True Names by Vernor Vinge:
Science Fiction Inventions, Technology and Ideas

Wonderful novella-length story that kicked off the cyberpunk era in science fiction. Roger Pollack (aka Mr. Slippery) is a "warlock" of what came to be called cyberspace. He is asked to stop a member of his group who is trying to take over the real world through the datanet. Vinge's prescience in this story is remarkable. Select an invention:

Data Space
Computer storage and processor time rented by the user.

Personality Simulator (Virtual Person)
A computer program that presents the appearance of being a person.

Portal
Sensory experience of a data network.

Virtual World Kiss
Kissing mediated by a computer system.

Virtual world metaphor - early use
use of fanciful imagery to represent real-world data systems in a virtual world.

 

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Science Fiction
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