said “counterfeit world”) containing a virtual population, or “subjective reaction units”. Through Simulacron-3, the team have successfully created a virtual macrocosm (i.e. Though as its assignation implies, this is their third attempt at the endeavour. are working in the field of VR and have constructed a “total environment simulator” – an early prototype of Star Trek: The Next Generation’s holodeck, if you will. Our protagonist Douglas Hall and his team at Reactions Inc. Wells’ shifting city platforms in The Sleeper Awakes (1899).
Interesting additions, however, are Galouye’s “pedistrips” or vast metropolitan treadmills, reminiscent of H. The world of Simulacron-3 contains many of the ingredients we typically expect from the sci-fi genre – notably flying cars and laser-based weapons. Its influence can also be seen in the movies Tron (1982) and The Lawnmower Man (1992), which utilised innovative special effects to bring to life many of the images within Galouye’s pages. Galouye’s work, however, was ahead of its time by a good 20 years and paved the way for many imitators.
Counterfeit World, is the pioneer of its genre, the book seems to have been somewhat overlooked, with other notable works such as William Gibson’s Neuromancer (1984) instead laying claim to the title. I enjoyed it immensely and, when the time came, was sad to bring the reading experience to a close.ĭespite the aforementioned tagline intimating that Simulacron-3, a.k.a. Indeed, first time around, I did inadvertently purchase a copy in French, which was useless to me, of course, being a typical monolingual Brit! The book’s front cover heralds it as “THE BIRTH OF CYBERPUNK” in bright uppercase letters, yet I’d never heard of it until Richard Dawkins referenced it on a podcast.
Copies seem to exist predominantly in French.
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