Inside "fab" world

I can remember the first time I visited Intel, in Arizona. It was classic ?tumbleweed? territory, with a small town outside Phoenix, one road, one hotel and a Silicon Fabrication Facility. The temperature outside was over 100 degrees, with dust everywhere, but when you crossed the threshold into the plant, the air-con kicked in and you were in a different world. This is a common experience to anyone who works in the Silicon Manufacturing sector. The world outside and the ?fab? world inside are on two different planes. This boundary can also transcend geographic and political boundaries, so it can become impossible to tell which country you are in, when everyone is wearing a mask, and is dressed head to foot in a clean room suit.