literally]]'' - by carrying out "quests" to increase the Daemon's influence on the world, operatives are awarded with "{{Character Level}}s" that grant them access to increasingly powerful devices and abilities such as remote controlled weapons like [=AutoM8s=] and Razorbacks, ShockAndAwe gloves and {{Invisibility}}(at least to cameras) rings, "curses" that ruin people's credit ratings, etc. As "quests" are completed, the devices and abilities the Daemon awards become more numerous and powerful. [[spoiler:Eventually, the darknet becomes an entire ''civilization'' that is InvisibleToNormals - one superior to the current one.]]

* AugmentedReality: Members of the Daemon's "darknet" enter an AugmentedReality via CoolShades and haptic gloves. The shades are keyed to their retinas, and the gloves to their fingerprints. These turn RealLife into an [[AbsurdlyHighStakesGame Absurdly High Stakes]] [[MassivelyMultiplayerOnlineRolePlayingGame Massively Multiplayer]] AlternateRealityGame, initially in a figurative sense and eventually ''[[TheGameComeToLife literally]]'' - by carrying out "quests" to increase the Daemon's influence on the world, operatives are awarded with "{{Character Level}}s" that grant them access to increasingly powerful devices and abilities such as remote controlled weapons like [=AutoM8s=] and Razorbacks, ShockAndAwe gloves and {{Invisibility}}(at least to cameras) rings, "curses" that ruin people's credit ratings, etc. As "quests" are completed, the devices and abilities the Daemon awards become more numerous and powerful. [[spoiler:Eventually, the darknet becomes an entire ''civilization'' that is InvisibleToNormals - one superior to the current one.]]

* AugmentedReality: Members of the Daemon's "darknet" wear CoolShades that [[GogglesDoSomethingUnusual project data from the Daemon onto the lenses]], along with haptic gloves. The shades are keyed to their retinas, and the gloves to their fingerprints. These turn RealLife into an [[AbsurdlyHighStakesGame Absurdly High Stakes]] [[MassivelyMultiplayerOnlineRolePlayingGame Massively Multiplayer]] AlternateRealityGame, initially in a figurative sense and eventually ''[[TheGameComeToLife literally]]'' - by carrying out "quests" to increase the Daemon's influence on the world, operatives are awarded with "{{Character Level}}s" that grant them access to increasingly powerful devices and abilities such as remote controlled weapons like [=AutoM8s=] and Razorbacks, ShockAndAwe gloves and {{Invisibility}}(at least to cameras) rings, "curses" that ruin people's credit ratings, etc. As "quests" are completed, the devices and abilities the Daemon awards become more numerous and powerful. [[spoiler:Eventually, the darknet becomes an entire ''civilization'' that is InvisibleToNormals - one superior to the current one.]]

* AugmentedReality: Members of the Daemon's "darknet" wear CoolShades that [[GogglesDoSomethingUnusual project data from the Daemon onto the lenses]], along with haptic gloves. The shades are keyed to their retinas, and the gloves to their fingerprints. These are used by the initial operatives to turn RealLife into an [[AbsurdlyHighStakesGame Absurdly High Stakes]] [[MassivelyMultiplayerOnlineRolePlayingGame Massively Multiplayer]] AlternateRealityGame in [[TheGameComeToLife both senses of the term]] - carrying out "quests" to increase the Daemon's influence on the world result in "{{Character Level}}s" that grant them access to increasingly powerful devices and abilities such as remote controlled weapons like [=AutoM8s=] and Razorbacks, ShockAndAwe gloves and {{Invisibility}}(at least to cameras) rings, "curses" that ruin people's credit ratings, etc. As "quests" are completed, the devices and abilities the Daemon awards become more numerous and powerful. [[spoiler:Eventually, the darknet becomes an entire ''civilization'' that is InvisibleToNormals - one superior to the current one.]]

[[IThoughtItMeant Not to be confused]] with [[Anime/DigimonAdventure02 Dae]][[Manga/{{Digimon V-Tamer 01}} mon]], [[HisDarkMaterials Daemons]] or the MailerDaemon trope.

* OneOfUs: Daniel Suarez gets ''so many things'' about Internet technology right it's ridiculous. When he doesn't, it's clearly for plot-related reasons, but still remains close enough to reality to be easily believable.
** He goes into so much detail, [[EpilepticTrees you wonder]] if he hasn't [[ConspiracyTheory written his own Daemon...]]
** He couldn't help geeking out with the PropheticNames, either: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SNOBOL SNOBOL]] is a classic string-processing programming language, which makes it good for AI, natural language processing, and apparently [[spoiler: WORLD DOMINATION]]. Meanwhile, [[http://www.honeynet.org/project/sebek Sebek]] is a security tool used to analyze malware infections.

* SinisterSurveillance: During a meeting of top government [=TLA=]s, one of them orders the {{NSA}} to track down the Daemon and everyone associated using Echelon. In a realistic subversion of this trope, [=NSA=] explains that the Daemon is using a sophisticated [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darknet_%28file_sharing%29 darknet]] for all its communications, and anyway, Echelon doesn't really work like that.

->''Technology. It is the physical manifestation of the human will. It began with simple tools. Then came the wheel, and on it goes to this very day. Civilizations rise and fall based on technological innovation. Bronze falls to iron. Iron falls to steel. Steel falls to gunpowder. Gunpowder falls to circuitry.''\\
--'''Matthew Sobol'''

The book is unusual for the standard technothriller in that Daniel Suarez is OneOfUs. It becomes clear from the very beginning of the book that he is ''very'' familiar with computer systems, networking and security. (He is, in fact, a successful systems & networking security consultant.) It starts off a little jargon-heavy -- clearly to set up the book as tech-heavy for the uninitiated, and to indicate to those of us on the inside that ''[[ShownTheirWork he actually knows this stuff]].'' He never skimps on the explanations for those who don't already know these things, while not going overboard for those of us who do.

The sequel, ''Freedom™'' (yes, the trademark symbol is part of the title), picks up shortly after where ''Daemon'' leaves off and focuses further on the motives and goals of the Daemon's actions. Through the main viewpoint character, whose identity is a spoiler for the previous book, we learn that the Daemon has moved beyond merely attacking the old system to building a new one and making itself more appealing to the masses, who it needs in order to truly upset the status quo. We also get multiple looks through the viewpoints of the powerful parties both corporate and governmental who oppose it for their own reasons and are slowly but surely putting together plans to get rid of it for good. A storm is coming, and only one of the sides will be walking away after it erupts.

->''Technology. It is the physical manifestation of the human will. It began with simple tools. Then came the wheel, and on it goes to this very day. Civilizations rise and fall based on technological innovation. Bronze falls to iron. Iron falls to steel. Steel falls to gunpowder. Gunpowder falls to circuitry.''
-->'''Matthew Sobol'''

The sequel, ''Freedom™'' (yes, the trademark symbol is part of the title), picks up shortly after where ''Daemon'' leaves off and focuses further on the motives and goals of the Daemon's actions. Through the main viewpoint character, whose identity is a spoiler for the previous book, we learn that the Daemon has moved beyond merely attacking the old system to building a new one and making itself more appealing to the masses, who it needs in order to truly upset the status quo. We also get multiple looks through the viewpoints of the powerful parties both corporate and governmental who oppose it for their own reasons.

--> '''Oberstleutnant Boerner''': I do so ''love'' my verk!

--> '''Oberstleutnant Boerner''': I do so ''love'' my verk! [[labelnote:*:This line is said as Razorbacks begin to slowly take the Major apart.]]

--> '''Oberstleutnant Boerner''': I do so ''love'' my verk! [[labelnote:This line is said as Razorbacks begin to slowly take the Major apart.]]

--> '''Oberstleutnant Boerner''': I do so ''love'' my verk! [[spoiler: This line is said as Razorbacks begin to slowly take the Major apart.]]