"Everything that can be invented, has been invented."

In hindsight this statement seems ridiculous . Since 1899, the world has seen a multitude of societal changing inventions . From the airplane ,the television , countless of vaccines and most recently the Internet , man has continued to evolve at an exponential rate. Nevertheless, this is not to say that these inventions were so avant-garde at their inception. The truth is that technological advancement only replies to the needs of the consumer. Therefore, everything has been invented , at least in our minds . Technology is not independent of us , but rather a mirror of our deepest wants . The promise of technology is simply the satiating of these urges . In William Gibson's science fiction classic Neuromancer we find a vision of the future with metaphors to the present. Like in most novels , it is the allegorical aspect that is worth study. Therefore, this essay will not argue how the novel is prophetic in the conventional sense , for this teaches us nothing . In!

stead, it will examine how the promise of technology is representative of the ugliness that creates it. This is shown in t

responded to his natural urges . The fact that it was detrimental to him shows how are actions are often detrimental to us. Ever since the television revolution over 40 years ago , the expression "life imitating art" has been predominant in our society . In our new information age "technology imitates life". Therefore , we see that there is no true prophecy with Case's behavior. In effect , we are all Case . We all yearn for something to make us happy . To some it's sex , to some it is drugs , to some it success , to some it is money. To Case it is the Neuromancer . " He'd cry for it , cry in his sleep, and wake alone in the dark ,......trying to reach the console that wasn't there".(N 5) . Much like we'd lean over to hug a loved one who has since left us , he seeks the console that brings him his happiness. The truth is that Case's actions are based on him attempting to retrieve happiness. To him , happiness is the Matrix and he obsesses for it . We all h!

he reckless lifestyle of Case , the importance given to artificial intelligence and lastly through the personification of the technology.

Gibson's "artificial intelligence" in Neuromancer's is another example of technology symbolizing its creators. In the case of AI , it is a means of parlaying man's dream of immorality into a creation. "Wintermute was hive mind, decision maker , effecting change in the world outside. Neuromancer was personality. Neuromancer was immortality . Marie-France must have built something into wintermute, the compulsion that had driven the thing to free itself, to unite with Neuromancer ( N269)." With AI at the evolved state that this passage describes , the dream of man finds its home in technology. The problem with this scenario is that though the creation of man is free and immortal ,man remains the opposite. Therefore, without realizing it , the creators of AI have made an entity more powerful then themselves. In an odd way , this is Gibson's way of showing us how we are in the present. This concept is simply an extension of Darwinism. We constantly strive to be strong!

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There is something about this discussion that is very eery . While reading the Neuromancer , it is difficult to get involved into its fantastical elements as we continuously compare it to how we are now , and how we always have been . Many science fiction tales are like this . Star Trek is nothing more then Co

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Approximate Word count = 1682
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)