Excerpt from Neal Stephenson’s “Diamond Age” (1995), Dinosaur’s tale:  Next I found myself in the care of the mammals, who were almost all shrews. They led me up into the foothills, to the mouth of a great cave. “Your job,” said the King of the Shrews, “is to wait here for Dojo and then defeat him in single combat.” Then all the shrews went away and left me there alone.   I waited in front of that cave for three days and three nights, which gave me plenty of time to scope the place out. At first I was … Continue reading →