Soh Kam Yung reviewed True Names (Penguin Worlds) by Vernor Vinge
When the cyberworld and the real world collide, your True Name is your only protection.
4 stars
"True Names" is Vernor Vinge's fascinating story that is one of the first to present the concept of a cyberspace and is generally considered one of the first stories in what would become the genre of cyberpunk.
In the story, True Names refer to the actual names of persons who have personas in what Vinge calls the "Other Plane". In the Other Plane, those which hacking skills are the 'Warlocks' and they dominate the Other Plane with what is essentially 'magic' since their hacking skills is akin to casting magical spells on regions in that world (which represents hacking computer systems around the world and in space). Of course, the Warlocks would protect their True Names, as once they are known, they can be forced to do the others bidding so as not suffer a True Death (killed).
The story starts with the True Name of Mr Slippery in the …
"True Names" is Vernor Vinge's fascinating story that is one of the first to present the concept of a cyberspace and is generally considered one of the first stories in what would become the genre of cyberpunk.
In the story, True Names refer to the actual names of persons who have personas in what Vinge calls the "Other Plane". In the Other Plane, those which hacking skills are the 'Warlocks' and they dominate the Other Plane with what is essentially 'magic' since their hacking skills is akin to casting magical spells on regions in that world (which represents hacking computer systems around the world and in space). Of course, the Warlocks would protect their True Names, as once they are known, they can be forced to do the others bidding so as not suffer a True Death (killed).
The story starts with the True Name of Mr Slippery in the Other Plane being discovered by the government. But the government is more concerned with another person known as the Mailman, who has apparently hacked government and possibly military systems without being detected, and they need his help to discover who is the Mailman.
As the story proceeds, Mr Slippery and another hacker discover that the Mailman might not be another human, and may be about to launch a cyber-driven attack on the world. To stop him, they have to grab control of the resources of the US government systems. But even then, the Mailman is a powerful adversary, and they may not be able to stop him while the Mailman is also trying to stop them by sending them to their True Deaths. Worldwide pandemonium in computer systems ensue. In the end, the real identify of the Mailman is discovered, but the world may never be the same.
The story is fascinating for its portrayal of the Other World, where a virtual world is visualized much like a fantasy land. But the landscape is actually a representation of computer systems from around the world: ponds represent data storage, castles represent defended computer systems, and fantasy creatures are the systems that guard the entries to the system. The warlocks themselves are master hackers, able to break into systems, and the battle with the Mailman is the act of controlling and gathering computer resources to dominate and deny them to your opponent.
The book starts with a series of essays on the influence of the story on various people and computer systems at the time. Some essays examine the issue of computer security and the tension between free speech and privacy, and the US government's desire to gather more information on people. Others look at attempts to produce a cyberworld using networked computer systems. The essays, written in the 1990s, are an interesting look at the time when microcomputers and computer networks are just starting to have an influence on society.
