In THE SPIRAL: Connected Stories & Fragments from the Virtual Future

VOICE/FRAGMENT: 'Room with a View' [7XP]

News update @spiralwritings:
ENTER THE NEW AND IMPROVED VIRTUAL

By now we're hearing a lot of incredible hype coming out of 'The Spiral', as the virtual tower of new and incredible virtual 'trips' is still being called. The success of ImmerTech's Interface [V-space link] in uniting – and breathing new life into – virtual worlds and spaces has been fast and widespread. The legacy of the Neuroceans lives on, but the memory of its negative elements seems already distant. Will this negativity re-surface after the dust in the Spiral Worlds has settled? Time will tell. Nothing but reports of praise and wonder are appearing daily onto the V-web on the range of experiences accessible; everything from scientific illuminations, exciting creative platforms to vibrant, constructive game worlds. In fact, the Spiral has 'constructive' and 'sensible' written into its whole DNA. New additions to the tower are carefully screened and so far the positive response and immersive capabilities have far outweighed any negatives. The 'positive Spiral' tower is growing well in its infancy. Let's hope it proves invulnerable from turbulence inside or out as user-numbers and investment look set to increase.

So you don't own a Spiral Interface yet? Well, if you've not found yourself able to drift up the enchanting, signature staircase, gazing over the intriguing doors and portals that line it, we've been talking to a user who found – and opened - a very strange one indeed...

'I've seen many things so far 'inside' but on this visit I noticed a very unusual doorway. This is what made me stop and check it out. It was kind of a lot more humble than any I've so far seen. Many of the doorways are well-decorated or shaped in relation to the worlds they give access to. An Egyptian space, recreating a period in that ancient civilization will obviously have hieroglyphs and motifs surrounding or forming the style of the entrance. However, this one was just... wooden. Simple. It had nothing on it, except for the faintest trace of ivy leaves embedded in the rep[resentation]. I lifted the basic latch and it actually creaked open like any old, heavy wooden door needing some work on the hinges. That was even stranger. Then what I saw straight away was just so out of place... I mean, it was a basic, grey room with an opening in the far wall that had another old, creaky-looking window, much like a castle or something. It was almost open, or being pushed open. So I went over and pulled it inwards. There was resistance through the interface due to a heavy growth of ivy or overgrown vegetation trying to get inside. I did manage to look out through all this mini-jungle but was surprised not to be able to see any more of this or... anything really except for... white clouds. It was very windy when I put my head out and for a moment I wondered if I was supposed to jump. But I dismissed this: my instinct even in the virtual was to keep my well-configured avatar intact. However, I did try and see if I could make anything out below.

A wall dropped beneath me like any wall with a window and I thought I might have seen some kind of land far below – a green countryside, or possibly the tops of tall trees – but I didn't really bother to look much more. There were voices nearby which was strange as it felt... high up. Like I was high up in the tower itself. Actually those voices sounded more like vague whispers and I kept catching a name like 'found-bellion' or 'found-gellion'. I thought it all must be a mistake or traces from some world overlapping or still in progress or testing. My immediate response was of slight irritation and boredom! Is this the sort of virtual experience I'm going to be paying for in the future that will fill up the Tower? Is it just to make it seem there are loads of doors, when actually there are mostly semi-empty ones like this? For the first time I had doubts so I wanted to leave quickly to go and explore through another door. The next one, however, was amazing: a Know-Zone re-creating a classic kids book with readings and scenarios re-created awesomely in the virtual: Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows.

I've not seen anything like that bland room since. Later on I remembered it and thought it significant. I realized – thinking back - that the room walls shared the same colour as the staircase and walls of the tower, where the portals are inlaid. So the general impression when I entered the room was that it belonged to the tower itself. Had I seen inside an actual room in the Tower? This would then mean that the view from the window would have been an actual view outside, the height corresponding to how many stairs I had 'climbed' before. This makes more sense and now I wished I had jumped from that window! Had I seen outside – beyond - the Spiral Tower itself?'

The Development Division had no comment when we tried to reach them about this mysterious room. Glitch? Or mystery? An actual view to a hidden land outside the Tower? At this stage no-one seems to know. There are rumours that the Game of Being has been upgraded and may shortly appear in development but no-one knows how and if something may already exist... virtually!

Follow us and check Natter: #spiralmystery

[FRAGMENT COMPLETED! +7 XP : PROJECT ITEM - see more under XP + Ranking]