The lead pipes are highways. Not "information highways"; literal, people-bearing transportation systems. For a relatively short period in human history, it has

The lead pipes are highways. Not "information highways"; literal, people-bearing transportation systems. For a relatively short period in human history, it has been easily possible for just about anyone with a small amount of wealth to leave the place of their birth, to escape those pesky social problems that always crop up in groups, and to do so without a great deal of risk. ...And now the 'net is making the world small again and an awful lot of folks are realizing that they don't like being part of their society any more than their ancestors did. We got our scarlet letters and our witch hunts and our untouchables and our religious wars and it's all ruining our ability to laugh at the ancients because more and more we look at ourselves and see the same failings.