decay has a way of spreading, like a virus, as the common metaphor goes. the virus manifests itself in ways we're just now able to imagine --- one crank phone call to the air control traffic tower in the busy new york tri-state area and the entire infrastructure starts coming apart at the seams. flights are rerouted back to their points of destination, "liquid" corporate enterprises (i.e. the airlines) refuse to put the distraught and disabled passenger in a hotel for the night since they can't be held responsible for terrorist bomb threats (or acts of God, whoever/whatever that is). which is worse: hacker worms that eat-only-memory, or the hype that solidifies their nobility in the daily schmooze?