Charlie's

3

The poker game rotated around different guys' homes. I'd hosted a few times myself. The crowd stayed mostly the same...Eddie the advertising guy, Vic the cop, Phil the realtor, Bob the mechanic, and me, the "rock guy". When they asked I'd say "Geological Survey"; they usually stopped asking after I'd gone off about crystal formations.

It was a chance to drink cheap beer, smoke cheap cigars (at least for Bob), play cheap poker (nickel-ante; I didn't have to worry about money at all, and, at those bet levels, neither did they), trade cheap humor and generally bond and unwind. Even for them it was atmosphere, time away from their jobs and their wives and their TV.

Not that all of us had wives...

"You an' Marie have a good time last night?"

"Yes sir. I got your little girl home okay."

The other guys snickered at us. Eddie smirked. "Just askin', Joe. You know I'm gonna hear about it anyway. 'S all she talks about half the time, talks to me, talks to Stella, what she 'n Joe are gettin' up to..."

"Well, Joe is the perfect gentleman to your sister."

"Yeah, that's what she says. I'm sure you two're goin' to the zoo an' buyin' ice cream an' stuff."

"I'll buy her a balloon to give you."

Phil asked, "You've been going with her for a couple years now, right?"

"Yeah, ever since I moved to the area."

"Why did you move out here? I mean, seems like you moved into town just to spend all your time outside of it."

"Hey, I go where the rocks are. Like just the other day I was doing a core sample out on --"

"'Nother beer?" "Sure." "Sounds good." "Got any more chips?"

And thus does the sim provide training in social interaction. I know exactly how to kill a conversation.

If I really wanted to talk rocks I could probably ask for a "local" Geological Survey office that would have specialists that would know what I was talking about. Theoretically, at least; the folks that make sims won't have that sort of specialized knowledge to put in a character. Certainly not the sort that comes from years of practical experience. I could probably have a decent conversation, but I'd see the gaps. At best it would feel like I was talking to a rookie.

The sims are made for everyone, so their strongest point is everyday people. Tradespeople, street people, politicians, criminals, government rank-and-file...the ones everyone can relate to. They all have some amount of personality, and they get more if you interact with them, filling in background, motivation and idiosyncracies before you need to discover them. They become deeper, more complex and more individual as you relate to them, fast enough that you never notice.

It's usually enough. It's fine for people you meet on the street, it's good enough for casual conversation, and it works for dating and friendships. At least, most of the time. But every once in a while -- and perhaps it's an indication the reality anchoring is working -- you might suddenly remember the disparity.

"See, I don't see why you an' Marie don't just settle down. You're kinda goin' steady anyway, and she's a good girl. Why'n'cha proposed to her already?"

Something snapped in me. "Because she's not real! None of you are real!"

For a moment the conversation stopped. The guys looked down at the table, expressionless, as they did normal, idle-time things with their hands like smoking or shuffling the cards. Vic swirled his drink in his glass, studying its depths.

I began to wonder if I'd finally broken the sim, taking it down a badly-defined branch. Then Eddie spoke up.

"Yeah, I can see how religion might be a concern for you."