When Turbiner, the author for whom McNihil converts the copyright-violating punk into a trophy audio cable, talks about the essence of noir-the-genre, he makes the point succinctly: "It was always about betrayal."

Betrayal is indeed the lifeblood of Noir. It moves the plot, it rounds out the characters, it's the essence of the obscenity in the word "connect." McNihil has betrayed his dead wife; McNihil wins over the punk before trophying him; November betrays the "trust" of the men she kills with her finger-zappers; Harrisch hands out betrayals like tchotschkes, big and small - he's made of them: the cube bunny, the squatter, McNihil himself, the train tracks... betrayal is the very essence of Harrisch's corporate culture, and the driving force behind TIAC and TOAW. Even Turbiner turns around and connects McNihil when Harrisch gets to him. There's gratitude for ya.

In fact, when articulating Harrisch's philosophy of business and capitalism, Jeter makes the point that the impetus of all commerce is to stick it to both your customers and your employees as much as you can while keeping yourself indispensable to them. Connect 'Em Till They Bleed: Pimp-Style Management, and all that. As a capitalist right-winger myself I found that hard to swallow, but nevertheless containing some truth.

Aaand on to the question: what points might Jeter be trying to make about today's world? Bearing in mind his thoughts on fitting punishment for copyright infringers, what do you think his perspective is on capitalism? Globalization? The wave of corporate sludge that's come to light in recent weeks? The Digital Rights Management (copy-protection technology) debate?

-Rich