Editing Steampunk (section)

=== The Name ===
It was basically inevitable that people would look at the bits and bobs of victorianesque Jules Verne style cogs, clockwork, pistons and brass style retro sci-fi stuff that was steadily becoming more common, lumping it together and slapping a label on it. The name that stuck can come across as a bit awkward and comes out of left-field, but it makes sense in context. It comes from an [[Alternate History]] book written by William Gibson (the grandfather of Cyberpunk literature) called ''The Difference Engine'' about a world in which the Analytical Engine (a proposed programmable mechanical computer designed by Charlse Babbage in the 19th century) was built, leading to a computer Revolution in Victorian Era. 

There is also the fact that a lot of elements of Cyberpunk fit quite well into the 19th century. [[Megacorporation]]s? Standard Oil and the other trusts. Private Armies? Pinkertons and mercenaries. Widespread Poverty and lots of gangs emerging from a neglected underclass? Check and double check. Societal upheaval by new technologies? Well Duh.