hung 50 feet up in the air. They were quite dangerous: you really
had to watch where to put your feet. But I was able to not black out.
You and Bruce Sterling are the forefathers of the new science fiction.
Isn't it ironical that he is very fascinated by hackers and the new edge,
whereas you're not a technical person ?
Bruce practically lives on the Internet. I don't even have a modem
or e-mail. My computer is outdated by any standards of criteria.
I never was a technical guy and never will be. I'm a writer,
and poetry and pop culture are the two things which fascinate me most.
I'm not deeply excited by hi-tech. The Edge of the U2 was over here
the other day and he was showing me Net stuff. He showed how he
could telnet to his Los Angeles computer and he was very excited.
I'll never be like that. However, I feel obliged to be ambivalent
towards technology. I can't be a "techie", but I can't hate it, either.
You have written "Virtual Light". So, what do you think of Virtual
Reality ?
If we take what I consider the "Sunday paper supplement" of VR,
I mean Goggles & Gloves, I think that it has become very obvious,
very cliche. I think that real VR is gonna come out from the new
generation of visual effects in movies. I met Jim Cameron when he
was editing "Terminator 2": he showed me the clips of the T-1000
emerging from fire in the L.A. canal. He said they were gonna use
the actor for the whole shot, but it was easier for them to do it in
digital. This is the future. One day there will be entire virtual
replicas of real actors.
Incidentally, the book I'm writing now is about virtual celebrities.
It's the story of a guy who becomes obsessed with the virtual replica of
a star, and falls in love with her.
You're not fascinated by technology, and yet you come up with ideas
on the edge...
When I write my books, my favorite part is always "art direction",
not the plot. I admit I like giving people a visual impression
of the world I'm creating. Then, I have to remind myself that
I have to tell a story, foremost.
Another issue you focus on are Information Superhighways.
What actions have you taken ?
Bruce Sterling and I went to the National Academy in Washington to
