MLOP 31: Down For The Count Zero

Welcome to Mona Lisa Overpod, the show that asks the question "What is cyberpunk?" On each episode, hosts Ka1iban and author Lyda Morehouse dive into the genre that helped define sci-fi fiction in the '80s and break down the themes which remain relevant to our lives in the 21st century. Pull on your mirrorshades, jack into the matrix, and start your run with us today! William Gibson's Neuromancer crystallized--if not created--the burgeoning genre of cyberpunk and he's been running from that label ever since. The sequel to his debut novel presents an expansion of his singular and evocative cyberpunk world, following the experiences and actions of a trio of protagonists, caught up in a globe-spanning conflict between the human forces of capital and the nascent and puissant influence of mysterious cyberspace "gods." Not content to simply replicate the noir-tinged heist of his first work, Gibson shows us an increasingly chaotic world where class is an identity, art is a commodity, and human ingenuity is on borrowed time. In this episode, we discuss Gibson's inspirations behind Count Zero and his views on art, the limits of iconoclasty, how science fiction requires precision in metaphor, "Japonification" in cyberpunk, updating the Cold War for the 21st century, the flawed heroes of cyberpunk, literal ghosts in the machine, technology as a tool for immortality, and the fusion of the technical and the traditional in Gibson's work. We also talk about "spyberpunk", asking the ceiling for the answer, "higherly", being a mercury-filled spider, "Heinleining", going biopunk, villains touching grass, money as its own AI, fetal VR soap opera syndrome, reducing your motherf*cker count, being invited to the voodoo cookout, the importance of Joseph Cornell to Gibson's work, cyber colonialism, protagonist energy, and Kal goes after millennials! CHAPTER 14?! NEWS UPDATE: Anthropic settles! https://www.theverge.com/news/766311/anthropic-class-action-ai-piracy-authors-settlement The new edition of Lyda's book, Ressurection Code, is out now! https://wizardstowerpress.com/books-2/books-by-lyda-morehouse/resurrection-code/ Join Kaliban on Twitch weekdays at 12pm for the Cyber Lunch Hour! http://twitch.tv/justenoughtrope Put Just Enough Trope merch on your body! http://justenoughtrope.threadless.com MLOP is a part of the Just Enough Trope podcast network. Check out our other shows about your favorite pop culture topics and join our Discord! http://www.twitter.com/monalisaoverpod http://www.justenoughtrope.com http://www.instagram.com/monalisaoverpod https://discord.gg/7E6wUayq Buy us a coffee on Ko-Fi! https://ko-fi.com/justenoughtrope