[the color of television]

Gibson immediately solidifies the setting to Neuromancer in the opening sentence.  The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel. My initial thoughts are of the phenomena known as “white noise” and the take-over of technology. Instantly, in a single sentence, we are familiarized with what much of this story will be about. Likening the sky to such a thing as the “color of television” further evokes the sense of this somewhere-in-the-somewhat-distant-future place being engulfed by technology. There is then the paradox of there being color of television, despite being “tuned to a dead channel.” A dead channel should imply that indeed there is no color. This emphasizes the lifelessness that surrounds the port; one is reminded of the dull, possibly mind-numbing sound of a dead channel as well. All of this, with a single, 15-word sentence.

There is much to be deduced when it comes to the clinic where Case has his second operation done. The clinic was nameless, expensively appointed, a cluster of sleek pavilions separated by small formal gardens. First and foremost, the clinic itself is dubbed nameless. The readers are not provided with a name, and neither is Case. This deals a good amount of ambiguity to the clinic, and raises suspicion. There is also that the clinic was “expensively appointed.” This tells us that there are big powers at work here, that Armitage and whoever else is behind this scheme are being funded in someway. We then get the sense that the clinic’s exterior is tranquil and inviting, right before experiencing Case’s painful, furtive operation two pages later. An anonymous, deceitful, albeit seemingly welcoming clinic.