Week Eleven: Cyberpunk and Steampunk

For this week, I took a look at the course share short-story, Fragments of a Hologram Rose by William Gibson. It is a quick look into the reality of a man names Parker who uses future technology in a bleak sort of reality.

I think the main issue with this work is that nothing happens in it. It is a very brief look at a future world, but the main character does not change at all. It's really the story of a man trying to sleep and escape his boring life in a dirty future where humans have developed technology that lets one experience the world through another's eyes. He does not grow as a person or have his life changed in anyway. He's written as a very static character. He is also not very content in this future, which is quite relatable but does little to engage the reader.

However, the world building and mood of this piece are very good. It is both innovative and relatable, especially to today with the rise of VR technology. It brings up an excellent point that if one day, VR might be able to let one truly experience the world through another's eyes. I personally wonder about the effects of such an invention all the time. It may bring out more empathy in people and bring a better understanding of each other. Maybe it will become the ultimate form of escapism, such as in this story. Maybe it will change the way people perceive reality itself.

This story embodies many parts of the cyberpunk genre. With it's great emphasis on the world and how it can be changed by technology, this short story explore a darker reality of a VR future. For being almost 20 years old, it does an amazing job imagining a different future and still is theoretically possible in our future.