The supposedly disembodied internet depends on 1.4m km of fibre-optic cables sitting on the ocean floor. These cables, no fatter than a garden hose, carry 99% of the world's internet traffic. Modern maps of fibre-optic cables look uncannily similar to those of imperial-era telegraph cables, partly for historical and political reasons, but also because existing routes are known to be safe, avoiding jagged rocks or seismic activity.
Cables are laid and repaired by a handful of specialist firms. Tech giants are among the biggest funders and users of subsea cables.
In January 2022 the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano erupted with the force of a nuclear bomb, snapping the sole undersea cable connecting Tonga to the rest of the world. Banks shut down, hospitals could not transfer patient records, and the subscription for a satellite-backup system had lapsed and could not be renewed without internet access.
Cables can be broken, accidentally or deliberately, by a stray anchor. They can be tapped by divers operating from submarines.
America will not let its companies use cable-laying ships with links to China, or allow cables from China to land on its shores. China claims a right to oversee cable-laying and maintenance throughout the South China Sea, not just in its own territorial waters. In 2023 the Matsu islands of Taiwan were cut off when Chinese vessels "accidentally" severed a cable.
Reality is just a crutch for people who can't handle science fiction.