Implications of Setting in Neuromancer

Neuromancer (just like Blade Runner and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep) takes place in a setting that includes both an arsenal of advanced technology and a pervading sense of urban decay.  On one hand, the contrast between the two– the air of sleekness and the dingy state of the environment– might seem paradoxical in nature.  However, Gibson could be using this alleged oxymoron to make a focused, directed statement about the implications of a society in which technology plays an integral part.  The term technology is contextual and subjective, so for the purpose of this blog post, it will be associated with what is generally perceived as cutting-edge or bizarre compared to the time in which the novel was written (i.e. body modifications, use of hormones and advanced drugs, specific feats of mechanical engineering, systemic improvements facilitated by advanced infrastructure, etc).  Gibson is using the illicit parts of the novel (for example, the urban decay and criminal activity) to highlight the fact that humans will be humans, despite our differing access to that which is thought to augment or ameliorate our states of existence– namely, technology.  Nothing can be a panacea to the human condition, despite how advanced we might seem.