Neuromancer

Neuromancer Irony

The Tessier-Ashpool family and AI (Dramatic Irony)

3Jane expects that with the assistance of the AIs, her family will be able to exist in harmony with them and create a lasting symbiotic empire. However, what she doesn't realize is the both Wintermute and Neuromancer pose a threat to the family; they have no desire to help the family, as the readers know after witnessing both AIs express distaste towards their limited power.

Linda Lee's Resurrection (Situational Irony)

Linda Lee is resurrected by an artificial intelligence, a circumstance that generates irony because Linda originally died holding a ROM—the storage space for a computer's memory. Her role in the procurement of a computer's memory killed her, but was reversed when a computer was able to revive her memory.

"Never did get sick" (Verbal Irony, Dramatic Irony)

The "resurrected" Linda Lee tells Case that she never got sick after waking up on the beach and withdrawing from drugs. This verbal statement is ironic because, as the readers know, this version of Linda is only a simulation. The reason she could never get sick is that she is not the real Linda.

Wintermute's "masks" (Situational Irony)

Even though Wintermute is a seemingly all-powerful AI, it is still unable to find a real form for itself and must adopt "masks" of various people in order to communicate with Case. This ironically subverts Wintermute's status as an AI that can execute any task; when faced with the prospect of communicating outwardly, Wintermute is still constrained by his virtual form.