In William Gibson’s Neuromancer, I was particularly intrigued by the interactions between technology and the human body. Gibson openly explores the effect of technology on our society and culture, and makes bold statements about how beneficial but also dangerous it can be. In the ambiguously futuristic and dystopic society in which Neuromancer is set, many use technology to advance their human bodies and minds to expand upon normal human capabilities. As is the case with Julius Deane, who, with his “seamless pink face…was one hundred and thirty-five years old, his metabolism assiduously warped by a weekly fortune in serums and hormone…genetic surgeons reset the code of his DNA,” body modification is rampant for those who can afford it (12, 13). Humans in this future society use implants, grafts, and other artificial forms that allow them to change their bodies and mechanize them. The omniscient narrator goes on to describe another modified person, Armitage’s face, as having “the effect of a mask,” which further unerscores the inauthenticity of the body modifications (45). Various devices, such as “microsofts”, can be inputted in the body so as to essentially program the humans and connect them to cyberspace: “a consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators, in every nation…unthinkable complexity” (51). In this society, humans are becoming much more machine-like. It raises the question – does this allow people to get closer to each other, or does it push us apart? It would appear, via processes like “simstim,” when Case acts as a ghost-rider of sorts with Molly and can experience her sensory experiences as she does, that in many ways technology allows us to get closer and to understand each other in new ways. It is interesting to consider whether or not these augmented and adjusted human beings (both physically and mentally) are more or less human – are they superhuman or subhuman?
Awesome post. It seems that on the one hand, humans are improving themselves with technology – longer lifespan, more attractive features, the capacity to do what could not before be done, such as living in another’s body. On the other hand, all of these “improvements” are incredibly unnatural, and almost gives a sense of inanimateness to the previously alive. I would argue that objectively, these modified humans are superhuman in the sense that are literally superior in body and mind. However, the subjective bias present in me (as a human) would argue that these beings are sacrificing their sense of truly “living” for something else – to connect this back to Blade Runner, Tyrell quotes “The candle that burns twice as bright lives half as long.” What do you think these modified beings might be missing?