#nmc6

     While here in the physical world we are limited to bodies that break down over time, lands that have been explored and claimed, and societies ruled by wealth and power, virtual reality allows us a new start. It is the new frontier, yet to be fully explored, developed, and controlled. The Metaverse, as this documentary calls it, is a future world that seems to offer untold possibilities of new bodies, beings, territories, and experiences.

     One major topic up for debate within discussions of the virtual world is control, who has or will have it, how will it be used? Although corporations are already spending billions of dollars on virtual reality research, and may be hoping to have a major head start on everyday users when this reality becomes commonplace, the digital nature of VR means that in this space money will only be able to buy a limited amount of power. Much like how Hiro Protagonist from Neal Stephenson’s “Snow Crash” had far more wealth and power in the virtual world than in real life, hackers, or those able to understand and modify the code that forms the Metaverse, will likely have the most control. This means those with the intellectual power, will in that landscape be able to exercise social power, much like an admin was able to do in Julian Dibbell’s “A Rape in Cyberspace”, where social just was carried out when a text command deleted an online character for his misdeeds.

     Another commonly asked question regarding cyberspace is wether it is an innately social reality. I believe as humans we naturally search for and desire to create social spaces, this is especially true in regards to technology. It is the act of communication which prompted the invention and expansion of the printing press, the steam engine, and the computer. All of these major technological achievements have worked to bring humans closer to each other. We see this also in the success of massively multiplayer role playing games or MMORPGs.