Featured on E3 2018 trailer Cyberpunk 2077 caused a strong reaction from everyone involved in the gaming industry. Many were indignant at the style, which was too colorful for a game of this genre. This article was born from the author’s desire to prove the absurdity of the disagreements that have arisen.

Introduction

The advent of electronic computers is one of the most significant events in history. The very possibility of shifting onto the shoulders of a machine such a labor-intensive and monotonous task as arithmetic and logical processing of numerical data has opened up new prospects for the development of science and technology.

The subsequent transition to a semiconductor component base not only made computers compact, but also allowed engineers to bring to market processors with twice as many elements on a chip approximately every 24 months. Which allows you to increase computing power – also approximately twice. This pattern was noted by Gordon Moore and was named after him – Moore’s Law.

According to this law, processor power grows exponentially. If we assume that this dependence will be observed in the future, then we will face the so-called technological singularity. In reality, this is of course impossible, since the maximum size of a transistor is limited by the size of the atoms used to construct it, and the maximum data transfer speed is limited by the speed of light. However, even with these limitations, computing technology has developed and continues to develop at a breakneck speed.

"What a day. *mm..*You’re lonely? I can help. You’re so good, Joe.»

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

It was clear that such a rapid development of information technology would certainly cause equally rapid changes in society. Moreover, the faster technology develops, the sooner intra-social conflicts will reach a critical point. The point at which social conflicts and contradictions will become so intense that they will be impossible to ignore. And if science fiction writers of the pre-computer era wrote primarily about the amazing machines of the future, then with the advent of the information age many of them began to worry about social issues that will inevitably worsen in the future.

It was from an attempt to project modern social relations onto the high-tech world of the future that cyberpunk.

Cyberpunk

The world of cyberpunk is a world that has reached such a critical point when unresolved social conflicts are already so acute that only by dealing with them can society continue to develop progressively.

To describe cyberpunk as briefly as possible, it is a society with a high level of technological development, with a preserved market economic system. Other characteristic features of cyberpunk, such as a dark atmosphere of despair, poverty, high crime rates, the Illuminati, are derived from its main features.

Next, I propose to understand why this is so. To do this, let’s try to trace the process of development of our modern world to a state that can be described as cyberpunk. And in the process of this discussion, we will form a more complete picture of cyberpunk.

The Making of Cyberpunk

Modern world

First of all, let’s decide on the initial conditions, and let’s start with the main one, that is, with what underlies our society – with economy. Modern society is unthinkable without a modern economic system – the economy determines what a person eats, what he wears, where he works, in what conditions he lives, what multimedia data he consumes, and much more.

After all, no matter how you look at it, you won’t eat exclusively ostrich liver if your income allows you to regularly buy only chicken liver. You won’t be able to go to work by metro if you live in a small city where building a metro will simply not be economically profitable. In cinemas you will watch mostly those films that were made to make money, and not those that dare to say a new word in the genre. You will not be able to obtain higher education if it is paid and if it is not compatible with your financial situation. In short, the economy determines a significant part of your life, if not determines it all.

The modern economy connects our entire world together – a significant share of consumer goods is available anywhere on our planet. We buy the same household appliances as residents of, for example, Canada. We dress in the same clothes (not literally, of course) as the people of Australia. We drive around in the same cars as the people of Cuba. And on the shelves of grocery stores we can find goods from all over the world at reasonable prices.

The level of economic connectivity is so high, and the process of transporting goods is so streamlined and optimized that sometimes it reaches the point of absurdity – bananas from Ecuador are sold in frosty Russia all year round, and per kilogram they are often cheaper than domestic apples.

Following economic ties, cultural ties are formed – films, music videos and commercials shot once can be translated into another language and shown to another audience. Along the way, introduce new life values ​​into the heads of citizens of another country, in order to correct their lifestyle, values, interests, list of consumed goods, plans for the future. And now we are already dreaming about huge SUVs, expensive iPhones, a beautiful life in the “American” style, smoking Marlboros, wearing Armani, spraying ourselves with Lacoste.

Cultural influence turns out to be beneficial and justifies itself from an economic point of view. That’s why economic connectedness leads to connectedness cultural.

Advertising, advertising all around.

Ghost In The Shell (2017)

Moreover, the Internet is only a means of delivering cultural values, and not the root cause of the unification of different cultures. Judge for yourself how elements of foreign cultures are distributed on the Internet, if not through high-budget, and therefore economically interested projects, such as: YouTube, Facebook,* Twitter, Google, Yandex? Needless to say, economically interested companies prefer to disseminate information that is beneficial to them?

Of course, there are still “independent” sources of information, but they must also make a profit from something, for example, advertising, which is supplied by all the same Internet giants. In general, cultural influence spreads primarily through web platforms controlled by big business, and not through direct interactions between cultural carriers.

It is important to note that with all this apparent integrity of the global human society and information space, the world is still divided into states. True, modern states have already become so intertwined with megacorporations that it is sometimes very difficult to separate states and private capital.

How this situation came about is a separate question, moreover, so voluminous and complex that it would be wrong to consider it in this article. Perhaps we will discuss this issue another time, but for now it’s worth saying that megacorporations exist today, and the existence of the so-called Illuminati is a much less paranoid idea than it might seem.

It is quite logical that the owners of mega-corporations, which account for a significant part of the economy of any state, can dictate their terms to the state when resolving certain issues. And considering that they sponsor the election campaigns of major politicians (this money doesn’t fall from the sky), it’s stupid to be surprised when officials pass laws and issue decrees that are beneficial to corporations and not to the people. Therefore, such an iconic feature of cyberpunk as megacorporations, fused with government bodies, already takes place in the modern world.

Picus TV editing room – The Illuminati emblem is painted on the floor for a reason.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution (2011)

Another characteristic feature of cyberpunk – social stratification, also exists today. I think many readers know that the richest 1% own ~50% of global wealth. At the same time, the poorest 50% of the world’s adult population own 1% of global wealth. If you average the well-being of people included in this 50%, it turns out that for every 1% of 50% there is 1/50% of the well-being. That is, the super-rich 1% have 2,500 times more share of the world’s wealth than the average 1% of the poorest half of the world’s population.

The question arises: the super-rich work 2,500 times more than the poor? Maybe they spent 2500 times more time on education, thanks to which they have, conditionally, 2500 times higher qualifications and, accordingly, earn 2500 times more? Or there is 2500 times more time in their day?

For many, these questions are https://casinobarz.co.uk/login/ hanging in the air today.

Social stratification has reached outrageous proportions – another sign of cyberpunk is evident.

Let’s summarize: the modern world is almost entirely engulfed economic connections that, with the help of modern means of communication, lead to cultural connectivity; but the world is still divided into states, which today have already become instruments in the hands of the owners megacorporations, there is a glaring social stratification.

On the way from our days to cyberpunk

What will scientific and technological progress lead to??
The development of technology is primarily the development of production technology, therefore it primarily manifests itself in the economy. The development of production means leads to an increase in labor productivity, i.e.e. to an increase in the number of products produced per man-hour of work.
This means that:

If we take into account that an increase in output will lead to a drop in its market price, then it turns out that the first option is not entirely profitable for the owner of the enterprise. The second option is also unprofitable because it means a shorter working day. What capitalist would take such a step in his right mind?? Therefore, the most profitable option is either the third option – dismissal of “extra” workers, or combining the third with the first – dismissal of almost all excess workers with a moderate increase in the number of products produced.

It is not difficult to guess that this will lead to an increase in unemployment. Of course, you can build new factories and factories for these unemployed people, so that with an increase in labor productivity, you can fire them from there. It is impossible to continue this sequence indefinitely, since the maximum possible number of enterprises is limited by prices for raw materials and energy, the availability of these resources and the demand for the enterprise’s products.

What will happen if (or when) it is possible to construct androids that can replace any manual worker?? The answer is obvious – the unemployment rate will rise sharply. Where should all these people go?? Run to study to become engineers? But where does an unemployed person get money for higher education, when even with free education you need to live on something??

Enter creative professions? Some may be surprised, but the market for creative professions is not rubber. At a minimum, due to the fact that people cannot consume “creative products” more than a certain amount per unit of time. And besides, not all creativity is interesting to people; every art house is doomed to be unclaimed in the market.

It turns out that many unemployed people have nowhere to retrain. There are few options left – to wallow in depression, which has grown out of a feeling of personal failure due to non-compliance with the prevailing “standards” of a successful personality in society. Subsequently, become an alcoholic, get bogged down in drug addiction, or commit suitsPARTIAL CENSORSHIP. Another option is the struggle for survival by any means, regardless of anyone or anything – in a word, crime. It is no secret that unemployment fuels crime, because the higher the degree of despair of an individual, the greater the likelihood that he will get involved in a risky adventure for the sake of his own survival.

What a creepy scene: an unknown person is chasing a woman with a pistol and kills her with several shots, while most people on the street continue to walk as if nothing had happened. Nobody knows who this man is, but no one tries to help the woman, passers-by just leave the line of fire and watch what is happening with curiosity – people are used to it.

Blade Runner (1982)

For obvious reasons, a group of criminals is much stronger than a single criminal, and a large group is stronger than a small one. Therefore, groups are formed in the criminal world. The emerging groups are growing in size – both due to the emergence of new members and due to mergers with competitive organizations. Criminal organizations are growing, but they are growing until government agencies see them as a threat to the established order. Groups that are too large are destroyed by the state to maintain public order.

So, with technical progress, the level is growing poverty and level crime, new ones are appearing criminal groups, which increase within the limits tacitly established by the state.

The crime rate is so high that there is no time left for the formalities of judicial procedures – judges pass sentences on the spot and immediately carry them out.

How are things going for the powers that be??
An increase in labor productivity reduces production costs per unit of output; in fact, this is the main task of the struggle to increase labor productivity. This means that the manufacturer can, while maintaining the market price of his product, receive greater profits. Or, the capitalist can reduce the price so that his unfortunate competitor, who has not been able to achieve the same level of labor productivity, will not be able to set a comparable price for his product. As a result, such a competitor will soon cease to be such, since his product will not be in demand. This means that such a competitor will leave the market due to bankruptcy, then the more successful capitalist will become a monopolist and will be able to set any price for his product, limiting it only to the level of demand in the market.

This picture is further aggravated by the fact that the scale, complexity, and therefore the cost of scientific and technical research are constantly growing. This means that only by remaining one of the largest capitalists can you afford to remain at the peak of scientific and technological progress. That is, smaller capitalists will not be able to keep up with larger ones and will soon cease to be capitalists. This means that only the largest will remain on the market, and the higher the level of technological development, the fewer capitalists remain, and the larger the market share they occupy.

The world economy is concentrated in their hands, states are becoming increasingly dependent on a few capitalists. As a result, from a certain point on, states turn into an appendage of private capital, becoming its puppets.

So, with technical progress, world economy concentrates in the hands of capitalists, among whom only few, and states become puppets few major capitalists.

With the growing complexity, scale and cost of scientific and technological research, it becomes increasingly profitable industrial espionage. By taking possession of the latest developments of its competitors, the corporation will not only save time and money, but will also deprive the competitor of the monopoly on the use of these developments. The real ones are flaring up corporate wars, which will only worsen in the future.

Large capitalists create private military companies – real personal armies. Moreover, the larger the capitalist, the better equipped his army is, and the greater its number. If you need to send someone on a mission who you wouldn’t mind expending if something happened, thereby hiding your involvement in this operation, then you can hire one of the independent mercenaries. Such freelancers useful in cases where the likelihood of death of the performers is extremely high. Such freelancers, or as they are sometimes called – runners, these are the most desperate people from the lower strata of the population. It is desperation that drives them to take on the most risky and dirty tasks.

So, with technical progress, untied and flare up more and more brightly corporate wars, whose instruments they become private military companies And freelancers one of the most desperate street criminals.

Meet Johnny – a typical runner.

Johnny Mnemonic (1995)

The Coming of Cyberpunk – Brave New World

The result of the processes described above is a world secretly controlled by megacorporations. The states of this world have lost their significance and turned into a kind of decoration behind which hide the richest capitalists who really rule the world. Megacorporations control giant production facilities, control the media and own armies – they can only be opposed by other megacorporations. There is a war between corporations – a war for natural, political, intellectual and human resources.

An ordinary person in such a world, in essence, no longer has citizenship and is characterized rather by his affiliation with one or another corporation. But not everyone will be “lucky” to end up as a cog in the corporate machine – many will end up on the street and will be forced to fight for their existence. All these unemployed people will happily take the positions of laid-off employees. Understanding this, corporate employees will agree to work under any conditions as long as their income is stable. Therefore, even “successful” people live little better than others. Only the richest prosper, while the rest can only claim to be pawns in a corporate war.

In the lower part of Hensha you can meet this couple. From their conversation, it becomes clear that the man was fired from Tai Yong Medical Corporation for complaining to the union about unbearable working conditions.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution (2011)

Corporations are at war not only with each other, but also with armies of dissatisfied citizens or insolent bandits. People who are dissatisfied with the fact that corporations squeeze all the juice out of them, and when the opportunity arises, throw them into the street, are the most numerous and therefore pose the greatest danger to megacorporations. The “masters of the world,” in response to the protests of the dissatisfied masses of people, are tightening the state regime – legislatively reducing the number of civil rights and freedoms; expand the powers of the police and equip them with advanced military equipment; encourage loyalists, condemn dissidents, and maintain neutrality in neutrals through all kinds of entertainment. (This doesn’t remind you of anything?)

These measures are aimed at protecting the interests of corporations, secure existing social stratification.

The main thing in cyberpunk

This seemingly paradoxical social stratification that arose in the process of technological development is home characteristic feature cyberpunk, distinguishes it from other science fiction.

Hensha is an allegory of social stratification; people here are literally divided into lower and higher, some live in the twilight of the lower city, others – among the green gardens of the upper.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution (2011)

Such stratification of society could have been avoided (how is another question), however, a world built according to modern principles, in which personal financial benefit cannot but give rise to cyberpunk chimeras in the process of their development. The people of this world are not fully human, living an incomplete life, doomed to a semi-animal existence in constant struggle with their own kind for a piece of bread. The situation of these people is constantly aggravated by inexorable technological progress. The people of this world are doomed to extinction.

So, the world of cyberpunk is a world that, in the process of technical development, was unable to resolve its social contradictions, but only extremely aggravated them, due to which society found itself in a historical impasse: society was divided into castes, most people were forced to fight for survival, and the world was engulfed in war.

Other external attributes are secondary: it does not matter what displays are everywhere – CRT, LCD or holographic; it doesn’t matter whether there are a lot of “neon” (halogen) lamps on the streets; no matter how people develop their organisms – with the help of genetic engineering, nano-machines or metal prostheses – all this is just cover, behind which it is important to discern the content.

Characteristic features of works of the genre

Almost every work in the cyberpunk genre raises complex moral and ethical questions that arise and become aggravated in the process of technical development.

Can an android be considered a full-fledged person??
How many cybernetic modifications do you need to install to stop being human??
What to do with those who are left without work after being replaced by a machine??
What to do when, due to unemployment, the poverty level of the population becomes too high to maintain demand for high-tech goods?
Is too much power concentrated in the hands of the super-rich owners of megacorporations??
How can a common man resist this unstoppable power??
This list can be continued for a long time..

However, these questions are not a hallmark of cyberpunk; they are characteristic of all science fiction. But in cyberpunk, these questions serve primarily to exacerbate plot conflicts, which distinguishes this genre from other science fiction.

Nevertheless, the questions raised play a very important role – they run like a line through the entire plot; searching for answers to these questions allows the main characters to “grow above themselves”. Cyberpunk is very valuable because it raises such complex questions, and it does this for a reason – us it is necessary to answer them, because sooner or later they will cease to be hypothetical and will completely enter our real life.

Today, many limit their understanding of certain aspects of our lives only to their opinion, it’s easier this way – you don’t need to argue with anyone, prove or explain anything. Everyone has their own opinion, because our vision of the world is limited by imperfect perception, which means the truth is unattainable. A sort of wretched pseudo-idyll is emerging – everyone has the right to have and express their opinion, while everyone seems to be right; no one conflicts, everyone remains to their own and owes nothing to anyone. Beauty!

My friends, if you can’t approach a complex issue right away, this does not mean that the truth in this case is unattainable. Whether you want to or not, the questions listed above will have to give firm answers. You will not be able to shield yourself from these questions, you will not be able to evade the need to give a clear answer, you will not be able to hide in the apathetic bliss of your opinion.

Cyberpunk therefore plays an important social role, and therefore has gained so many fans that it draws society’s attention to such complex and non-obvious issues, showing eerie pictures of the future awaiting us if we do not solve these issues.

Hero – Stand alone complex

At the center of the plot is usually a lone hero, who, in the process of solving a somewhat non-trivial situation, suddenly finds himself in a real web of intrigue and conspiracies. This web is so large and tangled that the hero, in trying to understand what is happening, only finds even more mysteries.

The number of new facts makes his head spin; he suddenly realizes how insignificant he is; understands that the world he knew is just a decoration, behind which lies something he was unaware of. The hero’s world collapses, reality seems to reveal its monstrous essence; as if a fisherman, reeling in his line, suddenly pulled out not a perch, but a huge kraken. The hero understands that there is nowhere to come for help and that he cannot rely on anyone, not even close friends. (Although he often has no friends, which is the norm in a world where everyone is fighting only for their own lives.)

The loneliness of the main character is one of the most important components of this film.

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

In this respect, cyberpunk is quite similar to noir; you could even say it’s a high-tech noir. The hero is lonely and confused, but continues to fight for what he considers true, even if it leads to his death. But what can one person do against a huge corporate machine?? A loner in such a world is doomed to failure.

And as a rule, the hero loses in this struggle, but, realizing the proximity of his defeat, he grabs the slightest opportunity to leave at least something behind – so long as his whole life is not lost “in time, like tears in the rain.”.

Bottom Line – The Importance of Background

The main part of this article was devoted to the background and internal mechanisms of the formation of cyberpunk; the characteristic features of the works of the genre were considered very superficially.

This was done in order to:

Firstly, prove that the external signs of cyberpunk are a consequence of its by no means trivial content;

secondly, demonstrate that cyberpunk is not just flying cars, replicants, Illuminati, hackers and pieces of iron instead of hands.

Cyberpunk is much deeper than it might seem – it is frighteningly logical and believable.

Although it is unlikely that the founders of the genre deliberately carefully and thoroughly thought through every little detail of the world they depicted. Probably, creative people create on inspiration, according to their inner sense of truth. But this does not mean that the result of creativity will necessarily be devoid of what the author did not put into it consciously. Much of what ends up in a work of art hovered in a non-verbalized form somewhere in the author’s subconscious and was not introduced purposefully. The human mind is an amazing thing.

But still, it would hardly be possible to remove Blade Runner(1982), without thinking through, at least in general terms, the history of this world. The entire background of the cyberpunk world is important because it allows you to draw a world that is logical and thought out to the smallest detail. Thanks to this, this world turned out to be very believable and holistic, which sets it apart from other sub-genres of science fiction and fantasy.

Cyberpunk is not just a picture full of all sorts of high-tech wonders.

Cyberpunk is a warning about the terrible disasters of the future and a call to at least think about where our world is heading.