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A quote: “When the gods wish to punish us, they answer our prayers.” ~~ Oscar Wilde
I’ll start with a story …
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My dad was a WWII Vet- Patton’s 3rd Army. But he refused to discuss it.
Which got me curious so I’d snoop around when left at home alone. Got real good at it. That’s how I found the goggles.
I was excited as I recognized the Ahnenerbe emblem. When I put them on I realized why dad hid, instead of destroying, them.
See, he wasn’t supposed to survive. But when he used them, he changed things. Then I started and
… Is this making any sense to you? Tell me your history. I’ll only use them until I get back.
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Now, it’s your turn.
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. featured image, cropped, Adobe Stock standard license
GWB says: “What you doing, kiddo?”
“I’m playing ‘Be The President’!”
“Really? What’s it like?”
“I just unlocked the groping achievement!”
(“Which is better than the sniffing achievement. There’s no smell input on this machine.”)
Cameron says: “Sweetie, dinner time!”
“Just a minute, dad!”
I already knew what I’d find. The VR was strapped to her head and she was gesturing like a wizard casting a spell.
“You know the rules.” I said sternly.
She disconnected and gave me a sheepish grin. “Sorry. Had some files that needed to get dumped online and my latest investments finally paid off.”
“You realize destabilizing governments and engaging in stock trading voids the warranty.”
“But daddy, I paid for my college and the mortgage just now!”
She had a point but I still have rules about VR close to mealtimes.
As I got older, Mom told me more about the timeline from which she’d came. A world where virtual reality gaming became steadily more sophisticated, from goggles and haptic feedback gloves like a lot of 3-D drafting programs used, to implants that fed sensory input straight into the brain.
“I’d always derided the periodic uproars about it as moral panics. But now that I looked back, I’m wondering if they might’ve been more right than I wanted to acknowledge. When your experience of an imaginary world is indistinguishable from the real one, why bother going to all the hard work and risk of building a real spacecraft and going out to explore. Easier to create a world where spacecraft are as ordinary as aircraft and have fun visiting planets and having adventures.”
She looked me straight in the eye. “That’s why your father and I have gotten you a maker space membership. We want you learning to work with your hands and build real things, not just imaginary worlds made of ones and zeroes.”
Navig8r says: Like!
GWB says: I like Cameron’s and Leigh’s better than mine. 😉
Cameron says: I did get an image in my head from yours of a pop-up with “Achievement Unlocked-Hands Everywhere” on the screen.
Dupin says: He’d succeeded. Even his older bub hadn’t gotten this far, and he was starting high school.
He’d slain the ultimate boss. He marched up to the dais, the king hanging the gem of knowledge around his neck while the music swelled. The cute princess stood at his side, also promised to him. She beamed her bright smile at him and his accomplishments.
Too bad this wasn’t real. He’d take this over his parents and their impending divorce, assuming they didn’t kill each other first, and the stupidness called school.
As he touched the VR headset, it disappeared. Blinking in the dim light, smells assailed him. Horses, or maybe cows? This wasn’t his kitchen, either, if it even was a kitchen. Fireplace with a pot hanging in it, a table, dried plants hanging from the rafters, and he supposed that was a bed in the corner.
Light filtered in through shutters and a door, so he stepped outside. It was sheep, and chickens. There were other cottages around, people working in fields.
Where was he?
The noise of hooves sounded in the distance, and the people ran as men with swords rode them down, swords now bloodied.
He turned and ran for the forest, stopping only when he was hidden within the underbrush. Cottages went up in flames, his being the last.
This is the world you chose, a voice sounded in his head. Best of luck.
Cameron says: oops. Be careful what you ask for.
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