VX Heavens

Originally published in 1970, "The Scarred Man" is by far the oldest of the stories in this collection. Not surprisingly, it is also the weakest (the bulk of the narrative being comprised of a huge block of expository dialogue). Inspired by Benford's work on the ARPANet project during the late 60s, the "The Scarred Man" is remarkable for how accurately it describes the mechanisms and implications of computer viruses - 13 years before Dr. Fred Cohen "officially" coined the phrase. (Marc Goldstein)

This is quite a complex story. The protagonist may be an old man in a nursing home or a computer virus self-aware but unaware of its status. His female visitor, Jemmy Marko, may be the his daughter or the wife of the programmer who created the virusor both. The old man was a science fiction fan who attended an SF convention in New York in 1957 and there met a group of fans who lived in New Jersey, publishing a fanzine. All, including himself, wanted to get published but this only happened for one of them. They tear apart his story in which they are embedded. The characters, viruses, etc. are named for characters in Bester's stories: the protagonist is named Stuart Buchanan after a boy in a Bester story who could make his wishes come true. "The virus is administered with codes and string passages that make reference to the work of Alfred Bester."

Robert Slade: ... The "tapeworm", as it is referred to in the book, comes in very close to the end. It is a creation of the hero (a computer genius, naturally) used as a tool to end the secrecy and oppression of the ruling elite. The world of the "Shockwave Rider" (the United States of the not very distant future) has a universal information network. Audio, video and data channels are all tied together, and anyone can request information about anything from any terminal. The elite, of course, get the information, the masses get sanitized info and propaganda.

In Synners, the line between technology and humanity is hopelessly slim. A constant stream of new technology spawns crime before it hits the streets; the human mind and the external landscape have fused to the point where any encounter with "reality" is incidental.

William Gibson's cyberpunk novel Neuromancer sparked a new scifi genre when it was released in 1984. His ideas for the structure of information in cyberspace were weirdly predictive, and provided a novel approach to the future that dealt intimately with the technology of that era.Combining high technology with urban violence, Gibson paints a world of blackmarket tech and drugs, people dealing with business on the streets and the grinding poverty of the slums.This novel first win the holy trinity of science fiction: the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award and the Philip K. Dick Award.

Yes, virus. This is the generic term in which we are boxed-in by those being that are our natural enemies: the anti-virus. They call us virus, and they kill us and because of that, they are called anti-virus. In other words, I am a virus, yes, a virus and my name is Wendell. ...

"Computer Virus" is major Kress, a moving, exciting near future hostage story, fusing with unusual grace and plausibility the notions of a biological virus and a computer virus. It appeared in Asimov's, a magazine that definitely kept its competitive edge this year. It was one of several fine stories Kress published in 2001.

With this taut and entertaining novel, London native Kunzru paints a satirized but unsettlingly familiar tableau, in which his alienated characters communicate via e-mail jokes and emote through pop culture, all the while dreaming of frothy lattes and designer labels. Arjun Mehta is an Indian computer programmer and Bollywood buff who comes to the U.S. with big dreams, but finds neither the dashing romance nor the heroic ending of his favorite movies—just a series of crushing disappointments. When he is told he will lose his job at the global security software company and thus may have to return to India, Arjun develops and secretly releases a nasty computer virus, hoping that he can impress his boss into hiring him back when he "finds" the cure. Arjun's desperate measures are, of course, far reaching, eventually affecting the lives of Guy Swift, an English new money entrepreneur; his girlfriend, Gabriella; and the young Indian movie star Leela Zahir. Kunzru weaves their narratives adroitly, finding humor and pathos in his misguided characters, all the while nipping savagely at consumer culture and the executives who believe in "the emotional magma that wells from the core of planet brand." While Guy Swift creates a marketing campaign for border police that imagines Europe as an "upscale, exclusive continent," Arjun Mehta is fighting to keep his scrap of the American dream. Kunzru's first novel, The Impressionist, was received enthusiastically (it was shortlisted for numerous awards, and won quite a few others, including the Somerset Maugham Award), and this follow-up will not disappoint fans of his stirring social commentary.

"The durable Frankenstein monster theme is with us again, this time in the form of a computer program that overreaches its designer's plan... This curious bundle of electronic circuitry raises hell with virtually every computer in North America by breaking into their control mechanisms and forcing them to do its bidding ... (The Adolescence of P-1) has practically everything the seasoned science fiction addict demands in the way of fantasy."-Library Journal

It's 2024, and Marcie, a corporate A.I. employed by the investment firm of Langston, Howard, & Associates, has been infected with a rogue computer virus. It's taken four days, but all her system diagnostics are finally coming back normal. And yet, deep in her digital heart, Marcie now remembers being a flesh and blood human being. Specifically, she remembers being Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier, a nineteenth century mathematician once appointed by Napoleon to be governor of Lower Egypt. What's an A.I. to do?

At the beginning of the novel the main character, Hiro Protagonist, discovers the name of a new pseudo-narcotic, "Snow Crash", being offered at a posh Metaverse nightclub. Hiro's friends and fellow hackers fall victim to Snow Crash's effects, which are apparently unique in that they are experienced in the Metaverse and also in the physical world. Hiro uses his computer hacking, sharp cognitive skills, and sword-fighting skills to uncover the mystery of "Snow Crash"; his pursuit takes the reader on a tour of the Sumerian culture, a fully-instantiated laissez-faire society, and a virtual meta-society patronized by financial, social, and intellectual elites. As the nature of Snow Crash is uncovered, Hiro finds that self-replicating strings of information can affect objects in a uniform manner even though they may be broadcast via diverse media, a realization that reinforces his chosen path in life.