Both geographic and ageographic spaces in Neuromancer operate as a ground for Case’s self-excavation. Case desperately seeks a place where he is included but both high-tech and authority centered society in their spaces are too inconsistent and hazardous to accept Casewho lacks both technology and power. In search for acceptance and in denial of the reality, Case wanders between the two spheres,and resolves his inner conflicts through his constant transition between the two worlds. He realizes he belongs to neither the one world nor the other, but in both spheres, and learns to exist in the two spaces as one.
Geographic space is a burden and an imprisonment for Case, where he has to face his reality. In the physical space, he is at the bottom of economic and social hierarchy, and his lack of artificial techno-implants differentiates him from the society. All the worse, his nerve system is slowly numbing from toxin sacs in his pancreas. As a lowlife, Case blames the cause to the pressuring demands from higher and powerful beings. He describes the Night City as “a deranged experiment in social Darwinism.”(Chapter 1) He is aware of the fast growing, wealthy and powerful groups such as zaibatsus, and is constantly under the fear and stress to survive in this high class-centered society. “Stop hustling and you sank without a trace, but move a little too swiftly and you’d break the fragile surface tension of the black market; either way, you were gone…” What makes the hierarchy apparent is how people treat one another. There is no emotional exchange, affection or tender feeling between humans. The main characters are defined by what they do than what they think. Case is attached to Linda and Molly, but his relationship with these girls is only physical, instinctual activity; it does not go any deeper into affectionate, thought exchanging level of relationship. Molly says “Anybody any good at what they do, that’s what they are, right?”(Chapter 3) A person’s worth and value is only determined by what they can do with their body, and we can observe that Case regards his value very poor, as he describes his body, meat, or “the prison of his own flesh”. (Chapter 1) He viscerally knows his limits. In attempt to escape the society where he does not belong, he uses drug and illegal hacking skills to survive, which puts him into an unstable and hazardous circumstances.
Perhaps that is why Case is so attached to ageographic space of Sprawl, or matrix, a virtual cyber space where body is no longer involved. He views matrix as the place where he really expresses his freewill without anyone’s command. He performs his unique skill as a cowboy and when he gets into it, he forgets about the cruel reality and the apathetic humans. He achieves his freedom and finds his comfort in it. He would rather refuse the reality and be at his full self, where his meat no longer restricts him.
However, in actuality, the cyber space serves not as a hiding shelter from reality, but as a guide for Case to solve his problems in reality. First, whether it was with his own will or not, Case works in matrix under Armitage to remove the toxin sacs from his body. Armitage’s offer leads Case to the solution to treat his body, and this is when he accepts the reality and tries to find the solve it rather than escaping it. Later when Riviera kidnaps Molly, Case enters Molly’s body through simstim and rescues her in real time and space. In one of his simstim experience, he also learns about Molly’s past, about her past boyfriend, Johnny. “I was real happy. You ever been happy, Case? He was my boy…He killed that way…Never much found anybody I gave a damn about, after that.” and they commune and sympathize while in cyberspace. This is an odd feeling Case is encountering. Through this experience, Case is exposed to the true human feelings, such as sympathy, and the pain, and values such as honesty and loyalty for one. His discovers Molly’s actions are with purpose, and Case sees Molly as a human after all. Later, when Case meets Linda Lee’s construct in cyberspace, he can understand Linda because he had the understanding of Molly’s pain, and instead of responding with violence and anger, he caresses her guilt and consoles her soul. At last, Case is able to find the humane side in himself. Earlier when Wintermute questioned Case of his love for Linda, Case could not find his answer and struggled to find the answer for himself. “Love. So you'd give a shit. Love? ...You couldn’t handle it” (Ch11, p.84) However, later when he meets Linda’s construct in cyberspace, he realizes that he truly loves her. He shows his affection by taking off his jacket and giving it to her (p.144) Although Linda does not exist with a physical body, and she won’t feel the cold breeze, the object matter does not matter to Case, because the relationship between the two has evolved to the spiritual connection. A sense of humanity that Case searched for in geographic space is finally found and applied in the cyberspace. Once he found that he could trust his own will in both geographic and ageographic space, he leaves Linda, the cyberspace, and leads 3Jane, Maelcum and Molly to complete the bonding of the two AI’s in the geographic world.
After finishing Wintermute’s mission, Case learns to live his life independently and responsively. First, his body adapts to the real world; without Wintermute’s help, the toxin sacs were removed by Case’s enzymes that have adapted to the toxicity. Case ends his drug addiction as well. When Molly leaves him, he does not search for her, and move on with his life with a different girlfriend. At the end, while packing his things to move back to Chiba, he finds the shuriken he bought before working for Armitage. He picks it up and throws it: “No… I don’t need you.”(Ch.24) Shuriken was a symbol of Case’s fear, uncertainty of the journey that he has chosen, and a self-protective tool that he found it necessary and lacking. However, because he does not feel vulnerable of living his life, he can let it go.
What happens in geographic space, Case finds out from ageographic space, and what he learns from ageographic space, he applies back to the geographic space. Case incorporates the two spaces as the supplements of each other and brings both worlds together to one reality. At the end, the matrix is the place where Case finds his humane nature and confidence of living. The geographic place becomes the place for appliance. It is not the matter of belonging to one place or the other, but becoming comfortable of being himself. The two spaces provide the practicing field for Case’s self exploration, and he successfully applies both spaces together for his self actualization.
Citations:
1. Gibson, William (1994). Neuromancer. New York: Ace Books.
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