The Peripheral

The Peripheral is a 2014 science-fiction novel by William Gibson. Gibson has been writing science fiction works since the 1970s and is considered one of the founding fathers of the cyberpunk genre. His debut novel, Neuromancer, is one of the genre’s foundational texts and is the only novel to win the Nebula, Hugo, and Philip K. Dick awards. Since then, Gibson has written several bestselling science-fiction trilogies. The Peripheral is the first novel of The Jackpot Trilogy and was followed by Agency in 2020. The Peripheral was adapted into a 2022 television series by Scott Smith.

The novel follows two different plot lines, one that takes place in the near future and one that takes place in the distant future. Flynne Fisher, the protagonist finds herself witnessing a crime while filling in for her brother on a security detail for what she thinks at first is a game. Having been an eyewitness to a real murder that takes place in the future, Flynne, her brother, and their friends are thrust into the unique position of communicating with people of the future. As the suspense and mystery build, the characters use what are termed peripherals as a means of time travel; thus, the present and the future worlds collide.

The guide refers to the Kindle edition, published in 2014.

Plot Summary

The narrative follows two different plot lines and begins in the near future. Flynne Fisher is asked by her brother, Marine veteran Burton Fisher, to sub in for him on a side job at which he has been employed. The job consists of providing security detail in a video game, and since Flynne is an expert gamer, she accepts the offer. After a few shifts, Flynne witnesses a woman graphically and surreally murdered and begins to wonder if what she witnessed is actually part of the game or not.

The concurrent narrative follows Wilf Netherton, a London publicist in the distant future. One of his clients, Daedra West, is sent on a diplomatic mission to a place known as The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. While there, she is attacked by the apparent leader of the place’s inhabitants and, in a measure of self-defense, has the boss killed by her security detail. Netherton, along with his colleague Rainey, suspects that this was an intentional act and that Daedra lured the boss into attacking her.

The novel begins to follow a detective story as investigator Ainsley Lowbeer attempts to piece together the disappearance of Aelita West, Daedra’s sister, in future London. Having access to unlimited data, Lowbeer comes to understand that there was a witness to the crime, that Aelita was murdered, and that Flynne is the person who can identify the killer. Lowbeer leads a mission to make contact with Flynne via the stub, the name given to forks in time created by the transfer of information between dimensions in time. Eventually, Flynne is contacted and offered an opportunity to interview with Lowbeer in person via a neurological transfer into an existing human-like body known as a peripheral.

As Flynne becomes further involved in the case, it comes to light that another party has gained access to the same stub and has hired assassins to eliminate Flynne, which forces Flynne and Burton to demand more money. Eventually, they receive so much money that they are able to establish a shell corporation known as Coldiron USA, replete with headquarters and a fully armed security force. Their newfound wealth also affects the local economy dramatically and raises the suspicions of the local drug kingpin, Corbell Pickett. Danger becomes omnipresent, and frequent attacks are made against Burton and his gang.

As Flynne spends more time “up the line” in future London, she and Netherton forge a friendship, which changes Netherton from a hollow figure to one who learns about himself and longs for a different world. The novel frequently alludes to an event known as the jackpot, and it is Netherton who reveals the details of it to Flynne. Essentially, it was a catastrophic series of events that were caused by climate change. Netherton and the other characters in the future are either survivors or descendants of survivors of the catastrophe, but they are few. Eighty percent of humanity was killed off by the catastrophes.

As the novel meanders and twists toward its resolution, the interaction between the present and future increases to include the transference of Netherton into a peripheral in his past, a device called a wheelie-boy, which resembles a miniature Segway. Netherton’s virtual trips to the past expose him to a natural world not evident in his own. His longing grows, and it becomes clear that he wishes for the lost world.

The novel builds toward its climax: Daedra West’s party. It is assumed that the assailant who Flynne witnessed commit murder will be in attendance. The assumption proves correct, as Flynne, inside of her peripheral, almost immediately sees the killer after arriving at the party. A wild, hectic, and surreal scene ensues in which the villain is killed. Following the penultimate scene, the novel offers a few chapters of addenda describing what life is like for Flynne after her experiences with the peripheral. The same is done for Netherton, who, as the story closes, looks forward to seeing Flynne again soon.