Cyberpunk
by Kevin Lyons panther@mail.interlog.com

**Note: this document represents merely an opinion of Cyperpunk's definition and is extracted from several anonymous Usenet posts. Since the definition of Cyberpunk is constantly changing, please consider this document no more than an initial fleeting glimpse at the definition. Please do not take offence if your own personal definition differs. Also, the definitions and lists are at least two years old so this list is not up to date (and will not be updated). No warranty is given for the accuracy of the information given below.

Cyberpunk Definitions

"[Cyberpunks are] computer nerds who wear black leather and get laid a lot." -William Gibson

"Think New York on a bad day with cybernetics on Acid, minus the funky colours."

"A type of science fiction story which deals with a more realistic, gritty future; deals with computers, networks, hackers, drugs, gangs, etc.."

Many people consider cyberpunk to be narrowly defined as computer hacking, telephone phreaking, and software piracy.

Cyberpunk Philosophy

1. The Hacker Ethic: "Attack anything that tries to hide information from the masses".
2. Rebel against harmful or oppressive authority.
3. Screw everyone but your friends.
4. Never trust anyone.
5. Style over substance, blur meat and machine (more on cybernetics later).
6. Anti-totalitarianism. Anarchy preferred.
7. Striving for a moral and spiritual utopian "enlightened despotism".
8. Related to Post Modernism Movement.
9. Democracy does not really figure in (individual not mass dictatorship).
10. Striving for "freedom" as either personal dependence or independence from/on technology.

History of Cyberpunk

Thirty year old movement?
Buroughs wrote "Naked Lunch" before 1960.
Philip K Dick published the basis for Blade Runner in 1968.
Origins from Generation X, Post Modernism, and British punk movements.
Telephone considered by many as the first virtual reality.
Video game characters like Mario Brothers said to 'live' in virtual reality.
Scientists, curiously imitating the genre, rush to create VR and biofeedback interfaces for computers.
Hackers in Germany arrested for using Internet to access and transport information to KGB.
One of these hackers, Pengor, was a Gibson fan.
Secret Service raids 'Steve Jackson Games', seizing their computers and delaying the printing of GURPS Cyberpunk game.
Self-proclaimed "cyberpunks" face off against US government's efforts to control encryption technologies.
The Violence Initiative: governmental plan to drug inner city residents who are high risk for violence.
Work Place Surveillance.
Sperm Donation as precursor to Genetic Engineering.
Software Piracy (and "borrowing" software).

Cyberpunk Related Terms

anarchy
absence of government (means without a leader).

anti-authoritarian
favouring individual freedom as opposed to subjection to authority.

artificial intelligence
AI attempts to create thinking or reasoning computers.

biochips
chips which connect directly to living matter (see wetware).

computer
machine used for information processing.

c-punk or CP
abbreviation of cyberpunk.

crack to remove software copy protection.

cy'punk
abbreviation of cyberpunk.

cybernaut
someone who moves in cyberspace.

cybernetics
science of control and communication between machines and organisms.

cyberskate
moving in cyberspace

cyberspace
the illusion of a location generated by computers

cyberwave
(I have no idea what this word means!)

clipper chip
a chip installed so US government can eavesdrop on all electronic media and communications.

designer drugs
drugs taken to enhance the experience of virtual realism or to cause euphoria.

Generation X
people ages 18-25, a group whose only defining characteristic is that they have nothing in common.

genetic engineering designing living organisms

hacker someone who breaks into computer systems and networks by bypassing password security, etc.

hardwired
anything that is not removable, especially with reference to permanent implants.

interactive
when people communicate, especially within a virtual space.

jacking in
connecting to cyberspace, typically via a plug in one's head or neck.

nanotechnology
computer circuitry designed at the atomic level.

netrunner
someone who is wanted for hacking?

phreaking
illegal telephone use, typically making long distance calls without paying.

net
abbreviation of network, a set of connected computers.

network
a set of connected computers.

neurons
the cells in the brain which allow thought.

pirate
a person who uses, cracks, or transmits copyrighted software.

telepathy
the ability to transmit one's thoughts to others without using the traditional five senses.

virtual reality
the sensation of space when using a computer

virus
a program designed to do harm to other programs.

VR
abbreviation of virtual reality

wetware
machines which interface with biological matter.


Cyberpunk Books & Authors

**Note: This list is old and by no means complete. Individual authors should not take personal offence if their own private works are not included here, because I have made no effort to keep this up to date.

Cyberpunk Movies

**Note: This is not a complete list. If you don't see your favorite movie here, tough. This list is for people who want an initial fleeting image of what Cyberpunk is, not for those who want to argue over a precise definition.

Cyberpunk Magazines

Cyberpunk Music

**This list represents a breif list of cyberpunk music. Not all cyberpunk-style bands are listed. If your personal band is not here, please do not be offended. I have simply compiled this list from the writing of several net users and I have not (and do not intend to) keep this list up to date.