Cyberpunk science fiction has various attributes relating to earlier hacker and punk culture influences of the mid 20th century. This subgenre draws itself away from the typical techniques of science fiction by utilizing contrasting characteristics of society. A common theme of cyberpunk science fiction that is demonstrated within the story of “Johnny Mnemonic” by William Gibson is its interpretation of advanced technology with the addition of metahuman characters.
Gibson also meshes two different worlds by choosing to include an alternative, imperfect setting for the story to take place in, symbolizing the very aspect of cyberpunk science fiction that highlights a dystopia as a contrast to traditional science fiction work. William Gibson’s, “Johnny Mnemonic” illustrates itself as a work of cyberpunk science fiction, specifically drawing on the common theme of creating a dystopia by connecting two separate worlds: one that is technologically advanced and one that is influenced by urban and corrupt lifestyles.
William Gibson’s ‘Johnny Mnemonic’ works within the subgenre of cyberpunk science fiction through its portrayals of a society characterized by technological advancement, specifically emphasizing physically altered humans in science. Each of the characters in this story have been modified to fit the rapid changing evolution of the technology present. For example, Gibson utilizes Johnny as the outlet of knowledge when it comes to technology and hacking systems.
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Johnny explains, “I had hundreds of megabytes stashed in my head on an idiot/savant basis information I had no conscious access to”(Gibson 1). Johnny is characterized as an extremely technologically advanced individual who has had his entire brain rewired with specialized computer hardware that allows him to gain access to endless amounts of information. This type of body modification has been of unheard of in this time period which cyberpunk science fiction has connected to technological progress that centers itself around incredibly high-tech achievements in society.
Johnny’s cosmetic surgery serves as Gibson’s purpose for portraying this complex society through cutting-edge inventions. Additionally, these body modifications are meant to assist in each of the characters’ everyday lives, rather than for pure cosmetic reasons. In the story, Jones is a cybernetically enhanced cyborg dolphin whose physical aternations have allowed for effective use in the war (Gibson 7).
Jones is specifically trained for the navy to use special sensory systems for use underwater, where he decommissions mines by interfering with enemy circuits electromagnetically. Instead of being a detail placed for convoluted and out of place reasons, Gibson emphasizes these physical enhancements as important to each characters’ lifestyle in which it is almost a common observation in the society that he has created. For Jones, the navy has utilized his available technology attached to his body. Each of these lifestyle modifications demonstrate the fixed importance of technology to the interpretation of the story as a work of cyberpunk science fiction.
As a contrast to traditional science fiction literature, Gibson connects his high-tech world to an imperfect society by choosing to place the story in an urban environment that portrays the story as a dystopia. He begins to implement this alternative society by emphasizing organized crime within the city as the narrator, Johnny, explains, “The Drome is a single narrow space with a bar down one side and tables along the other, thick with pimps and handlers and an arcane array of dealers”(Gibson 1). Johnny’s casual description of the Drome as a place with a plethora of criminal activity represents the commonality of corruption in the society Gibson has created. The Drome is one of the regular meeting spots in the city; it is a clear representation of daily life.
This addition of placing the story in a beat down city demonstrates Gibson’s work as a distinct piece of cyberpunk science fiction, as it brings the story to an imperfect society that is not the typical Utopia seen in other works of science fiction. Gibson also prioritizes this imperfect society by integrating details of the lack of perfection demonstrated in an unbalanced power system with the presence of a mafia, “The Yakuza, so powerful that it owns comsats and at least three shuttles? The Yakuza is a true multinational, like ITT and Ono-Sendai. Fifty years before I was born the Yakuza had already absorbed the Triads, the Mafia, the Union Corse” (Gibson 6).
The Yakuza is an all powerful force within the story that is a threat to Johnny as they represent the wealthiest and most powerful criminal order in the world. This large shift in power that the Yakuza holds denotes the asymmetric lifestyles present within the story. While the power is centralized upon the Yakuza, it also shows that the lives of each individual in this world is controlled by criminals and corruption by organized crime such as the mafias present. This type of dystopia, mixed with an emphasis on technology through cosmetic alterations, represents the cyberpunk science fiction nature of Gibson’s work.
William Gibson’s use of connecting separate worlds involved in technological advancement and imperfect societies illustrates “Johnny Mnemonic” as a work of cyberpunk science fiction. He specifically enhances the story by choosing to incorporate physically altered humans as a result of rapid technological achievement in everyday life. Gibson also connects this enhanced society with one that is imperfect by setting the story in a city filled with organized crime and “street like” influences. Cyberpunk science fiction work specifically emphasizes dystopian societies with imperfections such as the unbalanced power systems present in the story. This subgenre draws the reader in by incorporating influences from high-tech societies as well as corrupt ones.
