Bart Nagel

“ Standard cyberpunk costume is ideal for riding motorcycles, and a mirrorshades helmet is a big plus for the cyber look— mega robotic coolness. Motorcycles are dangerous and can kill you. This is also cool.
>>>>Goths, Deathcore, and Vampire-Wannabes Ideally, for this sub-scene, you should know about The Cure, which is a band. To fit in, grow your hair big and dye it blueblack. Spray it with <> to make it stick out, medusa-like. Go to a kidshop and buy plastic fangs. (The kind that glow in the dark are funny. Funny is NOT the object here.) ”

“ The true cyberpunk might tuck a *cellular-modem laptop* under a spiked leather arm, and a *laser pointer* in the upper zip pocket. Or, a true cyberpunk may look just like YOU. But sHe** who knows doesn't tell, and **hirm who tells doesn't know.
**Pronoun disclaimer: **All pronouns in this book started life as intact males— **he, his, and him. If anything bad happened to them **afterwards, blame it on the Riot Grrrls Bobbitt Squad.
The lifestyle and goals of the true cyberpunk are carefully guarded secrets in a life *totally devoted* to coolness and secrecy. ”

“ Practice being technical. But until you get good, wear your cyberbasics and never leave home without your laser pointer. This will draw the admiration of people who don't know any better, which has its own rewards. ”

“ Maybe you should stick to basic cyberpunk. Dancing in leather is hot as h*ck, but sweating is better than not looking cool. Non-cyber ravers favor floppy hats, five kinds of plaid 'n' paisley, and multiple organ piercings. They sometimes take raver drugs. These drugs make you fonder of other people than you really want to be. ”

“ Forget about reading books, buy no computers or widgets. Don't do or buy anything. Save all your money for clothes and art materials. Make your girl/boyfriend help you assemble your hi-tek models— you're gonna need mockups of a laptop computer, a personal communicator, a beeper, maybe even a fake stun-gun. Realism is key. ”

“ Her trial's likely to prove rather interesting, however, as she only commits "crimes" in areas of social activity that haven't even been defined yet, much less successfully criminalized. A serious legal study of this woman's spectrum of activities would be like a CAT-scan of the American unconscious. ”

“ See <<public key encryption>> for a full rundown.
<>: 1. A citizen of cyberspace. 2. A citizen of cyberspace who wears mirrorshades indoors, at night.
<>: The planetary Net linked by phonelines and satellites, whose nodes are computers and human beings. An online metaverse that's now realler than what's outside your window.
<>: A tourist on the info highway. A <>, a Web Browser. If artists and nerds are sort of squatting or homesteading their homepages, cyber-yups create theirs as investment property. ”

“ These are fierce girls who like tech. This is a sexist category, but there we are: girls only. A grrrl can be called "d00d" and "guy" at all times, but a non-female guy is not a grrrl. This is just the way things are. If you're a grrrl, you can wear anything you want to, because you're there to defend it. This is true for anybody, really— look as tough as you wanta be, and be ready to back it up. Fierce is good. Grrrls with tech expertise are irresistible. NOTHING is more attractive than a fierce, blazing, ninja-type grrrl right now, and if she knows UNIX or phone-freeking, the world is hers. ”

“ All sexes should wear a Victorian shirt— blouse— white or black only—- that gapes to show flesh. You must practice looking tormented, tall and thin. The ideal is chalk-white face makeup with blueblack eyesockets. Blueblack makeup with white eyesockets is untested, but might work very well, if you avoid a minstrel look. At all times think intensity and torment. ”

“ HOW??? + + + ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
====================================================== Chapter 1: CYBERPUNK: A CHALLENGING POSTMODERN LIFESTYLE CHOICE Why Bother? Big Wins! (and Unexpected Smallstuff) ======================================================
Cyberpunk is extremely hip. Being extremely hip is the last hope for people with no money and no power. Being hip gets you big wins in the status game. Hipness can crush your enemies and attract the apposite sex. ”

“ Supernerds, Hackers, Wizards, Phone Phreakers Things get difficult here. Deep geekware is unstandard. Very heavy Wizards can look like accountants, or like streetpeople. Facial hair and Goodwill Casual happen a lot. ”

“ Among <>, a former AT&T trademark which refers to teleconferencing systems.
<<anarchist>>: Somebody who feels that governments are an unreasonable restraint on free humans' being.
<>: An anarchist who hopes to bring down the established order by persuading everybody to <> their email.
<>: There's no handle like NO handle. Being completely unknown means you can't be traced. Maybe. You can be anonymous online by bouncing your email or postings through <>. ”

“ A detournement is a cultural <>.
<>: Wrangling over standards and protocols, as in the <>. Dharma is Buddhist for the principles of operation for the universe. Lots of <> are Buddhists, Buddhist-wannabes, or jack-Buddhists.
<<digital cash>>: The Philosopher's Stone of the nineties. Or maybe the Brooklyn Bridge. And good luck with it.
<>: Do it yourself. A part of haqr mind, see Chapter Eight.
<>: This is part of the eddress that humans use. If you subscribe to an online service, like US Online, your domain eddress is theirs. ”

“ There's also Bart Nagel, who is too nice a guy to be in the company of these people.
Almost everything in this swell book is completely true. Except for everything about me. And my closest co- conspirators. We actual cyberpunks— by this I mean *science fiction writers*, dammit, the people for whom the c-word was invented, the people who were professionally ahead of our time and were cyberpunks *twelve years ago*— we never sneer and we never dress like, God forbid, Tom Wolfe. ”