When "cyberpunk writers" began to attract real notoriety, theidea of cyberpunk principles, open and available to anyone, was lostin the murk. Cyberpunk was an instant cult, probably the verydefinition of a cult in modern SF. Even generational contemporaries,who sympathized with much CHEAP TRUTH rhetoric, came to distrustthe cult itself -- simply because the Cyberpunks had become "genregurus" themselves.
It takes shockingly little, really, to become a genre guru.Basically, it's as easy as turning over in bed. It's questionable whetherone gains much by the effort. Preach your fool head off, but whotrusts gurus, anyway? CHEAP TRUTH never did! All in all, it tookabout three years to thoroughly hoist the Movement on its own petard.CHEAP TRUTH was killed off in 1986.
I would like to think that this should be a lesson to somebodyout there. I very much doubt it, though.
Rucker, Shiner, Sterling, Shirley and Gibson -- the Movement'smost fearsome "gurus," ear-tagged yet again in Shiner's worthy article,in front of the N. Y. TIMES' bemused millions -- are "cyberpunks" forgood and all. Other cyberpunks, such as the six other worthycontributors to MIRRORSHADES THE CYBERPUNK ANTHOLOGY, may beable to come to their own terms with the beast, more or less. But thedreaded C-Word will surely be chiselled into our five tombstones.Public disavowals are useless, very likely *worse* than useless. Eventhe most sweeping changes in our philosophy of writing, perhaps weirdmid-life-crisis conversions to Islam or Santeria, could not erase thetattoo.
Seen from this perspective, "cyberpunk" simply means "anythingcyberpunks write." And that covers a lot of ground. I've always had aweakness for historical fantasies, myself, and Shiner writes