The
Sultanate of Kinakuta is a fictitious
Island in
Neal Stephenson's novel,
Cryptonomicon. Much of the modern half of this book revolves directly around this location, where
Randy Waterhouse and
Avi's company intend to create a
data haven. Intended to be housed in a hollowed out
cave system on the island which has formerly served various purposes such as a
Nipponese base and fallback point during the
second world war.
Though the island has been occupied by numerous countries throughout the years, most notably the
Germans and the Nipponese, the island's
Sultan has always remained in power over the locals, though the world's
international politics have more or less long ignored the island. Through the complete lack of
copyright law and vast
data facilities and communications hub status, the Sultan hopes to create vast
prosperity for his
nation (and himself).
Notable events in Kinakuta's history are limited to primarily one incident when the locals overwhelmed
American troops guarding a
prison camp where Nipponese
soldiers were being held and killed every last one of them.
The closest the
real world has to offer to Kinakuta right now is the
Principality of
Sealand, an
antiaircraft platform built in World War II by
Britain, which was
abandoned after the war and occupied in the 1960s by
Prince Roy, a British ex-military man. Now, a
company called
HavenCo operates a
data haven on the
platform. If you are interested in reading more about
Sealand, it already has a node of its own.