The Ramp

Think of it as the cyberequivalent of war. And like combat, you are terrifi ed in it, have few coherent memories of it, and can only really talk about what happened to another veteran. It's the ramp: the emblematic event of mo dern business life. As linguist Geoffrey Nunberg explains (see page 90), it is a noun that has mutated into a verb - a capitalized noun drenched in ad renaline and flop sweat. The Ramp is so awe-inspiring to outsiders that the y will do almost anything to climb aboard; it is so addictive to those whoa re in it, they will sacrifice their families, their health , and their you th to stay there. it is the locus of ur high tech dreams: The Ramp can make you rich; it can make you famous. It can make you immortal. Just climb abo ard the rocket and hold on.