"Oh, yes!" the woman said. She rose from her stool and moved to the one 
right next to Hackworth. "Theatre's not just a few people clowning about on a 
stage, being watched by this herd of oxen. I mean, sometimes it's that. But it 
can be ever so much more—really it can be any sort of interaction 
between people and people, or people and information." The woman had become 
quite passionate now, forgotten herself completely. Hackworth got boundless 
pleasure just from watching her. When she'd first entered the bar, he'd thought 
she had a sort of nondescript face, but as she let her guard down and spoke 
without any self-consciousness, she seemed to become prettier and prettier. 
"We are tied in to everything here—plugged into the whole universe of 
information. Really, it's a virtual theatre. Instead of being hardwired, the 
stage, sets, cast, and script are all soft—they can be reconfigured 
simply by shifting bits about."