But to be fair, ZK proofs have strong "Cryptography 2: the Dark Tower" (2cryp2graphy?) vibes.

The amount and level of power use of cryptography primitives and their minutiae is insane. A cryptographic algorithm can usually be described on a post it note. A non-interactive zk commitment scheme would take a 200 page book.

(Though to be seriousit's Cryptography 3: Return of the String, because Cryptography 2 is Public Key Cryptography)