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1986 book by William Gibson

Count Zero is a science fiction novel by American Canadian writer William Gibson, originally published in 1986. It is the second volume of the Sprawl trilogy, which begins with Neuromancer and concludes with Mona Lisa Overdrive, and is a well regarded early example of the cyberpunk subgenre. Count Zero was serialized by Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine in the 1986 January (100th issue), February and March issues, accompanied by black and white art produced by J. K. Potter. The January cover is devoted to the story, with art by Hisaki Yasuda. The magazine version was edited to contain less swearing and sexual content.

Seven years after the events of Neuromancer, strange things begin to happen in the Matrix, leading to the proliferation of what appear to be voodoo gods (hinted to be the fractured remains of the joined AIs that were Neuromancer and Wintermute). Two powerful multinational corporations, Maas Biolabs and Hosaka, are engaged in a battle for control over a powerful new technology (a biochip), using hackers and the Matrix as well as espionage and violence.

The title of the book, other than being the pseudonym of the main character Bobby Newmark, was also claimed by Gibson to be a word play on the computer programming term count zero interrupt. According to a front leaf of the book, in a "count zero interrupt", an interrupt of a process decrements a counter to zero. The exact quote is "On receiving an interrupt, decrement the counter to zero." The 1982 edition of the alleged first computer dictionary, written by Charles Sippl, father of Roger Sippl, defines a count zero interrupt as "An interrupt level that is triggered when an associated (clock) counter pulse interrupt has produced a zero result in a clock counter". The term, however, is not generally understood.

At the beginning of the novel, Bobby is a small time "cowboy" (hacker) who wants to be a big name in cyberspace. He is given what he naïvely trusts is an "ICE breaker" (hacking software), unaware that he is in fact being used to test some unknown software to see what it does. He is directed to use the software to infiltrate a black ICE database which nearly ends up killing him. The acronym ICE is shorthand for "Intrusion Countermeasures Electronics". The most formidable of these data defense networks are powerful enough to trace back and kill any hacker making an attempt to defeat them. This is legally sanctioned or is, at least, not illegal. But at the last moment Bobby is rescued, while in Cyberspace and dying, by an image of a girl, Angela Mitchell, who is somehow able to enter cyberspace without using a "deck" (computer). Bobby realizes his target must now know where he lives, so he flees. Shortly after leaving his apartment, he is brutally mugged for his deck and left for dead, only to be rescued and given medical attention by the owners of the software Bobby tried out, a small group who are very interested in what happened to him in Cyberspace. Bobby and Angela (who are roughly the same age) meet at the end of the book. Bobby makes a minor appearance in the third Sprawl novel, Mona Lisa Overdrive.

Turner (the only name by which he is known in the novel) is a mercenary who is employed by various corporations to help vital employees of competing corporations "defect" to Turner's employers. The novel begins with an account of a job in New Delhi in which Turner was nearly killed by a Slamhound, a type of mobile bomb. After three months of reconstructive surgery in Singapore, Turner takes a vacation in Mexico, where he meets and becomes sexually involved with a woman named Allison. While on the beach with Allison, Turner sees a familiar yacht close to shore and a powerboat from the yacht approaching the beach, bearing the logo of the Hosaka Corporation. Turner tells Allison to leave while he waits for the raft's passenger to come ashore. He already knows that the passenger is Conroy, another mercenary with whom Turner has worked in the past. Conroy recruits Turner for another "extraction" job; this time, Conroy and Turner are to help a man named Christopher Mitchell leave Maas Biolabs for Hosaka. Mitchell carries with him the expertise to design and manufacture "biochips", a technology superior to the nearly ubiquitous silicon microprocessors of the era. Maas Biolabs holds the patents and secrets to biochip technology and will use every means it can to prevent Mitchell's escape. Conroy also reveals that Allison is a "field psychologist" working for Hosaka to monitor Turner and help his recovery. Turner is a disciplined professional, but is troubled by memories of past jobs that ended tragically as well as his relationship with his gifted brother Rudy (who is a reclusive alcoholic and drug addict). Turner comes to realize that the unsuccessful attempt to "bring over" Christopher Mitchell from Maas to Hosaka resulted from a betrayal and suspects that Conroy is behind it. He also recognizes that Angie Mitchell was sent out from the Maas facility by her father, and that she is in grave danger. He resolves to protect her while finding out who is pursuing her and why.

Marly, prior to the beginning of the story, operated a small art gallery in Paris. She became notorious as a result of the disgrace from attempting to sell a forged box assemblage that was supposedly a lost piece by the American sculptor Joseph Cornell. She was unaware that the piece was a fake, having been duped by her then lover Alain, the gallery's co owner, who had embezzled money from the gallery to finance the forgery. Unemployed and living with her friend Andrea, Marly receives a job offer from the immensely wealthy businessman Josef Virek. During her interview, conducted via a very advanced simstim link, Virek informs Marly that he has collected several remarkable box assemblages similar to those created by Cornell. Virek then hires Marly to find out who is producing the pieces, offering her unlimited financial support during the course of her search. Although Marly welcomes the opportunity to get out of her current situation, she does not fully trust the mysterious and secretive Virek. This mistrust only deepens when it becomes clear that she is being followed and monitored by Virek's agents, in particular Virek's right hand man, Paco. Marly tries to stay a step ahead of Virek and Paco while discovering the identity of the boxes' creator.

Dave Langford reviewed Count Zero for White Dwarf #76, and stated that "This may not have the impact of Neuromancers first window on Gibson's future, but it's a far better novel." Count Zero was nominated for the Nebula and British Science Fiction Awards in 1986, as well as the Hugo and Locus awards in 1987.