Neuromancer
BOOK REVIEW CITATION:
Gibson, W. (1994). Neuromancer. New York: Ace Books.
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Neuromancer and modern medicine
Neuromancer, by William Gibson and published in 1984, is considered the epitome of “cyberpunk” fiction. It is among the most-celebrated works of science fiction in recent history and won the three major science fiction awards – Hugo, Nebula, and Philip K. Dick – all in the same year. Neuromancer also appeared in 2005 on Time magazine’s list of 100 best English-language novels written since 1923, alongside such works as Virginia Wolf’s To the Lighthouse and Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath. (Grossman & Lacayo, 2005)
Gibson gained fame from this novel not just as an author but also for his prescience and influence about the Internet (he is credited with inventing the word “cyberspace,” for example.) His novels predict a virtual cornucopia of new technology. In Neuromancer, the following technologies are references as a part of the plot. They have all either come to pass or have become normalized since its publication:
• Brain-powered artificial limbs
• Powerful computer viruses
• Magnetic pulse weapons
• Multiple organ transplant
• Plastic surgery accessibility
• Cornea transplants
• Sleeping “cube” hotels
• Christian fundamentalist terrorism
• Skin bronzer
• Drug dermapatches
And that’s the short list. Granted he also imagined things that have not yet happened: chemical engines, human-controlled hallucinogenic holograms, cranial “jacks” (where an individual can project themselves into cyberspace by way of a plug in their head), and iridescent, camouflage clothing. And there are things that he missed such as the development of large animal cloning, the end of Cold War relations, and the decline of the popularity of the video arcade.
In Neuromancer ‘s futurist world, a variety of medical advancements have come to pass. How are these changes been used today versus what Gibson predicted?
But first, a short(ish) summary of the book
Neuromancer, like most science fiction, has a very imaginative, complex and savagely bleak plot.
Neuromancer the character (his name is a play on the words “romance”, “neuro” and “necro”) is actually a late player in the book. He is an “AI”, or artificial intelligent being. He is actually one-half of larger entity. The other half is named Wintermute. Wintermute and Neuromancer were developed separately because together they would be tremendously powerful and therefore illegal.
Wintermute is the puppet-master of the book. In order to join with his other half, he brings together four human players:
• Case – The anti-hero of the book, he’s a druggie “cyberpunk” super web-surfer who had his special skill forcibly removed as punishment for stealing. He’s rescued by Armitage (see below), given back his ability, and cleaned up. He remains in debt and constantly under threat of losing his ability by Wintermute.
• Armitage/Corto – The manager of the team of people hired by Wintermute to find Neuromancer. An ex-army officer, he was blown literally to pieces in a special operations mission. He’s been put back together like Humpty-Dumpty and brain-washed by Wintermute.
• Molly – A hired gun, she has silver computerized lenses over her eyes and knives implanted under her fingernails. She and Case are in a romantic/sexual relationship.
• Riviera – A surgically-handsome, scheming psychopath with a special implanted skill – he can make people experience hallucinations – he and Case loathe each other. Also, he is another drug addict.
Under the direction (and manipulations) of Wintermute, this team works to “free” Neuromancer.
Medicine and Neuromancer
In this futuristic world, terrific medical advances have been made… but not necessarily for the greater-good. In addition, some human frailties have not disappeared.
Drugs on my brain
Drug addiction is a constant problem (again, three out of four of the main human characters are drug addicts.) Even with new, non-addicted organs, addicts like Case are still craving and looking to get high. And, as opposed to current cultural mores, cigarette smoking is accepted and rampant. Cancer exists. People still die of heart attacks. Painkillers are needed for injuries. Plastic surgery is the norm – physical perfection is no longer noteworthy. And, while there are now ways to accelerate healing, the body still needs time to heal in this world.
All of the main human characters in Neuromancer have been radically altered by medicine: Case received a new liver and central nervous system to restore his ability, Molly has her enhanced eyes and deadly fingers, Riviera with his implanted hologram skill and unreal, physically-altered beauty, and Armitage who has all-new nearly everything. These medical enhancements or repairs are there so that they can do their chosen careers better and earn more money and to get ahead. Doctors exist in this world, but only for hire. Hospitals are black clinics. And anything just for good like a non-profit organization exists not at all.
Most of these medical modifications the characters choose to have done to them actually end up dehumanizing them as individuals. The modifications can come with the inclusion of machinery – such as Molly’s implanted lenses – or restoring a natural ability like Case’s to surf the web using his consciousness, or changing a personality from one to another, such as the robotic Armitage. Riviera’s modification has made him into a magician or sort of wizard, making him not exactly human with all his surreal and freaky tricks.
In sum, medicine in Neuromancer is about vanity and opportunity and weakness and not healing or caring or curing. Comparably, while we certainly do have a lot of self-interest in our current world, there are also people like Dr. Paul Farmer in Mountains Beyond Mountains, trying to save the world. And most doctors are more altruistic than not and do not practice in back-alley dives.
References
Gibson, W. (1994). Neuromancer. New York: Ace Books.
Grossman, L. & Lacayo, R. (2005, Oct. 16) “Time’s Critics pick the 100 best novels 1923 to the present.” Time Magazine.
Kidder, T. (2003). Mountains beyond mountains. New York: Random House.
