Jeremy Gosnell

Cyberpunk 2077 redefines sci-fi literature

Philip K. Dicks changed science fiction with the 1968 novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. In reality, the novel was ahead of its time, and when he died, Dicks was not a celebrated writer. In 1968 society couldn’t fathom the idea of mechanical humanoids, so closely resembling people that only an empathy test could separate man from machine. It wasn’t until 1982, when Ridley Scott turned Dick’s original story into the movie Bladerunner, that audiences began to conceptualize a future where technology turned our own perception on its head. Some argue that it was Philip K. Dicks that gave birth to the entire cyberpunk genre. Cyberpunk is an infamous subgenre of science fiction, and it tends to focus on a society that is high tech, but low quality of life. Societies often ruled by unscrupulous mega-corporations, where even advanced technology can’t make up for rampant poverty, food shortages and drug addiction. As a genre, cyberpunk got its start during the new wave science fiction movement of the late 60’s and 70’s and while Philip K. Dicks and Ridley Scott earned coveted spots as purveyors, they aren’t formally the creators.