This is a weekly update on my progress to document the history, perspectives, and narratives of the metaverse.

Current book word count: 120,489

Writing

Yeah, I haven’t been good at updating the blog. There are reasons. But leaving my totally healthy and professional obsession with Dan Olson aside, I did get a lot of writing done.

I added the chapter about True Names by Vernor Vinge as the first milestone in the book. Previously I talked about it in a paragraph as a precursor to cyberpunk, which is true but never felt right. It always felt more important than just a couple of words. And as I completed the chapters on cryptocurrencies, Web3 and cyber-libertarianism, I realized that I needed to talk more about True Names. Because, yes, it was the first book to describe a modern form of computer-generated virtual space ad can be seen as a nursery for many of the ideas and concepts that later made up cyberpunk. But maybe even more importantly, it crystallized many of the principles that later turned into the cyber-libertarian movement.

It is also a fun thought experiment. True Names uses metaphors borrowed from fantasy novels and role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons. Vinge described computer hackers as warlocks and witches, organizing themselves in covens, and casting spells instead of running programs. It’s easy to imagine an alternate present, in which True Names’ fantasy metaphors provided the underlying theme for cyberpunk and our understanding of the metaverse, instead of science fiction. I actually spent a fun afternoon tasking several AI tools to re-write famous cyberpunk novels within such a fantasy setting. Let’s call that “Alternate Reality Fiction”, maybe?

Reading

Cyberlibertarianism: The Right-Wing Politics of Digital Technology

Wow, David, you didn’t hold any punches with this one. I’m so, so sorry to see you go this early. Thank you for leaving us this masterpiece.