A common tool of science fiction writers is the use of a character, to whom the
reader can relate, placed in an alien setting. This character will represent the
reader in this new alien world or society, allowing the reader to form a link
between his or her own world and this new one. Because these characters are
placed in unfamiliar settings, a way is presented to defamiliarize our own
society and perhaps even look at it in a new way, or from a new angle. These
characters play a role in the novel that usually involves some interaction with
this alien society that changes their perception of the alien world. It causes
the characters to see the society or world in a new light, comparing it to their
own more familiar society and seeing the benefits and weaknesses of both. These
experiences usually cause these characters to alter their self-perception as
well, changing due to the influence of these societies. Two such novels are
Neuromancer, and The Time Machine. In Neuromancer, author William Gibson gives
us the character Henry Case, or just Case, as he is referred to throughout the
novel. The setting is in the near future, on Earth, and Case is living in a
highly technologically advanced time. He used to be a console cowboy, a data
thief that could hack into corporate systems and steal information. Case is
recruited, against his will, to help an Artificial Intelligence named Wintermute
free itself from containment. In this setting, laws exist to prevent the release
of Artificial Intelligences into cyberspace, or what Gibson terms “the
Matrix”. These “Turing” laws are not the only methods of preventing AI’s
from becoming free. Along with the laws, computer security programs guard these
AI’s, much like other security programs guard information and corporate
system. Wintermute requires Case to break through the security holding it in
check. At first, Case is unaware of who or what Wintermute is, and he is forced
to help it because Wintermute has caused toxin sacs to be placed in Case’s
bloodstream that will dissolve after a certain amount of time. If Case completes
his job (the freeing of Wintermute), then a cure will be provided. This coercion
causes Case to think of Wintermute as a kind of enemy, and he reluctantly helps
it. His role is as a tool of an Artificial Intelligence, used against his will
for purposes unclear to him. In direct contrast to this, the Time Traveller,
from H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine, decides his own course of action and, in
fact, decides to help an “alien” race without their asking. The Time
Traveller is a character from Britain in the late 19th century. He designs a
time machine and is determined to travel into the future and return to describe
what he has seen. He holds a dinner party for several of his friends where he
relates his experiences in the future. He travels to the year 802,701 and
discovers two different races, the Eloi and the Morlocks, inhabiting the earth
– the Eloi on the surface, and the Morlocks below. The first creature he
encounters is a member the Eloi, a “very beautiful and graceful creature, but
indescribably frail”. He attempts to interact with the Eloi but because their
language is so different, he has to slowly build a kind of communication through
gestures and sounds. The Time Traveller sees the Eloi as the culmination of
humankind, a delicate creature with no need for fear or any type of aggressive
or competitive behaviour. When he finally discovers the Morlocks, who live below
the surface, he sees them as monsters, “ape-like figures” with large, glassy
eyes and pallid skin. Because of this, the Time Traveller identifies with the
Eloi, and forms a relationship with one of them, a female named Weena. When he
learns that the Morlocks are carnivorous, and eat the Eloi to survive, he sees
the Morlocks as evil. And when he also learns that the Morlocks have stolen his
time machine, he decides to fight them to get it back. His role as an observer,
and later as a protagonist, is almost the exact opposite of Case’s role in
Neuromancer. During his “employment” by Wintermute, Case learns several
about the Artificial Intelligence that affect the way he thinks about them.
Along with recruiting Case, Wintermute has recruited other mercenaries to help
free it. Each of these members has, in some way, been influenced to join in the
task of freeing Wintermute, whether by force (like Case), or because Wintermute
has saved them in some way and now they feel they owe it. At first, Case saw
artificial intelligences as computer constructs, used in conjunction with
human-operated systems to reduce the number of tasks and decisions that humans
would normally have to do and make. As he gets deeper into the task assigned to
him by Wintermute, he learns that the AI has a drive that he was unaware an AI
could possess. Wintermute is desperate to be free, and will go to any length to
ensure this happens. Wintermute murders people (through control of
computer-controlled robots) and manipulates people. When Wintermute finally
interacts with Case, he learns that the construct wants the same things that
most humans do: freedom, life, an ability to explore and discover their
surroundings. He begins feeling sympathetic, although only to a small degree,
for the AI, and he develops a better understanding of what makes us human.
Humanity is also a strong theme in The Time Machine. When he first arrives in
the future, the Time Traveller sees the Eloi as the culmination of mankind,
living in splendour amongst flowery gardens, fountains, and statues. There
“were no signs of struggle, neither social nor economical”. He found that
that Eloi only ate fruit for sustenance and they interacted and slept in large
communal halls. However, upon closer inspection, the Time Traveller realizes
that the halls and buildings are in a state of disrepair, with broken windows,
and a general dilapidated look. He also notices that there are no businesses, or
any type of machinery above ground. At this point, he begins to see the Eloi as
not an evolution of man, but kind of a step back. They seem to have the mental
age of four- or five-year old children. And he wonders how they manage to care
for themselves, being as frail as they are. When he discovers the Morlocks, he
suddenly realizes the mistake of his previous assumption… the Eloi are not the
culmination of mankind, but one of two paths that human evolution has taken. As
he soon comes to realize, the Morlocks are the stronger of the two races, and
during the day, they live below the earth, only surfacing at night. This is when
they steal some of the Eloi for food. The Time Traveller becomes aware that Eloi
know of the Morlocks, and are afraid of them, but do nothing to defend
themselves. This finalizes his thoughts about the Eloi not being the culmination
of mankind. Case, however, learned that what Wintermute really wanted is to join
with another AI to become greater than either of them, to essentially become the
culmination of a technology that mankind has created. The company that houses
Wintermute is called Tessier-Ashpool, run by a family of the same name that is
one of the oldest and richest families on Earth. They created Wintermute to run
their company, taking care of the daily details. They have kept their dynasty
alive by cloning and cryogenics. But one member of the family, Marie-France, saw
a better way to achieve immortality. She created another AI that was all
personality. It was called Neuromancer. Wintermute had the desire to join with
Neuromancer to become greater than it was. Case sees this desire in Wintermute
and realizes that this desire is entirely human. Every human wants to become
more than they are, and has the desire to grow and explore. Case is tempted by
Neuromancer to stop Wintermute, and this temptation comes in the form of an old
girlfriend whose personality has been captured by Neuromancer and replicated in
a virtual world of Neuromancer’s making. While Case is in the Matrix, trying
to break through the Tessier-Ashpool security, Neuromancer intercepts him and
places him within that virtual world. The temptation to stay is great, but Case
realizes it is not real, and his desire to be free mimics Wintermute’s. He
comes to the conclusion that even though his life may not be perfect in the real
world, at least it is real. He sees that small things in his life that he takes
for granted, and that Wintermute has been denied, and decides that he should at
least give Wintermute the chance to explore freedom. The Time Traveller comes to
the realization that all the Eloi have is an illusion of freedom. They are
merely food for the Morlocks, who keep them placated. He refers to this
relationship as one of farmer and their cattle, where the cows are blissfully
unaware of the fact that they are food for the farmers. He also sees the two
races as the eventual result of the split between Capitalists and the Labourers.
When he journeys below and discovers a large underground world of machinery and
metal, he relates this to his time, and how there is an increasing trend to
build things underground, such as transit systems, restaurants, and shops –
things that are less ornamental and more functional. This evolution seems to
suggest to him that the working class has become the underworld dwellers, while
the rich, upper class has evolved into a playful, but almost idiotic race of
beautiful, fragile dolls. The Time Traveller states his theory of this progress
in the following statement: So, in the end, above ground you must have the
Haves, pursuing pleasure and comfort and beauty, and below ground the Have-nots,
the Workers getting continually adapted to the conditions of their labour. With
the Morlocks forced underground, while the Eloi have the surface as their garden
and playground, the Time Traveller suddenly sees this progression as not the
evolution of mankind, but the evolution of class division. He even suggests that
such a division is taking place in his time already, stating that: Even now,
does not an East End worker live in such artificial conditions as to be
practically cut off from the natural surface of the earth? This suggests that
the Time Traveller, a reflection of H.G. Wells, sees class division as something
bad, something that could lead to an insurmountable gulf between the rich and
poor. The Time Traveller, then, sees the fate of the Eloi and Morlocks as
something which could happen (and is starting to happen, in his time) to
mankind. Case, although recruited unwillingly, eventually decides to help
Wintermute because he sees in Wintermute the hope and desires of mankind that
have somehow been lost in his society. He uses his experience to grow
personally, and after his mission is over, and Wintermute is free, Case
re-evaluates his life and decides to live more in the moment. The Time Traveller,
on the other hand, sees his time with the Eloi and the Morlocks as a warning for
mankind, a glimpse into our future and what could happen to us if we do not
change the way that all levels of society interact. Both Case and the Time
Traveller come away from their experiences having learned a lesson, and having
seen what makes us human, the good and the bad. And both H.G. Wells and William
Gibson fulfilled their roles as Science Fiction authors as well: to provide us
with a look into another world, and to cause us to leave that world thinking
about our own.

Bibliography
1. The Time Machine, The Science Fiction Volume 1, H.G. Wells, Phoenix, Great
Britain, 1995 (The Time Machine originally published in 1895) 2. Neuromancer,
William Gibson, Ace Books, The Berkeley Publishing Group, New York, 1984