Hot Wavelength

Chapter 42 (Virtual Reality 2): Claudication
In December 2031, Liangguo Sazhou Rocket City

Clinical statistics show that women who engage in mental work are more likely to suffer from postpartum depression.

Daphne's symptoms were not severe. The doctor's advice was to exercise moderately, adjust her diet, and try to distract herself as much as possible, such as by watching movies, traveling, or playing games.

Little Vito was diagnosed with epilepsy. There is a small area in his brain with an abnormally dense concentration of neurons, which causes intermittent, uncontrolled electrical discharges.

The doctor suggested that while the child is still young and before the skull has completely closed, a minimally invasive resection surgery should be performed, which should allow for a full recovery.

Even though the surgery was not very risky, Daphne, as a mother, was still very worried, which aggravated her depression.

Michael understood Daphne's feelings and tried his best to help her adjust her emotions. The best way, of course, was to distract Daphne.

Little Vito was fast asleep in his swaddling clothes. Michael turned on the computer, played a video for Daphne, and said:

"Darling, our launch vehicle has delivered the first batch of supplies for the 'Capsule' program to Mars, and the fully enclosed Mars work and living module is nearing completion."

Daphne noticed in the video that there were high-speed electric unmanned pickup trucks moving on the Martian surface and humanoid robots inside cabins, and asked curiously:

"Did you show me a computer simulation or a real-world image?"

“It’s a computer simulation, but the pickup truck, electric car, and humanoid robot have indeed been transported to Mars. The scenes in the video will become a reality in the very near future,” Michael said.

"Humanoid robots can't completely replace humans yet. Have you started recruiting Mars volunteers for your project? I envy those volunteers, and I even have an urge to take little Vito and live in a Mars capsule," Daphne said, seemingly to herself.

Michael put his arm around Daphne, trying to convey his love and sense of security to her through physical contact to ease her anxiety. He smiled and said, "The selection of volunteers is very strict. You need to have a strong psychological capacity. It is very painful to fight loneliness for a long time in a small, confined space."

Daphne thought for a moment, seemingly gaining a sense of empathy for the claustrophobic space on that distant planet, and asked, "Have you taken any necessary measures to enrich the daily lives of the volunteers as much as possible, and help them overcome loneliness and isolation?"

Michael turned off the video on his computer, opened a PowerPoint presentation, and began to tell Daphne about the interesting stories from the Mars volunteer recruitment process.

To prevent volunteers from developing severe claustrophobia in the confined space of Mars, engineers from Michael Company made the architecture of the "capsule" Mars module as human-centered as possible, and diversified the food and even the flowers as much as possible.

However, humans are emotional beings after all, and living well and eating well cannot completely solve psychological problems. The best way to combat claustrophobia and loneliness is through freedom of mind and body.

Playing games is clearly a great way to get enjoyment and pass the time. But what kind of game should they design? The engineers left the decision to the volunteers. Thus, designing a game like "My Universe" became a mandatory question for the volunteers.

There are two advantages to doing this. First, the virtual universe created by the volunteers themselves is naturally the best fit for them. Second, the psychological health of the volunteers can be assessed by the preferences revealed in the universes they design.

For example, one applicant designed his universe as a monster-infested jungle, and he played the role of an omnipotent god, using guns, cannons, and even atomic bombs to eliminate monsters in large numbers, and then continuously pass through the levels.

It is obvious that his assessment results show an excessively high tendency towards violence and poor tolerance and cooperativeness.

Another applicant designed a building game where participants would cultivate fields and build canals, construct walls and towers on a desolate and barren land, acquire wealth through trade, gambling, and even deception, build magnificent castles like palaces, and adorn themselves with exquisite clothes and expensive ornaments.

The assessment team concluded that the games mentioned above are not uncommon on Earth, and the vast majority of people cannot derive lasting satisfaction from them.

There are indeed a few players who become addicted to this, enjoying the intense stimulation of their senses. However, once these players get the opportunity to realize their dreams in real life, they will resolutely break their internet addiction.

"Have you found a better virtual universe solution and creator?" Daphne asked Michael.

"I wouldn't dare say that the current solution is the best, but at least it makes full use of the various tools available in the context of rapid technological development," Michael said. "Some applicants are still not bold enough. In fact, our virtual reality technology has made tremendous progress."

“You mean, if I were the creator of a universe, I could imagine my abilities—that is, your technology—as omnipotent, right?” Daphne asked.

“Yes, the design we’ve chosen is inspired by an applicant named Li Xiaoxuan. You should have heard of her.” Michael and Daphne looked at each other, as if Michael was trying to jog her memory with his eyes. “Li Xiaoxuan? The little Chinese girl VESSEL mentioned when we first met, the one who wrote you a letter?” Daphne remembered and said with a hint of surprise.

Li Xiaoxuan's virtual universe plan is to transform a claustrophobic cabin on Mars into a virtual reality world, where volunteers can change the virtual reality-enhanced scenes according to their every wish.

The most important idea in her plan is that only when the creators of the metaverse become equal participants can they obtain sustainable satisfaction and pleasure from sensory experiences that are full of uncertainty and difficult to distinguish between reality and illusion.

The joy and lasting novelty of owning a pet are far less than "owning yourself"! True novelty is likely to come from the mundane!

Initially, people's imagination and curiosity drive creators to make things different.

For example, the moon is square, the universe is incomplete, and humans can transform into dinosaurs or even beetles. But when these experiences are repeated again and again, the creators will find that the most interesting thing is that the virtual and reality become indistinguishable.

The pinnacle of human science is the unification of all things; the pinnacle of human technology is self-replication.

According to Li Xiaoxuan's plan, Michael's team designed a public space similar to a photography studio inside the Mars capsule, where 3D printing equipment can create various objects that are difficult for humans to distinguish from real objects by touch.

Wearable devices will be made lighter and more portable, giving volunteers realistic vision, hearing, smell, and touch. With the help of 3D printing technology, volunteers can hold ski poles and skis and speed down the slopes, or hold a steering wheel and accelerator and chase each other in race cars.

In addition to projects they participate in themselves, volunteers can invite old friends, make new friends, organize parties, and attend dances. In short, whatever exists in real life, the virtual world can imitate it and provide participants with sensory experiences that are difficult to distinguish from reality.

People who are confined for long periods of time love excitement and novelty, but they love life itself even more.

Beyond the sense of participation, the feeling of accomplishment is most therapeutic for lonely people. Therefore, virtual reality on Mars is not isolated; it can be connected to real life on Earth. How cool would it be to do a live stream on Mars?! It would definitely go viral on Earth's social media.

However, if the live stream content is always the same confined little room, with volunteers rehashing the same old stories about their food, clothing, and utensils, it will only become a fleeting, outdated trend.

Imagine how enviable it would be if volunteers on Mars could invite friends, family, or ordinary people on Earth to join them on a virtual universe adventure.

The sea, the beach, the campfire, and the moon—one, two, or even as many as you want—reflect rainbows in the sky. The host and guests seem to have wings, flying freely like angels.

"Isn't it said that the Creator chooses the protagonist to be one of His own kind? How come he has wings now?" Daphne asked Michael with a rare smile.

Michael laughed too: "Winged angels may really exist, or they may have been created by our ancestors based on their imagination. In any case, she is still human. When the creator is involved in reality, he certainly wouldn't want to be holding hands with a dinosaur's claw."

Daphne thoughtfully concluded: "The creator's most arduous task, and also his greatest achievement, is to virtualize his reality and replicate himself to participate in it."

Daphne then thought that if gods were figments of human imagination, then the ancestors who "came up" gods had neither the knowledge nor the need for virtual reality technology.

How did our ancestors "think" about gods?

Why do the main deities "created" by different ethnic groups and religious beliefs all coincidentally have human forms?

Is the creator a human being?

Human beings are the very embodiment of the Creator!

Michael was overwhelmed with emotion. He hugged Daphne tightly and pleaded:
“Darling, support me and help me restart and further develop Mars. Perhaps we can really find traces of the Creator there.”

&
The poem composed of collected verses at the end of the chapter:
His complexion was indeed exceptional among the crowd; he was clear-skinned, and Chen Tingjing was particularly striking.

Driven into the furnace of creation. (Yuan Dynasty, Wang Jichang)
Who says the Spring and Autumn Annals have no fixed rules? (Wang Zhi, Song Dynasty)
Teaching that resembles me, yet is not me. (Song Dynasty, Zhou Bida)
(End of this chapter)