Fickle Futures Public

Gibson had already imagined a prophetic cyberpunk future in his short stories Burning Chrome and Johnny Neumonic, but it was with Neuromancer (the first book in what would become “The Sprawl Trilogy”) that he realized his visions of the potential repercussions and societal impact.

Arguably as prophetic of the world we live in today as Neuromancer (the XR world in the book is connected through the World Wide… Network. So close, yet so far) Stephenson creates a vivid and intricate portrayal of an XR metaverse using head-mounted devices.

“Ghosts” are human sensoriums that inhabit augmented or fully artificial human bodies and can instantly move between the real world and virtual worlds.

This novel is not for the feint of heart, which might explain why it not so well known. Noon invasions what may be one of the most incredibly bizarre forms of XR in all fiction. "Vurt feathers" are used enter a virtual reality experience, akin to a drug-induced shared hallucination.

Part homage to previous XR concepts, part homage to 1980’s geek culture, Cline’s novel doesn’t break any new technological ground. That said it is an excellent examination of how monolithic corporations can use XR technology to control a population.