Trama

When a virus starts killing people hooked up neurally to a worldwide information network, the only person who can stop it is a man unable to link into it due to a childhood injury.

In a future world, nearly all humans have an embedded neural connection to a massive computer system known as the Stream. One exception to that is Ryan Unger who cannot be connected to the net because of a childhood accident that damaged his neurological system. By the standards of the time, Ryan is an imbecile relying on reading books for information while the majority simply having to think it. When a virus starts to kill some of them however, it's Ryan who concludes that it is coming from the Stream itself and all attempts to stop it will be unsuccessful. Only Ryan can save them - both now and in the future.—garykmcd

Everyone on earth participates in a cybernetic internet, with a few exceptions. A "cripple" who is unable to use this internet but is otherwise normal crusades to save the population from a cybernetic plague.