Cyberpunk and Science Fiction Essay -- Cyberpunk Computers Technology

Cyberpunk and Science Fiction Science fiction can be defined as a method of story telling that steps outside of the box of life as we know it and into the realm of the impossible. Science fiction works are often designed to be only truthful in the eyes of the author and the reader. However, there are times when either a science fiction work parallels closely to the future of our world and therefore becomes a possibility or life pursues a science fiction-like ideal making the quest heroic in itself. The latter of the two can describe the viewpoint of our growing cyberpunk culture and its belief that technology is the end no matter what means be. The stories in the book Cyberpunk seems to focus on the life of a hacker. The book follows the life events and trends that a hacker typically goes through. Individuals who are impressed by technology often become wrapped into a technological advancement such as the computer or telephone, and become engulfed in curiosity. However, at this point, these individuals are nothing more than a target market for the product. They not only test the power that comes from understanding what they have in their hands, they become obsessed with it, and even begin to abuse it. Now the person has crossed the line of a fan of a product and entered the realm of hackers. In well-known cases, the individuals who manipulate todays technology for personal gain or pleasure can be related to the villains in science fiction works. Todays hackers are the new generation of pioneers whom we fear because their knowledge gives them control over us. They rationalize their abuse and control over us for the good of t echnology and feel little or no remorse for any such unscrupulous actions. In most cyberpunk nov... ... with an ultimatum, villains would surely choose their evil profession over a life full of love and emotions. The world of science fiction is just a fantasized portrayal of our non-fictitious world of today. However, there is a significant relation among the innovators of our world and the inhabitants of the science fiction world. Their mentalities are equal; their intentions similar; their idea of a new world realized. One fears what one fails to understand, and there will always be those who test others fears. These are the characters of the science fiction novels; these are the characters of the world we live in. Works Cited Markoff, John and Hafner, Katie. Cyberpunk: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1991. Gibson, William. Johnny Mnemonic. Composing Cyberspace. Ed. Richard Holeton. Boston: McGraw Hill, 1998.