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=                           Molly_Millions                           =
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                            Introduction
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Molly Millions (also known as Sally Shears, Rose Kolodny, and others)
is a recurring character in stories and novels written by William
Gibson, particularly his Sprawl trilogy. She first appeared in "Johnny
Mnemonic", to which she makes an oblique reference in 'Neuromancer'
(where she is referred to as "Molly" with no last name given). She
later appeared in 'Mona Lisa Overdrive' under the name "Sally Shears".


                         Character history
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In all three stories, Molly is a physically tough (but not instantly
imposing) bodyguard/mercenary cyborg. She is referred to as a
"razorgirl" or "street samurai" throughout his stories and also as
"Steppin' Razor" by the residents of Zion, a Rastafarian enclave
aboard a space station.

A useful contact for dealing with gangs and black market elements, she
tends to show little remorse for the opponents she ruthlessly
dispatches in the course of her objectives. In fact she shows few deep
emotions towards anyone outside of hatred, suspicion or amused
contempt. Nevertheless, Molly is always regarded throughout the book
as a loyal, morally strong character, opposed to the progressing decay
of human relations in the world Gibson depicts.

An exception to her cold, somewhat cynical approach to life was her
relationship with Johnny (of "Johnny Mnemonic"), for whom she still
mourned at the time of 'Neuromancer'. This is part of the personal
history she relates to its protagonist, Case, in addition to the
revelation that she worked as a "meat puppet" (a prostitute) in a
"puppet parlor" (a brothel where people lend out their bodies while
maintained in a blanked-out state) to pay for her considerable
cybernetic enhancements.

Another pseudonym, used when she rents a hotel room in 'Neuromancer',
is "Rose Kolodny",  the name by which the Turing Police refer to her.
The Turing Police may have simply gotten the name from the hotel's
registry, but it is sometimes speculated to be her original name. The
later trilogy books speculate that she is "SINless", having been an
unrecorded birth and never having been issued a "Single Identity
Number". This would give her the advantage of being more difficult to
track in the cyberspace environment. Critic Larry McCaffery asserts
that the name "Molly" is a reference to her status as a gun moll.

William Gibson has stated that he derived inspiration for the
character from the image of Chrissie Hynde on the cover of the first
Pretenders album.


                           Augmentations
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Molly's metabolism, sensory input, and reflexes are artificially
heightened by means of electronic implants and other advanced medical
procedures. She has razor-sharp retractable blades underneath her
fingernails, each double-edged and four centimeters in length.
Appearing at first glance to be wearing mirrored sunglasses, Molly has
in fact had her eye sockets sealed with vision-enhancing mirrored
lenses, installed by the skilled black-market surgeons of Chiba City.
To accommodate the inset lenses her tear ducts have been re-routed to
her mouth; on the very rare occasions she cries, she either spits out
or swallows the tears. She never lets others touch the lenses as it
would leave messy fingerprints requiring extra cleaning.


                      Portrayal in other media
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The 1995 film version of 'Johnny Mnemonic' replaced Molly with a
character named Jane who did not have modifications to her eyes or to
her fingers. Jane did share the modified nervous system but used a
single razor attached to the tip of a flexible spring rod as a weapon.

In the 2003 BBC Radio adaptation of 'Neuromancer', Molly was played by
the English actress Nicola Walker. Sasha Grey took on the role in
'Case', a six-hour dramatic contemporary adaptation of the novel
staged in New York City in November 2009.


                         Literary analysis
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The character has been described as one of Gibson's most complex
characters.


                     References in pop culture
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Molly is the subject of a song called "Mirrorshades" by the group
Information Society.


                             References
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* William Gibson, 'Burning Chrome' ("Johnny Mnemonic"), 1986,
* William Gibson, 'Neuromancer', 1984,
* William Gibson, 'Mona Lisa Overdrive', 1988,


                           External links
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*
[http://project.cyberpunk.ru/idb/genre_and_gender_in_cyberpunk_fiction.html
Razor girls: Genre and Gender in Cyberpunk Fiction]
* [http://www.antonraubenweiss.com/gibson/gibson0.html William Gibson
aleph] Fan site
* [http://www.voidspace.org.uk/cyberpunk/neuromancer.shtml Voidspace]
Online excerpts from 'Neuromancer' and 'Mona Lisa Overdrive'
*
[https://web.archive.org/web/20061023181105/http://www.williamgibsonbooks.com/blog/2006_08_01_archive.asp#115688201954919109
MOLLY'S MIRRORSHADES; ZEISS-IKON EYES] "I could never dream up a
sufficiently convincing way to imagine them being attached."


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Original Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molly_Millions