WILLIAM GIBSON FAQ v2.0 <<<<<<<< < < < < < < < < < < < < < 2000-12-03 compiled by Manuel Derra Webmaster of William Gibson aleph This FAQ is copyright 2000 by Manuel Derra. It may not be reproduced in part or completely in any form electronically, physically or other without permission of the author. It may be posted on non-commercial sites with the permission of the author. INTRODUCTION ------------ Hello and welcome to my guide to William Gibson. I have been collecting information about William Gibson for a while and have started the William Gibson aleph webpage at the end of 1999. In order to share this information with those who wish to know, I wrote this FAQ. It is far from finished but will update soon. This FAQ will currently only be available in English I completely rewrote this FAQ after receiving some feedback. It now consists of a 'real' Q&A with frequently asked questions. Thanks to anyone who gave me feedback and posted this FAQ. Since to my knowledge there exists no forum dealing solely with William Gibson, this FAQ will be posted on alt.cyberpunk and rec.arts.sf.misc. Latest versions are available at http://www.8op.com/gibson/download/gibson_faq.txt. QUESTIONS & ANSWERS ------------------- Q: Can you tell me about Gibson's biography? A: William Ford Gibson was born March 17, 1948 in Conway, South Carolina but left the United States for Canada when he was nineteen. The only son of a civilian contractor who had prospered during the construction of the Oak Ridge facility that manufactured the first atomic bomb, Gibson spent his childhood with his widowed mother in a small town in the mountains of southwestern Virginia, attended a boarding school in southern Arizona, and at age 19 left the United States for Canada in order to avoid the draft for the Vietnam War. Since 1972, he has lived in Vancouver, British Columbia, with his wife and their two children. Gibson began to write fiction while attending the University of British Columbia, where he earned a bachelor's degree in English literature. Gibson is credited with having coined the term 'Cyberspace', and with having envisioned both the Internet and virtual reality before most people had even heard of them. Q: Is William Gibson a computer nerd? A: No. By the time he wrote 'Neuromancer', Gibson did not even own a computer. Later on, he refused for a long time to use the Internet and even email, instead he used fax to communicate with people. Only lately has Gibson begun to use email and websites. Q: Where can I find William Gibson interviews? A: I only have a few interview texts on my site at http://www.8op.com/gibson/en/interviews.html. Please refer to Tama's Linkcenter at http://www.student.uwa.edu.au/~tamaleav/gibson.html for more. Q: Where did the term 'cyberspace' come from? A: The term 'cyberspace' was introduced by William Gibson in his short story 'Burning Chrome'. In 'Neuromancer' and subsequent novels this term was used to describe virtual reality interface system to navigate the world-wide data-network, the 'Matrix'. Gibson said that he tried hard to find a nice-sounding term, combining words like 'cyber', 'cryo' etc. Q: Are Gibson's first three novels connected? A: Gibson's first three novels are sometimes referred to as the Sprawl series because most of the plot takes place in the 'Sprawl', the Boston-Atlanta Metropolitian Axis, which has grown together into one big city. The plot of 'Neuromancer' (1984) is about Case and Molly who need to try to free the AI Wintermute who plans to merge with its twin, Neuromancer. After the unification cyberspace gains conciousness, and parts of the original AI are loose within the Matrix with their own agenda. This is the plot of 'Count Zero' (1986) where the low-level hacker Bobby Newmark is drawn into the plans of Matrix voodoo gods, a crazy millionaire and the planned defection of a high-grade biotech designer. 'Mona Lisa Overdrive' (1988) takes place another eight years after 'Count Zero' and is about a stolen mega-chip, a whore who is turned into the double of a simstim superstar, and an action-packed final fight. Q: Which awards did William Gibson's novel 'Neuromancer' win? A: Gibson's debut novel 'Neuromancer' has won all major science fiction awards (Hugo Award, Philip K. Dick Memorial Award, Nebula Award, Seiun Award, and Ditmar Award) and defined a whole new genre of science fiction. It is regarded as one of the most influential literary works of the eighties. Q: What connection is there between 'Neuromancer' and 'Blade Runner'? A: Gibson said that the dark vision of the future evoked in Ridley Scott's movie 'Blade Runner' (1982) was very similar to what he imagined as the setting in Chiba City in 'Neuromancer'. Both works of art stand alongside as maybe the most influential works of the eighties. Q: Is the Sprawl series a trilogy? A: No. The novels 'Neuromancer', 'Count Zero', and 'Mona Lisa Overdrive are usually referred to as the 'Sprawl trilogy', but several of Gibson's short stories take place in the same world. Molly Millions, who appears in 'Neuromancer' and 'Mona Lisa Overdrive', first appeared in the 'Johnny Mnemonic' (1981) short story. The protagonist of 'Burning Chrome' (1982), another short story, is mentioned in 'Count Zero'. The short story 'New Rose Hotel' (1981) also belongs to this series. Q: What other short stories are written by William Gibson? A: Apart from those mentioned above, contained in the short story collection 'Burning Chrome' are 'Fragments of a Hologram Rose' (1977), 'The Belonging Kind' (1981) , 'The Gernsback Continuum' (1981), 'Hinterlands' (1981), 'Red Star, Winter Orbit' (1983), 'Dogfight' (1985), and 'The Winter Market' (1985). Apart from that, short fiction published by Gibson include 'The Silver Walks', 'Kumi in the Smoke', 'Hippie Hat Brain Parasite' (1989), 'Tokyo Collage' (1988), 'Tokyo Suite', 'The Angel of Goliad' (1990), 'Doing Television' (1990), 'Darwin' (1990), 'Skinner's Room' (1990), 'Cyber-Claus' (1991), 'Academy Leader' (1991), 'Where the Holograms Go' (1993), and 'Thirteen Views of a Cardboard City' (1997). For a more detailed overview over stories published by William Gibson, please refer to http://www.8op.com/gibson/en/mediagraphy.html. Q: Who is 'Count Zero'? A: William Gibson's second novel protagonist's handle 'Count Zero' comes from the programmer term 'Count Zero Interrupt'. Q: Is 'The Difference Engine' connected to other Gibson works? A: 'The Difference Engine' was published after Gibson finished the Sprawl series with 'Mona Lisa Overdrive' and is not connected to the books published before or after. It also written in a different style than the stories from the Sprawl or San Francisco series. 'The Difference Engine', co-authored with Bruce Sterling, is not set in the future but in the middle of an alternate nineteenth century. Steam-driven mechanical computers have been developed and determine the life of the protagonists in this detective story. Q: What is 'Steampunk'? A: The novel 'The Difference Engine' by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling and novels by other authors with a similiar setting are sometimes referred to as 'Steampunk' because of the steam driven analog computers used in these stories. 'Steampunk' is a subgenre of Science Fiction similiar to 'Cyberpunk'. Q: Are Gibson's later novels also connected in a series? A: After finishing the Sprawl series, Gibson started a new trilogy in a revised setting which is usually referred to as 'San Francisco trilogy'. 'Virtual Light' takes place in the near future and is more tame and more probable than his previous novels. The sequel 'Idoru' also belongs to the series, even though most part of it takes place in Tokyo), and the main characters of the book are very similiar to 'Virtual Light'. In this book Gibson concentrates on the themes of media and popularity. 'All Tomorrow's Parties' is the third novel in the series and, as in 'Mona Lisa Overdrive', Gibson brings together characters from the prequels. Q: What does the term 'Virtual Light' mean? A: The term 'Virtual Light' was coined by scientist Stephen Beck to describe a form of instrumentation that produces optical sensations directly in the eye without the use of photons. Q: What is an 'Idoru'? A: 'Idoru' is a Japanese word derived from the English 'idol'. In Gibson's book by the same title the idoru appears as a completely artificial media celebrity. Gibson said that the idea came to him when he heard about the computer-generated Japanese pop star Kyoko Date. Kyoko Date, a.k.a 'Date Kyo' or 'DK-96' ('Digital Kid 1996'), was designed by Tatsuya Kosaka, Toshihiro Aramaki and Tomoya Tomadechi. Her development was funded by Horipro, Virtual Science Labs, and JVC Records. There were two singles published in Japan, 'Love Communication' and 'Touch'. Since Kyoko Date didn't have much of an impact in Japan, her name was sold and republished in Korea with the name 'Diki'. Q: Can you give me the ISBN numbers of Gibson's books? A: 'Neuromancer', 320 pages, Voyager edition, 1995, ISBN 0006480411 'Count Zero', 336 pages, Voyager edition, 1995, ISBN 000648042X 'Burning Chrome', 220 pages, Grafton edition, 1988, ISBN 0586074619 'Mona Lisa Overdrive', 320 pages, Voyager edition, 1995, ISBN 0006480446 'The Difference Engine', 429 pages, Spectra edition, ISBN 055329461X 'Virtual Light', 352 pages, Bantam Spectra edition, 1994, ISBN 0553566067 'Idoru', 388 pages, Penguin Putnam edition, 1997, ISBN 0425158640 'All Tomorrow's Parties', 277 pages, Penguin Putnam edition, 1999, ISBN 0399145796 Q: Does the 'Neuromancer' graphic novel cover the whole novel? A: No, it covers only the first third of 'Neuromancer' (Chapters 'Chiba City Blues' and 'The Shopping Expedition'). Apperantly it was planned to be the first in a series of which the remaining chapters have been cancelled. This probably results from the quite poor graphic quality of the comic. Still, it is very close to the original plot. Q: What does Gibson think about the comic adaptation? A: Gibson, apparently an avid comic fan during his youth, said that he was satisfied with the graphic novel and that it looked pretty much like what he imagined in 1983. He also said that if any of his work was adapted for the big screen, he would be very happy if it would come that close to his original intention as the graphic novel. Q: Is the plot of the 'Neuromancer' computer game the same as in the book? A: No. Places, persons and names are the same as in the book, but the plot is quite different. The player takes the role of Case who finds himself in Chiba City. The aim of the game is to prevent the AIs Neuromancer and Greystoke to take over the Matrix. The first part of the game takes place in Chiba City where the player needs to hack various terminals and visit lots of original places from the book, while the second part is fighting against various AIs in cyberspace. Q: What did Gibson say about the 'Neuromancer' computer game? A: Gibson said that it amused him that 'Neuromancer' is now a product that you can actually play. A real Neuromancer game, however, would probably kill or maim you or maybe give you a mild shock if you lost. Q: Can I still play the 'Neuromancer' computer game? A: Yes. Playable versions for PC (runs in MS-DOS mode) and C64 version (can be played with the CCS64 emulator) and a walkthrough can be found at http://www.8op.com/gibson/en/download.html Q: Why was Gibson's movie script for 'Alien3' rejected? A: William Gibson's script for the movie 'Alien3' was most likely rejected because of the role of the Russians in his script. The Russians appear frequently in the story as a sort of running gag with their inferior and buggy technology. This emphasis maybe seemed unlikely and old-fashioned after the end of the cold war. The script used for the movie was written by Larry Ferguson and David Giler, the movie was directed by David Fincher (1992). Q: Did any part of Gibson's script make its way into the movie 'Alien3'? A: It is said that the only detail which actually made it into the movie is the prisoners having barcodes tattooed to their heads. (To my knowledge these barcode tattoos also appeared in similar form in the movies 'Terminator', 'The Fortress' and '12 Monkeys', none of which of course is connected to William Gibson) Q: Have there been any attempts to adapt Gibson's work for the big screen? A: In 1995 Gibson's short story 'Johnny Mnemonic' was adapted as a movie directed by Robert Longo, starring Keanu Reeves, Dina Meyer, Ice-T, Takeshi Kitano, Dolph Lundgren, Henry Rollins, and Udo Kier. Gibson wrote the movie script himself. Based on the short story 'New Rose Hotel' a movie was made by the same name in 1998, directed by Abel Ferrara. The movie script was written by Christ Zois, the movie is starring Christopher Walken, Willem Dafoe, and Asia Argento. Q: Why is the movie 'Johnny Mnemonic' that commercially produced and undistinguished, even though Gibson wrote the screenplay himself? A: Robert Longo, the director said that Gibson and he intended to make a 'dirty, edgy black-and-white science fiction film' but shifted to big movie because nobody was interested in funding what would have been 'a giant student film'. Still, Gibson himself says Hollywood forces changed the movie from his and Longo's vision, and that the Japanese cut of the movie (in English with Japanese subtitles) is closer to their intent. Q: Why is Molly Millions character missing in 'Johnny Mnemonic' and replaced by Jane (played by Dina Meyer)? A: The rights to the Molly character and her attributes (silver glasses, razors) were with another company and therefore could not be used in the movie. Q: Is the 'Neuromancer' movie script I found on the Internet written by William Gibson? A: No. The 'Neuromancer' movie script which has been floating around on the Internet for some years now is not by William Gibson which it usually is attributed to. It was written in 1990 by Chuck Russel ('The Mask', 'Nightmare on Elm Street' sequel, 'Eraser' etc). Q: What about the 'Neuromancer' movie, which has long been overdue? A: That's true, it was rumored that this movie would be released around 1999/2000 and directed by the British director Chris Cunningham. He has been acknowledged for directing several music videos for Aphex Twin ('Come To Daddy', 'Windowlicker'), Madonna ('Frozen') and Portishead ('Only You') and is also known for his f/x work in movies like 'Alien3'. The producer Alex Lightman has become famous with entertainment projects like 'Star Trek: First Contact', 'Babylon 5', and 'The X-Files'. It seems this project has been postponed or cancelled (see below). Q: Wasn't there a website www.neuromancer.org? A: The official website www.neuromancer.org has been put off-line as of June 2000 which probably means that the project has been postponed or canceled. By the time it was still on-line it contained information about the novel, the producer and director and some general info. Q: I heard rumours that the novel 'Count Zero' should be made a movie? A: There was talk that Gibson's novel 'Count Zero' should be adapted as 'The Zen Differential'. There is a screenplay written by John Lloyd Parry, dated January 5, 1996. The latest information is from 1998 and rumoured the film to be directed by Michael Mann and produced by Kathryn Sommer. The lack of recent information about this project probably indicates postponement or cancellation. Q: Is there a movie adaptation of 'Burning Chrome'? A: No, but there is a stage adaptation. It was performed by Next Theatre in Evanston, Illinois in 1998 and by the Sacred Fools Theatre in Los Angeles in 1999. The story was adapted by Steve Pickering and Charley Sherman, and the play was performed for the first time on February 6, 1998 by Next Theatre, directed by Steve Pickering. The play was also performed one year later by the Sacred Fools in LA, directed by Scott Rabinowitz. Q: Is the 'Johnny Mnemonic' computer game worth playing? A: Sony Imagesoft published a Full Motion Video computer game in 1995 which is based on the movie by the same name, also by Sony. It is like a movie filmed as a game in which the protagonist must find the pieces of a download code to download the data overload in his head. Like most FMV games, it is not worthwhile. Q: Is the poem 'Agrippa' really that rare? A: Yes. William Gibson wrote the poem 'Agrippa - A Book of The Dead' about his dead father and his relationship towards him. It consists of childhood memories and thoughts about his fathers photo album with the title Agrippa, and therefore is not science fiction or cyberpunk. 'Agrippa' was released on a limited edition encrypted diskette that erased itself page by page as you read. The book itself contained artwork by Dennis Ashbrough, a painter from New York, related to the content of the poem (such as advertising posters from the 1920s). It was made using a special ink that disappeared after prolonged exposure to light. Q: Why can I find the text of 'Agrippa' on the Internet? On December 9, 1992, 'Agrippa' was made available to the public for one day, at museums across America, through the Internet. The poem text was soon hacked and put on various Internet sites. Q: What other adaptations are there? A: There was a comic adaptation of 'Hinterlands' (1995), adapted and illustrated by Gavin Lonergan. It appeared in Freeflight #5 and #6, Dec/Jan 95 and Apr/May 95, published by Thinkblots. Another short story from the 'Burning Chrome' collection, 'The Gernsback Continuum', was made a tv film in the United Kingdom in 1995 called 'Tomorrow Calling', which was originally shown on Channel 4 and is starring Sarah Stockbridge, Toyah Wilcox, and Don Henderson. Thanks so far, for your attention. INTERNET RESOURCES ------------------ William Gibson websites - William Gibson Links - Tama's Linkcentre http://www.student.uwa.edu.au/~tamaleav/gibson.html Contains lots of links to Gibson-related media on the internet, frequently updated, lots of interview links. - William Gibson Bibliography / Mediagraphy http://www.slip.net/%7Espage/gibson/biblio.htm Very comprehensive listing, including ISBN numbers and detailed publishing information, compiled by S. Page. - william gibson's yardshow@idoru.com http://www.sweatshop.com/idoru/ William Gibson's Yard Show, official website created by Christopher Halcrow, not updated since 1996. - Neuromancer's Matrix http://www.loibnegger.com/neuromancer Website of Andrea Loibnegger, founder of the William Gibson Webring. - Cognitive Dissidents http://gibson.teq.org OK website with annoying advertising, updates partially. - Chiba - A William Gibson Webpage http://www.crosswinds.net/~chiba73/ Website with good article references. - William Gibson straylight http://www.vt.edu:10021/J/jfoley/gibson/gibson.html Very old nice collection of information, not updated. - William Gibson Online Library http://www.intcon.net/~gargoyle/wg_text.html Lots of downloads. - NEUROMANCER - Eine William Gibson Seite http://members.tripod.de/gibson/ German online resource about Gibson and related stuff. - ALT.CYBERPUNK FAQ http://www.knarf.demon.co.uk/alt-cp.htm Comprehensive FAQ. Related projects - The Cyberpunk Project http://www.cyberpunkproject.org Very comprehensive pages about cyberpunk history, authors, movies and so on. - The Difference Dictionary http://www.sff.net/people/gunn/dd/index.htp Excellent background information about the Victorian age for 'The Difference Engine'. - A.D.K.O.M (German) http://www.a-different-kind-of-matrix.de A Different Kind of Matrix, German website about 'Neuromancer' and 'Matrix'. - Yahoo! Clubs thesprawlofwilliamgibson http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/thesprawlofwilliamgibson Club with chat and message board. Miscellaneous - The Ghost of Cornell: Biography http://www.uturn.org/3issue/3box.html - TU Kyoko Date DK96 Archive http://www.totally-useless.com/kyokodate/ Information and images of the virtual Japanese pop star Kyoko Date - Next Theatre Website http://burningcity.com/live_chrome.html The crew who adapted Gibson's 'Burning Chrome' for the stage. - Sacred Fools http://www.sacredfools.org/main.htm Another theatre which played 'Burning Chrome'. - CCS64: The best C64 emulator for the PC http://www.ccs64.fatal-design.com/ Emulator to play the C64 version of 'Neuromancer'. - The Gaming Depot -- www.gamingdepot.com http://www.gamingdepot.com/ Lots of download of old DOS games, including the PC version of 'Neuromancer'. - Interplay http://www.interplay.com Company which published the game 'Neuromancer'. Other related information - The X-Files official website http://www.thexfiles.com Background, images, and rundown of X-Files episodes, including two episodes by Gibson and Maddox. - The Internet Movie Database http://www.imdb.com Comprehensive movie information. - Encyclopaedia Britannica http://www.britannica.com Online dictionary. - Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com Where you can buy all of Gibson's books online. - Wired Magazine http://www.wired.com Contains archive with all of Gibson's articles for 'Wired'. CREDITS ------- - numerous websites (see chapter 'Internet resources') - S. Page - excellent mediagraphy listing. - Script Hound - For providing the 'Zen Differential' movie script and some information about the 'Neuromancer' movie script. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2000 by Manuel Derra. manuelderra@web.de William Gibson aleph http://www.8op.com/gibson