I normally avoid posting whilst inebriated, but we opened an old bottle of rose wine for dinner and throughout the evening I’ve managed to drink all but a glass of it. In addition, I’m reading William Gibson’s latest novel, Spook Country. It is, of course, entrancing but it’s also getting a bit stuck in my craw.

This novel is set in the near-past, which means that, as Gibson is citing his usual plethora of oddities, treasures and the daily cool, these items should actually exist. As I read page 116, there is a reference to “the twelfth-century heresy of the Free Spirit.” Now we have a problem. If I consult my usual source of knowledge, the internets and specifically wikipedia, about it I see an article that matches Gibson’s description. Which raises the point that Gibson has either:

1. Meticulously researched all of this because he knows people will be checking it or
2. Initiated an ever-reproducing kernel of misinformation, knowing that some people will take this for truth and add it to the internet’s bastion of knowledge, as such reinforcing those who read the book and check the facts later.

You see, Gibson has always dealt a bit with layers of reality and already the novel has brushed with the concepts of the world as a simulation. Now, this meme has been rushing about the internet recently, resurrected by some article or citation. It’s not a new thought, the idea that, given the assumption that the future will bring technology such that perfect simulations of the world are possible, it’s statistically likely that we’re currently living in one such simulation. However, it’s suddenly gained a somewhat public eye again, and here I find vague references to it in this book. What happened?

1. Gibson found the topic interesting, knew others would as well and cited it, thereby anticipating this trend or
2. people who helped edit Spook Country had thoughts about this topic jiggled and resurrected the meme publicly or
3. I’m attributing more to his work than actually is present due to a combination of my admiration for his work and vision and having recently had these thoughts stirred up due to online discussions.

Frankly, I’m not sure really where I’m going with this. Gibson’s novels have always been a bit disconcerting; my favorite place to read them is on an airplane, high above land preferably crossing from one continent to the next. This one is set ostensibly in a time I’ve already experienced, which is doing delightful things to my sense of reality.