"The Gernsback Continuum" by William Gibson

Released in 1981, this story was William Gibson's first professional publication. In the years that followed, Gibson developed a highly influential body of work, marked by a brilliant fusion of ambiance and extrapolation. His novels Neuromancer and Count Zero, with their linked "sprawl series" of short stories, brought Gibson widespread praise for his headlong narrative drive, his polished, evocative prose, and his detailed, hard-edged portrait of the future. These works rank as central texts of contemporary science fiction. But this story led the way. It was a coolly accurate perception of the wrongheaded elements of the past--and a clarion call for a new science fiction aesthetic of the eighties.