The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer

Deep in the caves of the Drummers, Hackworth witnesses a ceremony in which a dozen Drummer men driven to a frenzy by the drumming copulate with a young woman, presumably with her consent, until she catches fire and turns into ash. Everyone in the arena consumes a mixture of the ash and an unnamed liquid.

In the Primer, Princess Nell spends most of her time researching King Magpie’s power, which resides in books that hold the keys. Nell and Princess Nell read these books. Peter Rabbit, whose strengths are trickery and oral games, disappears. Duck assumes a maternal role. Nell also begins formal education at Miss Matheson’s School of the Three Graces. The initial journey there is tense because Nell’s sharp questioning highlights the contradiction of Dovetail—the community’s values focus on artisanal crafts and are anti-capitalist, but it is economically dependent on arch-capitalist neo-Victorians. Nell also demands that Rita define unfamiliar terms—a habit she got from interacting with the Primer. Rita warns Nell that she lacks discretion and knowledge of how to interact with people.

At the school interview, Miss Matheson explains that Nell will be a scholarship girl. Scholarships help the school fulfill its mission to propagate New Atlantean values—“memes”—especially “rational faculties” (220).