This article deals with the overreacher archetype depicted in the legend of the Faustian bargain, with references to other mythological and literary overreachers who were tempted to transcend beyond their limits and were met with impunity. It analyses how the paradigm of the Faustian pact evolved from the romantic notion of necromancy to the transhumanist idea of neuromancy. It traces the journey from its mythic and literary roots to its contemporary digital incarnation. It begins with Christopher Marlowe’s anguished depiction of forbidden necromancy and moves through Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s philosophical explorations of human striving. The analysis culminates in William Gibson’s cyberpunk science-fiction novel, Neuromancer, where the classic pact is reimagined as a contract between a washedup hacker and a benefactor who promises to restore his cybernetic capabilities. However, the protagonist is not aware that he has just signed a deal with a digital Mephistopholes, Wintermute, a powerful AI who seeks its own immortality. The aim of the article is to explore the Faustian archetype in the digital age, where the pacts with supernatural forces have been replaced with carefully forged contracts containing standardised terms of service. The science-fiction genre is usually a proactive means of portraying a cautionary tale, a tool which interrogates futures not yet lived. However, we are approaching an age where it seems that our end of the contract is soon to be met. We might be approaching the Faustocene, an era in which the hidden costs of technological overreach are poised to demand a reckoning.
NARCIS APOSTU (Fri,) studied this question.