I have to say that this brief story, just 205 words long, might be on of the most concise emotional stories I’ve ever read. In so few words, the author has managed to touch on the disruptive potential of virtual reality, the fear of losing loved ones, and the emotions surrounding one’s own death. More impressively, perhaps, this story isn’t out of a short-story contest or anything like that. It was simply a comment written on the popular site Reddit by user cultured_bannana_slug:

Jessen lays on his death bed, his family surrounding him. His great great grandson lifts up the control and hands it over.

“It’s your wedding day,” he says with a smile.

Jessen touches the button and, once again, it’s that glorious day 65 years ago. He looks down at his hands and they are young again. He hears a voice. Younger, softer, but unmistakable. A voice he hadn’t heard in 14 years. A voice he’d only heard in his dreams since she died. He turns. She’s just as beautiful as he remembered. Restored to youth, health, and happiness. Her face untouched by the pain of illness.

“I know it’s bad luck but you were always useless with a tie,” she says, smiling. He can smell her perfume. He can hear her dress rustling against the hardwood floor. From outside drift the voices of family and friends and people long dead. People still alive here in this perfect memory. Her fingers deftly maneuver red silk. Over. Under. Around. Through. He can almost see himself in her eyes. So many years left to live… so much…

And in a distant hospital in a future she’ll never know, an old man dies as a young man promises to love, honor, and cherish.

How will our world change when virtual reality is so real that it is just as real to our brains as real life? Will we choose to live in a perfect virtual world instead of an imperfect real world? Is a perfect life afforded through virtual reality worth living? Will an escape into a perfect virtual world be seen as a cowardly escape from reality? These are just a few among many challenging questions that undeniably need to be confronted as we step further down the road toward fully immersive and life-like virtual reality.

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Ben Lang
Ben is the world's most senior professional analyst solely dedicated to the XR industry, having founded Road to VR in 2011—a year before the Oculus Kickstarter sparked a resurgence that led to the modern XR landscape. He has authored more than 3,000 articles chronicling the evolution of the XR industry over more than a decade. With that unique perspective, Ben has been consistently recognized as one of the most influential voices in XR, giving keynotes and joining panel and podcast discussions at key industry events. He is a self-described "journalist and analyst, not evangelist."
  • Poagao

    Back in the day we thought the Internet would provide that “perfect” world…we were we wrong about that, and I suspect we’re wrong about what VR will offer as well. VR will ideally offer more personal-level connection than text-based social media can ever hope to provide. The problem is that, like actual reality, VR connections, while deeper, don’t scale up to blast levels like text-based communications can, and companies haven’t figure out how to make a ton of money off that…yet. So…perfect world? I doubt it. At best, perfect for companies to profit from. The rest of us? We’ll see.