In the 1980's, changes began to occur in the general culture. These changes, including

• increasing use of harder drugs
• AIDS and the end of the "sexual revolution"
• a darker outlook on life and the future
• the growth of personal computers and video games
• the beginnings of the internet, hackers and hacking
• the collapse of many of the ideals of political and social change of the 1960's and 1970's

once again had an effect on SF.

In this case, the movement in sf, although small, was intentionally created and named, and intentionally proposed as a rejection of old forms of SF. The movement began and grew within the science fiction community (writers and fans and writer/fans).

Cyberpunk, with earlier and later and milder and more severe forms, is generally characterized by serveral features.

• A dark, post-nationalist, urban setting
• Ubiquitous computing, even entering the human body, with a focus on "cyberspace" (the term invented by William Gibson in Neuromancer, 1984)
• Designer drugs imagined as powerful, highly-valued, and intricately effective
• Technological advances just slightly beyond what is currently available, with special emphasis on augmentation and modification of the body (click here to see some discussion of these devices)
• Experiments in form and style similar to those of the time of the New Wave
• A much greater focus on near-future earth, rather than outer space, with aliens accepted as part of a diverse multi-cultural, post-modern global media society

Relatively few authors of real quality wrote in this movement, but their influence, not just on SF, but on the contemporary worldview, was huge. The movement became an influence on style and thinking about the world that has permanently affected the progress of development of the internet, among other computer developments. You'll find a lot more information at these two sites or .

Of course, as usual in SF, in writing about future worlds, these authors were actually writing, and readers reading and connecting to, trends in their own world. While many of these trends were negative, many were exceedingly positive.

While we have Al Quaeda and blackouts and cyberporn today, there are things that make this the most exciting and wonderful time ever to live, with only better to come.

Or do you agree? Is the darkness of the vision of cyberpunk accurate? Are these the best of times or the worst of times? Go to the discussion board and respond.