Week 11: Cyberpunk & Steampunk - Short Stories

     Cyberpunk has always been a genre of interest to me ever since I was little. As I may have mentioned before I love the science part of sci-fi and for some reason the world of cyberpunk in general makes perfect sense to me. The idea of us being so obsessed or reliant in technology that we literally make it part of our body. When you think about it, we are currently not far off from a cyberpunk future as we all slowly grow addicted to social media and almost every bit of information about ourselves are stored in a database. Also let’s not forget that some people do have electronic parts to keep their body running. We may not live in the world of Ghost in the Shell but we sure are close. Which brings me to explain my reactions to reading a few short stories for this week which are “Fragments of a Hologram Rose” by William Gibson, “Rock On” by Pat Cardigan, “Johnny Mnemonic” by William Gibson and “Tales of Houdini” by Rudy Rucker. 

Let’s start off with “Fragments of a Hologram Rose” which I have to admit it took me to read it a few times and then find answers on the internet in order to get it. I understood the idea of a hologram rose that is bringing back memories to our protagonist about his past lover but I got lost when the story would jump into different memories without warning. The only problem I had was the way it was written but I loved the overall idea of the story. How we no longer have objects in this cyber reality but hologram which reminds me so much of current famous holograms such as Hatsune Miku or even Vtubers. The idea that there may be a future where holograms creates more emotions or connections to us rather than the actual object it is trying to project. Which in a sense makes it a bit more dramatic or melancholic since one cannot “feel” holograms so it gives off a very cold and hollow feeling. 
The next story I want to talk about is “Johnny Mnemonic” which is my favorite out of the short stories for this week. This one I understood from beginning to end and truly convinced me that this is where our future is heading. Not only are there characters with improved bionic body parts but how people can be used as information mules in a literal sense just like when they are used to move drugs in today’s society. How this can be turned into a business or even a dark way of life where your body is holding content that is in general unknown to you just for the sake of a profit. Reading this story truly got me hooked into the world it is based in which made me want to read more rather than it being a short story. I wish it were a series of some kind where different situations are explored through the lifestyle of being an information mule. It was an idea that really interested me compared to the other short stories. 

“Rock On” was my least favorite due that I had to research on the book “Synners” just to kind of understand the short story. As I have stated before, what I like about cyberpunk is that it is a reality that even though is fiction still makes sense to me and is an exaggeration of our current society yet I did not experience in this story. The writing was really confusing and even though it had cyberpunk elements it just simply did not convince me that this world could be real. I really did not enjoy this story and it did not make me want to read the book that came after. I feel like I would spend more time trying figure out the bare minimum rather than experiencing the world with the protagonist. 

Lastly, let's talk about “Tales of Houdini” which I have no idea why this is considered a cyberpunk short story. I enjoy the different stunts that were described and was even hooked into the story to see if Houdini was going to meet a terrible end or comeback victorious. But I simply did not see the cyberpunk elements. It felt more like a comedy or a skit rather than any type of cyberpunk reality. I did enjoy it but truly did not understand what it had to do with the theme of this week. 

This genre is one that may slowly become non-fiction due to how fast our world is moving towards a cybernetic future. When we least know it our loved ones may die physically but live in a cybernetic reality. It is a genre that feels like an iceberg where we are only seeing a tiny bit of its full potential. Hopefully in the coming years we will see writers explore how human connection may change in a cybernetic reality and how our morals may be put to test in a world where many of these personal rules do not matter.