Myth? Legend?Please, join me in this adventure that has swept me off the Grid.
Myth? Legend? I am already more than one year old, and ever since I was born I have been hearing tales about the existence of a remote, fantastic place, that has been out there like… forever.
As the tales go, “The Founders” of our world came from out there, probably escaping from three lethal plagues called “stress”, “boredom”, and “frustration”.
(The legend doesn’t say anything about what kind of virus might cause that).
They came in search of freedom, and to pursue happiness and make their dreams come true.
That place, the place they came from, it’s mentioned -in whispers- as “Real Life”.
I’ve heard –as probably most of you have- that the place in impenetrable, remains uncharted, and populated by hostile and deadly predators. Apparently it involves a very large place called “Universe”, that is 15,000,000 millions years old… (I know what you are thinking, but legends are always exaggerated).
It is said that a “Big Bang” started it, and it has zillions of SIMS, that, oddly, are not flat, but round. Some are hot balls of explosive fire and shine light. Some are colder and should be suitable for something the tales refer to as “First Life”.
So… being a curious soul with a knack for adventure, plus the fact that any mystery obsesses me, I decided to explore.
I was told to look for a wise old magical avi that lives in some enchanted forest. I had a lot of trouble finding him. I had to face all kind of perils and challenges. When I got to the forest, the place was terribly laggy, and I had to fight all kinds of monsters, made out of more than one thousand prims. My determination was tried in unbelievable ways.
I crashed to the point of exhaustion. A witch showed up and told me that if I went on I was going to look like Ruth forever and ever, and she cast a spell on me, but luckily I had my anti-spell hud on. I kept on going, struggling with my scripts that had begun to fail by the minute.
By the time I reached the heart of the enchanted forest I had already touched bottom: I was down to the “duck walk” again. I found a very old, short, strange looking being. He told me he was a Slelf. (hardly anybody knows about their existence).
He needed proof of my good intentions. I had to answer a few riddles correctly. The Slelf was pleased with my answers and he was willing to share SL’s best kept secret.
He told me, shuddering, of a place in the Grid that sometimes behaved like a portal to what was known to the ancients as “Real Life”.
This place overlooks the ocean and is located somewhere at one point of the Grid’s edge. (That terrifying place no one dares to look down into… who knows what monsters lie beyond).
I located the coordinates in the map, but had to walk, climb, and fly ‘till I dropped. (There’s no way to TP to that place.) When I got there, I waited. (There are some adjustments you have to do under “preferences” –all of that is secret too, of course-).
Then, suddenly, there’s a glitch. And it becomes a worm. And the worm has drilled a “wormhole” and you jump in and the next thing you know… you are”Out There”!
Everything was blurry. It took such a long time to rez I thought I had fallen into a kind of limbo and I would be stranded there for ever.
But, then, all of a sudden, there it was!!
A huge, amazing SIM, full of sound and fury. It’s quite creepy, because it bears a strange and yet disturbing resemblance to our World. Everything looks very much alike… but I don’t think this “world” is made of pixels.
(What ever it is made of I have no idea. Everything looks… “sticky”).
Avis are called “Persons”.
They don’t seem very friendly, but maybe it’s just a first impression.
I was overwhelmed and needed to sit down. I started walking along the streets of what looks like a very large city.
(Isn’t “pushing” restricted here?).
I found a place were there were a lot “persons” writing on laptops –without a writing animation!!! How weird is that?
They also had a lot of food and drinks that they actually swallowed!!!
I realized the first thing I needed to do was to try to find a way to contact the Newspaper.
I approached one of these “persons”. He looked friendlier than the rest. He kept staring at my legs and didn’t seem to mind when I asked him if I could use his laptop.
I told him where I came from, he seemed genuinely surprised, and he said he vaguely remembered having heard of a place like that.
-I thought that place was a legend, he said.
-What? Second Life a legend? We think this place here is a legend!
-I answered. That kind of made us both laugh. (I have to admit the “person” is good looking and, btw, I’ve never seen a male avi with such good hair).
He showed me how to type without a script, and I managed to log into the SLNewspaper and send this, my first report from “Real Life”. I felt a bit relieved.
The “person” told me his name was John Smith. (I have never heard of such a strange name in SL). He gave me an “e-mail” address (I think that kind of works like IMs) and hoped to see me soon. I thanked him but I decided I had to move on. People at the Bar were staring at me, as if I looked weird or something. Maybe because I was way taller than everybody else.
I decided to keep on exploring some more.
I started wandering , totally amazed, thinking what to do next, when I remembered that the old SLelf never told me how to get back into SL.
I realized I was in dire straits. I will have to figure that out, somehow, while I’m “out here” gathering information about this place that turned out to be anything but a legend.
Did we really come from here?
Will I ever find out the truth?
If I manage to stay alive, you will hear from me soon.
I think I’ll have a lot of exciting stuff to tell you.
“Out here” is also called “The World”. (I find that an intriguing coincidence).
And believe me… I’m sensing it’s a dangerous place.
Covadonga Writer on assignment in "The World"
