Neuromancer Cyberpunk Novel by William Gibson
Comparison of Cyberspace in the Novel and the Modern Internet
Sep 30, 2009
Although Internet services were currently available when the cyberpunk novel Neuromancer was written, the ‘cyberspace’ that Gibson had envisioned still has not yet fully materialized. Although popular culture has eagerly embraced this term as a norm for the current World Wide Web that is now available to the common person, people are only recently breaking into some of the more graphic and sense-based ‘cyberspace’ that Gibson so masterfully describes.
While humans seem limited in what appears to be a limitless database of instant information, it is interesting to look at the similarities and differences between Gibson’s matrix and the matrix of the World Wide Web, as well as the advances that are bringing us closer to Gibson’s version, and the repercussions that it could have.
Similarities of William Gibson’s Matrix and the World Wide Web
The main similarities that are described about Gibson’s matrix versus the World Wide Web are in the description of the physical devices that are used to connect a human into cyberspace. Gibson refers to modem on more than one occasion in the novel, and the need to connect it or disconnect it via a phone line.
He also very intuitively makes a comparison to his deck and the components of a laptop computer when Gibson says, “his deck’s back-up batteries were good for ninety minutes, but the Flatline’s construct would be an additional drain.” Any time a computer running on its battery has to power an additional line of support, it does not last as long. Terms such as user-friendly and virus programs are also well known and commonly used in the World Wide Web.
The most fascinating comparison that Gibson offers is when he describes how his deck physically relates to using the matrix: “Cyberspace, as the deck presented it, had no particular relationship with the deck’s physical whereabouts.” This may have been the reason that Gibson was so inclined to use the term cyberspace, and culture as a whole related to the term so well. The concept that data is available at all times, wherever one chooses, gives the illusion that it is simply waiting in the realms of space for someone to access it.
Visual and Sensual Differences Between Gibson’s Matrix and the World Wide Web
While Gibson presents the major idea of cyberspace as being a database of information, the differences that are noticed are more visual and sensual. This can be seen in Gibson’s description of the matrix: “(it) projected his disembodied consciousness into the consensual hallucination”. Bright, vivid colors and geometrical shapes are the main images that are given regularly through the novel.
He uses the description of neon colors many times while in the matrix, of tasting blue, and “rainbow tints gradually dominated by the green of the rectangle represent(ing) the T-A cores.” To Gibson, the matrix was more about graphics and colors portraying the data that could be obtained, or accessed.
Gibson also allotted for a form of virtual reality that was very sense-based. When describing his vision of the matrix, he stated, “the cyberspace matrix was actually a drastic simplification of the human sensorium, at least in terms of presentation.” The characters in the book were able to use a device to allow them to physically be a part of the matrix, and interact with identities in the matrix.
They could also move into another person’s body to experience what they were experiencing. He describes this as “live simstim…. so it’s probably her sensorium you’ll access.” While this type of system is not on the market currently, the reality of graphical and sense-based is not that far away.
Consequences of Gibson’s Cyberspace Plethora
While innovative advancements in technology seem to automatically be positive, there are things that could be severely dangerous if engineers were ever able to bring us to the level that Gibson imagined. One such concern would be repercussions of having the ability to hack in a physically represented cyberspace.
A modern day hacker can obtain vital information about people or companies by using a keyboard and specific commands, but they are limited in the information that is attainable. Gibson presents hacking as physically breaking into corporate companies to disable security systems and steal pertinent information.
Terrorism is currently a vivid threat in the world as a whole, and the ability to access information the way Gibson envisioned could turn out to be a major catastrophe for many countries.
Another concern might be what an individual might use a more interactive cyberspace for on a personal level. Some people use the Internet as a source of information for studies or to satisfy an innocent curiosity. Others use the Internet as a way to live an alternative to their real life, whether it is outrageous hours spent in a chat room, or use of video cameras or to play video games or have instant access to gambling.
Many addictions are fed through the World Wide Web. Some people may find Gibson’s version of sense-based cyberspace to be more useful than the limited cyberspace we have today, but may use it for deviant pleasures.
The Race to Create Technology
Gibson has created a world that technology is racing to create. His ability to imagine something that has never been created occurs many times in literature, and is an excellent base for advances in the human race.
Creativity runs rampant in a writer’s world, and when an engineer can take an author’s vision, and turn it into reality, culture as a whole tends to feel more comfortable with the transition. Authors can give people the ability to feel as if they relate with a concept before it becomes a reality. It is necessary, though, for the world to pay attention to the negatives of technology as it progresses as well, and realize that there may be wise to put a limit on how much of science fiction should be turned into reality.
Sources: Neuromancer, by William Gibson Published in New York by The Berkley Publishing Group, Ace edition, July 1994. ISBN # 044100681
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