Criticism In Neuromancer

Neuromancer: the Spectrum of Being Human

Ideas of what it means to be human, and who can be classified as human has changed through history. People who fall outside the norms have faced various forms of discrimination, from racism that unjustly see people of certain ethnicities as subhuman on all levels, and mental and physical disabilities that lower a person’s capability compared with the average human be the recipients of scorn and ridicule. These differences do not push anyone outside the human category, nor does it lessen their intrinsic human value. Even people who commit atrocious acts of violence and depravity are human. Being human is a spectrum with norms and extremes that yet all fall under the category of being human. In the future,

A person does not have to be completely disconnected from the digital realm to be considered human by the narrator in Neuromancer. The main character, Case, who mentally enters the digital world of the matrix and Molly, who have enhanced her body to make her a better fighter, are both humans; even though they are characterized by their respective specialisations: “You gotta jack, I gotta tussle,” (Gibson 57) Molly summarizes them. They are human, with mostly human limitations, although “With his deck, [Case] could reach the Freeside banks as easily as he could reach Atlanta. Travel was a meat thing,” (Gibson 89), and Molly with the help of modern medicine is able to keep going despite her leg being broken (Gibson

There is Corto, who was badly injured in a short-lasting war, needing new “eyes, legs, and extensive cosmetic work,” (Gibson 95), and who in the time after his injury developed schizophrenia, which subsequently lead to him becoming a “subject in an experimental program that sought to reverse schizophrenia through the application of cybernetic models,” (Gibson 97). Corto is remade, inside and out, going from being a functional human being to a husk that an AI can control, while the original personality is locked away deep inside. That period of controllability is, however, finite, and the damaged psyche of Corto re-emerges. There is also a character who Molly presents as a “certified psychopath name of Riviera,” who according to his file “Can’t get off sexually unless he knows he’s betraying the object of desire,” (Gibson 59, 110). These two characters are presented as human, despite being different from most