Marigold 2.0: Virtual Reality Residency

Marigold 2.0: Virtual Reality Residency

By John Brice

In the year 2030, society had progressed exponentially in terms of technological advancements. Self-driving cars that are programmed by A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) and run on electricity had become so common, that people were deemed unusual if they did not own one. People who had trouble finding a significant other in terms of dating, now had the option of dating A.I. humanoid female and male robots that functioned so well, they passed the “human test” flawlessly. Advancements and funding in B.C.I. (Brain Computer Interface) technology had progressed to the point where everyone who needed them had fully functional (and affordable) robotic prosthetic limbs that they could telekinetically control with their minds.

Using that same technology, engineers were able to create mechanical humanoid clones (called “Mechaniclones”) that people could also telekinetically control with their minds and use them to go to work in their place in person, attend events, shop, and do just about everything they want from the outside in the comfort of their own homes (the clones also had cameras installed in their eyeballs which could be synced up to a phone or computer so that the user could see everything the clone could helping them better direct its movements).

Both in terms of the B.C.I. controlled mechanical clones and the prosthetic limbs, electrodes no longer needed to be surgically installed in the cortical areas of the frontal lobe (the primary motor cortex, the primary somatosensory cortex, and the dorsal premotor cortex) of the brain in order to be synced up with the actuator links in the device enabling telekinetic B.C.I. control. Special contact lenses had been invented that stimulated electrical impulses from the optic nerve to the brain, which then sent out signals to the actuator links they were synced up to enabling the same B.C.I. control in a way that was far less dangerous and invasive.

Despite all these advancements in technology, there was still one thing that had not yet been invented: a cure for the impending doom and awful anxiety stemming from existential crises. A twenty three year old man named Mike Goldenstein had been suffering from an existential crisis himself, which led to him making a decision that could never be undone. He looked around his room while listening to the ambient music group he liked Tangerine Dream in hopes that it would soothe him.

On top of a small table he had beside his bed, there was a Marigold flower sitting in a vase that had been given to him by his girlfriend Rachel Linston as a gift from her mother’s garden as a good luck charm. He was a man of science, not of superstition. Yet he loved the flower and what it represented because every time he saw it, he thought of Rachel and all the great times he had with her. She was not just his girlfriend that he planned on marrying and having kids with; she was also the greatest friend he ever had. Every time he was with her, or thought about her, he smiled and felt peace of mind.

Unfortunately, he was so overwhelmed by his existential crisis, that he could not think as well as he normally could. He was under a lot of pressure trying to balance working, going to school for Computer Science (for the sake of web development and management), and wanting to make Rachel’s wedding the best day of her life and was afraid he would disappoint her. He was also worried about his future regarding work and school. His boss was happy with him at his job, he had straight A’s in his Computer Science classes, and he had a wonderful girlfriend who he was planning to marry and have kids with. Despite that, every time things had gone well for him in his life, things had ended up going wrong in the long run in myriad ways shattering his progress. He was worried that this time was no exception and history would repeat itself. He had been contemplating suicide, but feeling that would be unfair to his girlfriend in addition to his friends and family members, he had come up with an alternative. That alternative was to seek the services of Jennifer Fuley by contacting her through her website.

Jennifer Fuley was a brilliant neuroscientist, computer programmer, and engineer. She had over twenty years of experience and credentials backing her up (including a Master’s degree) and came up with an innovative VR (Virtual Reality) software called “VR Residency”. VR Residency was a VR software that was supposed to be like a “Virtual Heaven” that people could permanently interface their consciousness with and live indefinitely in the program; even after their physical body had died or even decomposed. He thought his girlfriend, his friends, and his family members would eventually decide to join him in the VR Residency software once they knew where he went. The only catch was that once you interfaced your consciousness to the VR Residency software, it was permanent and you could never return to your body in real time. Despite the fact that life had been going well at the time, living in a world where he did not have to worry about failure seemed far more appealing than living in a world where he was afraid he would essentially fail at life itself.

He ended up contacting Jennifer Fuley and going to her facility. “Hello, welcome to Fuley! I am Jennifer Fuley, how can I help you?”, Jennifer asked. “I would like to interface my consciousness to the VR Residency Software,” Mike said. “Alright, no problem, but you will have to thoroughly look over and sign the ten page agreement first,” Jennifer said. “Damn, why is this so long?” Mike asked. “I want to make sure you know exactly what you are getting yourself into. I also do not want to be sued by your family members,” Jennifer said. Mike skimmed through the agreement, signed it and gave it to her. Unfortunately, he missed the part in the disclaimer portion where it said, "This program has only been tested on the terminally ill; not on the non-terminally ill suicidal." Then before he knew it, Jennifer had his consciousness synced to VR Residency. It turned out to not be the “Virtual Heaven” he expected. VR Residency was a wasteland of nothing but decaying grass. “What the hell? I thought the grass was supposed to be greener on the other side, not browner,” Mike said. Then he saw a man who stood at 12’ feet tall appear out of nowhere in front of him. A shovel appeared on the ground next to Mike out of nowhere as well.

“Do you see that shovel next to you? You are to pick it up and dig a very deep hole in the grass indefinitely. I might offer you a glass of water at some point if you are lucky though, and you are welcome to pick any spot you like to start digging that hole,” said the man. “What!? This is bullshit!” said Mike. “Well tough shit! I can read your mind and I know why you chose to come here, so now you are going to have to deal with the consequences. Admit it, you made a big mistake and permanently turned your back on a wonderful life you can never get back! You had everything going for you, and your existential fear of failure led you to become the ultimate failure! Now you will have to dig a very deep hole in the ground and you are to never stop digging unless I say you can stop, or else I will set you on fire with my mind. Now move your ass and start digging buddy!” the man said.

Mike started to dig and before he knew it, it felt like a decade had past. He was unsure of how much time had actually past since he knew of the possibility that time in the real world could be moving at a far slower rate than it is in the VR software. After what seemed like ten years of grueling agony and misery from never having a break from digging that hole (the man never once let him stop to drink a glass of water), he noticed that there was a Marigold flower following his vision wherever he looked. He was unaware of how it got there. It could have been a glitch in the software, or it could have just simply been his mind playing tricks on him.

Regardless, he was reminded of Rachel and all the good memories he had of her when he saw it and suddenly he felt happy and at peace. He was no longer wallowing in misery over the regret he felt for permanently wasting his life and turning his back on it, only to essentially live in “Virtual Reality Hell” that he thought would be “Virtual Reality Heaven”. He felt the man had punished him by making him dig a hole in the grass and keep digging deeper for eternity to remind him of the permanent hole he dug himself as a result of his decision to enter the VR Residency program. Yet despite that, he felt happiness and peace as a result of the Marigold flower that reminded him of Rachel that followed his vision wherever he looked.

He realized, that he had now been thinking happy and positive thoughts which made the horrible situation he was in more bearable. “If only I was able to think and focus on positive thoughts like this before I decided to permanently interface with the program, then I would have had many more happy years to live not only with Rachel, but working and just enjoying what life had to offer in general. No matter how bad things seemed in my life before, there were still plenty of things about my life that were worthwhile. I feel the same goes for everyone really, and things about life that make it worthwhile can never be enjoyed again in VR Residency,” Mike thought to himself as he continued to dig.

“I wasted my life when I chose to permanently interface with the VR Residency program. Well, the time I spend thinking and reflecting in a meaningful way now, will not be a waste. I learned to find happiness and peace, all thanks to Rachel. Maybe if I can just continue to work hard and maintain my newfound positive mindset and memories, maybe I can leave VR Residency someday and get to be a real human again. Someday………,” Mike thought to himself. Another year had past since this realization, and though he was still stuck in VR Residency, he kept working hard and did not give up hope. That is all anyone can do at the end of the day.