the bulk of tech foresight - Metaverse, Gargoyles, Earth (Google Earth)... of course it's foundational. the fact it lagged several years behind the sprawl trilogy, mirrorshades, or schismatrix, etc is irrelevant.

FWIW the metaverse goes back to True Names, with cyberdeck roots in Web of Angels…

and microtransactions in Ubik.... *shrug* I mentioned quintessential works rather than "origin stories" to avoid an inevitable "all work is derivative".

edit: True Names surely should have been added in my brief list.

I don’t think True Names is in any way cyberpunk. No mirrorshades vibe at all, which is part of its charm.

I want to assume you're joking, but I've encountered people who earnestly think the essence of cyberpunk is the retro-80s neon aesthetic, so your comment is in Poe's Law territory for me.

Then Sherlock Holmes is far too late to the game to be foundational in the detective story genre (first appearing in 1887, 46 years after The Murders in the Rue Morge).