opular feature of the GURPS system was that it allowed gaming-masters
to design scenarios that closely resembled well-known books, movies,
and other works of fantasy. Jackson had licensed and adapted works
from many science fiction and fantasy authors. There was GURPS Conan,
GURPS Riverworld, GURPS Horseclans, GURPS Witch World, names eminently
familiar to science-fiction readers. And there was GURPS Special Ops,
from the world of espionage fantasy and unconventional warfare.

And then there was GURPS Cyberpunk.

"Cyberpunk" was a term given to certain science fiction writers who had
entered the genre in the 1980s. "Cyberpunk," as the label implies, had
two general distinguishing features. First, its writers had a
compelling interest in information technology, an interest closely akin
to science fiction's earlier fascination with space travel. And
second, these writers were "punks," with all the distinguishing
features that that implies: Bohemian artiness, youth run wild, an air
of deliberate rebellion, funny clothes and hair, odd politics, a
fondness for abrasive rock and roll; in a word, trouble.

The "cyberpunk" SF writers were a small group of mostly
college-educated white middle-class litterateurs, scattered through the
US and Canada. Only one, Rudy Rucker, a professor of computer science
in Silicon Valley, could rank with even the humblest computer hacker.
But, except for Professor Rucker, the "cyberpunk" authors were not
programmers or hardware experts; they considered themselves artists
(as, indeed, did Professor Rucker). However, these writers all owned
computers, and took an intense and public interest in the social
ramifications of the information industry.

The cyberpunks had a strong following among the global generation that
had grown up in a world of computers, multinational networks, and cable
television. Their outlook was considered somewhat morbid, cynical, and
dark, but then again, so was the outlook of their generational peers.
As that generation matured and increased in strength and influence, so
did the cyberpunks. As science-fiction writers went, they were doing
fairly well for themselves. By the late 1980s, their work had
attracted attention from gaming companies, including Steve Jackson
Games, which was planning a cyberpunk simulation for the flourishing
GURPS gaming-system.

The time seemed ripe for such a product, which had already been proven
in the marketplace. The first g