Cyberia: Life in the Trenches of Hyperspace

This heady report takes readers on a dizzying and dangerous guided tour through ``cyberspace,'' an unfolding terrain of digital information that, according to Rushkoff, is being tapped by a ``cyberian counterculture'' bent on redefining reality. In ``Cyberia,'' artists, scientists and hackers explore virtual reality using prototype computers with 3-D goggles, headphones and a tracking ball to move through real or fictional space without commands, text or symbols; Silicon Valley engineers and mathematicians attempt to unlock creativity via psychedelic drugs or fractal graphics mirroring our irregular world; urban neopagans access information networks and use witchcraft to promote planetary survival. Computer bulletin boards, cyberpunk comic books, interactive videos, cyber-rock dance clubs and the acts of eco-terrorists and of employees who use computers to subvert the workplace are part of a cyberian universe whose gurus, interviewed here by Rushkoff, include Terence McKenna, Timothy Leary and R. U. Sirius, editor of Mondo 2000 magazine. Souped-up prose marks this exploration of cyberpunk culture. $20,000 ad/promo; author tour. (Apr.)