True Names
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True Names was the science fiction novella which brought Vernor Vinge to prominence in 1981. It was one of the earliest stories to present a fully fleshed-out concept of cyberspace, which would later be central to stories in the cyberpunk genre. Because of this, it is often referenced as a seminal work of the genre. The story also contains elements of transhumanism, anarchism, and even hints about The Singularity.
The story follows the progress of a group of disaffected computer wizards who are early adopters of a new full-immersive virtual reality technology, called the "Other Plane". Forming a cabal, they must keep their true identities -- their True Names -- secret to avoid prosecution by their "Great Adversary" -- the government of the United States.
The protagonist is one of these wizards. Known as "Mr. Slippery" in the Other Plane, his True Name is Roger Pollack. When a new "wizard" arrives in the Other Plane and begins to obtain recruits for a scheme in which domination of cyberspace is used to obtain power in the real world, Mr. Slippery is forced to ally himself with the Great Adversary.
The newcomer turns out to be an artificial intelligence program, developed in a government laboratory but neglected after the research was terminated.
[edit] External links
Vinge, Vernor (02 1998). True Names - the novel by Vernor Vinge (HTML). Archived from the original on 2005-11-27. Retrieved on 25, 2007. Retrieved on 02 2007.
