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1-Page Summary of Cryptonomicon

Overall Summary

Cryptonomicon is a novel by Neal Stephenson that was published in 1999. It takes place in two different time periods—World War II and modern times. The story follows several characters, many of whom are descended from other characters (in the modern day sections). Although it’s science fiction, there are also elements of magical realism to the plot as well.

The novel begins in 1945 Shanghai where a corporal is part of a detail that fetches stacks of paper out of a military building. The men working in another section have been deciphering messages sent by the Nazis using their Enigma Machine, which they do not realize the Allies have cracked.

In the next section, Lawrence Pritchard Waterhouse, a mathematical genius attending Princeton meets Alan Turing and Rudolph von Hacklheber. Turing soon returns to England. He writes to Waterhouse but it’s clear that he can’t say anything about what he is actually doing due to government secrecy.

After Pearl Harbor, Randy joins the Navy. He is not in good shape and has bad coordination, so he ends up in the band and then cryptography school. His mathematical skills help him become one of the leading code-breakers at a time when there are many codes to break because of World War II.

The story then jumps to the 1990s. Lawrence’s grandson, Randy Waterhouse and his business partner Avi are meeting in Manila to discuss a new business venture. They communicate electronically using encrypted messages. The two have had several business failures in the past, but they believe that their encryption will protect them from government interference. They found the Epiphyte Corporation and set up an office in Intramuros (Manila). They hire Semper Marine, owned by Douglas MacArthur Shaftoe (Bobby’s son) and Douglas’ daughter Amy to lay underwater cable. Randy is very attracted to Amy.

In World War II, Bobby Shaftoe meets a Filipino girl named Glory. He is attracted to her and they become friends. They also meet Goto Dengo, who is a Japanese soldier, and they become friends as well.

Shaftoe was involved in the battle of Guadalcanal; he suffered from PTSD. Enoch Root rescued Shaftoe from the aftermath of the battle. Bobby was reassigned to Detachment 2702, where he participated in a variety of strange operations designed to confuse enemy intelligence about Allied plans—he wasn’t stupid and put together that they were part of an effort by Detachment 2702 to protect their ability to read Nazi messages encrypted with Enigma machines. Lawrence Waterhouse led Detachment 2702 members; once Alan Turing and his team broke Enigma codes, Waterhouse and Turing realized it might be problematic if the Germans knew their codes had been broken because they would change them, so they devised a system called Operation Black Wing (detailed later) in which every piece of information collected could be used without revealing that all German messages had already been decrypted. Bobby met Enoch Root again as part of his work for Detachment 2702—oddly enough, Root is now serving as chaplain for this group!

Goto Dengo is assigned to build a bunker in the mountains of Japan. He doesn’t know what it’s for, but he does as he is told. Amy Shaftoe and her father Douglas suggest that if treasure comes up while laying an undersea cable, they should split it between them, on the condition that they don’t tell The Dentist about it.

Randy and Avi meet with potential partners, who reveal that they plan to build a secure data haven in the Sultanate of Kinakuta. This will enable them to protect their customers’ privacy as well as create a digital currency backed by gold. Randy begins to suspect some of his partners cannot be trusted.

Cryptonomicon Book Summary, by Neal Stephenson