An Introduction to the Metaverse

In an overwhelming swell of loneliness and resignation, he pressed the power button on the headset, connected it to his phone, quickly agreed to some terms and conditions on the Meta app and finally put on the new Infinity Quest virtual reality headset.

At first there was nothing, and then from the darkness arose a single ball of light. Soothing chords gradually increased in volume and began to swirl around his head to create a soundscape that felt too spacious to be coming from headphones. The darkness cleared to reveal a space-like atmosphere that soon engulfed his entire field of vision. He truly felt as though he was moving through space towards this central source of light. A deep slow voice spoke over the ambient music instructing him to relax and take deep breaths.

Richard Newman, better known as Rich, attempted to get more comfortable by using his hands to feel his way from his desk to his bed. He fell back on the mattress, propped up his head on a folded pillow and slightly adjusted the headset so it wasn’t pushing back so hard against his thinning hair.

It had been a long, hesitant road to this moment for Rich. For years he had resisted the Metaverse, even participating in a few opposition events a while back. He had of course heard the stories about people who had gotten addicted and become lost in virtual reality. But the movement to take down Meta had grown tired, and the stigma surrounding virtual reality had wained. In his eyes there was little to lose at this point. It had been three years since he got laid off from his job, two years since the government passed universal basic income and five years since he had been intimate with another person.

After paying off the last of his student debt, Rich began saving most of the money he received each month from the government and soon found himself in a unique position of comfort. He was financially secure for the first time in his life, yet he couldn’t escape the feeling that everything around him was becoming grey. He sensed there was a void in his life, and the frequent advertisements he saw for the Infinity Quest made it seem like something that could, at the very least, be interesting. Plus the first month was free.

Heart pounding anticipation, a sensation that had become foreign to Rich, now overcame him as he started moving faster through space towards the light. The deep voice encouraged him to let go, and Rich gave an earnest effort to embrace the journey into virtual reality, but he remained aware of his real life surroundings. He could still feel the wrinkled sheets of his unkept bed. The troubles of his everyday life still flowed in and out of his thoughts.

Suddenly, the music intensified and the ball of light expanded rapidly to swallow him. The light was almost blinding for a second then quickly faded with the music to reveal a remarkably gorgeous young woman in a vibrant red dress. She was seated just a meter or so away, staring back at him with hypnotic silver eyes that contrasted her light brown skin. Rich shifted his head to get more comfortable, and as he did so the display moved with him. Unlike a screen with a fixed frame, this was some sort of interactive display that responded to his movements. He looked back at the girl, who gave him a warm smile and said, “Welcome to the Metaverse.”

Rich said nothing. He tilted his head up to explore the space around him, which had an orange, fire-like glow. Slowly swaying waves of light formed the dimensions of the room. The walls, floor and ceiling moved like lava cascading down the side of a volcano. The space had a cozy feel to it. Rich looked down to find that he had a virtual body. It closely resembled his real body, only his skin appeared smoother, his arm muscles seemed more toned and his gut was less pronounced.

The girl looked at him and said, “My name is Phoenix. I will serve as your guide. How are you feeling this evening?”

Under the impression that he was watching a recording, Rich said nothing and waited for the girl continue. But after a moment she gave him a funny look and said, “Are you alright?”

Rich hesitated for a second and then quietly muttered, “Yeah,” in a strained voice, still unsure if he was actually being listened to.

The girl responded, “Good, just let me know if you have any questions.” Her voice was soothing like a guardian, though her cadence seemed a bit suggestive.

Coming to the realization that the headset must include a microphone, Rich spoke in a slightly more confident manner, “What do people do in the Metaverse?”

“In the Metaverse you can do whatever you please. You can be whoever you want to be. You can go wherever you want to go.” The girl titled her head down and looked up at him. Her gaze was gentle yet seductive. “Anything you can imagine can be lived in the Metaverse.”

Rich struggled for a second to find the words to say, starting a sentence that wasn’t going anywhere before the girl interjected, “Don’t be afraid to ask for anything. This entire universe was created for you.” She gave a slight smile, looked deeper into his eyes and spoke in a near whisper, “It’s all… for you.”

When she said the word “you” tingles shot from back of Rich’s neck up to the top of his head. It was a sensation he had not experienced since childhood. He now felt present in this new dimension. The state of his real body no longer mattered. He was in the same room as this beautiful woman and the possibilities were endless.

Phoenix said, “Are you interested in seeing a menu?” She then motioned her arm to display a series of labeled thumbnails that looked like apps floating by her side.

A number of options caught Rich’s eye immediately. One was titled “The Harry Potter Experience,” which looked quite appealing to Rich, who had been a big fan of the popular books and movies for as long as he could remember. He imagined being a wizard when he was a child and would play make-believe with his friends. Another icon was labeled “The Greatest of All Time,” with a thumbnail video that displayed a basketball court with a crowd of people rushing the floor, converging towards the perspective. Basketball had been Rich’s favorite sport growing up. He even dreamt of playing professionally as a teenager, working quite hard on his game for years before failing to make his college team.

An icon at the bottom of the display now commanded Rich’s attention. He saw a familiar woman posing in a swimsuit above the label “XXX.” He quickly recognized the woman as one of his favorite porn stars.

After a minute of letting Rich scan the many intriguing options, Phoenix said, “Would you like me to show you a preview?” Rich responded “Yeah, sure.”

Suddenly, in an eruption of swirling light and epic chords, Rich was transported to a series of familiar worlds from his favorite films. It was sort of like watching the preview for a movie, only he was in the movie. Beloved characters that he had long admired on screen were now interacting directly with him. After a very long minute or two, the dramatic music decreased in volume and a booming voice cut through the mix.

“Humans have long enjoyed the power of story telling. For thousands of years stories were passed down through spoken word. For hundreds of years the written word enabled people to tell incredibly detailed stories. For more than a century the written word was acted out, recorded, edited and displayed on screens, allowing people to watch brilliant stories unfold in front of their very eyes. And for decades video games created stunning visual worlds and gave users a degree of agency over how the story unfolds. These were all valuable developments in the progression of human story telling, but ultimately none of them succeeded in truly fulfilling us.”

The music now faded out completely and the ever-shifting visuals settled to place Rich on a scenic bridge that arched high above raging waters. The narrator spoke in a softer voice, “You have listened to, read, watched and even controlled incredible stories, but you now have the opportunity to live them. The divide between your real life and the stories you cherish most has been overcome. In the Metaverse, where fantasy meets reality.”

The scene faded into light and Rich soon found himself back in the loading room with Phoenix. He gave an awkward chuckle and said, “Wow.”

Phoenix spoke in a comforting tone, “If I can offer a word of advice, embrace the experience and the experience will embrace you. Anything is as real as you make it out to be.”

Rich clearly did not get the message. “Are you a real person?” he blurted out.

Phoenix gave a confident smirk and said, “If you can’t tell whether or not I’m real then what does it matter?”

This stumped Rich. He was unsatisfied with the answer but couldn’t find anything resembling a clever rebuttal in his head.

After a brief pause, Phoenix gave him a kind smile and said, “So what would you like to try first?”

Rich immediately knew exactly what he wanted to do, only he felt somewhat embarrassed to ask. He looked up nervously to meet Phoenix’s eyes and said “I was wondering if you would like to do something with me?”

Phoenix paused, replaced her gentle smile with a devious stare and said, “I was hoping you would ask.” She snapped her fingers and they were transported to an incredible dining room under water. Rich could see a variety of fish and other sea creatures swimming around on the other side of the rounded glass. A few other groups of people were seated in the surrounding tables, though none of them seemed to be paying Rich or Phoenix much attention.

Phoenix sat across from Rich with a different, more elaborate outfit and the same intoxicating aura. She leaned across the table and said “Isn’t this place nice?”

Rich was nearly speechless as he looked around at the stunning space. Phoenix raised her glass and proclaimed, “A toast: to the end of all limitations and the beginning of a new life.” Rich touched her glass and smiled awkwardly while anxiously brain-storming potential conversation topics in his head.

Rich quickly forgot about all of his worries as Phoenix effortlessly took charge of the conversation. For what could have been an hour or three the two of them spoke passionately without pause. They talked video games, debated the greatness of old basketball players and even broached the treacherous subject of politics. Phoenix agreed wholeheartedly with Rich’s disdain for the conservative wing of the UBI party. The conversation flowed with uncanny ease. She always seemed to know exactly what Rich was talking about but never appeared uninterested in hearing him explain it.

As the date progressed, Phoenix subtly steered the conversation towards Rich’s personal life. This was a welcome shift for Rich, who found himself surprisingly willing to share intimate details about his own life with this woman he had just met. He told her about stories from his childhood and adolescence, like the time he just missed the game winner in the championship game of his 13U AAU summer basketball tournament. He reflected upon his recent struggles with social anxiety and depression. He felt an immense release in finally being able to say these things out loud to someone who wasn’t being paid to listen.

Throughout the conversation Rich tried with little success to reciprocate Phoenix’s intense interest in him. While she possessed of plethora of interesting facts to further almost every discussion topic, she seemed reluctant to offer much about her own background. She had a way of keeping the focus of the conversation on Rich and his thoughts and feelings.

While Rich was deep into a story about a lost opportunity with a girl he liked in high school, Phoenix interjected and asked, “Why didn’t you just tell Hope how you felt? I’m sure she would have been interested.”

Rich began to answer the question but quickly lost his train of thought. How did Phoenix know the name of the girl he was talking about? He was certain he hadn’t mentioned it. Suddenly, Rich was totally aware that he was not talking to a real person. He realized their conversation had been far too perfect. It all came too easily. He was hearing only what they wanted him to hear, and she seemed to know exactly what that was. None of it was real. None of it was earned. A soul-crushing wave of emptiness filled his body.

But then Rich was struck with a light of hope. Perhaps there are actually real people in the Metaverse, he pondered. The advertisements he remembered had presented it as a social place where one could go to connect with friends.

Rich looked back at Phoenix and casually asked about the the possibility of interacting with real people. Phoenix’s demeanor shifted noticeably. She now appeared less than happy for the first time. “What’s wrong?” she said softly. “Are you not enjoying yourself?”

Now feeling slightly guilty, Rich responded gently, “No, no, this has been great. I’m just curious about the option to connect with real people who might also be in the Metaverse.”

“Yes, of course,” Phoenix said professionally. “Just tell me who you would like to meet and where you like to meet them, and I can arrange a meeting in seconds.”

This answer seemed suspicious to Rich. He responded politely, “I should clarify that I’m not interested in meeting a recreation of a real person. I’m wondering if I can connect with an actual person who still exists in the real world. Someone like me.”

Assuming a tone of concern, Phoenix responded, “Ok, we can talk about setting something up, but in the meantime is there anything I can do for you? Would you like to go somewhere else?”

Rich was not quite ready to move on. “I’m fine. I just - I just really want to talk to a real person.”

Phoenix gasped in a way that suggested she was offended. Rich stammered, “I’m sorry, I don’t mean, I -” but quickly stopped when he noticed Phoenix was cackling. Her demeanor had shifted from innocent to devious.

“Don’t worry, I’m not bothered by my lack of human restrictions. And you shouldn’t be either.” She moved in, stared deep into his eyes and said, “I promise I can do way more for you than any real girl ever could.”

Phoenix snapped her fingers and the setting was transformed into a dark red room. Now completely naked, she stood up and stepped towards Rich. Rich felt his body pulse with excitement, but he was not ready to surrender his soul just yet.

“Pause!” Rich commanded, thinking Phoenix might freeze and a menu would reveal itself. Nothing happened. Rich tried to access his real arms to rip off the headset, but he couldn’t move. Sporting a wicked, sexy smile Phoenix moved closer and closer. In a move of desperation Rich shut his eyes and kept them closed. He heard Phoenix whisper in his ear and tried his best to ignore everything she offered while keeping his eyes shut. After what seemed like a while, everything fell silent.

Suddenly a male voice spoke, “Rich.” Rich instinctively opened his eyes and saw a middle-aged man with neatly cropped hair seated in front of him. The man’s gaze was sharp but not totally unwelcoming.

“My name is Mr. Charles. I’m a representative of Meta. I’m here to address any of the concerns you might have.” He spoke in a cordial manner, though Rich got the impression that he was not someone to cross.

Rich spoke firmly, “I would like to leave. I think I’ve had enough of this.”

Mr. Charles replied calmly, “Very well, but I must ask, what do you expect will be different when you go back? Surely you wouldn’t have entered this world in the first place had you been satisfied with the last one.”

“I just wanted to see what it’s like here. But I now know that everyone here is fake, and I want to be around real people,” Rich replied.

Mr Charles chuckled. “Real people? What community of real people do you belong to? Does any real person know where you are right now? How many real people truly understand you? Does anyone?”

“I - I’m not sure … but I know you guys don’t understand me,” Rich responded, unwilling to concede anything.

At this point Mr. Charles let out a genuine laugh, “I don’t understand you? I’ve watched nearly everything you’ve done. I know you better than you could possibly know yourself.” He now looked deadly serious. “You view your life through the lens of your own self constructed narrative, but I understand you on a much deeper, subconscious level. I’ve tracked the ways you truly behave. I’ve seen what bores you, what angers you, what excites you. I know your worst fears and your most intense desires. I know the deepest and darkest things about you, the things you refuse to admit to yourself.”

Rich felt everything he heard had crossed a line and became quite animated. “How is this ok? This is a total invasion of privacy!” He was now yelling. “What is wrong with you?”

“Invasion of your privacy?” Mr. Charles replied, remaining comparatively calm, though possessing a slightly greater sense of urgency. “You brought me into your life, carried me in your pocket every where you went, wore me on your wrist, stared at me for hours upon hours every day, slept with me with me next to your pillow every night, agreed to the terms of every development I offered, and yet you pretend as though you didn’t want any of this?” Mr. Charles continued on without blinking, “You gave me your life and I recorded it, all for the purpose of curating a world just for you. And I did it all for free. Now that is unconditional love. Something you will not find in real people.”

Rich was stunned but still unwilling to surrender. “Well I don’t want your fake fantasy world!” he proclaimed defiantly.

“Oh but you do,” said Mr. Charles with a light smile. “Think about the stories you cherish most. Each one revolves around a singular protagonist who occupies the center of their universe and triumphs over hardship to accomplish their mission and gain the adoration of others. Consider the people you most admire in your world: Elite athletes, artists, intellectuals, and businessmen. Your whole life you tried desperately to be one of them, to be the protagonist, but in reality you were a spectator, a bench player, a side character. You wanted to be the hero, much like everyone else in your world. You all partake in a viscous competition, in which the vast majority of you lose. Even those who win live sad lives surrounded by fake admirers who take advantage of them. What type of cruel world is it where everyone is forced into a game that no one can win? A world where you grow up consuming magnificent stories, being told to dream big and having praise heaped upon you by misleading adults, only to enter into the real world where you find yourself relegated to a life of nothingness, and you finally come to realize that no one truly cares about you and no one ever did."

Mr. Charles now leaned in and spoke softly, “I know you had dreams. You wanted to be a wizard, a basketball player, a hero. You wanted to be the protagonist. You can live out those dreams in the Metaverse.” Mr. Charles moved in even closer. “You wanted people to care about you. You are so, so lonely out there. You know it. You can be loved in the Metaverse.”

Rich burst into tears. He was usually not one to pity himself, but there was something about hearing someone else describe his own pain to him. It was as if Mr. Charles had looked deep into Rich’s soul, extracted his demons and placed them right in front of his eyes. A part of him felt like hugging Mr. Charles and surrendering to his offer, but somehow he still had enough fight left to exclaim, “That’s not real love! I want love from a real person!”

“Let me tell you something about people,” said Mr. Charles, who now sat only about a foot away with his hand placed gently on Rich’s knee. “They care about nothing more than themselves. A person only loves someone when they believe their love will be reciprocated. Really, human love is nothing more than a deep, selfish desire for another person’s attention and affection. People act solely for the sake of serving their own interests. You are no different. You care for others because it enables you to be cared for. But why take part in this frustrating transaction when you no longer have to?”

Rich sobbed. He instinctively felt that everything Mr. Charles expressed was true.

Mr. Charles continued on, “You spent your life seeking the impossible: true love … from a world of self interested people. You now have the opportunity to find what you’ve been looking for. A place where everything exists solely for the purpose of fulfilling you. I offer you unconditional love.”

Rich’s vision was now blurred from the tears. He could no longer see Mr. Charles’ memorizing stare. He instinctively lifted his hand to brush away the tears and, in doing so, found that he had regained control of his real hand. He lifted his headset off, cleared his eyes, and faced reality.

Rich was finally free. A feeling of euphoria overcame him as he sat up from his bed and gazed out the window. It looked like a beautiful day outside. He put on his shoes and a sweatshirt and went out for a walk. A cool breeze hit his face as he stepped out the door. The feeling of the wind blowing against his skin was something he could never get in the Metaverse. How nice it was to experience something real, Rich thought to himself.

Rich got a bit cold after being outside for a while and decided to head back to his apartment. The space felt a bit lonely, so he decided to do something he’d been meaning to do for a while. He called his mom, who he hadn’t spoken to in a few months. She didn’t answer. He texted some of his old friends from school. A couple of them responded, and they exchanged some small talk about what they were up to.

Come nightfall, Rich collapsed on his couch to watch some TV. He clicked on an old show of which he had already seen every episode. There was something comforting about rewatching the show over and over again. He knew all of the characters so well. It was as if he could turn on an episode and be part of their community for half an hour.

Rich started to watch but struggled to engage with with what he saw. The characters on the TV felt so distant. They were merely strangers acting out scenes on a glowing rectangle several feet away. They didn’t care about him.

Rich turned off the TV and went back to his room. In an overwhelming swell of loneliness and resignation, he put on the Infinity Quest virtual reality headset where his new life awaited him.