Disconnected

Section 1

        “Watch where you’re going.”

        I looked up from the ground to see a man standing in front of me. Without looking where I was going, I almost ran him over. I stepped to the side to let him pass. He shot me a look of contempt, and he began walking around me. Adults can make me regret every part of my life. They can always make me think: what made me this way?

        When this started, it was talked about as a great scientific advancement.  This started not long ago, but people’s minds changed rapidly. Originally, we were encouraged to try it. People couldn’t fight their desire to leave their bodies and enter a digitally constructed world, and curiosity eventually rose to a peak. Just a few days after the release of a product that could change everything. No one could deny interest in trying it out.

        I was no exception to this great emotional epidemic. There was nothing I wanted more than to leave my own body, even for only a few hours. It hadn’t even been a month before people started to disregard their original desires. Questions rose about long term effects. I have been in the system almost every day since its release, and I can tell you: it is not addictive, it does not foster violence, and it does not create antisocial behavior. The virtual world is better than real life.

        Nothing is wrong with it, and nothing to be afraid of. I would rather live in the virtual world than this “Real one”.

        I can feel gravity’s pull on me. My feet seem to stick to the ground. I look around and the light is too harsh, it hurts my eyes. The temperature is too hot, though only enough to make my skin feel uncomfortable. Everything about virtual reality is better than this one.

        I hate walking. When I walk, I think, and my thoughts are depressing. I can only think of the downsides of this world, compared to the greatness of the virtual. My mom began believing I was spending too much time in virtual reality. She is the one that makes me go on these walks. I am on one right now. She doesn’t want me to become dependent on the virtual, so here I am.

        “Hello.”

        I looked up, and noticed an old couple had walked up while I wasn’t paying attention. This is bad, they want to start a conversation with me.

        “Oh, hello.” I say.

        I want to get a move on, and I want to get home. They start walking again, and relief flooded over me. I continued walking; back on track.

        I need a distraction. I naturally drift into thinking about the network. It is only there that I am ever happy.