posted 03-16-99 01:10 PM ET        

Lal sighed. Another long day of paperwork. One thing that nobody had prepared him for was how much of war was just paperwork. He wasn't sure which bothered him more, the endless bloodshed between Planet's factions (a thing for which he still felt the occasional pangs of personal responsibility) or the sheer mountain of paperwork that it created for him in trying--mostly in vain--to put an end to it. Actually, he knew what bothered him most, and that was the pointless petty bickering that every single conversation between Planet's leaders inevitably descended into. Lal became convinced a long time ago that he could never actually talk *with* his counterparts amongst Planets various factions. All such conversations simply involved two people talking past each other, never coming close to hearing or understanding the opposing point of view.

Smiling slightly to himself, Lal pressed the comm button marked "DND" and turned toward his terminal. No one had yet discovered his secret and he would be mightily embarrassed if anyone ever did. Lal loved computer games. Immersed in the Virtual Reality of the Network Nodes, one could forget, if only for a brief while, the endless paperwork and unresolvable bitter factionalism of the "real" world. A person playing a game has total control--the ultimate fantasy of any human being, from the lowliest drone to a powerful leader such as himself. For as Lal well knew, total control is only an illusion that can be created, at best, as a fleeting fantasy.

A special exictement tickled Lal's fancy today. The game programmer known as "Sir Deime" had just uploaded a new effort into the network and Lal immediately requested a download, figuring that based on Sir Deime's past efforts, 50 energy credits was a bargain price. As he commenced play, Lal immediately recognized the design as familiar, but quickly came to realize that it was different as well. After just a little bit of play, several questions and comments offered themselves within Lal's mind. Still excited, he decided to log into the "interlinks" and find some people to trade commentary with about the game. He quickly located the "official" area for Sir Deime's latest game, logged in (anymously, of course) and began to read the messages scrolling onto his screen.

In just a few moments, Lal's face began to grow dark, then gradually took on a look of ineffable sadness. After a time, he logged off, never having asked any of his questions or offered any of his comments. Mostly sad, and with a trace of disgust, Lal prepared to return to his work. He had just been reminded that the nature of humankind is truly immutable; that, given the opportunity to happily immerse themselves in a world of pure fantasy, people do not bring their joy into that fantasy world, but their demons. The bitter factionalism and wasted spite that he'd just witnessed inside the interlinks (over a game, no less!) was every bit as vile and loathsome as that which he was forced to pursue--in the "real" world--to bloodshed each and every day. It was also just as pointless.

posted 03-16-99 02:20 PM ET            

Unfortunately, almost every forum or newsgroup I've ever followed regularly has degenerated into the "bitter factionalism and wasted spite" that Lal finds so reprehensible.

The natural human tendencies to seek conflict and confrontation is only intensified, it seems, when we can hide behind the anonymity of the "interlinks."