Alt-X[cerpts]: HARD_CODE

This excerpt from HARD_CODE is an essay by Eugene Thacker called "A New Capillary Vision System for Whole Blood and Plasma Viscosimetry in Comparison Model with Induced Human Response System." HARD_CODE is an . . . "anthology of experimental electronic prose which asks the question: What kinds of stories are told by data? The texts in this anthology respond to this question from a wide range of viewpoints, often suggesting that the dynamics between bodies and data is not always a smooth one. Filled with identity avatars, DNA bodies, generative code, and virtual realities, HARD_CODE combines leading-edge work from new media art/net.art, cultural theory, and experimental fiction, forming new hybrids between flesh and data.

HARD_CODE brings together a group of innovative writers exploring the syntax of new media and computer technologies. From net.artists, to science fiction writers, to computer hackers, to practitioners of 'degenerative prose,' HARD_CODE is a 'mis-users manual' for the network society.

Contributors include: Doll Yoko, Fakeshop, Matthew Fuller, Shelley Jackson, Harold Jaffe, ID_Runners, MEZ, Andi and Lance Olsen, Doug Rice, Steven Shaviro, Julia Solis, Alan Sondheim, Steve Tomasula, Don Webb, and many others . . .

Eugene Thacker is a writer, theorist, and net.artist who has been working with hypertext and net.art since the introduction of the Web, presenting work through Alt-X, Ars Electronica, CTHEORY, Semiotext(e), and V2. . . .

Since our inception in 1993, Alt-X's primary mission has been to challenge the art and literary publishing establishments by supporting some of the most iconoclastic voices and visions in contemporary art and writing. Our Alt-X Virtual Imprint brings to web readers a must have library of uncategorizable writing being produced by some of the most provocative artists in contemporary new media culture. As eclectic writing makes its footprint into the electrosphere, we no longer ask 'What is literature?' but, more importantly, 'What is literature's exitstrategy?'" -- from Alt-X