Působnost – Gibson William (2024)

William Gibson has been looking into the future for decades since he coined the term 'cyberspace' and popularized it in his classic speculative novel Neuromancer in the early 80s. Cory Doctorow enthusiastically proclaimed that The Medium is 'a magnificent work, a showcase of astute speculation about the distant future spiced with the visual effects of Neuromancer.' Now, Gibson returns with Agency, a sci-fi thriller significantly influenced by current events. Verity Jane, a talented app connoisseur, is hired to beta test a new product, a digital assistant that she connects to through seemingly ordinary glasses. The irresistibly human UI in the glasses—'Eunice'—has her own face, a fragmented past, and a sovereign understanding of combat strategy. Once Verity realizes that her secretive new employers have no idea about Eunice's true power and value, she automatically concludes that it's better this way. A hundred years later in London, on a completely different timeline, Wilf Netherton works among plutocrats and looters, survivors of a slow but certain apocalypse known as the jackpot. His boss, the mysterious Ainsley Lowbeer, can glimpse into alternative pasts and subtly influence their development. Verity and...