_____
the state of fil
_____
Relax -- I'm not about to declare a new micronation...
You know what, though, we might as well all be living in our own one-person countries. Everyone sees things from his or her own perspective, has unique experiences...
More than most, I live inside my own mind. While my social awkwardness continues to diminish with age, I still don't 'fit in', am still very much puzzled by the motivations of others.
Speaking of others, many over the years have accused me of a distinct lack of motivation. Ambition. Momentum. Work ethic.
To that last one? When I get focussed on something (like a carving project) I can doggedly pursue it for hours on end. Many reading this will have seen the results. Trouble is, something (call it life, if you will) always gets in the way. Thus my carvings most often get put aside -- for days, weeks, months, sometimes even years...
Would be nice if I had the space and other resources -- and more importantly, a lack of other responsibilities -- needed to complete my various creative projects.
Time. Space. Freedom.
_____
One of my favourite quotes is from, of all people, Teddy Roosevelt. He once said, "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."
Well, here I have a computer (though I share it with the rest of my immediate family), and I can write -- so about 3 years ago, thanks to a then-new friend asking me what I was doing with my life, I decided to write a novel.
I keep saying that the time for me to jump into the process of the actual writing is imminent, after having built it in my head for so long -- and I still feel that way, more and more.
But, I need some things.
I need large blocks of uninterrupted time. I need a constant supply of cigarettes (made from additive-free tobacco), Twinings Earl Grey tea, dark brown sugar to sweeten it -- and at other times, beer.
Since I pretty much have those things, what I do not have is an excuse.
So, what I really need is resolve.
_____
But, how long does it take to write one's first novel anyway? It takes as long as it takes, and everyone's process is different.
I don't want to give away the story in this space, but the novel involves technology that could, if properly applied, transform our society and help us realize our potential. From very early on, after an intuitive leap, when I discarded the original premise of an unfinished short story I planned to extend, I realized my novel could potentially play an important role in our transition from the current paradigm of scarcity to a paradigm of abundance -- from the oppressive, fucked-up present to a prosperous, wonderful future.
My short story involved a solitary gamer who had been hermiting himself aboard a space yacht in Earth orbit. His physical needs were met by his ship, all the others via his holographic interface. Never mind what he was about to go through...
I was thinking about holography, you know, something like the Holodecks in various Star Trek episodes and films, wondering how anything artificial could feel real. What I realized in a sudden flash was that if a gaming system was ever going to successfully simulate real life in the way portrayed in Holodeck experiences, the gamer would have to enter a dreamlike state.
Virtual Dreaming! The possibilities began to open up, and an obvious title presented itself: Virtual Dreamer. My original short-story premise, in the light of what I began to imagine, seemed lame. The novel would have to center around the people involved in developing the technology...
Flash-forward to 3 years later (spoiler alert):
All this time I've been living with the idea of how Virtual Dreaming technology will change our world -- aware that it already exists on this planet, in secret, if not in the specific configuration envisioned.
It's like lucid dreaming, or a mushroom trip, except that you're in total control and things can be very concretely defined, recorded, broadcast, shared.
The system triggers an altered state of awareness, and responds to your thoughts.
It could allow us to simply hold a simulated telepathic dialogue with another person, or even more simply, commit thoughts directly to text.
For gaming, it would provide predetermined environments, objects, and scenarios, all shareable -- but possibly subject to change at the gamer's whim.
For design, beyond CAD we have VD/CAD, where you can build a virtual model of anything you want, assisted by artificial intelligence and possibly in collaboration with others. Technical specifications can be filled in for you, and all the while the thing is right there with you, in sight, touch, smell and sound (even taste, where appropriate). Want to design a car? You could sit in it even before it was finished, fully test it out during the design process -- and if you like, find out how it would feel to get run over by it.
Yes 'Virtual Dreaming' is shortened to 'VD'. Think it would be any less infectious? Yet, virtual sex becomes available -- the safest sex imaginable.
People could meet in a virtual space, and actually feel like they were there, and it would be the easiest thing ever to hold a telepathic conversation with anyone else in the 'room'. You would instantly comprehend any and all ideas offered. This would be extremely useful for achieving consensus for any public project or hearing. Such an event could be recorded for future reference, the 'reader' fully experiencing it except for the inability to interact.
Similarly, the memories of attendees of any past event could be pooled with existing footage, resulting in the ability for anyone to newly experience, say, Woodstock. The source memories would be far more explicit and detailed than what anyone could recall unaided.
For that matter, the technology could be used by any individual to revisit past experiences, in private. Just think of a moment, and you're there.
You could of course dream up anything at all, and live it, in private, or semi-privately, or as publicly, even virally, as the public allows.
Everything is connected, much more seamlessly than the experience of surfing the interwebs we enjoy today. This is the next step beyond internet, and it is a quantum leap.
Basically we would (will) become a telepathic society, with a little technological help.
This has many implications.
It changes almost everything.
It completely transforms governance. We will finally be able to have a government truly of, by and for the People -- everywhere. It will be completely transparent and nearly effortless, so that once we've got the hang of it it will be like having no government at all.
Eventually we will (re)gain the ability to access the altered states of conciousness necessary for all these activities without help, relying on the Intelligent System (IS) only to maintain virtual realms and supply connectivity with robotic devices.
_____
Maybe, after reading the above, you can see why it's been 3 years and I still have yet to really begin the actual writing of my novel. I've had to try and figure a LOT of things out, about how the technology is stumbled upon, how my characters deal with the implications, how they've made use of it, where it's all going -- and most of all, how to tell the story. During this time I've encountered several revelations that have blown the plotline to bits, leaving me with only a beginning reft with uncertainty.
Best I can do is present a character who is faced with explaining it all to someone else -- someone with a knack for producing video interviews. The reader, then, will learn everything largely through the interviewer.
I can only spoil the story so much, as it has not been written. My hope is that it will be entertaining, drawing the reader in. If it becomes popular enough, it would expose a segment of the population to the potential of the technology...
Perhaps that would spur (re-)development of the technology, turning fiction into fact...
...And THAT thought has been creating a certain amount of pressure on me over the last 36 months. Is this really my responsibility?!?
Could one man's first novel be that important?
_____
By the way, during this time I have also travelled 'down the rabbit hole' to a place where very few have tread. Using my intuition and discernment, I have acquired a worldview that would likely prove unpopular even amongst the most die-hard truthseekers.
I do not feel it is my place, at this moment, to reveal what I have learned. Too much of it flies in the face of what most accept as 'reality'.
Meanwhile, the veil continues to be lifted. Eventually, what I have learned will be evident to anyone not morbidly consumed by the non-reality fed to us over generations.
_____
I dream of creating music. I have carving projects to finish, and one to begin. Most of all I have this novel to write.
Wish me luck.
_____
filsmyth
December 26, 2010
_____
