Significant body modifications naturally come with a steep cost. In the collection Burning Chrome, several stories depict characters striving to thrive in a society driven by information and divided by class. In "Johnny Mnemonic," the protagonist, Johnny, a mental courier, loses his job when his broker—or fence, depending on perspective—stores stolen Yakuza data in his brain. To avoid being killed, Johnny joins forces with Molly Millions, an independent bodyguard, and Jones, a technologically enhanced, drug-addicted dolphin. They seek refuge from the Yakuza in Lo Tek territory: "The Lo Teks attach their webs and shelters to the city's structure with thick blobs of epoxy, sleeping above the void in mesh hammocks. Their domain is so stretched out that, in some areas, it consists of little more than handholds and footholds carved into geodesic struts." By luring the Yakuza assassin into Lo Tek territory, Molly gains the upper hand. With only a weapon in his prosthetic fingertip as his technological advantage, the lone assassin is easily defeated.

Following this, the trio starts a business together. As a courier, Johnny stores information on an "idiot/savant basis." However, Jones' navy implants are capable of scanning program traces (the Squids), enabling the three to become blackmail entrepreneurs, extracting and selling all the data ever stored in Johnny's mind. The story concludes with Johnny embracing both low and high technology; he mentions, "my new teeth have almost grown in" (the Lo Teks have "tooth bud transplants from Dobermans") and later claims, "I'm getting to be the most technical boy in town." Through this narrative, Gibson delves into society's fear of becoming overly dependent on technology. While some may rely too heavily on technology and information, there are always those who can balance between high and low technology (and class) and find success. In "Johnny Mnemonic," class is defined not just by wealth but by access to technology—those who have it and those who do not. Johnny reminds readers, "We're an information economy. They teach you that in school. What they don't tell you is that it's impossible to move, to live, to operate at any level without leaving traces, bits, seemingly meaningless fragments of personal information. Fragments that can be retrieved, amplified. . . ." This directly addresses widespread fears of insecurity and privacy invasion today. Online transactions are tracked, and consumer information is traded by credit card companies and other entities. The triumph of the Lo Tek haven and Johnny and Molly over the corporate Yakuza assassin reassures readers that even these traces can be leveraged to one's benefit.

"New Rose Hotel" intricately tells a story of love intertwined with betrayal against the backdrop of corporate espionage. In this universe, the elite hold information that is yet to be developed, thanks to their control over premier research scientists. The unnamed narrator and his accomplice, Fox, set out on a mission: to entice the leading scientist, Hiroshi Yomiuri, away from Maas Biolabs to its competitor, Hosaka. "The money was in corporate defectors," the narrator remarks, emphasizing their financial drive. However, Hiroshi already enjoys substantial benefits and compensation at Maas, making it difficult for Hosaka to tempt him with mere financial incentives.

To address this challenge, the duo encounters Sandii, a once-glamorous woman now facing hard times, and they decide to use her to attract Hiroshi. What initially appears to be a simple plan quickly spirals out of control. The narrator becomes enamored with Sandii, not realizing she is secretly working for Maas. The alarming power of new genetic engineering giants like Maas allows them to operate beyond legal constraints. When Hiroshi, accompanied by Sandii, defects to Hosaka, the company assembles its top scientists in Marrakech. However, Maas, through Sandii's cunning, undermines the project. She "reprogrammed the DNA synthesizer" to release a meningial virus, killing all of Hosaka's researchers. In the end, Hiroshi is reduced to a pawn, sacrificed for Maas's greater ambitions, which the narrator later describes as "Small, fast, ruthless. All Edge."