The Night Mayor by Kim Newman
"The Night Mayor" is a novel set in a future where society is governed by an advanced artificial intelligence known as Iggdrasil. In this world, the primary form of entertainment is the "Dream," which immerses participants in a programmed narrative filled with sensory experiences, akin to a modern evolution of film. The story follows two Dreamers, Tom Tunney and Susan Bishopric, who are tasked by the government to infiltrate an unauthorized Dream created by a notorious criminal, Truro Daine. This Dream, dubbed "the City," is a noir-inspired realm where classic film tropes and characters are brought to life.
As the narrative unfolds, Tunney adopts the persona of Richie Quick, a private eye, while Bishopric challenges the stereotypical roles by presenting herself authentically. The plot thickens when Daine is found murdered, leaving Tunney framed for the crime. The duo must navigate the dangers of the City while confronting various archetypes and ultimately work together to dismantle Daine's Dream. The story concludes with a grim reminder of Iggdrasil's pervasive control, as it enforces its power over human fate, showcasing themes of identity, conformity, and the intersection of technology and humanity.
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Subject Terms
The Night Mayor
First published: 1989
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Science fiction—cyberpunk
Time of work: The distant future
Locale: England and a dream world based on cinematic images called “the City”
The Plot
In the future world of the novel, all aspects of society are regulated by a sentient artificial intelligence called Iggdrasil. The principal form of entertainment is the Dream, successor to motion pictures (“flatties”). The sleeping consumer Dreams a programmed plot complete with sensory effects. These are created by professional Dreamers from situations provided by Iggdrasil.
Two Dreamers, Tom Tunney and Susan Bishopric, have been “Conscripted by the Gunmint” (government) to break into an unauthorized Dream created by master criminal Truro Daine. Incarcerated in Princetown Jail for a host of crimes, Daine obsessively had watched film noir flatties. Then, having illicitly commandeered file space from Iggdrasil, Daine created “the City,” a world in which conventions and stock characters from film noir have become the reality in which he lives all the time. Tunney and Bishopric are brought in because the City has expanded to the point that it threatens Iggdrasil’s storage capacity.
Tunney is recruited because he creates Dreams cribbed from film noir. In Daine’s world, Tunney assumes his customary persona, the jaded, wisecracking private eye Richie Quick. When Tunney “goes native,” forgetting his identity outside the City, Bishopric is brought in. Repelled by the sexist assumptions underlying film noir, Bishopric elects to enter the City as herself rather than as one of its stock female characters.
In the City, it is always 2:30 a.m. and raining. Actors appear as the stereotypes they habitually play. As Quick, Tunney goes to City Hall to see Daine, “the Night Mayor.” Quick is knocked unconscious and awakes to find Daine dead. Framed for the murder, Tunney, completely immersed in his Richie Quick persona, tries to evade capture in Chinatown.
Bishopric, now in Daine’s Dream, tries to dream changes that will dismantle the City. Daine attempts to disorient her by placing her in a rapid succession of plots from other genre films. Bishopric and Tunney eventually begin working together. Because Daine is dead, they are uncertain which of the characters they encounter is the new Night Mayor. The pair have a run-in with a stereotypical good cop (Ralph Bellamy) and bad cop (Barton MacLane). A car chase follows, and Bishopric and Tunney flee with Ralph Bellamy. Realizing that Bellamy must be Daine’s new persona, Bishopric focuses her mental energy and “mindwipes” him.
In an ominous final chapter, Iggdrasil solidifies its control of human destiny, burning out the minds of forty-three people who have established illegal interfaces. Like the computer in Harlan Ellison’s “I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream” (1967), Iggdrasil torments Daine with virtual reality simulations.