[1] Within a detective fiction framework, the novel explores the consequences of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics (or rather of its consciousness causes collapse variant), which Egan acknowledges was chosen more for its entertainment value than for its likelihood of being correct.

The Bubble permits no light to enter the Solar System, and as a consequence the stars can no longer be seen, causing widespread societal panic, 'claustrophobia', and terrorist action.

Neural mods are commonplace, designed pathways in the brain that are created with engineered, programmable microorganisms to produce a variety of effects, such as implanting skillsets, emotions, altered states of awareness or, illegally, forcing and controlling thoughts.

This feature of neurology is present in several animal species, and one of the researchers responsible for the mod, Po-kwai, suspects that the Bubble may exist because humanity may have been aggressively collapsing the wave functions of alien civilizations that did not have the ability to do so, causing them harm.

Laura explains that life on earth developed the ability to collapse wave functions by chance, which eventually spread via pure natural selection.

In the epilogue, Nick resides in a refugee camp outside of New Hong Kong, the disease apparently only spreading within the city before stopping, but not before causing massive damage and leaving millions dead, often in gruesome and fantastical ways.

Nick initially believes that smeared humanity found the world outside the bubble distasteful, causing them to suicide into a single unique eigenstate again.

After the novel's initial publication in Australian in 1992 by Legend, it was reprinted as follows:[3] The novel was also translated into German in 1993, Romanian in 1996, Russian in 1997, Hungarian and Italian in 1998, Spanish and Japanese in 1999, French in 2000, Czech, Hebrew and Lithuanian in 2002, and Polish in 2006.

Traditional humanism might find Quarantine hollow and soulless claiming that it merrily surrenders to the allure of glamorous gadgetry ... but the novel counter-answers (somewhat glibly) that life has never amounted to much and it matters little whether you place your trust in cherished values or the latest mod program So you can place Egan as a future-wise Robbe-Grillet or a spectacle-conscious Spielberg..."[5] Writing in SF Commentary Colin Steele noted: "Where the problem resides is with the overall structure.