Demonic possession, spirit possession, and soul-loss in William Gibson's 'Sprawl Trilogy

William Gibson's Sprawl Trilogy---comprising Neuromancer (1984), Count Zero (1986), and Mona Lisa Overdrive (1988)---focuses on the techno-spiritual relationship between humanity and artificial intelligences (AIs). This thesis explores this relationship in the context of possession: demonic possession in the case of Neuromancer, and spirit possession, or "trance states" in general, in Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive . The first chapter examines the human-technology relationship in Neuromancer as wholly negative, with the AIs' invasive acts associated with demonic possession. The second chapter examines the relationship between humanity and technology in Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive as ambiguous. Specifically, the spirit possession of Bobby and Angie by AIs masquerading as Vodou gods is both positive and negative, and soul-loss, facilitated by the Aleph soul-catcher (a device that facilitates transcendence of the human condition from the physical to the cyber-spiritual realm), can also be viewed as beneficial and potentially harmful. Possession in Neuromancer reflects Gibson's belief that technology can be dangerous, but ultimately the changing attitude toward possession in the trilogy suggests that the human-AI relationship could result in a mutually beneficial symbiosis---even if possession cannot be viewed as a completely positive phenomenon.