Post #10

In "Neuromancer," Case is the only live hacker, aka cowboy, that we encounter. Aside from the Rastafarians, he is the only character who has no physical body modifications. I see this as ironic because he is the only one who actually goes in to cyberspace, which requires psychological modifications. Case isn't interested in physical body modifications because cowboys, Case included, have a stern disregard for the body. Throughout the book, Case usually refers to the body as simply, "the meat." This shows that Case prefers to be in cyberspace and leave his body behind.

There is really only one time throughout the book that we actually get a good look at how Case really looks like. This is towards the end when he jacks into the Matrix and flips his simstem switch to see Molly looking at him. He is described as "wasted", unshaven, and sweaty. This obviously is an unflattering description, but he doesn't seem to care. He doesn't care about his looks because as I previously mentioned, Case has no attachment to his physical being.

Based on our experience with Case and how he repeatedly refers to the body as "the meat" I would imagine that other hackers share his opinion about the body. To them, their mind and central nervous system are the only things that are important because that is what allows them to jack into the Matrix.