THE VIRTUAL BODY AND POWER RELATIONS IN THE WORKS OF ERNEST CLINE AND SERGEI LUKYANENKO

Abstract

The paper delves into the power relations regarding the virtual body in the works of renowned sci-fi authors Sergei Lukyanenko and Ernest Cline. It explores the concepts of economical dependency, state and corporative power play, punishment and disciplinary control in the light of the virtual universe, trying to perceive the avatar as a tool (subject) and as a means (object) of institutional regulation. Through this process the research aims to dismiss the notion of the virtual space as free of interest, proving it to be an extension and/or expansion of real world goals.