The Cybernetic Culture Research Unit was an unofficial department at the University of Warwick in the mid-90s. It was never formally recognized by the institution, and today it is even hidden from the universitys public records. Fittingly, being a "Cybernetic Unit" means their work survives in a weird, vintage website -- which also served as the sole source for this book.
The book is a mess. If you take the CCRUs ideas at face value, they are controversial at best -- total nonsense at worst. That said, the themes in the book evolve in parallel with the lives of its authors. It starts off with what seems like a sharp, well-written critique of Western capitalism and the emerging chaos of the new millennium.
But then comes a turning point: the introduction of concepts like hyperstition and the One-God-Universe. Hyperstition is essentially the idea that fiction can become real -- that stories, repeated enough, can create their own truth. The One-God-Universe, borrowed from Samuel Delany, represents the opposite: a reality dominated by a single truth, a central authority, one "god." Once those concepts enter the book, it transforms into something else -- more like an experiment in human imagination, logic fragmentation, and occulted theory-fiction.
At this point, the book starts to feel like a game of "Do they actually believe this?" -- and honestly, I still do not know. What I do know is that, if you take it as pure fiction, it is kind of average. The ideas are there, and the inspiration is crystal clear. One of the strongest parts is the "Cthulhu Club" and a demonology that genuinely tries to go deep.
The sparks of ideas with real substance never fully stop. There is a plot point about a god-like AI, and knowing the authors current stance makes it even more intriguing. I will say, it is genuinely refreshing to read early-2000s takes on AI -- even if today we are living in the worst-case scenario (hello, ChatGPT!).
Criticizing the final product feels a bit disingenuous. CCRU exists in the limbo between being a proto-ARG and the fever dream of a philosophy degree mixed with drugs -- though personally, I prefer the philosophy degree part.
The book is a mess. If you take the CCRUs ideas at face value, they are controversial at best -- total nonsense at worst. That said, the themes in the book evolve in parallel with the lives of its authors. It starts off with what seems like a sharp, well-written critique of Western capitalism and the emerging chaos of the new millennium.
But then comes a turning point: the introduction of concepts like hyperstition and the One-God-Universe. Hyperstition is essentially the idea that fiction can become real -- that stories, repeated enough, can create their own truth. The One-God-Universe, borrowed from Samuel Delany, represents the opposite: a reality dominated by a single truth, a central authority, one "god." Once those concepts enter the book, it transforms into something else -- more like an experiment in human imagination, logic fragmentation, and occulted theory-fiction.
At this point, the book starts to feel like a game of "Do they actually believe this?" -- and honestly, I still do not know. What I do know is that, if you take it as pure fiction, it is kind of average. The ideas are there, and the inspiration is crystal clear. One of the strongest parts is the "Cthulhu Club" and a demonology that genuinely tries to go deep.
The sparks of ideas with real substance never fully stop. There is a plot point about a god-like AI, and knowing the authors current stance makes it even more intriguing. I will say, it is genuinely refreshing to read early-2000s takes on AI -- even if today we are living in the worst-case scenario (hello, ChatGPT!).
Criticizing the final product feels a bit disingenuous. CCRU exists in the limbo between being a proto-ARG and the fever dream of a philosophy degree mixed with drugs -- though personally, I prefer the philosophy degree part.