Cyberpunk genre. In the future the things that make you ‘you’ is saved in a cordial stack in your neck. This means if you die you can be brought back into another human body aka sleeve. Not only did humans defeat death but they have all kinds of technology to assist them. ‘Real Death’ mostly Occurs to the average after some lifetimes with resleeving in between.
There are ‘Meths’ (derived from Methuselah) are very old humans. They tend to look down on the little people.
(Altered Carbon, p.263) You can always get some more people. They reproduce like cancer cells, whether you want them or not. They are abundant, Takeshi. Why should they be valuable? Do you know that it costs us less to recruit and use up a real snuff whore than it does to set up and run the virtual equivalent format. Real human flesh is cheaper than a machine. It’s the axiomatic truth of our time
There is a virtual virtual reality in which several meeting occur of the book. Depending on the ratio three minutes equals a day in real life.
(Altered Carbon, p.272) Of course, we talked around it for hours first. They had us in a virtual forum over in New York, very high ratio, discretion-shielded while we made up our minds. No expense spared for the heroes of the hour
Torture gets done in VR and gets experienced and described by the trained envoy.
(Altered Carbon, p.94) What d.h. storage has done is make it possible to torture a human being to death, and then start again
It’s a gory at times. There is a lot of detective work going on and a lot of fighting with enhanced human capabilities.
It’s confusing at times. The perspective shifts at times (He/I). Unlike The diamond age we only follow one main character that it double sleeved in the end.
The main character Kovacs hasSex with rwo of the other characters. There are women in powerful positions and partaking in the fighting.
Some quotes I found noteworthy.
Kovacs description of his perception of the new sleeve
(Altered Carbon, p.13) My sleeve was in his early forties, Protectorate standard, with a swimmer’s build and what felt like some military custom carved onto his nervous system. Neurachemical upgrade, most likely. I’d had it myself, once. There was a tightness in the lungs that suggested a nicotine habit
Space travel
(Altered Carbon, p.18) The ships only left at the turn of the century, Kovacs. They won’t get there for a couple more decades yet.
(Altered Carbon, p.18) hate these goddamn freaks. They’ve been grinding us down for the best part of two and a half thousand years. They’ve been responsible for more misery than any other organisation in history.
It poses some open questions. Mind body separation
(Altered Carbon, p.26) How much of special forces training is engraved on the physical body and how much in the mind? And what happens when the two are separate
Explanation of the corps
(Altered Carbon, p.28) Guaranteed immortality.
what is going on in this chapter?
(Altered Carbon, p.177) TWE N TY-SIX
Two sleeves with the same memory. When do you separate.
(Altered Carbon, p.239) You are what you remember
precluded::prevent from happening; make impossible.
reciprocated::respond to (a gesture or action) by making a corresponding one.
obeisnace::deferential respect. from late english obedience
veneration::great respect
swath::a row or line of grass
enmity::a state or feeling of active opposition
litigation::process of taking legal action
exuberant::full of energy
recidivist:: a convicted criminal who reoffends
quaint::attractively unusual or old-fashioned
garish::obtrusively bright and showy
prerogative::a right or privilege exclusive to a particular individual or class
lithe::thin