Auntie toasts the VRMMORPG

2.0 Dear Diary - Recap of Book One Flora Style

>>> Sunday Two, 30.06.2051

Dear Diary,

I want to tell you about my first week at the Cetviwos. Actually, I want to explain stuff to you, because explaining things is a form of learning and furthers comprehension. And I need comprehension badly!

In the morning, I have read the diary of a crazy alchemist. I might have been a bit jealous of his ramblings. Just kidding. Aidan, don't write words in caps no matter what.

Let's start with the beginning. I radically renovated my kitchen. I didn't intend to, it happened when I mixed up my favorite hat with the cooking pot. My dear son Robby insisted I can't live alone anymore. Of course, he is wrong about that. We figured out an alternative to a retirement home, the virtual reality.

The VR is called Cetviwos. Cetviwos stands for Cet = CentralTank−that's the company, which owns them−Vi = Virtual and Wos = Worlds.

The access point to the VR are pods, which look like coffins. While you lie in them, your consciousness gets transported into another world via brainwave technology. That's a fancy way of saying they are reading our minds. Maybe they write too.

This gets scarier and scarier. I know nothing, but that I know nothing. It just seems kind of logical to me. How can they know where a player wants to go? They have to transform the WILL (you may write "will" in caps Aidan) to an action. In my book, that's mind-reading.

Now to the writing part. I'm pretty sure they don't have heat coils in the coffins, okay maybe they do, let's take an even more improbable example: smells. They sure as burned toast in hell haven't included 1000s of smells in the boxes. Therefore they must have an interface, which simulates the smells right into the brains of their clients. That's me. And my son. And my best friend.

I believe there is a difference between simulating external stimuli and simulating internal emotions. So the question is open if they can mind-control us. But with total control over external stimuli, you can easily facilitate conditioning.

The most terrible thing is that VR is really fun. I'm already addicted. Besides, we wash our bodies regularly, at least I did before entering the pod, so why not let my brain get washed too? Honestly, I'm kind of interested in their methods and results, but I would feel better if I only risked my bit of tattered grey matter to find out more and not my sons!

But I'm not finished talking about them reading my brain! They have an unhealthy obsession with it.

Ten years ago, I beta-tested software for CentralTank. You could get goodies by giving them access to your personal data. Aidan, forget what I told about writing words in caps. I need more CAPS to express myself adequately. I summarize: THEY WANT BRAINZ. I was totally addicted to the CAD-System, not only because of the incredible user experience but also because of the charming company of my AI assistant Evai.

Okay, I didn't want to go that deep into the subject, but this VR stuff was incredible then and is even more so now. You can do MAGIC! With padding thoughts with the right amount of willpower, I can move objects telekinetically or reshape them. I tell you, it's a rush. You feel like you have the power of gods in your hands ... or in your mind ... at your fingertips. Whatever, let's go with easily accessible.

I can still do this type of magic in the Cetviwos, at least where magic isn't suppressed. Actually, I haven't tested it in a prohibited area. Aidan, write it on the to-do list.

Sorry, I lost my train of thought. Where were we?

Thank you, Aidan.

BRAINZ. I followed the same strategy in the Cetviwos as in my old software: Just sign every bit of privacy away for some nifty features.