The short novel by William Gibson is indeed a delightful read and a rather interesting summary of the Singporean society. Although the short novel already has a few years on its back and I admit being a Gibson fan I still recommend it to anyone.

I remember the first time I landed in Singapore and was handed a boarding card I was expected to fill in. The card was white and letters in black instructed me to fill in my name, country of origin and purpose of visit. All the usual. But in the middle of the card were capital letters in red saying DEATH TO DRUG TRAFFICERS. I wasn't carrying any drugs but I did have some chewing gum with me and since that was illegal at the time I was immediately getting worried. Well, they did not search me and the drug monitors were not set for Finnish Jenkki chewing gum so I got away unharmed. But it was the closest experience I've ever had to a death penalty.

Do they still require arrivals to fill in boarding cards of this friendly design?