Week Eleven: "Johnny Mnemonic" (2 pts)

  William Gibson’s “Johnny Mnemonic” proposes a future in which nearly everyone has been augmented in some capacity to fulfill a job or sense of purpose within themselves. Be it Johnny’s implant, Molly’s razors, or even Jones’ completely inhuman appearance, every augmentation serves them in their pursuit of cash. It is a cold, harrowing reality that is normalized in their world and shows the extent to which people are driven to survive this new future.

Specifically, the story draws heavily on eastern influences. Johnny is pursued by the Yakuza because of the information stored in his head most likely taken from Ono-sendai, a major Zaibatsu in this world. The only way to escape the assassin sent after him is to disappear alongside Molly in Nighttown and enlist the help of the Lo-teks. Here, people have shed the need to augment themselves to serve a particular purpose. They’re more inclined to natural scarification, tattoos, and teeth growth to express their personal style rather than completely changing their appearances like both Johnny and Ralfi. They are foils to the main cast by outright refusing to subject themselves to augmentation as Jones did for the navy. They are animalistic and take pride in it. 

By shedding this necessity to sell their bodies, Molly is able to beat the Yakuza assassin with what Johnny describes as “culture shock” from the killing floor. The man, unable to understand the nature of the floor and the Lo-teks, succumbs to his environment and makes the decision to jump rather than face Molly. The sort of motley crew formed around this course of events are left unbothered by the Yakuza for a year - in which they’ve formed their own business of blackmailing Johnny’s old clients. Johnny has also dropped his augmentations and embraced the style of the Lo-teks, claiming that once they’ve run out of people to blackmail he’ll start “living with his own memories.” For now, though, he and his new pals are content to chill in Nighttown and earn money. 

“Johnny Mnemonic” never lets you truly rest for a second. The voice of Johnny, our narrator, is harsh, punk, and full of enough cynicism and snark to keep the story amusing through its really dark moments. The strength of Johnny’s voice is enough to keep the horror of Jones and Molly from creeping in too much. It’s still full of the cyberpunk’s anticapitalist feelings, but there’s also a healthy dose of exploring freedom of expression in the future. Afterall, the only way to escape from the pressures of this world was for Johnny to completely forsake them and reclaim his own body through Lo-tek methods. I really enjoyed this piece and I intend on picking up Gibson’s other works when I can.