#william gibson core

[frogshunnedshadows]

A "heartfelt thanks" in the form of a full-color, full page trade magazine ad, from cyberpunk author William Gibson to the CGI crews of the film "Johnny Mnemonic."

[laststandx3]

When he sees me is Billy Gibson’s core

[cyberpunkonline]

What is a Cypherpunk?

The term "cypherpunk" refers to a movement and a community of activists advocating for the widespread use of strong cryptography and privacy-enhancing technologies as a route to social and political change. Emerging in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the cypherpunk movement is a confluence of libertarian political philosophy, hacker ethos, and cryptographic science.

The Core Traits of Cypherpunks

1. Advocacy for Privacy and Anonymity: Cypherpunks champion the right to privacy, emphasizing that individuals should have control over their personal information and digital footprints. This advocacy is often in direct opposition to government surveillance and corporate data collection practices.

2. Use of Cryptography: The cornerstone of the cypherpunk movement is the use of strong cryptography to secure communications and transactions. Cypherpunks believe that through cryptographic techniques, individuals can protect their privacy in the digital world.

3. Open Source and Decentralization: A significant trait among cypherpunks is the belief in open-source software and decentralized systems. This ethos promotes transparency, security, and resistance to censorship and control by central authorities.

Who are the Cypherpunks?

The cypherpunk community consists of programmers, activists, academics, and technologists. Notable figures include Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks; Jacob Appelbaum, a former spokesperson for the Tor Project; and Hal Finney, a pioneer in digital cash systems. The manifesto "A Cypherpunk's Manifesto" by Eric Hughes (1993) [https://www.activism.net/cypherpunk/manifesto.html] eloquently encapsulates the philosophy and ideals of this movement.

The Cypherpunk Movement

Cypherpunks are not a formal organization but rather a loosely associated group sharing common interests in cryptography and privacy. The movement's origins can be traced to the “Cypherpunks” mailing list, started in 1992 by Eric Hughes, Timothy C. May, and John Gilmore. This list served as a platform for discussing privacy, cryptography, and related political issues.

Relation to Cyberpunk Principles

While cypherpunks share some overlap with the cyberpunk genre of science fiction, they are distinct in their real-world activism. Cyberpunk literature, like William Gibson's "Neuromancer" (1984) [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6088006-neuromancer], often presents a dystopian future where technology is pervasive and oppressive. In contrast, cypherpunks aim to use technology, specifically cryptography, as a tool for empowerment and resistance against such dystopian futures.

Notable Contributions and Technologies

The cypherpunk movement has been instrumental in the development of technologies that emphasize privacy and security:

Tor (The Onion Router): A free and open-source software for enabling anonymous communication [https://www.torproject.org/].

Pretty Good Privacy (PGP): A data encryption and decryption program that provides cryptographic privacy and authentication [https://www.openpgp.org/].

Bitcoin: The creation of Bitcoin by an individual or group under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto was heavily influenced by the ideas of the cypherpunk movement. It embodies principles of decentralization and financial privacy [https://bitcoin.org/en/].

Wikileaks: Founded by Julian Assange, WikiLeaks is a multinational media organization that publishes news leaks and classified media provided by anonymous sources [https://wikileaks.org/].

Conclusion

The cypherpunk movement is a critical lens through which to view the ongoing dialogue about privacy, security, and freedom in the digital age. While not an organized group, the collective impact of cypherpunks on modern cryptography, internet privacy, and digital rights is profound. As digital technology continues to permeate every facet of our lives, the principles and contributions of the cypherpunk community remain more relevant than ever. - REV1.

[billpottsismygf]

Just rewatched Space Babies and it's even better the second time around. I liked it before, but I appreciate its campness a lot more now and I've got sort of used to the CGI mouths on the babies. I actually found the babies quite adorable this time, as well as Ruby and the Doctor's reactions to them.

It even got me to cry not once, but twice! First at the "no one grows up wrong" conversation and then at the climax with the Doctor rescuing the Bogeyman and Ruby hugging Jocelyn. There's a really strong emotional core to the story, despite its silly exterior, which is something I've always loved RTD for.

Ncuti Gatwa is just electric as the Doctor. I've loved him from the moment he stepped out the side of David Tennant, but the more I see him the more I think he's going to be a legendary Doctor. He has such a very particular energy. It's all his own, but it's also so completely the Doctor. At certain moments, his off the wall bonkersness will remind me of Tom Baker or David Tennant, but most of the time it's just pure Ncuti Gatwa and I absolutely love it.

His mischievous moments, like when Ruby gets gunk in her hair or when he frightens the space babies, are especially enjoyable. I love when the Doctor is mischievous! I can't think of any modern Doctors who have really embodied that so well. It's giving me William Hartnell giggling at every single thing that happens, but in completely his own way. I just love him very much. What truly brilliant casting. I can already tell he's going to be rocketing up my list of favourite Doctors. He's already my favourite since Twelve (who is my number 1), and I suspect he might eclipse, or at least level with, Ten as well.

His dynamic with Ruby is also so good. He and Millie Gibson have great chemistry and I love when the Doctor/Companion relationship is so clearly best friends energy. It's a different kind of best friend energy than, say, Ten/Fourteen and Donna. These two are much more like naughty schoolchildren who the teacher keeps having to tell off, which is definitely in part due to their age, but also just the way they're playing it.

Anyway, despite some issues here and there, I am now feeling very optimistic about this new era of the show!

[pilot-doodles]

HELLO! I was tagged in this "Get to Know me" thing. wazzup. thanks, @alyxtried

Last Song - Blood Upon the Snow- Hozier, Bear McCreary

The song fits some of my OCs super well, I keep putting that song on in the car and get really lost in it. It's one of those songs that if given the right time to sit and listen, will give me full body chills. today was one of those days!

Currently Watching - Star Wars Rebels (Season 2)

I can't shut up about Star Wars ever and because I am fun and love live My favorite animated series is Rebels. I wanted to show it to my roommate. Every time I re-watch it I notice more and more. I'm also watching Ashoka so It is nice to see the parallels. and GOD i love Hera Syndulla so much.

Currently Reading - Burning Chrome- William Gibson

Reading is SUUUUPER hard for me for some reason, so I find myself picking up and putting books down often. I rarely get so engrossed in a book that I finish it, but that's why Burning Chrome works for me. it's a scify anthology/short story comp that I can pick up and put away whenever I want. the few books I strongly recommend are Piranesi and the Winternight Trilogy!

Current Obsession - (Still) Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Baldur's gate 3

before I go back on my Star Wars bullshit, I'm still playing BG3 with my beloved bard, Viv. I don't have as much free time as I did a while back but I still want to finish the story.

Favourite Colour - Red

it's been my favorite since I was a kid! I don't have a single explanation for it but it's always my favorite. I use it a lot in character design. I am also a fan of a good gold and black. the combo of red, dark navy and gold will always make me go insane. (in a good way)

Favourite Candy - Gummies

who has ONE favorite candy? what? I love gummies, hard candy, dark chocolate, anything with lemon- the more I think of it I don't think there's anything I actively dislike! except circus peanuts and candy corn but I think I'm allergic to them.

Favourite Game of All Time - Final Fantasy Crisis Core

I don't know who knows but I have a tattoo of the buster sword (Zacks OG CC version). it's on my left forearm. the tattoo artist I got was amazing, too. Crisis Core was extremely formative for me and had formulated some of the ideals I hold today.

Current Pets - Tadashi (gray longhair cat) and Acorn (Society Finch)

My boy tadashi was a shelter cat who probably would have died if I hadn't gotten him when I did. He came to me with a life threatening respiratory infection and ringworm, fleas, kennel rashes, etc. He's all fixed up now and living his best life as a spoiled, fat housecat. he's a bit standoffish to people, but really loves being with people. I also live with my sister's two cats, madeline and Olive.

Thanks for the tag, If someone wants to do it, go for it! I would love to hear about the vast beautiful worlds you got going on! (trying not to tag irl friends) Theres a lot of you active mutuals, so if I missed you and you wanna do it, I have spiritualy tagged you.

@magicalzombiegirl @ramroadrage @sternenhimmel-mond @thatoneperson1967 @astro-b-o-y-d @jesterrlavorre @phobosapollo @nionbell

[power-chords]

Sometimes I feel annoyed and even resentful that William Gibson is known for the wrong book. Neuromancer is fine and I get it. But he wrote the actual masterpiece for the information age, Pattern Recognition, in 2003, about what it's like to be a covertly insane but well-dressed and functionally well-adjusted woman in your 30s whose job it is to liaise between craft and capital interests. You live in New York but are frequently uprooted for dreamlike wanderings around strange cities with different but equally fascinating histories. You had a father who was brilliant and eccentric and unknowable (but he loved you very much). You have experienced a piece of art that has changed you so fundamentally that you are consumed by the obsessive drive to understand the mechanics of its power over you. In doing so you encounter the most interesting people from all walks of life who are not like you at all, and yet identical to you in some core spiritual way. And you get yourself into a bunch of trouble, and then you get yourself out of it.

[orchidblack]

I was watching the new series based on William Gibson’s 2014 sci-fi novel The Peripheral when I had one of those nerdy, late-night realisations: cyberpunk has become the retro-future, a vision of tomorrow that feels like the past.

-Annalee Newitz, New Scientist

I'm sure New Scientist just needed a pithy lede, but Annalee Newitz has been beating this same "cyberpunk is passé" drum for at least a decade. They're not entirely wrong-- I'm not sure how many more rendered neon skylines and photobashed softcore models with borg implants the world really needs. But their argument equates "the cyberpunk vision" with the vanity projects and messianic delusions of Silicon Valley oligarchs, when it's almost diametrically opposed. Poverty, inequality, and class war have been baked into the genre from the beginning. Cyberpunk isn't Elon Musk triumphantly rolling out the Cybertruck-- it's broke Twitter users subverting the platform's new, Musk-instated features to repeatedly windmill dunk on him.

As an ethos, cyberpunk is anti-establishment. As an aesthetic project, it regards the high-tech future with what Bruce Sterling describes as "ecstasy and dread". Everything the future holds is perverse and horrible, but also, at the same time, really fucking cool. Musk might knowingly invoke this particular cocktail, but his reverse Midas touch saps the cool from anything in physical proximity, and no Silicon Valley zaibatsu would list "ecstasy and dread" among its core corporate values. Zuckerberg wants to build a Snow Crash-style metaverse, but his sales pitch is all about connection, community, positive impact-- the same anodyne buzzwords that fueled facebook's rise, and lost all meaning in the process. He's naively co-opted Neal Stephenson's cyberpunk vision while entirely missing the satirical point.

If cyberpunk no longer fits our vision of the future, it's because it increasingly describes our dystopian present, and our ability to envision another, different future has been fatally diminished. Our last sustained effort was an ill-advised embrace of Silicon Valley's own brand of sci-fi: the TED Talk, thinkfluencer, sharing economy, there's an app for that techno-optimism that held sway through the mid-2010s. That vision of tomorrow is well and truly dead. Cyberpunk is still here.

[theravenchild]

Name: Hellendil Melinae

Birthday: September 24th

Zodiac Sign: Libra

Pronouns: He/Him

Sexual Orientation: Bisexual (He's just figuring it out during 5th year)

Height: 6'1.5" (≈186.5 cm)

Eye Color: Blue

Hair: Long brown hair with auburn tones more visible in bright lighting. Hair is straight, but he typically wears it in a braid so it often looks wavy. As an adult he wears it pulled back in a low pony for work or formal occasions and loose any other time.

Blood status: Half-blood

House: Ravenclaw

Wand: 11.5 inches Cedar with Dragon heartstring core, pliant

Patronus: originally a Ragdoll Cat, it changes to an Occamy at the end of fifth year

Animagus: Norwegian Forest Cat

Favorite Classes: Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Care of Magical Creatures, Astronomy, History of Magic

Favorite Magical Creature(s): Thestrals, Mooncalves, Kneazels

Friends: Amit Thakkar, Natsai Onai, Sebastian Sallow, Ominis Gaunt, Poppy Sweeting, Nerida Roberts

OC friends: Lydia Parkinson, William Abbott, Maya Catapang, Wren Zhang, Ren Aries, Amara Ambrose, Felix Åberg, Theodora Devlin, Danny Gibson, Gwendolyn Foxworth, Eve Makaroff, Vanessa Nott.

Love Interest(s):

Fanfic - Sebastian Sallow, Elvira Dougherty (OC)

RP - ???

RP AU - William Abbott (Helliam) ❤️

Personality: Hellendil is a sweet, outgoing boy who places a high value on friendships and those he cares about. He has a strong desire to help those in need which sometimes leads him to neglect his own needs. He is soft hearted and often finds himself upset when his actions cause emotional or physical harm to someone or something he cares about. He is intelligent and enjoys reading and studying, especially with a companion. He generally has trouble with decision making because he tends to look at all possible perspectives to weigh the options. He dislikes conflict and would prefer to find a diplomatic solution, but is aware that is not always an option.

Wore the dark arts outfit his first day of classes and promptly traded it for leather armor/adventure gear.

Received the scar on his right brow while fighting the troll in Hogsmeade with Natty.

He adores Thestrals and will stop to watch them anytime he sees them. He also prefers riding one to using a broom.

Family: Hellendil is the youngest of four children and one of two to inherit magical ability from his mother.

His mother is a metal charmer and jeweler from Wales, who met his father when traveling in search of suppliers of metals and precious gems for her art. His father is a muggle blacksmith/metal worker who was blissfully unaware of the magical world until their meeting. His love for her was strong enough that it endured the shock of finding out she was a witch. They married and resettled in Wales where they raised their four children.

[yodawgiheardyoulikemecha]

SLAMhound by Duncan Lindbo Via Flickr: "THEY sent A SLAMHOUND on Turner's trail in New Delhi, slotted it to his pheromones and the color of his hair. It caught up with him on a street called Chandni Chauk and came scrambling for his rented BMW through a forest of bare brown legs and pedicab tires. Its core was a kilogram of recrystallized hexogene and flaked TNT." -William Gibson, Count Zero This was inspired, of all things, by my dog's walking harness/vest. It's red as well, and the idea of the red vest becoming armor plates strapped over an agile dog-mech seemed like a cool one. As for the name, I defy you to come up with a cooler, more cyberpunk-y name than Gibson did with "slamhound"... In an effort to use more interesting colors, I went with dark blue for the mechanical body parts, which gave me a nice opportunity to use the Friends saddle for the waist.

[duckprintspress]

Aetherpunk

By a member of the Duck Prints Press staff who has chosen to be anonymous.

Note: Punk genres are diverse and always changing. Duck Prints Press is not trying to give a complete explanation of aetherpunk here but rather a bit of inspiration. Take what you want from it to create your own aetherpunk worlds!

On January 5th, Duck Prints Press will be launching recruitment for our next anthology: Aether Beyond the Binary, a collection of stories featuring main characters outside the gender binary living in modern or near-future aetherpunk Earth! This begs the question: what IS Aetherpunk? Well, read on and learn all about it…

Prologue: From the Aether

Scenes from the Aether #1: Bloomington, Indiana, 2013:

Lin steps into the café down the street from their apartment. The lights of the shop glow a pleasant green, reminiscent of the owner’s own magical aura. Soon, when Del opens the shop for customers, they’ll turn a more standard blue, but for now Del’s shop is cozy and quiet. Lin smiles, looking forward to seeing their friend. 

A shower of blue sparks flies from the kitchen’s open door, and Del scrambles out, cursing. When he sees Lin, he breaks into a wry smile. 

“Breakfast on the house?” he offers, his shorthand for pleading. 

“That’s the third time this week,” Lin chides, barely holding back their smile. They roll up their sleeves to go tinker with Del’s new, “improved” baking oven. “Why not use your old one?”

“The aether this model uses is supposed to be more efficient!” Del exclaims. Then, with a sad smile: “Plus no one trusts my powers. They still think the color’s associated with… you know.”

“Yeah.” Lin knows. They think of Del’s infamous brother, the deadly alchemist. “I’ll help you, but this is the last time.”

“Mhm,” Del says, nudging Lin’s shoulder, and adds telepathically, You say that every time.

You could try not being so smug about it, Lin half scolds, half laughs. 

“Why wouldn’t I be smug? My handsome, brilliant friend, the undisputed genius of the IU School of Aetheric Engineering, is fixing my pipes for free.”

Lin blushes but maintains their chiding tone as they say, their warm face hidden behind the stove where the power supply has once again leaked from its pipes, “Not for free. For breakfast.” 

Part One: What’s in a Punk (genre)? 

There’s been an explosion of punk genres since Bruce Bethke’s 1983 story Cyberpunk launched the genre. Though Bethke’s story may have given a name to this phenomenon, in his Etymology of “Cyberpunk” Bethke credits William Gibson’s Neuromancer (1984) for really defining the core tenets of the genre (Bethke, 2000). He also marvels at how the cyberpunk character trope (“a young, technologically facile, ethically vacuous, computer-adept vandal or criminal”) has stayed remarkably stable over the years since his story was published. In 2022, when I’m writing this, it’s still very similar. The cyberpunks in the cyberpunk genre are the sorts of lone heroes who often arise in the isolating environments fostered by advanced computer technologies.

Why am I rambling on about cyberpunk? Because, dear readers, cyberpunk is the progenitor of all genrepunks. As the most widely explored and utilized punk setting, it has provided the blueprint on which other punk genres are built. In essence, every punk after cyberpunk is a reaction to cyberpunk, either embracing or pushing back against its ethos. After cyberpunk came steampunk: a retro, adventurous answer to cyberpunk’s gritty and dystopian futurism. Then came others: dieselpunk, sandalpunk, biopunk—even the very meta “mythpunk” to which Neil Gaiman’s work is often attributed. These days, even non-punk fantasy is often punk-adjacent. 

So what makes punk stories… punk? For a story to be classified in a punk genre, it typically requires two key elements: a distinctive type of technology (whether social technology like myths and lore or physical technology like steam engines, diesel-powered airships, or nanobots) and a point of view about that technology. 

The technological distinctions can seem fairly obvious: atompunk features tech powered by nuclear energy; nanopunk, tiny robot technology; biopunk, genetic engineering and biotech; dieselpunk, diesel-powered machines. But focusing on only the tech aspects can make people miss the point of having multiple different punk subgenres. 

Take this paraphrased version of a forum conversation, circa 2015: 

[User 1]: Hey, I’ve been hearing more and more about this genre called ‘aetherpunk,’ but I can’t figure out what it is. How is it different from just steampunk but with magic? 

[User 2]: Sorry to tell you, friend, but it’s basically just “steampunk with magic.”

[User 1]: Ah. So, completely useless, then.

This view is common but misses the point. The tech alone does not make punk punk. The second necessary element is the cultural context of the technology: how does it affect the people who use it every day? How dissociated do those people feel from their environment? From their government? From the inevitable march of society, driven at least partially by technological advances using the genre-specific tech? Punk genres live and breathe for their exploration of the intersection between technology and culture. 

Genreunk is a response to the world we live in. Cultural evolution happens when technologies—lore, steam engines, printing presses, atomic bombs—intersect with cultural habits and traditions and shake them loose. We don’t live in the only, or the best, possible world. When we write punk, in some ways, we’re rewriting cultural evolution. We’re asking for a new way of thinking about the past and how that carries forward into the future. How we would be different. How we would be the same.

Punk isn’t just a genre. It’s a tool for understanding humanity. 

Part Two: Clear Air, a History of Aether

In the beginning, gods breathed their essence into the emptiness of space, and aether entered the universe as the material through which the stars and planets moved. Humans in ancient Greece, attuned to this invisible presence, named it “clear air” and declared it the fifth element, along with earth, water, air, and fire. Other cultures gave this energy different names or didn’t name it at all but nonetheless knew it was there. Over a thousand years later, medieval Europeans called it “quintessence” and hypothesized that this element, rare on Earth, could be distilled in order to cure mortal ailments. Aether was a substance that could make rocks burn and lights glow. It became a key ingredient in classic alchemical experiments in the West.

Aether has always been the bringer of light, the unchanging medium through which energy travels in waves from its source to the lenses of our eyes, to the leaves of hungry plants, to everywhere on the planet and throughout the universe. Indeed, it was so recently believed in and well-known that late 19th-century spiritualists took photos of ectoplasm and declared that ghosts could send messages through the aether. 

Then, a mere hundred-odd years ago, we lost faith. 

The idea of aether seems preposterous now, when we know about electron fields and the theory of relativity which states that nothing in the universe is stable or unchanging (and we certainly don’t need a special medium that exists to move light around)—but is it really so much harder to believe in aether than in electron fields? Or in dark matter?

Why shouldn’t we be swimming through aether like a fish swims through water?

Part Three: What is Aether/Punk?

Aetherpunk, the genre, explores what the world would be like if, rather than finding out aether was simply a confused explanation for how energy moves through space, we discovered that it was a real element, something we could both detect and harness. The nature of the aether isn’t what makes aetherpunk what it is. Rather, it’s the exploration of the development of society from the turning point when we discover that the aether is real—how that changes the world, the people, the past, and the future. 

Aether, the invisible force, can be everything and nothing. It can be magic, or it can be material. In some disciplines, like alchemy, it’s both. Aether is made of faith. It’s ephemeral, often immaterial, and only visible once the viewer knows what they’re looking for. It can cause disaster or provide beautiful, clean energy for wondrous technologies. It can be a source of progress or of fear. But in the end, it’s still a thing that must be discovered and cultivated. It can’t be forced into existence.

Aetherpunk as a genre is more naturistic than earlier punk genres like steampunk or cyberpunk. Natural materials find their way into clothing and buildings and weapons and tools, and the shapes of these man-made elements are designed in ways that enhance their ability to harness aetheric power. There might be constructs of stone or finely-honed metal held together by aetheric energy, beautiful steel weapons that cut through stone using atom-thick edges of pure aether, skyships and buildings of gold, or of clear stone, or of glass and crystal. And the technology bathes its surroundings in a luminous glow of aetheric light. 

Like solarpunk and lunarpunk, aetherpunk is a hopeful punk genre. When aether is discovered and harnessed, it brings about flourishing communities and can help to heal the world. Of course there are dark sides—the dangers of a volatile power source that not everyone can control, the frustrations of the people who are unable to use that power for themselves—and anyone is welcome to write a dark aetherpunk story. But aetherpunk doesn’t come with the same inherent baggage as steampunk or cyberpunk. Likewise, people can write utopian steampunk and cyberpunk, but that’s the opposite of the “standard” core of the genre. Aetherpunk wants to explore humanity in a universe where we don’t struggle simply to light our homes. Where the power that runs everything suffuses the universe, and therefore everyone can reap the benefits. A world where our source of power doesn’t send millions of people to an early grave. What sorts of stories would emerge in this sort of world?

Part Four: Steampunk but with Aether?

Now that we’ve described what aetherpunk is, let’s return to that dreadful forum post, and ask for ourselves: what makes aetherpunk more than just “steampunk but with aether”? 

In short, everything.

First is the nature of the energy that powers the technology. Steampunk is a retrofuturistic genre that centers on the era when steam, fueled by wood and coal, was the main power source, around the turn of the 1800s during the Industrial Revolution. It harkens back to the aesthetics of the era, with wood and steel and glass materials, wooden ships that ply the air, clockworks and rivets and tangible, heavy things that work through sheer force. Steam is a thing with weight. It will melt your flesh from your bones, and it’s born not of faith, nor internal strength, nor the careful distillation of spirits down to their quintessence, but instead through fire. Another resource needs to burn to make it. Entire lives are spent feeding coal into the voracious maws of steam engines. 

Aetherpunk, as we’ve described, is born of magic, and thus the technology to use it focuses on cultivation and focusing energy rather than on producing something by force. Even the most cursory look at the nature of the energy source shows us how every aspect of society linked with producing that energy is different between steampunk stories and aetherpunk stories.

There’s also a very important cultural distinction between aetheric stories and steam-powered stories. In steampunk, the adventures of sky pirates and nobility are built on the efforts of a vast lower class who are systematically shut out from steam’s benefits. It may not matter to the story at hand, but the underlying class tension is always there. Like cyberpunk, steampunk takes inequality as a given, and places singular heroes into that world.

Aetherpunk is more utopian and egalitarian. There’s no assumption built in that in order for a person to use their magical flying ship, someone else must suffer to create the energy needed to fuel it. This distinction makes all the difference in how aetherpunk and steampunk stories are told. 

In either case, the power source can be wonderful or terrible, can fuel dystopian nightmares or hopeful solutions to the troubles that ail the world. But the fundamental nature of these technologies affects the way characters think and speak about the world they inhabit. Is it a place of smog or of shimmering lights? Is it a place where magic competes with technology, or is it a place where magic is the technology? The answers to these questions are different in every punk genre, and those differences should have a profound impact on the story’s narrative.

Where will your aetherpunk story take you?

Epilogue: From the Aether

Scenes from the Aether #2: San Francisco, 2043

Shining, multicolored bridges bend but do not break in the powerful earthquake that, in previous eras, would have shaken buildings from their foundations and dropped bridges into the bay. Drivers and pedestrians cling to whatever safety they can as the structures sag and sway and finally, after all is done, snap back to form as though the past minute was only a bad dream. 

Trill breathes a ragged sigh before stepping back onto zir motorcycle and kicking the starter. A blue glow and a warm hum are the only signs that the bike is powering up before Trill finishes crossing the bridge, a little jumpy from the unexpected shaking but no worse for wear. Ze has a long way still to go before ze arrive at Heloise’s house. Ze can’t wait to see zir friend, who is finally home after her long trip to Lima where she was training magicians to harness their power. 

Trill rides north into the mountains while the sun sets to zir west, out above the ocean, and the world glows orange and pink. By the time ze powers down zir bike, the sky is silky black and filled with stars. Trill climbs toward Heloise’s small house, which is built into the slope; the soft blue glow of natural aether in the rocks lights the way. Ze knocks on Heloise’s wooden door;  Heloise answers with a hug around Trill’s waist, her face pressed into Trill’s chest. Trill laughs, something in zir heart finally relaxing.

It’s been a long eight months. 

She pulls Trill inside, into this warm place she’s made in the lonely hills above the bay, and even though ze doesn’t deserve it, Trill revels in her welcome. It feels like coming home.

Examples of Aetherpunk

As aetherpunk is a young genre, examples are sparse, and there are many opinions on what “counts” and what doesn’t. For example, some people consider Lord of the Rings to be aetherpunk, due to the way it brings magic and technology together (especially in Mordor and in Sarumon’s plot line) and the way the magic interacts with society. The below list should not be considered exhaustive, just as this post shouldn’t be treated as The Last Word on the nature of aetherpunk.

Books:

The Aether Chronicles by Abi Barden

Aether Frontier by Scott McCoskey

Chasing the Lantern by Jonathon Burgess

Strange Skies by Loud Silence

Games:

Eberron

Final Fantasy

Genshin Impact

League of Legends

Magic the Gathering (specifically the Kaladesh Plane)

Xenoblade Chronicles

About Duck Prints Press

Duck Prints Press LLC is an independent publisher based in New York State. Our founding vision is to help fanfiction authors navigate the complex process of bringing their original works from first draft to print, culminating in publishing their work under our imprint. We are particularly dedicated to working with queer authors and publishing stories featuring characters from across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum.

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Sources

r/aetherpunk on reddit

“Different Punk: A to Z of Punk Genres,” April 30 2019, by Isaac

“The Etymology of ‘Cyberpunk’ ” by Bruce Bethke

“Please Define ‘Aetherpunk,’ ” November 15 2015, by Union Jacknnife and Nostil.

“Something is Broken in Our Science Fiction,” January 15 2019, by Lee Konstantinou

[slowrotation]

“CPUs. Cayce Pollard Units. That’s what Damien calls the clothing she wears. CPUs are either black, white, or gray, and ideally seem to have come into this world without human intervention.

What people take for relentless minimalism is a side effect of too much exposure to the reactor-cores of fashion. This has resulted in a remorseless paring-down of what she can and will wear. She is, literally, allergic to fashion. She can only tolerate things that could have been worn, to a general lack of comment, during any year between 1945 and 2000. She’s a design-free zone, a one-woman school of anti whose very austerity periodically threatens to spawn its own cult.”

William Gibson, Pattern Recognition

[snickerdoodlles]

Feel free to just ignore this if you really dislike the phrase that much, and then I will just try to remember never to use that phrase for your stories again, but I wanted to let you know that I consider "crack taken seriously" to be one of the highest accolades to give an author. Because they took something that anyone else would have made into a one line gag and filled it with life; with joy and fear and insight and inspiration; brilliant worldbuilding and inspired character development.

I don't like most humor. It usually just comes off as mocking and mean to me. But crack taken seriously is when someone takes the bitter absurdity of those "funny" bits of our world and cracks it open to show that there is an entire story full of beauty and hope inside, not just the momentary embarrassment and frustration I expected.

And also, it's just really hard to do. Most people don't have the imagination to find an entire universe in a silly joke, much less the skill to write it. Douglas Adams is crack taken seriously. And Terry Pratchett, JRR Tolkin, William Gibson. Anyone who thought of something radically different than our reality, and then wrote it so well that we all saw our own lives reflected in it. In fact, it showed us ourselves reflected so clearly that it taught us things about ourselves we never thought to look at; changed us in ways that a story that pandered to our expectations of how the world works never could.

Done right, absurdity and silliness leaves the reader receptive to considering radical ideas they might have ignored in any other context. I find it an amazingly powerful literary device. Most cracky fanfic doesn't go that far, of course. But even when it's just used to give a different interpretation of a cannon scene, not political commentary, it hits me harder than more conventionally structured works trying to do the same thing. And I can't write it at all so I find it really technically impressive when someone pulls it off. The timing and pacing is really hard to do!

( crack taken seriously tends to be something that makes me giggle or go "WTF?" at first, but ends with me sitting in stunned silence, thinking "OH." I mean, there are variants, it's not like a rule, but that's kind of the core feeling I get from it.

It's an actual unique genre in my mind, not literally something silly treated as serious)

Oh friend it's okay, I don't actually need anyone to change up their tagging systems for me! And thank you for sharing your thoughts on the 'crack taken seriously' tag 🥰 I do objectively know most people mean it in a good way, it just also catches me off guard every time because the pieces of my writing that I think people label me as a 'crack' writer for aren't what I'd label as 'crack', so there's a disconnect for me (ie something like my necromancy AU I haven't written yet, where Chay can just raise the dead as he pleases and I use that to dig into Big's relationship with personhood, is crack taken seriously to me; stuff that just plays off silliness like an accidental pony-play or ridiculous friendship shenanigans i'd just tag as humor). plus, the definition for 'crack' is all over the place-- I always assume the nicer definitions for my own sake, but I'm not entirely sure sometimes.

so in a combination of my own writing insecurities and the definition mismatch, I feel very...odd? ig? about the label. it's very much a me thing, I know that, but sometimes the specific combination of tags left on my stuff feels more like "this person's a crack writer BUT--" and it kinda feels like I'm being put on the backfoot/dismissed, or that what I like to write is somehow 'less' and needs to be justified to be liked. this is still a me issue, but sometimes the disconnect hits strong and I just feel baffled for the day.

[shadowron]

Intrusion Countermeasures (“Ice”) from Virtual Realities for Shadowrun (1st Edition). White IC. Part 6

Black ice may have killed Cliff Burton.

1962-1986. May he rock in peace.

While virtual reality is still struggling to become a thing (looking at you, Metaverse), ICE remains firmly in the realm of science fiction. Short for Intrusion Countermeasures Electronics, the term was popularized in the cyberpunk fiction of William Gibson, though not developed deeply, primarily focusing on ICE that can kill the user (“Black ice”) and programs that can defeat ICE (“Icebreakers”).

“Oh, I thought you meant... Okay. I’ll turn the ship around.”

For Shadowrun, the “E” was dropped, as IC is a form of software, not hardware, and the types were expanded from the original “black”, embracing traditional Black and White Dualism along with Shades of Gray.

White IC are passive and cannot damage your persona. Gray IC can damage your persona, and mess with your programs and deck. Black IC just frags you, the decker, up. Just as you, the decker, are running a program (persona) on someone else’s computer system, all IC are independent programs that can be crashed in cybercombat (using the combat utilities Attack and Slow). However, as it is in meatspace, it shall be in cyberspace -- you should try to be sneaky first before busting out the big guns. 

The core book had three types of white IC. :

Access

The most common form, this is just the logon box where you enter your username and password. Can be bypassed either with Deception (fake credentials) or Sleaze (sneak past it).

Barrier

No chance to enter a password, just blocks access.

Must Sleaze.

Scramble

Both this IC, and the decker program to counter it (Decrypt), are meant to represent implementations of cryptography and cryptanalysis, which, having read Cryptonomicon at least a dozen times, makes me an expert.

Scramble can also be defeated using Deception, which means why would you ever need a Decrypt program? Unless you plan to use Sleaze instead of Deception, in which case you could use Decrypt. But since Barrier can only be defeated by Sleaze, deckers always used it. Though, of the book archetypes, the Decker doesn’t have Sleaze, while the Elven Decker does.

Virtual Realities adds one new type of White IC:

Probe

This is Access IC that is specifically resistant to the Sleaze program, because Frag You, players, and your most useful way of sneaking around the Matrix. If Access is like the logon, Probe is like a Captcha. But, you know, Shadowrun style.

[cyberpunkonline]

Cyberpunk Chronicles: Celebrating the Badass Women of the Neon Era

In the heart of the neon-lit cyberpunk landscape, where the future and the digital realm collide, there exists a legion of unforgettable heroines who've been blazing trails and rewriting the rules since the very inception of this thrilling genre. Cyberpunk, as a genre, is not just a collection of stories; it's a reflection of an era marked by the rapid advancement of technology, the rise of mega-corporations, and the ever-present tension between individuality and conformity. And at the heart of this tumultuous world are these extraordinary women who not only navigated the treacherous cybernetic jungles but thrived in them.

Part I: Pioneers of Cyberpunk Awesomeness

Our journey begins in the early '80s when cyberpunk was born as a rebellious response to corporate might and an embrace of all things high-tech and edgy. This was an era when society was witnessing the birth of personal computing, the spread of the internet, and the omnipresence of corporate power. Cyberpunk, at its core, has always been about questioning authority, exposing the dark underbelly of technological advancement, and embracing the counterculture spirit.

Molly Millions - The Razor Girl

In William Gibson's "Neuromancer" (1984), we meet Molly Millions, the epitome of cyberpunk badassery. With her mirrored shades and retractable razor nails, she wasn't just a force of nature; she was a trailblazer, proving that women could kick cyber-butt with the best of them. Molly set the standard for cool in this electrifying world.

Part II: Embracing the Cyborg Identity

Fast forward to the '90s, when the internet was revolutionizing our lives and questions about identity and humanity were in the air. Cyberpunk continued to evolve, delving deeper into the complexities of human-machine interaction.

Major Motoko Kusanagi - The Ghost in the Shell

Major Motoko Kusanagi from the anime "Ghost in the Shell" (1995) was a living testament to the ever-evolving world of cyber-enhancement. She wasn't there to dominate; she was there to thrive alongside her diverse team. Her journey into the depths of cyber-philosophy and identity was nothing short of mind-blowing. Motoko embodied the spirit of empowerment, showing that gender equality could coexist with a mind-bending plot.

Part III: Breaking Stereotypes and the Femme Fatale

The late '90s brought us the internet's full-blown takeover, but it didn't mean we were about to abandon action-packed stories.

Trinity - The Matrix's Rebel Leader

Trinity, from "The Matrix" (1999), was pure dynamite. Leather-clad and loaded with skills, she shattered stereotypes and delivered epic moments. She wasn't there to dominate, but she sure as heck wasn't taking a backseat. In an era of embracing different perspectives, Trinity was all about equality and a whole lot of awesomeness.

Part IV: The Expansive Cyberpunk Universe

What makes cyberpunk truly remarkable is its boundless nature, spanning a multitude of media. It's not just confined to books and films; it extends its reach into anime, TV series, video games, audio dramas, and more. This genre isn't content with merely exploring the near-future dystopian landscapes; it thrives on pushing boundaries and exploring the limitless potential of the human-machine interface.

Conclusion: The Ever-Incredible Cyberpunk Heroes

In a world driven by technology and corporate might, these characters prove that being a total badass knows no gender boundaries. They're the characters who make you pump your fist and cheer because they're just that awesome. Whether it's their empowering presence, their role in smashing gender norms, or just their sheer ability to kick cyber-butt, these women have left an indelible mark on the ever-evolving world of cyberpunk. As we navigate the neon-lit streets of this genre, let's raise a toast to these icons—they're the definition of awesomeness in a genre that refuses to be confined by any medium or narrative convention.

- Raz

[uncivilliberties]

A near conclusion to the ongoing story, but what I'm really excited about is the next stage of this project. I've followed this for years through a number of changes and transformations, but what has always remained is a core of wild offbeat energy tempered with glimpses of emotional sincerity. It's a base of pulpy noir and action story but obfuscated through a setting that is never fully explained or understood. There's the constant sense that this is only a glimpse into the real action, like seeing shadows move in the depths under your boat at sea.

If you've enjoyed books like Perdido Street Station by China Miéville, The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern, or the Sprawl books of William Gibson, give this a try. These are VERY different works, but they all seem to share a similar relationship between characters and setting. Characters navigate the world according to rules they understand, but it is largely left up to the reader to figure out what those rules are.

Anyway, thanks @fireland, and I look forward to the next steps.

[shabo00]

The books I have read in 2022!

In the last couple years I've found a couple great new hobbies. First, gunpla, and second, actually reading books. That started with a random recommendation of The Book Of The New Sun from a friend of mine, he never even read it he just heard another friend recommend it, and that sent me on a path. 1. The Book Of The New Sun tetralogy + Urth Of The New Sun by Gene Wolfe My main obsession of last year. At this point, it might be my absolute favourite work of fantasy and sci-fi out there. Mystifying, complex, beautiful, and with one of the most captivating settings I've ever seen. A world I wish I could know everything about, but that antithetical to the entire thing. And characters that haven't left my mind in 12 months. 2. A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms by George R.R Martin ASOIAF means the world to me. It pretty much kept me going through a very rough year in my life back in high school but I never did read these until last year. It's such a nice read, following a lovable and good knight on his misadventures through Westeros, through tournaments and conspiracies and sword fights. An amazingly comfortable read. 3. Dune to God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert The definitive worm odyssey. Each book really brings something different, my favourite had to be Messiah. The whole story has this undercurrent of dread, that there is something on the horizon that is beyond terrifying, that the future is inescapable. Paul is such a husk of a man, blinded and guiding the events of the story on to a dread path he can not look away from no matter how hard he tries.

4. The Dying Earth by Jack Vance The definitive dying earth story (shocking!), and a real unique thing. Deep future sci-fi dressed up like fairy tale stories almost. Wizards using technologies so old, powerful, and esoteric that it is all magics and mysteries, warrior princesses and ghoulish critters in the woods that ask riddles. Really something special, and I plan on reading more of it. 5. Moby Dick by Herman Melville Yeah this shit is the great American novel. I think it'll be a long, long time until I read anything that so joyously and quickly flies back and forth between humor and the metaphysical, yet they're one in the same here. Every bit of humor and banter among the crew has something so interesting to express, every monologue about philosophy and being is exuberant and full of playfulness. A work of art that genuinely fills me with awe.

6. Neuromancer by William Gibson Mr. Gibson wrote the first page of this book and it created, and subsequently held the cyberpunk genre captive for 40 years. Sure, everything here you have seen already, but a good story doesn't care if you've seen things like it. One of the best page turners I've read, moving at the perfect pace to keep me satisfied but always wanting to unravel more of the conspiracy. Armitage is just like me. 7. Soldier of The Mist by Gene Wolfe The story of the nicest man in all of Greece. An amnesiac mercenary in the Greco Persian war goes place to place making friends. A very pleasant story, and a very positive one. Expressing a belief in the goodness in everyone at their core, even bad men. 8. The Darkness That Comes Before by R. Scott Bakker As I discussed in a previous post, a work that feels juvenile in it's misery, that thinks sad and shitty makes for a smart story. But to be more positive this time, it has an engrossing plot. Setting up mystery upon mystery, interwoven conspiracies and gaps in knowledge that leave you wanting more. Having started it's sequel, I can say this element gets even better, but the character writing. Well. Not so much. In conclusion, a good year! I hope to get in to even more genre fiction this year.