As far as seminal works of science fiction go, Neuromancer is up there with the most influential of them. By Koh Wanzi.
As far as seminal works of science fiction go, Neuromancer is up there with the most influential of them. By Koh Wanzi.
William Gibson’s dystopian cyberpunk novel is a heady blend of the key ingredients of the genre, where things like cutting-edge prosthetics, human augmentations, and superintelligent AIs run amok. All of which is set in a lurid world beset by poverty, corruption, conspiracy, and the disorienting neon glow of garish city lights.
With its depiction of hackers, or “cowboys” as the novel calls them, that are able to “jack” into a virtual universe and surf the structures of computer systems, it should come as no surprise that this was a key source of inspiration for the 1999 film The Matrix.
Ultimately, Neuromancer challenges notions of what it is to be human and conscious. Is a fully augmented human, with more-than human capabilities, any less human than a copy of consciousness that retains the memories, personality, and desires the original had while still alive?
And if these augmentations and constructs manage to surpass the limitations of mortality, perhaps the real question isn’t if humanity has been watered down, but instead surpassed. Welcome to the post-human era.
