From the introduction:
It is the year 2010. Technology has advanced to the point where Optical Sensory Imaging Systems have made it possible for computer users to interract with their computers on a three dimensional, interractive level. This includes mentally exploring the vast computer network as if it were part of an alternate physical world. Some computer users have begun to live most of their lives online, even become addicted to the strange thrills the network has to offer, and some have staked out territory within the network and made it their own. The most organized and clearly defined development in this electronic world is the land of Cyberia, a loosely defined region within the North American section of the network which has developed its own political identity and a certain degree of autonomy.