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"Back To Reality" by Vickie Morgan (romance) 10, 10, 10
"Back To Reality" By Vickie Morgan (artemis55@hotmail.com). Ellen was severely injured when she rescued a stranger at the scene of a serious accident. She is in great pain, and it is not certain she will ever walk again. Fortunately, the person she saved is a really rich and extremely grateful woman, who has sent Ellen for her entertainment a virtual reality machine. This makes sense: what better way to wile away the time until the pain dissipates? As I might have put it, "Morphing is better than morphine." Fortunately, the author has a lot more dignity than I do. The VR3000 comes with a safeword (which leads to an automatic exit from the program) and is protected by several fuses and trip switches, so it's impossible for a power surge to affect it. Most programmes last about a fortnight (a measure of time in Europe), and so the VR3000 has intravenous drips to make sure the participant gets necessary nutrients and liquids and tubes to deal with waste. Etc. The designers have thought of everything. Or have they? Ellen first plunges into the virtual world of Romeo and Juliet (a play that people read and watch in Europe). Her involvement in the play is remarkably realistic. However, it turns out that Ellen is a lot like me. By that I mean she decides to deviate from the Bard's plot to see how adaptable the program is. It's logical that the main characters would be well researched, but how much time had been spent on minor characters and just what would happen if she decided to change the plot? Hence, "Kiss me, Mercutio." And then, as the poet said, the cumshot hits the fan. I found it reassuring to discover that the VR3000 lacks an effective spellcheck: we find Ellen upset because she can't stop Arthur from "marring" Guinevere in the Camelot program. Actually, maybe the 3000 just has a really good Freudian subroutine. Anyway, she gets a souped-up version of the program that enables her to travel through the countryside of Umbria and Tuscany (places where people in Europe like to bask when on holiday), where this conversation occurs: <<"I'm sorry. I just wish this was all real. I wish you were real." "What on earth are you talking about?" "This is just a very clever computer game. I'm laid in a machine in England with wires and tubes stuck in me while a load of processing chips, or whatever they're called, create this whole illusion." "Have you been smoking illegal substances?" David asked lightly. She sat up and looked into his eyes. "I'm serious. None of this exists." "Are you saying I don't exist?">> In the middle of this conversation, Ellen realizes that she has forgotten to set the program to go beyond the prescribed fortnight. Indeed, it's possible that, like Americans, Europeans get fortnights confused with furlongs and fathoms. Anyway, what does a virtual solipsist do when it's midnight, Cinderella? And can you believe that my computer didn't even blink at the word "solipsist"? David seems to have the solution: "You have to leave. After all, I don't really exist and you do. And you are a wonderful person. Never forget that. One day you will meet a real man who will love you just as I do." Now, I'm not going to tell you how this story ends. But I know perfectly well that the producer for "Days of Our lives" reads my reviews. Listen up! The "Days" storyline sucks right now. Dump your writers and hire this author. You'll go right back to the top of the daytime ratings. I don't think this is really the time to ask you this, but I can't help it. Do you sometimes get the feeling that there are too many solipsists in the world? I've been thinking about that question a lot lately. And if I can think about it, I must have Cartesian coordinates. And if you've been thinking about this too, that means that I might be right. At least I think so. Ratings for "Back To Reality" Athena (technical quality): 10 Venus (plot & character): 10 Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10 |