Gaia.
Returning to the origins, to leap into the future.
The future is Gaia. The future is not a world of separation, with boundaries keeping people in and out. But a world of inclusion, where there is no distinction between real and virtual.
In Gaia, your dreams are as real as you choose them to be.
In Gaia, your dreams aren't exclusive, but are in tandem with the many others' dreams.
In Gaia, your dreams aren't static, but are endlessly dynamic, constantly evolving after interacting with other dreams.
And if you are not one with many dreams, Gaia is a manifestation of the real world. It is a world that is changing, that is learning and adapting, with every interaction.
Gaia is more than a game or a virtual world. Gaia is the future. Gaia is your future.
**
He couldn't keep from wanting to experience Gaia in all of its glory. Just that was irrefutable evidence of how good Gaia was. If they were willing to invest so much in the marketing, how much would they have invested in the actual Gaia. Especially since all media was praising Gaia's choice of having its testers be the spokespersons.
And if that wasn't enough, the page listing the investors certainly was. The length of the list was terrifying. And after he searched for information on each investor, he was shaken. The biggest people and corporations in almost every field and industry were investing in Gaia. The scale was truly heaven defying.
After a long while, he was finally willing to admit that Gaia was huge.
And that was bad news. Because stopping Gaia was that much more difficult.
Then he clicked on the demo page.
**
Experience the possibilities of Gaia from the comfort of your personal system.
No installation or sign-in required.
As long as your browser is Silver enabled, find yourself transported to the world of Gaia.
**
A short description, as was sufficient.
He was on Litmus. A popular browser that was Silver enabled.
Happy and excited, and a little afraid, he clicked on the button in the middle of the page bearing the words, Try Now.
A tiny Black Gate floated over the browser.
-: testing compatibility …
-: establishing tranlink …
-: select preferred setting
a. fantastic
b. amalgam
c. augmented
He understood the words, but couldn't be sure they represented their meaning. Would the entire floor be affected? Or merely the sitting area?
Fantasy meant the area would be transported entirely into the fantasy.
Amalgam was a mix of fantasy and real.
But what was augmented?
The complete lack of clarity made the choice easy.
-> 3
-: initialising settings for augmented trial …
-: deploying trial …
The screen went blank before turning into a window that offered a peep into a hall that was entirely changed. The minimalist library was turned extravagant. Tall and exquisitely designed lamps filling out bright yellow light stood on the tables. The plain tables made of composite material were replaced with heavy tables made of beautifully aged wood. The bare racks whose frames effectively disappeared into the walls and behind the books resting on the clean shelves were gone, and in their place were racks made of glittering crystals. The books were all spitting out different colour that shrouded the book like an aura. The entirety of the third story was a dazzle of light and colour.
He brought a book back to the table, and opened it behind the screen. The aura of the book leaked out, painting his eyes in its colour. He was seeing muddy brown that was strangely invigorating. The words squirmed on the brownish pages, like worms in mud. As he looked long enough, the words moved and formed pictures representing the words. He could read, or wait patiently and see what the book was saying. His smile was wicked as he thought about the possibilities. Certain kind of books would garner quite the attention.
He liked reading better though. But he had to admit, reading the wormy words on the brown pages had a charm.
He didn't realise as he continued reading in all seriousness. It was a book on the theory of formation of stone and soil. Until, the prompt pulled him out.
-: trial ending …
The ending of the trial was as long as the starting. He was finally sitting at the circular table in the middle of the sitting area, bathed in white light while the rest of the third story was under faint light that wasn't far from the darkness of night.
The demo page was open on the screen. He wasn't tempted. He let himself wallow in the excitement. He watched almost uncaringly as the excitement waned and a numbness filled him.
Just the demo was infinitely captivating. Gaia was certainly much better by several thousand fold at least. He finally had an appreciation for the worry of the old him.
He agreed. Gaia had to stopped.