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From: brothers@who.rutgers.edu.UUCP
Newsgroups: alt.cyberpunk
Subject: Re: Early Cyberpunk?
Message-ID: <1375@who.rutgers.edu>
Date: Sun, 27-Sep-87 09:22:29 EDT
Article-I.D.: who.1375
Posted: Sun Sep 27 09:22:29 1987
Date-Received: Mon, 28-Sep-87 06:35:45 EDT
References: <946@jumbo.dec.com>
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.
Lines: 26
Keywords: cyberpunk vs. cyberprep



You guys don't seem to understand that cyberPUNK is more than the
technology of jacking into a computer. The stories I would classify as
cyberpunk all take a very rough-edged view of the moderately near
future, basically taking a strong stand against "niceness" in all its
reprehensible forms. Gibson, for example, and his imitators, are
almost Chandleresque in the brutal description of the worlds they
envision.

Kim Kinnison, however, is the very avatar of niceness (well, nice to
everyone except zwilniks, there is a limit...).  Similarly, many of
the characters in True Names are much too nice to be real people
(remember, "nice" <> "compassionate"; being nice means having the
*appearance* of being compassionate).

The cyberprep movement (such as it is, ha ha) takes as its motto:
"Whatever you do, remember, be polite". 

On the other hand, cyberpunk seems to have nothing to do with
the punk movement itself, so....
-- 
			 Laurence R. Brothers
		      brothers@paul.rutgers.edu
            {anywhere}!rutgers!paul.rutgers.edu!brothers
		       "One life -- one arrow."