leonayangmz-blog

[leonayangmz-blog]

Hell On Earth: The Fall of Syria And The Rise of ISIS

多數的我們應該都不時提及自己，活在這世上是如此的幸福! 當我們對身邊的瑣事在爭執、在抱怨、在表達不滿的同時，在敘利亞的孩子們，以及許多無辜的人民們正在歷經苦頭，面對冷血無情的戰爭，帶著他們的信仰和和充斥著對社會��公的怨念，保留剩下極微的尊嚴，然後離開了這世上。

他們沒得選擇早餐要吃什麼、中餐要吃什麼、晚餐要吃什麼，身處在那的孩子們根本也沒時間去想要如何與同儕增進彼此之間感情、討論周末要去哪玩、去哪閒晃，更令人心酸的是，他們沒什麼權利去思考自己的未來和夢想。諷刺地是，我們對自己生活中多數煩惱的事情，好比「我將來要做甚麼?」、「我畢業後要從事甚麼行業?」、「為什麼他們不錄取我?」、「我好想考考證照、找家教來增進我的能力」、「該死! 人生總是諸事不順，我應該要到外面晃晃尋找我的靈感!」天哪， 那些人在他們一生當中，可能根本完全沒有機會走到這個階段，來煩惱這些事，我相信他們一定也有個夢想，只是生在不對的地方。

另外，你能否想像，年齡不超過十歲的小孩，從他們的嘴裡所說出的話，幾乎沒有一句帶著童言，但我想這也不是不可能的，咒罵著自己國家的總統和腐爛的政府，每天在想如何潛逃自己國家、遠離戰場，孩子們被逼迫早熟、 面對這現實社會  ，甚至小小年紀就要學拿槍打戰。在敘利亞這些孩子們，其實也跟世上的孩子們是一樣的，在這個年齡，他們應該是要幸福的、開心的在遊樂場嘻笑玩耍，但是，他們的天真無邪到哪裡去了? 如果你有在國家地理頻道 (National Geographic) 看完了「人間煉獄」這則介紹，再來回頭檢視，我們，能為他們或是為自己做點什麼?

Most of us should always remind ourselves of the fact that how happy we are in this world. The moment when we are arguing, complaining, unsatisfying about something trivial, children in Syria now, and those innocent people may have already been encountering the difficulties, under the cruelty and wars. They bring their belief to God, meanwhile the resentment to this world, gone with the rest of little dignity.

They cannot decide what they want to eat for breakfast, lunch. Children there do not have any time to think how to build the relationship with classmates or where to have fun on weekends. What’s worse, they do not have any choice to dream, to make them carry out. Ironically, many of us are always worry lots of things that they have no any chance to do in their life, such as “What I want to be?”, “What job I should do after graduation?”, “Why they didn’t hire me?”, “I want to improve myself through getting a certification or tutors”, “Damn! Life is sucks and I wanna hang out to look for my inspiration!”  Dear, sadly speaking, shouldn’t we try to cherish more our time to plan the life? Those people in Syria, or even other countries having similar encounters should have had the rights, but do they? I believe they have dreams, but just born in the wrong places.

Moreover, can you imagine children with age at no more than 10 year-old, they could utter the words which it’s never to hear from most of us at those ages. But perhaps it’s normal. Eager to escape from the battlefield, children are forced to face the reality in the society, even required to learn how to use guns to shot, and words of cursing the president, abusing the rotten government. In Syria, children are the same as ones around the world. At those ages, they are supposed to be happy, be native, running and having at the playground, laughing at loud, hanging out with friends, but where is their innocence? If you watch "Hell on Earth”, at the National Geographic channel, think about it, what things we could do for them, or ourselves?

　

(Photo sources above from National Geographic official website)

[leonayangmz-blog]

(photo source: Ready Player One)

一翻開書只想看主角一路破關，一個讓你來不及做好心理準備的震撼故事!

當時，就這麼被這句話吸引著，我在誠品躇在科幻小說一代就是要找到 Ready Player One (一級玩家) 這本書，還記得就是在最底層那一排尋找到它，接著抱持著懵懂的心態打開閱讀。真的沒在誇張，才讀不到幾十頁，我已經起了雞皮疙瘩兩次以上，因為這作者 Ernest Cline 根本是個天才來著，應該是說對 80 年代加上電玩的專業人員兼天才，加上他根本是 Mr. science fiction walking dictionary!

當初知道這本小說，是在一次用餐聊天時得知的資訊。據說前 HTC 執行長周永明 (Peter Chou)，當時就是看完 Ready Player One 便自此決心要投入做 VR 這塊市場，而這也是我非常佩服的，因為現在只要在 search engine 打周永明，關鍵字就是顯示 "周永明 VR"，根據報導所述，周永明也與 Warner Brothher (華納兄弟) 合作，HTC 會參與 Ready Player One 電影拍攝協助 - "HTC Vive Will Be the Official Partner for Virtual Reality Content, Experiences and Activations for the Much-Anticipated Film" (Patrick Seybold, HTC Vive Port, Mar. 27, 2017)，電影預計美國上映時間在 2018 年的 3 月 30 日，這麼算的話，我會有整整一年的時間都在期待著一級玩家可以從小說搬上真正的大螢幕，到那時一定會有大新聞、廣告的大肆宣傳，因為這本不只融合了虛擬實境 (Virtual Reality)，VR 它是這小說裡的整個核心要點，好比打擊樂器是整個樂團中的心臟，同時人工智慧 (AI)、區塊鏈技術 (Blockchain) 等等的未來趨勢都可以在一級玩家中窺探。

(photo source: Inverse)

回到這篇文章重點，我是在完整閱讀完，趁著心中還熱血沸騰之時，趕緊打分享資訊。其實心裡滿謝謝這位友人，沒有他的分享提到這本書，我或許對 VR 這一塊市場還處在非常狹隘的認知，而不知道大家對虛擬實境的應用有多少的認知跟了解? 現在是 2017 年，不只台灣，現在各國不少企業正提倡著好幾個我們所熟悉的名詞，像是以上提到的 VR、AI、Big Data、3D 列印、共享經濟、區塊鏈等等，這些名詞在近幾年中的討論度迅速竄起，無疑是科技深深牽連著人類生活的一切，比如說 VR，在今年4 月的 Future Comerce 以及 6 月初才剛結束的 Computex，裡頭有不少大量的虛擬實境廠商，向參觀者介紹產品、或是以論壇的方式分享前衛科技、科技潮流，VR 到底帶給我們什麼? 以現在大眾能看得見的技術來探討，莫過於透過 VR 體驗打怪、線上手遊與電腦版的虛擬戰場、虛擬聊天室、有點無聊的虛擬居家、虛擬寫書法 (2017 Computex)、虛擬實��體驗開車、AR 擴充實境的虛擬更衣室、虛擬化妝鏡等等，但你以為只有這樣嗎? 看似很有什麼，卻覺得其實可以再來更多的驚奇，你或許好奇 VR 這樣不就是潮? 它還能有什麼更突破的技術? 建議可以閱讀 Ready Player One，絕對會讓你對 VR 超乎以往想像，到時你就能感受我這段的意思了!

(photo source: Offworlders)

西元 2040 年，經濟持續蕭條、能源嚴重枯竭、各地災荒四起，一個有史以來規模最大的虛擬實境遊戲漸漸取代了現實生活，無一不被的「綠洲」名副其實地成為人們身心的烏托邦。一位平凡無奇的 18 歲美國男孩，在現實世界中是個住在貧民區的、可說是在一個非常險惡環境下居住的低收入戶男孩，有點肥胖、不起眼的小石子、在學校成績也不怎麼優秀，但在虛擬實境裡，他最後成為叱吒風雲的英雄! 一筆鉅額遺產點人全球玩家的美夢，一場引爆世界危機的競賽，男孩憑什麼成為那最後的贏家? 他集結微不足道的平凡人力量，打敗虛擬與現實世界中的邪惡勢力 (號稱勢力 "天殺" 龐大的某某虛擬線上集團公司)、拯救整個虛擬世界 - OASIS (綠洲)，他有著一股對 80 年代、電玩、科幻電影小說歇斯底里的癡狂，也有著令人想像不到的意志力、比其他技客擁有好幾倍的勇敢、以及膽識過於每位技客，卻低調又謙虛，有趣的是，在虛擬世界裡的愛情，總是不被看好，但是你相信還是有可能因爲緣分在虛擬世界結交、經過好多的風雨而發生真愛嗎? 我不能透露所有資訊，這樣遊戲就不好玩了，一樣的話，有興趣可以去閱讀 Ready Player One，你會瞭解我的意思的! 不過，我可以偷偷透露，這位男孩在虛擬世界 OASIS 綠洲的化名叫做帕西法爾 (Parzival)，當然其實我也已經分享書中的幾則片段，可以參考這篇 title 是 "Ready Player One: 01-19" 的文章。

英雄都出自於凡人，看完這本小說，除了對 VR 的認知徹底改觀，也讓我重新定義自己對 Gaming Industry 的看法，以往這項產業不被部分人看好，但它卻很有可能將會顛覆世界的市場，如同  Gary Whitta 所說的 "When I play a video game, it’s the only time I put away the phone and forget it exists. Video games command your attention in a way that nothing else can or will. (唯有在電玩的時候，我才能徹底擺脫且忘記手機的存在。我想除了電玩，絕非有第二者可以如此般地掌控著你的專注力!)" 👾 🎮 ⚡️ 現在的世界，其實正在慢慢實踐著你我曾經都認為不可能發生的事實!

(photo source: Nerdist)

建議還是去找它來讀，你會跟我一樣到時愛上這本書，然後整天抱著它，出門上課都要帶著、下課時間、坐高鐵、用餐都會想要拿它出來翻翻，變成宅女，比如說這筆書的推薦者們所言 - 「作者點燃了中年宅叔心中深埋已久的引信，一發不可收拾」、「這不只是一個遊戲阿宅才會有故名的書，我幾乎不玩任何 game，但是八〇年代的電影、影集、跟音樂塑造了我的人格。這是八〇年代的美好遺產。」、「《一級玩家》的遊戲一開始，絕對讓讀者如同按下一場冒險遊戲的啟動鍵，非得一路闖關下去而無法罷休。」當你在細心品嚐的時候，也許會跟我發生雷同的事情，仿佛墜入了一級玩家的虛擬世界中，再度回神過來時，會有那麼一個 moment 反應不過來，現在到底是在虛擬世界還是真實世界? 我想這也是許多人跟我一樣崇拜作者的地方，未來無法預測真正的結果，對現實世界不滿的人總是會在另一個空間去尋找自我歸屬感，我們大可以「虛擬實境」來給這個填充題一個答案，但是在閱讀書籍後，我們以為的 VR 是這樣，其實作者帶給我們更多豐富層面的一個想像，然而到故事逼近尾聲時，又會有另一個心理上的感嘆和新發現。

如果很感興趣，你可以和帕西法爾一同進入綠洲，只要你願意按下遊戲的啟動鍵，哦! 對了，不需要做什麼先前暖身，因為 Ready Player One 是沒時間給你做任何心理準備的，就直接給它栽下去體驗吧! 讓你從文字的魔力當中，把你從現實毫無預警地吸入虛擬實境，我相信這絕對比你到任何一家 VR 產品體驗區所得到的感受還要振奮好幾千億倍!

[leonayangmz-blog]

Ready Player One: 01-19

👾 OASIS: Level I 🎮

[Chinese version: p.41-42, 第一關: 多數時候當人很悲哀，只有透過電玩，日子才比較好捱。-《安納瑞克年鑑》第九十一章第一至第二節]

#01

我打開主機系統電源，啟動一連串登入程序。視像罩掃瞄我的視網膜時，我看見一道紅光迅速閃過，按著我清清喉嚨，小心翼翼地發音，說出我的通關密語，有就是一九八四年科幻電影《星球勇士》(The Last Starfighter) 裡的臺詞：「你被我星際聯盟征召加入前線，以對抗惡勢力艾克索爾和寇黨艦隊。」

通關密語獲得認可，我的聲音模式也通過驗證，於是我順利登入。接著，我的虛擬顯示器正中央出現下面這些字：

　

身分認證通過

帕西法爾，歡迎進入「綠洲」

登入完成：綠洲標轉時間二O四五年二月十七日七點五十三分二十一秒

　

這三行字慢慢褪去，取而代之的是短短的一行訊息。這行訊息是由哈勒代本人在剛開始撰寫「綠洲」程式時親自寫入登入程序中，以便對這個模擬世界的先祖，也就是他少年時的投幣式電玩機致敬。「綠洲」玩家在離開真實世界，進入虛擬世界之前最後一眼見到的就是這行訊息：

　

單人遊戲　準備開始 　

[編譯註 | 帕西法爾 (Parzival) 是德國中世紀浪漫前故事中尋找聖杯的英雄人物]

#05

哈勒代和莫洛把「綠洲」稱為「開放原始碼的真實世界」。任何人都可以透過網際網路，利用家裡既有的電腦或電玩樂器來進入這個具有無限可能的線上宇宙。「綠洲」的成功關鍵在於「群聚擬仿」所創造的兩個介面設備 － 視像罩和觸覺手套，這兩個東西正是進入這個模擬世界所需的物品。

　

「綠洲」的無線視像罩只有一個尺寸，卻能適用於所有人，它的體積只比一般的太陽眼鏡略大，它透過對人體無害的低功率雷射，將「綠洲」裡令人讚歎的環境射入使用者的視網膜，讓他們的視界完全沉浸在這個網路世界裡。視像罩跟之前那種笨重的虛擬實境大蛙鏡相比，可謂先進了好幾個光年，它改變了虛擬實境技術的典範。超輕薄的觸覺手套也一樣，它讓使用者可以直接控制分身的手，跟周遭的模擬環境互動，仿佛他們的人真的在那個世界裡。

　

「群聚擬仿」的創舉打從第一天上市就造成轟動。「綠洲」正是大家夢想了幾十載的世界。世人夢寐以求的「虛擬實境」終於出現，而且比大家所能想像得還要更好。「綠洲」是一個網路烏托邦，一個居家全像甲板，而它最大的賣點呢？免費。

　

想在「綠洲」裡開店的商家都必須向「群聚擬仿」承租或購買虛擬房地產 (莫洛將綠洲裡的房地產稱為超現實地產)。於是「群聚擬仿」先見之名地將第一區塊設定為商業區，並開始在這裡銷售或出租數百萬個超現實地產公司。一眨眼間出現一棟大如城市的購物商場，店面逐漸遍布星球的景象，就像以縮時攝影技巧拍攝黴菌吞噬橘子的景象。都市發展從未如此容易。

#08

我的「鳥騎士」技術比我預期得還生疏。前面五分鐘我努力讓自己放鬆，重新熟悉這個遊戲的控制方式和節奏。阿瑟瑞拉克趁機宰了我兩次，毫不留情地以完美的幅度把翅膀往我身上猛撲。它操控的方式精準得有如機器，不過這是當然的，畢竟他本身就是機器 － 哈勒代親自寫的程式，畫時代的人工智慧。

　

第二局開始我也表現得很爛，我放鬆下巴，保持思緒清晰，我試著想像我在艾區的聊天室「地下室」，正在跟他對打。奏效了。我進入狀況，情勢開始對我有利，我開始找出這個巫妖招式的破��，以及他的設定程式的漏洞。過去幾年來，我精通數百種電玩遊戲所學到的就是這個：在這樣的遊戲中，有天賦的真人玩家通常可以打贏由人工智慧所創造出來的人物，因為軟體無法做出即興的反應。它通常只是個隨機反應，或者根據設定好的有限狀況，從事先已決定的有限反應中挑出一個。這是電玩遊戲的定理，而且這定理會一直沿用下去，直到人類發明真正的人工「智慧」。

👾 OASIS Level II 🎮

#18

[Chinese version: p.229-231, 第二關: 我不迷戀真實世界，不過那是唯一仍可以好好吃一餐的地方 - 美國喜劇演員葛洛丘 • 馬克斯 (Groucho Marx)]

我乘著我的飛天跑車「德羅寧」勢如破竹地抵達。這輛「德羅寧」配備有 (無法運轉的) 通量電容器，不過我還是替這輛車額外添加了幾項儀器，也把外觀改裝一下。首先，我在儀表板裝上一臺稱為 KIT T 的人工智慧車用電腦 (在拍賣網上買的)，並在「德羅寧」引擎蓋的鐵格網上方裝了一個《霹靂遊俠》裡那輛紅色掃描機。然後再加上震盪超速器，以便可以穿越實體物質。最後，為了讓這輛車更有八O年代超級跑車的風格，我還在「德羅寧」那兩扇網上開啟如毆翼的車門貼上「魔鬼剋星」的標誌，接著放上專屬我私人的客製化車輛 ECTO-88。

　

一進入擾動球，我就變得暈頭轉向，分不清東南西北。巨大球體內部是空的，環狀內層作為吧檯和休息區。一通過入口，地心引力就變得不一樣。就在夜店的正中央，舞客中間有一顆巨大的透明泡泡飄浮在空中，這就是 DJ 所在的播音亭。播音亭擺滿了唱盤、混音器、轉盤和調節器，而站在這些設備當中的就是開場 DJ，R2-D2，他正忙著用好幾隻機械手臂操作唱盤。我聽出他正播放的是一九八八年「新秩序」樂團 (New Order) 的「藍色星期一」 (Blue Monday) 的混音版，裡頭摻混了很多《星際大戰》裡的配樂利用安卓系統做出來的聲音取樣。

#19

若你想在「綠洲」裡體驗更「親密」的接觸，還能購買「觸覺娃娃」 (全名是「構造正確的虛擬觸覺用娃娃」)。觸覺娃娃有男有女，還有雙性的，���種規格樣式都有。栩栩如生的乳膠肌膚。以輔助電動機驅動的外骼。模擬的肌肉組織。還有各種你可以想見的附屬器官和洞口。

　

雅蒂米斯不再理我之後的幾個禮拜，在寂寞、好奇和旺盛的少年賀爾蒙驅使下，我在觸覺形塑科技公司買了一個叫超級貝蒂的中等身材觸覺娃娃。有幾天我鎮日泡在一間叫「歡樂宮」、不隸屬於「綠洲」的獨立妓院，之後出於羞愧和自我保護的本能，我決定扔掉娃娃。在我痛心頓悟出虛擬性愛 － 不管有多逼真 － 終究不過是有電腦輔助的美化手淫時，我已經浪費了好幾千元，一整個禮拜沒工作，還差點完全放棄尋找程式彩蛋。一天結束，我仍是處男，孤單地身處暗室，伏在一個有潤滑油的機器上。所以我扔掉觸覺娃娃，回去繼續以傳統的方法自慰。我對手淫一點都不覺得羞恥。拜《安納瑞克年鑑》之賜，現在我認為這是很正常的身體功能，就跟睡覺和進食一樣自然。

　

《安納瑞克年鑑》第兩百四十一章第八十七節

我認為手淫是人類這種生物最重要的適應演化。這是人類技術文明的基石。我們的手演化成可以抓取物體 － 這物體當然包括我們自己。你知道的，思想家、發明家、和科學家通常是宅男，而宅男多半很難有機會跟人翻雲覆雨。若沒有透過手淫來宣洩性慾，我懷疑早期人類如何有辦法知道怎麼取火，怎麼製造出輪子。你也可以想見伽利略、牛頓和愛因斯坦不可能有偉大的發現，如果他們沒有先摑打搓揉他們的香腸 (或者讓老氫彈甩掉一些質子) 來讓腦袋清晰。居禮夫人也一樣，你可以肯定的是，在她發現鐳之前，一定先到了獨木舟裡的小男人。

　

[編譯註 | 獨木舟裡的小男人：意指女性的陰蒂]

[leonayangmz-blog]

The Egg

Author: Andy Weir 　 You were on your way home when you died. It was a car accident. Nothing particularly remarkable, but fatal nonetheless. You left behind a wife and two children. It was a painless death. The EMTs tried their best to save you, but to no avail. Your body was so utterly shattered you were better off, trust me. And that’s when you met me. 　 👨🏻 “What… what happened? Where am I?” 👼🏻 “You died, matter-of-factly. No point in mincing words." 👨🏻 “There was a… a truck and it was skidding…” 👼🏻 “Yup,” I said. 👨🏻 “I… I died?” 👼🏻 “Yup. But don’t feel bad about it. Everyone dies,” I said. 👨🏻 (looked around) 👼🏻 "There was nothingness. Just you and me." 👨🏻 “What is this place? Is this the afterlife?” 👼🏻 “More or less,” 👨🏻 “Are you god?” 👼🏻 “Yup, I’m God.” 👨🏻 “My kids… my wife. What about them? Will they be all right?” 👼🏻 “That’s what I like to see. You just died and your main concern is for your family. That’s good stuff right there.” 👨🏻 (looked at me with fascination) 👼🏻 "To you, I didn’t look like God. I just looked like some man. Or possibly a woman. Some vague authority figure, maybe. More of a grammar school teacher than the almighty. Don’t worry. They’ll be fine. Your kids will remember you as perfect in every way. They didn’t have time to grow contempt for you. Your wife will cry on the outside, but will be secretly relieved. To be fair, your marriage was falling apart. If it’s any consolation, she’ll feel very guilty for feeling relieved.” 👨🏻 “Oh, so what happens now? Do I go to heaven or hell or something?” 👼🏻 “Neither,” I said. “You’ll be reincarnated.” 👨🏻 “Ah,” you said. “So the Hindus were right,” 👼🏻 “All religions are right in their own way. Walk with me.” 👨🏻 (followed along as we strode through the void) “Where are we going?” 👼🏻 “Nowhere in particular. It’s just nice to walk while we talk.” 👨🏻 “So what’s the point, then? When I get reborn, I’ll just be a blank slate, right? A baby. So all my experiences and everything I did in this life won’t matter.” 👼🏻 “Not so! You have within you all the knowledge and experiences of all your past lives. You just don’t remember them right now.”

(stopped walking and took you by the shoulders) 

👼🏻 “Your soul is more magnificent, beautiful, and gigantic than you can possibly imagine. A human mind can only contain a tiny fraction of what you are. It’s like sticking your finger in a glass of water to see if it’s hot or cold. You put a tiny part of yourself into the vessel, and when you bring it back out, you’ve gained all the experiences it had." 👼🏻 “You’ve been in a human for the last 48 years, so you haven’t stretched out yet and felt the rest of your immense consciousness. If we hung out here for long enough, you’d start remembering everything. But there’s no point to doing that between each life.” 👨🏻 “How many times have I been reincarnated, then?” 👼🏻 “Oh lots. Lots and lots. An in to lots of different lives. This time around, you’ll be a Chinese peasant girl in 540 AD.” 👨🏻 “Wait, what?” You stammered. “You’re sending me back in time?” 👼🏻 “Well, I guess technically. Time, as you know it, only exists in your universe. Things are different where I come from.” 👨🏻 “Where you come from?” 👼🏻 “Oh sure, I come from somewhere. Somewhere else. And there are others like me. I know you’ll want to know what it’s like there, but honestly you wouldn’t understand.” 👨🏻 “Oh, a little let down. But wait. If I get reincarnated to other places in time, I could have interacted with myself at some point.” 👼🏻 “Sure. Happens all the time. And with both lives only aware of their own lifespan you don’t even know it’s happening.” 👨🏻 “So what’s the point of it all?” 👨🏻 “Seriously?” I asked. “Seriously? You’re asking me for the meaning of life? Isn’t that a little stereotypical?” 👼🏻 “Well it’s a reasonable question,” 👼🏻 (looked you in the eye) “The meaning of life, the reason I made this whole universe, is for you to mature.” 👨🏻 “You mean mankind? You want us to mature?” 👼🏻 “No, just you. I made this whole universe for you. With each new life you grow and mature and become a larger and greater intellect.” 👨🏻 “Just me? What about everyone else?” 👼🏻 “There is no one else. In this universe, there’s just you and me.” 👨🏻 (stared blankly at me) “But all the people on earth…” 👼🏻 “All you. Different incarnations of you.” 👨🏻 “Wait. I’m everyone!?” 👼🏻 “Now you’re getting it, with a congratulatory slap on the back." 👨🏻 “I’m every human being who ever lived?” 👼🏻 “Or who will ever live, yes.” 👨🏻 “I’m Abraham Lincoln?” 👼🏻 “And you’re John Wilkes Booth, too,” 👨🏻 “I’m Hitler?” You said, appalled. 👼🏻 “And you’re the millions he killed.” 👨🏻 “I’m Jesus?” 👼🏻 “And you’re everyone who followed him.” 👨🏻 (fell silent) 👼🏻 “Every time you victimized someone, you were victimizing yourself. Every act of kindness you’ve done, you’ve done to yourself. Every happy and sad moment ever experienced by any human was, or will be, experienced by you.” 👨🏻 (thought for a long time) “Why? Why do all this?” 👼🏻 “Because someday, you will become like me. Because that’s what you are. You’re one of my kind. You’re my child.”

👨🏻 “Whoa (incredulous) You mean I’m a god?”

👼🏻 “No. Not yet. You’re a fetus. You’re still growing. Once you’ve lived every human life throughout all time, you will have grown enough to be born.” 👨🏻 “So the whole universe, it’s just…” 👼🏻 “An egg.” I answered. “Now it’s time for you to move on to your next life.” And I sent you on your way.

[leonayangmz-blog]

Ready Player One: 04

[English version: p.47-51, Level one: Being human totally sucks most of the time. Video games are the only thing that make life bearable. - Anorak's Almanac, Chapter 91, Verses 1-2]

　

For the sake of zoning and navigation, the OASIS had been divided equally into twenty-seven cube-shaped "sectors," each containing hundreds of different planets. Each sector measured exactly ten light-hour across, or about 10.8 billion kilometres. Charging people for virtual fuel to power their virtual spaceships was one of the ways Gregarious Simulation System (GSS) generated revenue, since accessing the OASIS was free.

　 A lot of OASIS users didn't care about their avatar's power level or bother with the gaming aspects of the simulation at all. They only used the OASIS for entertainment, business, shopping, and hanging out with their friends. I hated being stuck in a safe zone. If I was going to find Halliday's egg, I knew I would eventually have to venture out in the dangerous sectors of the OASIS. Over the past five years, I'd managed to slowly, gradually raise my avatar up to third level. This hadn't been easy.

At the end of the previous school year, I'd now racked up so many unexcused absence that I was in danger of being expelled. If that happened, I would have to return my school-issued OASIS console and visor. Worse, I'd be transferred back to school in the real world to finish out my year there. I couldn't risk that. In desperation, I'd tried to find a part-time after-school job. Millions of college-educated adults couldn't get one of those jobs. The Great Recession was now entering its third decade, and unemployment was still at a record high. So I remained stuck at school. I felt like a kid standing in the worlds' greatest video arcade without any quarters, unable to do anything.

[Chinese version: p.69-73, 第一關: 多數時候當人很悲哀，只有透過電玩，日子才比較好捱。 - 《安納瑞克年鑑》第九十一章第一至第二節]

　

「綠洲」的全名是「以人類為宇宙中心之實體論的感官浸淫模擬體系」，這個體系無邊無際。為了跨區和航行之便，「綠洲」被均分成二十七個立方體壯的區塊，每個區塊都含有數百個不同的星球。每個區塊的長寬高都正好是十光時，也就是一百零八億公里。由於進出「綠洲」都是免費，所以「群聚擬仿」的利潤來源之一，就是像搭乘虛擬太空船的人索取虛擬燃料費。

很多「綠洲」用戶不在乎其分身的戰鬥力，也懶得理模擬世界裡的遊戲事物，他們只把「綠洲」當成娛樂、正事、購物或跟朋友相聚閒晃的地方。但我就是討厭被困在安全區。我知道若我想找到哈勒代的程式彩蛋，我終究得到危險的區域冒險。過去五年內，我設法慢慢的把我的分身提升到第三級。這可不容易。

上學期末開始，我已經有多次沒經過校方批准就缺席，已瀕臨退學，萬一真的被退學，我就得繳回學校所發的「綠洲」主機系統和視像罩，更慘的是我必須回到真實世界裡的學校，我可不能冒這個險。走投無路的我試著放學後兼差，目前有數百萬具大學文憑的成人找不到工作，經濟大蕭條已進入第三個十年，失業率依舊創新高，所以，我繼續困在學校，我局的自己就像站在世界最頂尖的電玩遊樂場，卻身無分文，啥都幹部了。

　

Ready Player One [copy right © by Ernest Cline] & Chinese translated by 郭寶蓮, is one of my favourite novels, narrating about the imaging future of this world, applied with current new technology e.g. VR, AR, MR, AI, blockchain technical skills stuff inside, exciting, inspiring, avant-garde, impressive, amazing. I usually hold this novel besides me all the time, feeling myself is like "Parzival" being at the same "Oasis" as well. Each chapter will make you enjoy the virtual world even though you are at the reality reading this novel ❤️