網絡化主體與縱向連結：論譚劍《黑夜旋律》的後賽博龐克書寫

Networked Subjectivity and Vertical Connections: On the Post-Cyberpunk Writing of Albert Tam's Melody of the Night

香港這座資本主義都市的形象，常常成為世界眾多賽博龐克科幻作品的創作素材。然而，主要以香港作為書寫對象，甚至早已自覺地參照西方賽博龐克小說並加以突破的華文科幻作品，大概要數香港作家譚劍(1972-)的長篇小說《黑夜旋律》(2008, 2019)。《黑》借鏡當代西方電影主題和敘事方式，嘗試突破賽博龐克小說的範式，其主題和引人注目的敘述手法，雖然受到評論家肯定，至今卻仍未有評論者從賽博龐克書寫的脈絡深入剖析。本文正希望循此脈絡切入探討。
《黑夜旋律》以技術資本主義大行其道的香港近未來為背景，藉此審視都市中產階層的平庸之惡。譚劍並未採用賽博龐克常見的英雄敘事結構，而是以反諷筆觸，反思當代人對虛擬與擴增實境技術的應用，寫法較為深沉和務實，近於西方論者主張的「後賽博龐克」書寫。有見及此，本文將回顧西方（後）賽博龐克概念的發展，並在此參照之下，逐步剖析該小說所呈現的技術資本主義下的社會面貌，以及都市人在何種意義上，構成後賽博龐克強調的「網絡化主體」。最後，本文將探討小說提出以「縱向連結」重構網絡化主體的理據和啟示。

Since the 1980s, the capitalist city of Hong Kong has been the source material for many cyberpunk science fiction works all over the world. However, one of the earliest Chinese sci-fi works that depicts Hong Kong, and even consciously referenced Western cyberpunk novels and made a breakthrough, is probably Hong Kong writer Albert Tam's (1972-) novel Melody of the Night (2008, 2019). Drawing on contemporary Western cinema's theme and narrative style, Melody attempts to break through the paradigm of cyberpunk. Although critics have recognized its work, there has yet to be an in-depth analysis in the vein of cyberpunk writing. This article hopes to explore this.
Set in the near future of Hong Kong, where techno-capitalism is prevalent, Melody of the Night examines the evils of the banality of the urban middle class. Instead of adopting the heroic narrative structure of classic cyberpunk, Albert Tam employs ironic writing to reflect on people's application of virtual and augmented reality. The writing style is profound and pragmatic, close to the post-cyberpunk writing advocated by Western commentators. Given this, this paper will first review the development of the Western concept of (post-)cyberpunk. With this reference, it analyzes the social landscape under techno-capitalism as presented in the novel, as well as in what sense urbanites constitute the“networked subjectivity”emphasized by post-cyberpunk. Finally, the paper will explore the rationale and inspiration behind the novel's proposal to reconstruct the networked subjectivity through“vertical connection.”