#reaility

Ayumi reclined peacefully, at least for a moment, leaning back  against the gothic roofing that she was perched on while quickly clicking through in-game screens . Like a cat she looked down on the bustling city below her, Andor Furioso, a hub town that had been seemingly modeled on 12th century French Gothic, Byzantine and Russian architecture; it even had some Dutch windmill’s thrown in for good measure, dotting the fields just beyond the city gates and on past the horizon.  

Sunset was nearing and an eerie dusky light had descended on the town, as many of the merchant players and their clients began to disperse, turning in and collecting their wares for the day, or relaxing with friends near the Venice-like river-ways that ran through the town’s infrastructure while enjoying a serving of digital sheep’s milk gellato. 

Ayumi found herself in Andor because it happened to be her favorite hub town, and the one that was closely associated with North American players, as many of them converged by default and she happened to be looking for one in particular. 

Later, after Ayumi picked up her magicked steam-walker, she would go stalking for kills in the Phrygian valley, where lower level players were known to farm for an early quest item. Ayumi smirked at the inevitable bounty which she would soon claim.

"Don't go following causes. They'll just break your heart. When idealism meets reality, it's rarely reality that backs down."

Even though I almost religiously defend computer games from public criticism concerning their cultural value, I have to admit that I find it incredible that a quote as powerful as the one cited above has originated from one. The third sentence is one of my all time favourite lines, whereas the first two add a tragic touch to it, enhancing the potency of its message. No ideal, no matter how amazing, can evade the rigorous constraints of reality. 

Think about communism. The most basic idea behind it is to have every one put in as much as effort as possible into society and in turn receive an equal share of any food, wealth or resources we acquire as a whole. Sounds great right? If we all pitch in diligently, there's no problem society can't overcome! But not every person is the same. In every profession there are people who are able to perform better than others and this leads to inequality in work done, hence, since every one will receive an equal reward at the end of their work, nobody feels obligated to do their best. Why would I lay 1000 bricks today, if Johnny gets paid the same for laying 700(even though that might be his physical limit)? Give me an extra steak for every 100 extra bricks I lay that day and I'll lay 1000. And that's how reality crushed this ideal and capitalism took over the world.

Let's look into a more personal topic. Every one just loves saying that looks are unimportant and that it only matter how people are on the inside. First of all, being beautiful is the same as being really intelligent. It's something you inherit and not something you earn, so quit yapping that life isn't fair because every one values beauty. When I got to college I realized that once high school is over, being naturally smart is worth a lot more. Being sincere and genuinely a good person is what should be considered as a great 'inside' quality. But this ideal, for people to value the beauty of character rather than bodily traits(including intelligence), is again constricted by reality. The human species has evolved in a way to innately be attracted to a partner that will secure the survival of their offspring. And this is why as immaterialistic as we may believe we are, we will still be attracted to beauty as a synonym for healthiness, strength and intelligence as a display of one's ability to provide and wealth as a sign of financial security. Thus once again, reality has crushed idealism.