Neo & Trinity

When film reviewers tried on descriptions for the genre of the first Matrix film, “cyberpunk” was a suggestion that got thrown around a lot. Cyberpunk is a genre featuring unimaginably advanced science combined with a breakdown in social order, normally focusing on hackers and artificial intelligences negotiating a world ruled by megacorporations. The genre originated in the early 1980s to describe a number of authors working at the time. Of these, William Gibson is considered one of the most influentialand of his early works, the one that can be most seen as a direct ancestor of the Matrix is his classic Neuromancer.First published in 1984, the book was an underground hit upon its release and won the Nebula, Hugo, and Philip K. Dick awards. Something in its future noir atmosphere struck a chord, and continues to do so to this day. The book focuses on Heny Dorsett Case, a drug-addicted hacker who, as punishment for stealing from his employer, is blocked from plugging in to the global computer networka network often referred to “the matrix.” Coincidence? Give me a break.Searching for a cure, Case hooks up with Molly Millions, a “razor girl,” so called for the retractable claws underneath her fingers. Millions works as a mercenary for an ex-soldier named Armitage, who offers to cure Case in exchange for a job.If the basic plotline sounds like a noir detective novel to you, you’ve picked up on one of cyberpunk’s defining features: a worldview similar to that of the hard-boiled protagonist of noir fiction. The Matrix also showcases some of these elements, especially in the early cyber-thriller portion of the film where Anderson tracks down the answer to the question “What is the Matrix?”Neuromancer became so successful that Gibson returned to it for two sequels: Count Zero (1986) and Mona Lisa Overdrive (1988). Together, these comprise the “Sprawl Trilogy.” Gibson also wrote a number of short stories set in the same universe, including “Johnny Mnemonic” (1981), “New Rose Hotel” (1981), and “Burning Chrome” (1982).A film adaptation of Neuromancer is currently in the works, with Vincenzo Natali (director of Cube and Splice) on hand to direct. If this film comes to fruition, it should be an instant classic for Matrix fans. Natali has demonstrated his science-fiction chops time and time again, and we may finally have the technology to recreate Gibson’s dark world on screen. Whether that’s a good or a bad thing remains to be seen.