Interface is a 1994 novel by Neal Stephenson and George Jewsbury. It was originally sold with the author pseudonym of Stephen Bury, then reissued as being by Bury and J. Frederick George, and most recently as being by Stephenson and George. 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... DeFoes Robinson Crusoe, Newspaper edition published in 1719 A novel (from French nouvelle, new) is an extended fictional narrative in prose. ... Neal Stephenson (b. ... George Jewsbury is an academic who has collaborated on several textbooks in the Civilization: Past & Present series. ... A pseudonym (Greek: false name) is a fictitious name used by an individual as an alternative to their legal name (whereas an allonym is the name of another actual person assumed by one person, usually historical, in authorship of a work of art; e. ... Steven Bury is a pseudonymous author representing the team of Neal Stephenson and his uncle, J. Frederick George. ... George Jewsbury is an academic who has collaborated on several textbooks in the Civilization: Past & Present series. ...

Interface is a near-future thriller, set in 1996, in which a shadowy coalition bent on controlling the world economy attempts to manipulate a candidate for president of the United States through the use of a computer bio-chip implanted in his brain. 1996 (MCMXCVI) is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ...

Plot Summary

The novel opens with the governor of Illinois, William Cozanno, suffering a stroke, and in a separate subplot, a trailer park inhabiting, unemployed African-American woman, Eleanor Richmond, discovering her husband dead after committing suicide in their repossessed former house. State nickname: Land of Lincoln, The Prairie State Other U.S. States Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Governor Rod Blagojevich (D) Senators Richard Durbin (D) Barack Obama (D) Official language(s) English Area 149,998 km² (25th)  - Land 143,968 km²  - Water 6,030 km² (4. ... A stroke or cerebrovascular accident (CVA) occurs when the blood supply to a part of the brain is suddenly interrupted. ... An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black), is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ... Suicide (from Latin sui caedere, to kill oneself) is the act of willfully ending ones own life; it is sometimes a noun for one who has committed or attempted the act. ...

As events progress, an underground business coalition, the Network are arranging for Cozanno to have a biochip implanted and for him to run for President of the United States. The Network is made up of a number of large companies, all of whom have parellels in everyday life - Gale Aerospace are presumably Boeing; Pacific Netware are probably Sun Microsystems, etc. The President of the United States (unofficially abbreviated POTUS) is the head of state of the United States. ... The Boeing Company NYSE: BA is the leading American aircraft and aerospace manufacturer, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, with its largest production facilities in Everett, Washington, about 30 miles north of Seattle, Washington. ... Sun Microsystems, Inc. ...

Eleanor Richmond, after publicly attacking a local cable TV installer cum public access talk show personality who was running for Senate, has since found herself working in the offices of a Republican Colorado senator, and after an event where she accused the citizens of Colorado of being Welfare Queens, finds herself in the public eye to a level where she is one of the candidates for Cozanno's running mate. Cable television or Community Antenna Television (CATV) (and often shortened to cable) is a system of providing television, FM radio programming and other services to consumers via radio waves transmitted directly to people’s televisions through fixed coaxial cables as opposed to the over-the-air method used in traditional... Republican is a term used generally to describe a number of different organisations, principles, or political movements, and/or the persons supporting these. ... State nickname: The Centennial State Official languages English Capital Denver Largest city Denver Governor Bill Owens (R) Senators Wayne Allard (R) Ken Salazar (D) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 8th 269,837 km² 0. ...

The Network's ability to perceive public opinion, skewed on the night of the vice presidential debate by a twist of fate, makes them select Richmond as vice presidential candidate, and a canny act of public relations work rescues Cozanno's campaign, getting him elected as President. Public relations is, simply-stated, the art and science of building relationships between an organization and its key audiences. ...

However, Cozanno gets shot at his inauguration by a psychotic former factory worker who has somehow figured out the Network's plans almost entirely, killing him almost instantly. Richmond ends up as the first black and first female President of the United States, in an ending that is left hanging in Stephenson's traditional style.