Week Eleven: "Fragments of a Hologram Rose" (1pt)

  “Fragments of a Hologram Rose” by William Gibson is a vignette exploring a pretty rough breakup from the future. In this, people have the technology to record their senses and replay them on tapes at their convenience. Parker uses the tapes of his ex-lover to sleep through the night but destroys a particular one that pains him to think about. Through this technology, Gibson compares the strength of memory to instant gratification.

Parker has no real character outside of being a lens for the audience to view this future. While we get extensive looks at his past, it’s more so to show the state of the world he lives in and how that affected him rather than to build his sense of self.  This, however, mirrors how he uses the tapes to feel something rather than leaving the comfort of his apartment. Gibson shows us that this world, much like the one in “Johnny Mnemonic,” is dominated by corporations so much so that people have taken to indenturing their children to ensure a job in the future. Parker escapes his servitude but ends up on a road devastated by civil wars, gangs, and police forces that all too often “get too close to what they’re after.” His only solace was this woman he was involved with and the ASPs, and now he’s only left with one of them. 

This work was much shorter than “Johnny,” but it left much more of an emotional impact. This piece worked to earn its melancholy by describing these horrifyingly beautiful points in Parker’s life and then leaving the woman more of a mystery. Parker’s life is terrible but got so much better because of her. Now, he’s left with these phantom sensations that are overpowered by his own memory of his traumatic experiences. It’s telling that rather than use her tapes to get through his day, Parker needs them to sleep. He can’t calm down without them. 

Overall, this shows a much softer side to Gibson’s style. The world he’s created is still harsh and cold-blooded, but there are these distinct moments of yearning for a known tenderness that take “Fragments” and elevates it beyond a sort of action-filled cyberpunk adventure. This is a sad look at a lonely guy in a future that’s not so distant from ours.

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