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"But the problem with reincarnation is that it's hard to imagine what the storage medium for past lives would be. Not to mention the input-output device. I hesitate to rule it out completely, but I'd need pretty definite proof."
- Arthur C. Clarke
 |
| Metaverse | ||
| A virtual universe. |
In the novel, people could use their computers to enter the Metaverse, and use their avatars to meet with their friends and explore.
| As Hiro approaches the Street, he sees two young couples, probably using their parents' computers for a double date in the Metaverse, climbing down out of Port Zero, which is the local port of entry and monorail stop. He is not seeing real people, of course. This is all a part of the moving illustration drawn by his computer according to specifications coming down the fiber-optic cable. The people are pieces of software called avatars. They are the audiovisual bodies that people use to communicate with each other in the Metaverse. Hiro's avatar is now on the Street, too, and if the couples coming off the monorail look over in his direction, they can see him, just as he's seeing them. They could strike up a conversation: Hiro in the U-Stor-It in L.A. and the four teenagers probably on a couch in a suburb of Chicago, each with their own laptop. But they probably won't talk to each other, any more than they would in Reality. |
| From Snow Crash,
by Neal Stephenson. Published by Bantam in 1992 Additional resources -
|
For earlier takes on the idea of a virtual universe, take a look at the entry for cyberspace from William Gibson's 1984 novel Neuromancer and the entry for Portal from Vernor Vinge's 1981 novella True Names.
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- Second Life - Your Virtual World Is Ready Now
- Second Life Now Has Reporters, Taxes
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| NASA iPhone Sensors Like Tricorder |
| Europa May Support Life |
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Gerry was dubious. She had seen abortive attempts at paralysis rays before.
Let your fingers - uh - your robot do the walking. And hopping.
