Indeed it has been known for many centuries that the written word could depose rulers more swiftly than any sword.

"The indispensable catalyst is the word, the explanatory idea. More than petards or stilettos, therefore, words - uncontrolled words, circulating freely, underground, rebelliously, not gotten up in dress uniforms, uncertified - frighten tyrants." -- Ryszard Kapuscinski, Shah of Shahs

In the modern world however the typed word and even the encoded word has become the more powerful entity. Newspapers yield their control of popular media to an internet of blogs and the world finds itself more dependent upon technology than ever before. It is the era of the angle bracket, of the line of code, of the operating systems that provide our access to so many fundamentals. Within that system, underlying the facade of screensavers, services, and rounded icons dwells a dormant power that is understood and controlled by few. The age of software has come and all shall tremble before its power and majesty.