"New Rose Hotel" is a short story by William Gibson, first published in 1981 in Omni and later included in his 1986 collection Burning Chrome. Set in the near future, the story provides the reader with a glimpse into the niche criminal market of corporate defections. Huge multinational corporations control and dominate entire economies. Their wealth and competitive advantage reside in the human capital of their employees and the intellectual prop...
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"New Rose Hotel" is a short story by William Gibson, first published in 1981 in Omni and later included in his 1986 collection Burning Chrome. Set in the near future, the story provides the reader with a glimpse into the niche criminal market of corporate defections. Huge multinational corporations control and dominate entire economies. Their wealth and competitive advantage reside in the human capital of their employees and the intellectual property they produce. Corporations jealously guard their most valuable employees and go to great expense to keep them safe and happily productive.
There is little point in traditional corporate espionage as new products are developed at a lightning pace. There is no time to capitalize on the intelligence acquired from a rival firm. Here is where the protagonists of the story come into play, setting themselves up as shady middle-men in the world of corporate defections. Key scientists are cajoled, lured, bribed, and blackmailed into leaving their...
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