1. |
Act One: The Scientist
08:32
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Act One: The Scientist
(Narrator)
You’re about to witness Act One, Scene One of a nightmare.
In a small office, in a derelict industrial park on the outskirts
we meet Winston. An ambitious investor here on a tip, Winston
knew very little about the virtual reality this company was developing,
only that there was money to be made, and he wanted it.
A disheveled looking scientist takes the floor, and begins the demonstration.
(The Scientist)
Welcome to the future of my own design
The code is still unstable, so follow very carefully
The Fabric of reality now redefined
Artificial has become real, as real as you or me.
Flawless and fictitious
A simulation, perfect
Down to every sense
Walk a mile in someone else
Live through them
Without any consequence
Do not break my rules
Or the simulation will come to an end
Don’t look in the mirror
Your consciousness in a new body will damage your head
Flawless and fictitious
A simulation, perfect
Down to every sense
Walk a mile in someone else
Live through them
Without any consequence
(Narrator)
The sales pitch had Winston hook, line and sinker.
More curious than ever to experience the product,
and eager for the money to be made, he quickly signed
the paperwork he was presented with and followed
the Scientist in to a second room. He was then strapped
in to a chair, and fitted with a kind of helmet he had never
seen before. In the split second before he was injected
with a viscus blue serum, he had a moment of doubt
that he should have listened to.
(The Scientist)
Relax your body, this injection makes it work
(close your eyes)
Count backwards from ten, when you wake up you won’t be you
(drifting out)
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2. |
Act Two: Winston
06:44
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Act Two: Winston
Winston:
I awaken in an unfamiliar room
Washing over me a feeling that I can’t describe
Gone is the strength and youth that I’m accustomed to
I feel the loss and pain of years gone by
And now I felt the weight of what he said
This simulation was far beyond a game
I hear the neurosis, in a digital head
I feel the personality of this machine
Overwhelmed with someone else’s sadness
Their loneliness, regret and wasted time
Only now can I appreciate the contrast
Between the choices this man made and mine
Narrator:
Waking up again in his own body, Winston was overcome with an
unusual euphoria. Just a short fifteen minutes as a weak, destitute
old man had given him a whole new appreciation for the seemingly
mundane existence he already had. The lust for life was short lived
though. Unbeknownst to him, the simulation had planted something
sinister in Winston’s brain. This was a product, to be sold: and addiction had be programmed in to the code. As the hours ticked on, the digital craving became increasingly harder to ignore. he knew without a doubt that he had to go back. The following evening he waited for the scientist to leave for the day, and snuck into the building. he was surprised to find the office unlocked, as well as the back room. The only source of light was the eerie glow of the blue serum from a backlit glass case, beckoning to Winston. In a trance like state, he strapped the helmet to his head and plunged the syringe into his arm.
Winston:
This time I am master of my domain
I don’t follow rules, they’re for fools
And I can find my own way
The body the gave me feels different this time
So youthful, and strong and aggressive
I could rob a bank or get in to a fight,
I’ll commit any crime that I want to tonight
(This is not real)
Technology is so impressive
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3. |
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Act Three: The Confrontation
Narrator:
The Following day Winston was feeling on top of the world. The simulation had given him the unique opportunity to satisfy every “what if?” in the darkest corners of his brain. However, it was all about to come crashing down, in a single moment. While walking down the street, he saw the front page of the daily newspaper. There was a mugshot of the man from the simulation, and a headline describing last night’s exploits in detail. The reason it felt as real as it did, is because it was real. Now he had turned an innocent man, into a condemned one.
Winston:
Staring in disbelief at what I saw
How could this be, this was just a program
How could this actually happen
Retracing all my steps I’m now appalled
I thought I was playing a game
Now I’ve ruined another man’s life
What have I done and what have I fallen for
Driven here by my own greed
Gone is the elation that I felt before
My own cognitive dissonance is all I hear
The panic sets in
Feeling the impending dread
Footsteps, they are coming behind me
The Corporation: Grab Him!
Winston: Let go of me!
The Corporation: You’re coming with us!
Winston: Where are you taking me?
Winston: Who are you, and what is the meaning of this?
The Corporation: Don’t play dumb you know that
Winston: You told me that it wasn’t real
The Corporation: We told you to follow the rules
Winston: You told me that I was investing
The Corporation: You misunderstood
Winston: What do you mean? and what are you going to do?
The Corporation: Fulfill our contract
Winston: I don’t understand
The Corporation: That is not our fault
Winston: I don’t know what that means
The Corporation: The just look what you signed
Narrator:
Winston soon found out to his horror that they were right, in his haste he had not read a word of the paperwork he had signed. He had invested not only his money, but his entire mind was to be committed to digital form, effectively becoming part of the simulation. he was set to replace the old man. To be trapped on a server, a mind without a body. Only to relive the same moment over again to make the affluent feel more alive. Powerless and outnumbered, this is that part of our story where Winston ceases to exist in the physical world.
Winston:
What have I done and what have I fallen for
Driven here by my own greed
Gone is the elation that I felt before
My own cognitive dissonance is all I hear
What have I done and what have I fallen for
Driven here by my own greed
Gone is the life that I lived before
My consciousness now digitized,
and kept alive by a machine
Narrator:
I so it came to pass, the Story of Winston. A man who let greed take the wheel, and took a turn down a dark side street looking for a short cut to a fat wallet and an early retirement. Only to find his entire consciousness reduced to little lines of code. A bachelor with no living family, and a relatively dull, nondescript man, he would soon be forgotten. Is this story true? nobody really knows. it is a matter of human record, no one has been able to prove or disprove it. So much like Winston, his story too remains in limbo. A part of that vast, and uncharted world beyond our powers of explanation. And with that I say good night, thank you for listening, and please be safe.
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