History Literature / RainbowsEnd

* MultiethnicName: Robert Gu (Sr. and Jr.) reflects the melting pot nature of modern (and near-future) America. The Indian national named Alfred Vaz, on the other hand, suggests that the rest of the world is becoming more of a melting pot as well.

* EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs: The location-based augmented reality game Cretaceous Returns is dinosaur-themed.

** Robert Gu is considered one of the greatest living poets, and he loves using his gift of language to humiliate others and put them in their place. When she finds out his Alzheimer's is being cured, his ex-wife [[spoiler: fakes her own death]], rather than have to face him again.

* WellIntentionedExtremist: t Vaz has created a MindControl virus because he sincerely believes it's the only way to keep the world safe, when even terrorists and cults can afford nukes and deadly viruses.

The novel follows two different storylines, which gradually begin to converge. The first story is of Grünberk Braun, a member of the European Union Intelligence Board who discovers a MindVirus that seems to have come from a lab in San Diego, California, and of his colleague, Albert Vaz of India's External Intelligence Agency, an expert Braun quickly turns to. Unfortunately, Vaz is the man secretly behind the virus, which he believes is the only way to end terrorism forever. The second story is of Robert Gu, a world-famous poet, who has recently been cured of his Alzheimer's and given rejuvenation treatments, and is now living with his son in San Diego and learning to cope with the changes in the world in the years since he started becoming senile.

* MoleInCharge: When Grünberk Braun discovers the existence of the MindControl virus, he asks for help from [[spoiler:Albert Vaz,]] the man who has secretly created it as part of his plan to [[WellIntentionedExtremist save the world from itself]].

* MultiethnicName: Robert Gu (Sr. and Jr.) reflects the melting pot nature of modern (and near-future) America. The Indian national named Albert Vaz, on the other hand, suggests that the rest of the world is becoming more of a melting pot as well.

* SequelHook: Quite a few. [[spoiler:Rabbit may or may not be gone, may or may not be an A.I., and may or may not be subtly making good on his deals with the Elder Cabal. Albert Vaz's fate is left ambiguous. The Great Powers are going nuts over the realization that the Secure Hardware Environment has been subverted, leading Alice Gu to return to Just In Time Training. And Robert Gu is still working to rehabilitate his relations with his family.]]

* WellIntentionedExtremist: Albert Vaz has created a MindControl virus because he sincerely believes it's the only way to keep the world safe, when even terrorists and cults can afford nukes and deadly viruses.

* TheLostLenore: Subverted with Lena Gu and Robert Gu. It turns out [[spoler: she is alive]].

* DidNotDieThatWay: Robert Gu discovers--though we knew it all along--that his wife hated him so much that she faked her own death (with the help of Friends of Privacy) when she learned that a cure for his advanced Alzheimer's had been found.

** Robert Gu is considered one of the greatest living poets, and he loves using his gift of language to humiliate others and put them in their place. When she finds out his Alzheimer's is being cured, his ex-wife fakes her own death, rather than have to face him again.

* MoleInCharge: When Grünberk Braun discovers the existence of the MindControl virus, he asks for help from Albert Vaz, the man who has secretly created it as part of his plan to [[WellIntentionedExtremist save the world from itself]].