Burning Chrome

William Gibson’s 1986 science fiction short story collection Burning Chrome contains 10 works first published between 1977 and 1985. Gibson co-wrote three of the stories with fellow authors. The stories touch on classic science fiction themes, like space exploration, as well as the relationships between technology, capitalist power, and humanity. Several stories are early expressions of the cyberpunk subgenre, which Gibson and other authors developed in the 1980s. Cyberpunk combines sci-fi and noir styles with themes related to counterculture and digital technology. Stories from Burning Chrome have been adapted into films, comics, and other works, including the 1995 film Johnny Mnemonic, starring Keanu Reeves. This guide uses the 2003 Eos/Harper Collins edition of Burning Chrome.

Plot Summary

The first story, “Johnny Mnemonic,” follows a data trafficker named Johnny who becomes embroiled in a plot involving extortion and the Yakuza crime organization. Johnny meets a cyborg named Molly Millions, who helps detangle him from the plot and counter-blackmail his ex-clients for profit. “The Gernsback Continuum” tells the story of a photographer documenting examples of the Streamlined Moderne design style. The style is steeped in the stereotypes of mid-20th-century science fiction, like rocket ships, aliens, and ray guns. The photographer obsesses over the style, even hallucinating a flying wing ship, and seeks advice for overcoming his mania.

In “Fragments of a Hologram Rose,” Gibson’s first published story, a man named Parker lives for memories of his ex-lover. Using an apparent sensory perception (ASP) machine, Parker is able to revisit those memories in virtual reality, over and over again. He becomes addicted to the technology to the point that he cannot sleep without using the ASP machine.

Gibson co-wrote “The Belonging Kind” with John Shirley. In this story, a socially awkward linguist named Corretti hangs out in bars, trying to meet people. One night, he encounters an attractive woman named Antoinette who magically transform her looks and personality at will. Corretti stalks Antoinette, losing his job and well-being as a result, until he reconnects with her in a grotesque mating ritual. “Hinterlands” describes a space station crew’s failed attempts to reach an alien civilization that appears to be contacting them. Several expeditions return dead. The protagonist, Halpert, is given the job of examining returning expedition ships. He is excited when one is rumored to return with a live crewmember, but he finds the explorer dead.

“Red Star, Winter Orbit” is a collaboration between Gibson and Bruce Sterling. A space station run by a Russian and American crew is set to be decommissioned because Russia has gained an advantage over the US. Aging crewmember Korolev opposes the plan and leads a rebellion. In the struggle, all of the crewmembers and the rebel forces perish. Left alone on the space station, Korolev is saved by an American crew. “New Rose Hotel” features an unnamed narrator whose job is to kidnap intellectual talent from one megacorporation for another. In a surprise twist, he and his partner are blackmailed by their client and separated from one another. The narrator is forced to lay low in a cheap hotel. All he can do is reflect on his losses and wait for his impending end.

“The Winter Market” tells the story of a mysterious and magnetic cyborg-like woman named Lise who wears an exoskeleton. After meeting Lise, Casey and his mentor, Rubin, help her become a star of virtual reality films created by the studio where Casey works. However, she succumbs to the excesses of stardom and vanishes. Casey is haunted by visions of her and cannot tell if they are real or hallucinations. In “Dogfight,” co-authored with Michael Swanwick, Deke the thief bonds with a college student, Nance. Deke becomes obsessed with beating the champion of a virtual reality game, Fokkers and Spads. He assaults Nance to steal a dose of an attention-heightening drug called hype that he uses to defeat the game’s champion. Ultimately, however, he loses everyone.

In “Burning Chrome,” Automatic Jack and Bobby Quine are hackers who hatch a plan to steal money from the accounts of a mysterious figure known as Chrome. Their plan succeeds, and they share some of the money with their friend Rikki. Rikki uses the money to buy eye implants and leaves town. Jack and Bobby are crushed when she never returns.