(2010-07-30) Virtual Ancient Worlds And World Of Jesus

Tim Carmody thinks that the historical Virtual World-s built so far don't compare to the World Of Jesus in Robin Sloan's Annabel Scheme. The character who plays the game believes in this world and his place in it: his religious faith and his technological faith are one and the same, turning a mechanical ritual into treasures in heaven. And so we believe in it, because it’s a reflexive, self-allegorizing move too: for the reader, the fictional San Fran­cisco of Scheme and Hu is just as much a virtual world, with its own entice­ments, traps, rules (Game Rule) and ways to break them, as “World of Jesus” is for them. Dreams within dreams, virtualized virtuality. Real World Game? (Remember what Bill Hicks says: it's just a ride.)