djano gift

Something I'm not seeing as I look up old reddit threads on Neuromancer is that the book is about becoming a person, like a real, fully actualized person. A lot of posts explain the literal facts of the end, which is fine. It's emotional. It's good. But the thing I loved was the journey that Case and all the other characters go through.

Case starts out a petty thief, with his ability to hack, his identity, stripped away from him, and he's lost. He does the job out of curiosity, because he can hack again, even under threat of death. He doesn't know what the fuck is going on, but he's right in the fuckin' slot. He's back at it, peering through another's eyes, or stalking through networks. He's just responding to what's happening, getting to the next point and the next. Then, as it all builds up, as Case is right at the end, he flatlines during a hack. He wakes up on a beach. His ex is there. Guilt ridden and still holding on to whatever kind of love they had, he looks around and has to make a choice. He can stay here with her and live a life in peace that he never could've had, or he can choose to struggle, but he has to make the choice. He can't just react.

Ao3

I do art and write fic sometimes!