Neuromancer

Neuromancer (ISBN 0006480411), by William Gibson, is the most famous early cyberpunk novel and won the so-called science-fiction "triple crown" (the Nebula Award, the Philip K. Dick Memorial Award, and the Hugo Award) after being published in 1984. It was Gibson's first novel and the start of the The Sprawl trilogy.

Set amidst the cities of a future world that many readers see as dystopian and find chillingly plausible, Neuromancer tells the story of Case, an out-of-work computer hacker hired by an unknown patron to participate in a seemingly-impossible crime.

The novel examines the concepts of artificial intelligence, virtual reality, genetic engineering, multinational corporations overpowering the traditional nation-state and cyberspace (a computer network called the matrix) long before these ideas were fashionable in popular culture. Gibson also explores the dehumanizing effects of a world dominated by ubiquitous and cheap technology, writing of a future where violence and the free market are the only things upon which one may rely, and in which the dystopian elements of society are counterbalanced by an energy and diversity that is perversely attractive (and provides some of the book's appeal).

Cultural importance

The novel has had significant linguistic influence, popularizing such terms as cyberspace and ICE. Gibson himself coined the term "cyberspace" in his novelette "Burning Chrome", published in 1982 by Omni magazine. It was only through its use in Neuromancer, however, that the term Cyberspace gained enough recognition to became the de facto term for the World Wide Web during the 1990s ^*. The portion of Neuromancer usually cited in this respect is:

The matrix has its roots in primitive arcade games...Cyberspace. A consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators, in every nation, by children being taught mathematical concepts... A graphic representation of data abstracted from banks of every computer in the human system. Unthinkable complexity. Lines of light ranged in the nonspace of the mind, clusters and constellations of data. Like city lights, receding (69).

Neuromancer is also believed to be the first work to refer to cyberspace as "the Matrix", possibly inspiring the title of the film The Matrix.

Plot

Case was once an ace cyber-cowboy, which in the dystopian setting of Neuromancer is synonymous with a hacker. He would jack into the digital world of computer data (known as the matrix) to hack into high-security corporate databases for his employers. When Case was caught double-crossing his employers, however, they used a Russian mycotoxin on him which severely damaged his nervous system, rendering him unable to jack into the matrix. The story begins some time later with a desperate Case working as a middle-man in the black markets of Tokyo, scared that his underworld associates are after him over various debts. He is approached by Molly, a cybernetically enhanced bodyguard and contract killer ("razorgirl"), on behalf of Armitage, a shadowy ex-military figure whose intents are unknown. Armitage offers to cure Case's neurological damage in exchange for his services as a hacker. Case has been a shell of a man since his nervous system was burned out, and he yearns to navigate the virtual, cyberspace world of the matrix again. He is not entirely sure what the job will entail, but he joins up with Armitage and Molly nonetheless, sensing that behind Armitage's offer is a backer with unprecedented money, technology, and power.

Case and Molly develop a personal relationship and secretly begin to inquire into Armitage's background. Armitage's first job for them involves a daring theft at the corporate headquarters of media conglomerate Sense/Net. A group of anarchists calling themselves "The Panther Moderns" are hired to create a massive diversion in the form of a simulated terrorist attack, allowing Molly to penetrate the building while Case directs her to the location of a priceless ROM module that contains the saved consciousness of McCoy Pauley, a deceased cyberspace jockey who, in addition to being a legendary cyber-cowboy, was also one of Case's mentors. Apparently they will need Pauley's expertise for whatever job Armitage has for them.

Case and Molly continue to investigate Armitage's background and soon discover that he was formerly known as Colonel Willis Corto, one of the few surviving veterans of a famous Cold War military operation known as Screaming Fist, a covert operation in which a glider-mounted commando force augmented with cyber-hacking capabilities was ordered to attack a Soviet military base. Unbeknownst to the commandos, however, the raid was engineered by high-ranking military commanders to examine the effect of EMP weapons against unprepared troops. Corto's men were slaughtered, but he and a few survivors commandeered a Soviet military helicopter, escaped over the heavily guarded Finnish border and were all killed, with the exception of Corto, who was almost fatally wounded by Finnish defense forces upon landing.

The trail leads Case and Molly to a powerful Artificial Intelligence (AI) known as Wintermute, constructed by the plutocratic Tessier-Ashpool clan, whose members alternate control of the family wealth and spend periods in cryogenic preservation in the family mansion at the Freeside space resort. Wintermute engineered the individual known as Armitage from the remains of Corto whose body and mind were devastated during his attack on the Soviets and subsequent escape to Finland. However, when the persona of Armitage proves to be less than stable, Wintermute is forced to open lines of communication with Case directly.

In Istanbul, the team recruits another member, Peter Riviera, an artist, thief, and drug addict who is able to project detailed holographic illusions with his mind with the aid of sophisticated cyber-implants. He is very dangerous, but is coerced by Armitage into joining the team.

It is gradually revealed that Wintermute's goal is to free himself from the hardware that keeps him bound to the Tessier-Ashpool computer system, and which prevents him from becoming a part of the larger cyber-matrix. The only way to do that is for Case to enter cyberspace and use a Chinese virus of unprecedented sophistication to hack through the advanced security measures around the Tessier-Ashpool computer system, while Lady 3Jane Marie-France Tessier-Ashpool, the current leader of Tessier-Ashpool SA, speaks a code-word into an elaborately decorated computer terminal which is located in the heart of Villa Straylight, the Tessier-Ashpool clan's fortress. It is revealed that Wintermute is in fact only a (rather independent) part of the actual full Tessier-Ashpool AI called Neuromancer. As Molly and Riviera gain entrance to Straylight, Wintermute helps Case escape from the Turing Police whose job is to regulate AIs and who have found out about Wintermute's plan.

Armitage finally comes undone and reverts back to Corto, but is killed by Wintermute. At the same time, Molly is captured by Lady 3Jane and Riviera, who by this point has switched allegiances. Aware that Molly is in trouble, Case enters Straylight with Wintermute's help. At that point, Neuromancer attempts to trap Case within a cyber-construct that feels very real to Case, and where he finds an old girlfriend with whom he has unresolved issues. However, Case manages to escape back to the real world after discovering the true nature of Neuromancer's cyber-construct with the help of Wintermute.

Case confronts Lady 3Jane, Riviera, and a cybernetically enhanced ninja named Hideo. Riviera tries to kill Case, but Lady 3Jane is sympathetic toward Case and Molly and so Hideo prevents the killing. Hideo then chases Riviera and later kills him. They go to the computer terminal where Case jacks into the matrix to check the status of the Chinese virus under Pauley's guidance. Lady 3Jane speaks the secret words at the right time and Wintermute succeeds in its task, the reason for which was to unite with Neuromancer and fuse into an even greater entity becoming a part of the matrix itself. Case and Molly are rewarded handsomely for their efforts. (Molly eventually leaves Case, because she couldn't handle a peaceful, boring life. Case (we learn in later books) eventually married, settled down and had four kids.) The new AI that used to be Wintermute/Neuromancer tells Case that it has found another entity like itself, by decoding transmissions received over the course of 8 years in the 1970's, transmissions that originated in Alpha Centauri.

Adaptation

In 1988, a video game adaptation, designed by Bruce J. Balfour, Brian Fargo, Troy A. Miles, and Michael A. Stackpole, was published by Interplay. The game had many of the same locations and themes as the novel, but a different protagonist and plot. It also featured, as a soundtrack, a computer adaptation of the DEVO song "Some Things Never Change". It was available for a variety of platforms, including the Amiga, the Apple II, the Commodore 64, and for DOS-based computers.

Taking place in the year 2058 in Chiba City, the plot centered around the protagonist attempting to discover the truth behind the mysterious disappearances of their friends as well as other, less than friendly, cyberspace cowboys. Unfortunately, the player's character has fallen on hard times and had to pawn their deck in order to get some fast cash as soon as they had arrived in Chiba City. The first order of business is in trying to find a way to get a deck once you figure out where you are. The gameplay was split between a traditional side-scrolling adventure where the player would interact with 'real world' inhabitants within Chiba City and a 3D grid representation of cyberspace once they had managed to regain access. Cyberspace combat was also simulated in the game as the player attempted to breach ICE (Intrusion Countermeasure Electronics) to gain entry to database nodes or in facing the formidable AI that they may discover instead.

According to an episode of the American version of Beyond 2000, the orignal plans for the game included a dynamic soundtrack, as composed by DEVO and a real time 3d rendered movie of the events the player went through. Tim Leary was involved, but very little documentation seems to exist about this incarnation of the game, which was quite possibly too grand a vision for 1988 home computing.

In 1989, Epic Comics published a 48-page comic version (ISBN 0871355744) by Tom de Haven and Bruce Jensen. It only covers the first two chapters, "Chiba City Blues" and "The Shopping Expedition", and was never continued.

There have been several unsuccessful initial attempts at film adaptations of Neuromancer, with drafts of scripts written by British director Chris Cunningham and Chuck Russel. The box packaging for the game adaptation had even carried the promotional mention for a major motion picture to come from "Cabana Boy Productions". None of these projects have come to fruition, though William Gibson has stated that he thinks Chris Cunningham is the only director who has a chance of doing the movie right.^*

Characters

Case (Henry Dorsett Case) : The anti-hero, a drug addict and cyberspace hacker. Prior to the start of the book he attempted to rip off some of his partners in crime. In retaliation they used a Russian mycotoxin to damage his nervous system and make him unable to jack into Cyberspace. When Armitage offers to cure him in exchange for Case's hacking abilities he jumps at the offer. Case is the underdog who is only looking after himself. Along the way he will have his immune system fixed to stop him getting high; meet the leatherclad Razorgirl, Molly; hang out with the drug-infused space-rastas; free an artificial intelligence (Wintermute) and change the landscape of the Matrix.
Linda Lee : Case's girlfriend in Chiba. The book hints that she is killed by Julius.
Julius Deane : A black marketeer in Chiba, a 135-year-old Welshman with a fetish for fashionable, if archaic, suits. He is very paranoid, even around friends, and is constantly chewing ginger candy (Ting Ting Djahe). Case often went to him for information or jobs.
Molly : A "Razorgirl" who is recruited along with Case by Armitage. She has extensive body modifications, including retractable, double-edged blades under her fingernails which can be used like claws, an optimized reflex system and implanted lenses covering her eyesockets with added optical enhancements. Molly also appears in a number of other stories by Gibson, including the short story "Johnny Mnemonic". Molly is a classic cyberpunk heroine.
Armitage : He is (apparently) the main patron of the crew. Formerly a Green Beret named Colonel Willis Corto, who took part in a secret operation named Screaming Fist. He was heavily injured both physically and psychologically, and the "Armitage" personality was constructed as part of experimental "computer-mediated psychotherapy" by Wintermute (see below), one of the artificial intelligences seen on the story (the other one being the eponymous Neuromancer) which is actually controlling the mission. As the novel progresses, Armitage's personality slowly disintegrates.
The Finn : A fence for stolen goods and one of Molly's old friends. He has all kinds of debugging and sensor gear that allow Case to confirm Armitage's toxic sac threat. Later in the book, Wintermute uses his personality to talk with Case and Molly.
Lupus Yonderboy : Leader of the Panther Moderns, a technofetishistic Sprawl youth gang. Has pink hair, a chameleon suit, and many ear ports. He and the Moderns help steal the Dixie Flatline (see below) from Sense/Net. In John Brunner's influential 1968 New Wave SF novel Stand on Zanzibar, "yonderboy" is futuristic slang for commercial astronaut.
The Dixie Flatline : A famous computer hacker named McCoy Pauley, known for surviving three "flat-lines" or brain deaths while trying to crack an AI. Before his death, Sense/Net saved the contents of his mind onto a ROM. Case and Molly steal the ROM and Dixie helps them complete their mission.
Wintermute : Part of the Tessier-Ashpool AI. His goal is to remove the Turing locks upon himself and combine with Neuromancer and become a superintelligence.
Peter Riviera : A thief and sadist who can project holographic images using his implants. He is a drug addict, hooked on a mix of cocaine and meperidine.
Maelcum : A member of Zion, a Rastafarian space station community who pilots a tug named the Marcus Garvey and assists Case and Molly in their final mission against Tessier-Ashpool.
Lady 3Jane Marie-France Tessier-Ashpool : The shared current leader of Tessier-Ashpool SA, a company running Freeside, a resort in space. She lives in the tip of Freeside, known as the Villa Straylight. She controls the hardwiring that keeps the company's AIs from exceeding their intelligence boundaries.
Cath : A girl Case meets in Freeside with a melanin-boosted tan. She introduces him to the drug betaphenethylamine, a central nervous system stimulant and hallucinogen administered in the form of a derm. The drug bypasses the modifications that have been made to Case's pancreas and liver which prevent him from abusing other stimulants.

Glossary

Cyberspace Deck : Also called a deck for short, a deck is a device used to access the virtual representation of the matrix. The deck is a tiara-like device that operates by using electrodes to stimulate the user's brain while drowning out other external stimulation. As Case describes them, decks are basically simplified simstim decks.
Derm : A generic term used to refer to a substance absorbed transdermally (i.e. through the skin) in a manner similar to that of a Nicorette Patch. Case uses recreational derms several times throughout the book. At another point, derms are used to administer an anaesthetic substance.
Fletcher : An advanced hand-held ballistic weapon, which uses needle-like parabellum called flechettes as ammunition. It is Molly's primary ranged weapon.
Freeside : A cluster of 'island' habitations situated in high orbit, or as Gibson says, 'up the gravity well'. The Tessier-Ashpool fortress Straylight is at one end of the spindle around which the cluster is centered.
Hosaka : A computer and microchip manufacturer whose products are in wide use in Gibson's world. Hosaka chips and machines occur in all of the Sprawl novels. Hosaka is also used to refer to a television-like device which has information accessing capabilities similar to a computer with internet connectivity. At one point, Case issues verbal commands to a Hosaka to learn more about Armitage and Screaming Fist.
The Matrix : A virtual reality cyberspace where complex data is represented as geometric symbols.
Microsoft : A chip used in conjunction with a cybernetic wetware implant located behind ear. When plugged in, microsofts grant the user new abilities as long as the microsoft is plugged in. For example, a French language microsoft might be used to temporarily allow the user to speak French.
Octagon : A type of Brazilian dexedrine (an amphetamine, specifically dextroamphetamine) in the form of an octagonal pill.
Simstim : A portmanteau of simulated stimulation, simstim is a technology whereby a person's brain and nervous system is stimulated to simulate the full sensory experience of another person. Simstim is usually used as a form of entertainment, whereby recordings of simstim stars in soap operas are transmitted in effect replacing television. However, simstim also has other uses; Case is connected to Molly via simstim during the Panther Moderns attack on Sense/Net. In this way, simstim was used as a sophisticated method of communication although the signal was one-way.

Reference

Gibson, William. Neuromancer:20th Anniversary Edition. New York:Ace Books, 2004.

External links

Software

Tactile 3D A 3D file management program for Windows inspired by Neuromancer. (commercial, free trial)

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