The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.
“–William Gibson”, Neuromancer [1] (1984)
I saw that it made the Top 100 Best First Lines from Novels [2] (link via Jason Kottke [3]) and it struck me that today's kids will get a vastly different feel from that opening line than I did when reading the book as a kid.
Why?
Because the color of television, tuned to a dead channel, has changed in the past twenty-two years. Twenty-two years, the color of television, tuned to a dead channel was:
The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.
“–William Gibson”, Neuromancer [4] (1984)
And the color of television, tuned to a dead channel, these days:
The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.
“–William Gibson”, Neuromancer [5] (1984)
I don't think Mr. Gibson envisioned a bright blue sky for the opening of his book.
[1] http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0441000681/conmanlaborat-20
[2] http://www.litline.org/ABR/100bestfirstlines.html
[3] http://www.kottke.org/remainder/06/01/10341.html
[4] http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0441000681/conmanlaborat-20
[5] http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0441000681/conmanlaborat-20