Ancient Tradition: Societas Eruditorum.Anachronic Order: Not only does the novel interweave storylines set in WWII with ones set in the then-modern late 90s, the individual storylines sometimes bounce around in the timeline.Naturally, since she is the granddaughter of Marine Raider Bobby Shaftoe. The novel was the first installment set in a shared universe used by several of Stephenson's later works, including The Baroque Cycle, REAMDE and Fall, or Dodge in Hell, which feature ancestors or descendants of the main characters. His viewpoint largely serves as a tour of just how horrible the Pacific Theater actually was.

Goto Dengo: A Japanese mining engineer who is sent to New Guinea.

He is the grandson of Lawrence Pritchard Waterhouse. He's involved in an attempt to create a 'Data Haven', where information may be freely exchanged without government interference.

Randall Lawrence Waterhouse: A geek with a love of mathematics and computer science.

A headstrong and irreverent Warrior Poet, his appetite for adventure comes at the cost of his physical and mental health. Bobby Shaftoe: Marine Raider responsible for putting Waterhouse and company's plans into action.He's prone to drifting off on tangents that are as profound as they are eccentric. Navy as a part of Detachment 2702, a secret paramilitary organization created for the purpose of keeping the Axis Powers ignorant of the fact that the Allies have broken the Enigma cypher. Lawrence Pritchard Waterhouse: A young mathematician/cryptographer serving as an officer in the U.S.Equal parts profound and profane, Cryptonomicon tells the story of multiple generations within the Waterhouse and Shaftoe families, as well as their attempts to unravel the secrets of a vast conspiracy affecting history and society. Although it deals with some pretty deep, philosophical themes, the novel itself never comes off as dry or preachy, largely due to Stephenson's unique style of narration. Published in 1999, Cryptonomicon is a 1,000+ page Sci Fi/Historical novel by Neal Stephenson following three independent yet interrelated story arcs, two of which are set during the Second World War and the third during the first years of the twenty-first century.