The Diamond Age Is focused on a young girl named Nell, and set in a world in which nanotechnology affects all aspects of life. Some main motifs include: education, social class, ethnicity, and the nature of artificial intelligence.

MAJOR THEMES:
The importance of cultural association over racial affiliation.
The importance of personal connection between educator and child.
The importance of education over biological ancestry and of experiencing genuine adversity/life-experience over education.

Is this devotion to the Caldari State akin to Nell's love for Miranda Reactor, an expression of longing among the Caldari girls for a conscious entity in a virtual world which for them was otherwise populated only with pseudo-intelligent agents?