07-23-2018, 11:04 AM | #11 |
Computer Scientist
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Dallas, Texas
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Re: Masked Virituals
This less of a thing in THS because it's really cheap to make things that do what a person would and affordable to make thinks that *MAKE* the person do what you want if you have them captive. VR/slink is a better fit for lawful restraint, and in fact you can have the prisoners agree to do intellectual labor, participate in training and education, etc in return for certain slink amenities.
This maintains the moral hazard of for-profit prisons but it largely eliminates the inhumane conditions and removes justification for the restricted access necessary to conceal the really bad corruption. |
07-23-2018, 12:10 PM | #12 |
Untagged
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Forest Grove, Beaverton, Oregon
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Re: Masked Virituals
This could almost work as a prequel to The Matrix. It could cover the first ones to ditch the false reality to awaken in the real world.
With some major liberties taken to keep the party together and in a new setting that wouldn't just involve them dying in pods. For cryogenically "uploaded" brains, perhaps someone decided that they needed to be carefully brought up to speed with a VR that changes rapidly but not instantly to the present. Personally, I think that quite a few normal people would suffer severe trauma by "suddenly" moving decades or a century into the future. The twist being that it really all was for their own good.
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Beware, poor communication skills. No offense intended. If offended, it just means that I failed my writing skill check. |
07-23-2018, 03:05 PM | #13 | |
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: West Virginia
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Re: Masked Virituals
Quote:
Read the story. It is a masterpiece of horror on several levels.
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07-26-2018, 08:19 PM | #14 | |
Join Date: Dec 2017
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Re: Masked Virituals
Quote:
Both of these would likely result in the program getting shut down, but in the right game, that can be a win. It’s better to die on your feet than to live on your knees. |
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07-27-2018, 04:01 AM | #15 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: U.K.
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Re: Masked Virituals
The traditional SF way of handling this, as seen in The Matrix and a Doctor Who episode, is of course to give the inhabitants of the virtual world some kind of back-channel access to the real world. This usually seems to involve hacking virtual computers in the virtual world -- apparently finding some kind of flaw in the sandbox security -- but it might be more interesting in game terms to, say, be able to mess with the psychology of other actors in the virtuality who were designed to provide a communications channel between the real and virtual worlds.
Related, I guess, is the idea I've seen in stories by the likes of the sainted Greg Egan, in which people in the real world project into avatars in the virtual for reasons of their own, possibly including dealing with -- gasp -- ethical concerns about the consequences of playing God. These avatar-controllers are then susceptible to social manipulation. Telling them that you can help them with their scientific problems, but that you'll need direct control of experimental equipment, is a valid move...
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