Snow Crash is the story of samurai programmer Hiro Protagonist and of youthful skateboard courier Y. T. The two live in a dystopian hyper-corporate future with a rich but commercial simulated online world underlying most of society. Partnering to go into the intelligence business, Hiro and Y. T. run afoul of a scheme to use mind control to reshape society through applications of an ancient language that speaks directly to the human brainstem.