"Would you like to play a game?"

Having almost finished William Gibson's Neuromancer, I must say that the style of writing used is very complex and requires a lot of re-reading to catch all of the little details. Yet, while it is not my favorite book, Gibson does an excellent job of predicting the evolution of artificial intelligence-years before the internet was commercially available. Thus far, we know that Case was an excellent data "cowboy" (or hacker), until he double crossed his last employer. As punishment, Case was injected with a myotoxin that destroyed his nervous system, and was left to die in the streets. Yet, a man known as Armitage is willing to reverse the damage, in exchange for helping him on one last mission.

Throughout most of the book, the mission's main objective is kept secret, yet Armitage and the other two members of the team, Molly and Riviera, hint that it involves two artificial intelligences: Wintermute and its counterpart Neuromancer. Designed by the Tessier-Ashpool family, Wintermute and Neuromancer were supposed to constitute a single AI. Under Turing law, however, they were split into separate entities to prevent the super computer from becoming too powerful. Desiring re-union with its counterpart, Wintermute attempts to contact Case while in the airport by calling a nearby pay phone. When Case picks up, Wintermute says "It's time we talk," and Case abruptly hangs-up, obviously in shock (Gibson 98); on his way back through the terminal to meet with Molly, each phone rang in succession.

After reading that short passage, the hair on the back of my neck immediately stood up. It is surreal, and even a little bit creepy to think that a super computer knew where Case was in the airport, and how to get a hold of him. On a side note, it also reminded me of the super computer WOPR from the 1983 hit War Games, where the main character, David Lightman, is constantly called by WOPR who solicits "would you like to play a game?" In both stories, the AI is obviously flaunting its intellectual capacity.

Whether or not Case responds to Wintermute is yet to be seen, but their confrontation is surely inevitable. Over the weekend I hope to finish Neuromancer so that I can post the critical information to my blog. But, with the Super Bowl on Sunday, my schedule might be a little bit crunched. GO PACKERS!

Works Cited:

• Gibson, William. Neuromancer. New York: Ace, 1984. Print.
• War Games. Dir. John Badham. Perf. Matthew Broderick, Ally Sheedy, John Wood. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Sherwood, The Leonard Goldberg Company, United Artists, 1983.YouTube. Andiback, 28 May 2007. Web. 2 Feb. 2011. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLJ3zcdPtl8>.