[ttrmw]

I've not read Diaspora (yet!), but this sounds more like Permutation City

[mirimir]

I haven't read Permutation City yet, but virtualization in Diaspora is far more advanced. The default, as I recall, is ~800 times meatspace. I recommend reading Stephenson's Anathem first, however.

Edit: The Planck Dive is a follow-on.[0]

[0] http://gregegan.customer.netspace.net.au/PLANCK/Complete/Pla...