Notes on 'Permutation City' (1994) by Greg Egan (b. 1961)
Permutation City is a masterpiece of technological transcendence, and no one really comes close to Greg Egan’s magisterial grasp, clearly informed by his background in mathematics. In Permutation City Egan fleshes out the early stages of simulated life, and by leaving the body behind – moving beyond the trope of ‘jacking in’ – the novel is a natural successor to Cyberpunk’s enquiries into the mind/body split. Permutation City won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (1995).