Neuromancer: Difference between revisions - VR & AR Wiki - Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality Wiki

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==Summary of the Story of Neuromancer==

The setting of the story is in a “post-apocalyptic, not-too-distant future in which ‘human’ has transformed into ‘post-human’ and ecological systems have been supplanted by technological constructs” <ref> Leaver, Tama (1997). Post-Humanism and Ecocide in William Gibson’s Neuromancer and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner. Retrieved from cyberpunk.asia/cp_project.php?txt=180&lng=fr</ref>. It is a future where media, technology, pop culture and market imperatives have spun out of control <ref> Walker, Douglas (1989). Douglas Walker Interviews Science Fiction Author William Gibson. Retrieved from www.douglaswalker.ca/press/gibson.pdf</ref>. It follows the story of a character called Case, a once “cyberspace cowboy” who could hack into corporate databases. Due to a job gone wrong, Case is left crippled and unable to access cyberspace. He is then recruited by an underworld group of people. They promise to heal Case’s nervous system if he helps them to infiltrate an AI (Artificial Intelligence) called Wintermute <ref name=”1”> <ref name=”4”>.

The setting of the story is in a “post-apocalyptic, not-too-distant future in which ‘human’ has transformed into ‘post-human’ and ecological systems have been supplanted by technological constructs” <ref> Leaver, Tama (1997). Post-Humanism and Ecocide in William Gibson’s Neuromancer and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner. Retrieved from cyberpunk.asia/cp_project.php?txt=180&lng=fr</ref>. It is a future where media, technology, pop culture and market imperatives have spun out of control <ref> Walker, Douglas (1989). Douglas Walker Interviews Science Fiction Author William Gibson. Retrieved from www.douglaswalker.ca/press/gibson.pdf</ref>. It follows the story of a character called Case, a once “cyberspace cowboy” who could hack into corporate databases. Due to a job gone wrong, Case is left crippled and unable to access cyberspace. He is then recruited by an underworld group of people. They promise to heal Case’s nervous system if he helps them to infiltrate an AI (Artificial Intelligence) called Wintermute <ref name=”1”></ref><ref name=”4”></ref>.

==Cyberspace, Virtual Realities and the Fusion of Technology with Wetware==

There is no doubt that Neuromancer had a great impact in foreseeing the technologies that would follow its publication, and its level of prescience is still praised; the author’s being named has a prophet of the digital age. Even though there are some technologies that the book foreshadowed, others are still a bit far off <ref name=”1”></ref><ref name=”2”></ref><ref name=”3”></ref>. We may not have reached - in the real-world - the bleak aesthetics of the novel, but there still are intersecting paths between fiction and reality that are eerily similar.

One of those, is the idea of a World Wide Web: a global network of millions of computers. The concept of linking computers to each other already existed when the book launched – universities had already connected various systems of servers through a telecom link – but not on the global scale that the novel described. The concept of the internet as we know it today was still a decade away, and it may just have been a wild speculation at the time. Jack Womack has suggested, in the afterword of the 2000 re-release of the book, that it could have even influenced the way the Web developed by providing a sort of blueprint, a guide, to the developers who read and grew up with the novel <ref name=”1”>.

One of those, is the idea of a World Wide Web: a global network of millions of computers. The concept of linking computers to each other already existed when the book launched – universities had already connected various systems of servers through a telecom link – but not on the global scale that the novel described. The concept of the internet as we know it today was still a decade away, and it may just have been a wild speculation at the time. Jack Womack has suggested, in the afterword of the 2000 re-release of the book, that it could have even influenced the way the Web developed by providing a sort of blueprint, a guide, to the developers who read and grew up with the novel <ref name=”1”></ref>.

It also defined cyberspace (or the matrix as it is also called) has “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 the 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…" <ref> Myers, Tony (2001). The Postmodern Imaginary in William Gibson’s Neuromancer. MFS Modern Fiction Studies, 47(4)</ref>. The current Virtual Reality technology of our world may not be as advanced as that in the book, where people interact with the network directly through their nervous systems with full sensory stimulation, but that may be just a matter of time <ref name=”4”>. Virtual Reality seems to be finally at the cusp of penetrating our world and becoming common norm with the Oculus Rift and other types of headsets.

It also defined cyberspace (or the matrix as it is also called) has “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 the 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…" <ref> Myers, Tony (2001). The Postmodern Imaginary in William Gibson’s Neuromancer. MFS Modern Fiction Studies, 47(4)</ref>. The current Virtual Reality technology of our world may not be as advanced as that in the book, where people interact with the network directly through their nervous systems with full sensory stimulation, but that may be just a matter of time <ref name=”4”></ref>. Virtual Reality seems to be finally at the cusp of penetrating our world and becoming common norm with the Oculus Rift and other types of headsets.

The book reflects, ultimately, the increasing presence of technology in our lives, having in its core the direct integration of man and computer. Indeed, development in this direction has already started <ref name=”1”></ref> <ref name=”2”></ref> <ref name=”3”></ref> <ref name=”4”></ref>. The VR headsets are getting better and providing a greater immersion into their virtual realms. Direct brain-to-brain communication between human subjects has been achieved - a sort of technological telepathy – with the aid of electrodes attached to a person’s scalp and the use of the internet to transmit the information <ref> ScienceDaily (2014). Direct Brain-to-Brain Communication Demonstrated in Human Subjects. Retrieved from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140903105646.htm</ref>. Real-time brain control of a computer cursor was already done back in 2002 <ref> ScienceDaily (2002). Researchers Demonstrate Direct, Real-Time Brain Control of Computer Cursor. Retrieved from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/03/020314080832.htm</ref>. There’s a real tendency to merge computers, the Internet and our own wetware <ref> Wikipedia. Wetware (brain). Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wetware_(brain)</ref> that is evocative of the world William Gibson created.

With all these developments there is always the risk of abuse, addiction, as escapism – a subject also dealt with in the book. Either way, our connection with the technology we use is already affecting us <ref> ScienceDaily (2009). Is Technology Producing a Decline in Critical Thinking? Retrieved from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090128092341.htm</~~ref> <~~ref> <ref> ScienceDaily (2016). Kids Who Text and Watch TV Simultaneously Likely to Underperform at School. Retrieved from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/05/160518102746.htm</ref> and only time will tell if we will achieved that full integration with the machines that was envisioned in Neuromancer.

With all these developments there is always the risk of abuse, addiction, as escapism – a subject also dealt with in the book. Either way, our connection with the technology we use is already affecting us <ref> ScienceDaily (2009). Is Technology Producing a Decline in Critical Thinking? Retrieved from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090128092341.htm</ref> <ref> ScienceDaily (2016). Kids Who Text and Watch TV Simultaneously Likely to Underperform at School. Retrieved from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/05/160518102746.htm</ref> and only time will tell if we will achieved that full integration with the machines that was envisioned in Neuromancer.

==References==