I aspire to use MMORPGs as a safe practice ground to become a better man than I am, RL or VR life, and ATITD a wonderful realm of a protected MMORPG. I fully understand that not all people play the game for the same reasons or in the same way, but I for one welcome and even thrive on constructive feedback. Just about anybody can spin just about anything in their own way without going so far as to actually distort reality, (although way too many do go that far.) I enjoy being able or assisted to see things from other’s perspectives and broaden my horizons, in return I claim the right to have my own perspective as well, and to those who would show value, the opportunity to share and be understood, even if in personal disagreement. To me, that’s a give and take respectful relationship and the means by which I learn the most and re-evaluate my conceptions for my morals, standards, and actions.
One strange day Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Federation Starship Enterprise woke up disorientated and
slightly confused.
As a man who spent the majority of his 24th century life in outer space...he found
the sights and sounds of what appeared to be ancient Egypt somewhat unnerving. Somehow, some alien
force, who's remnants are still in the region of Nile Delta, (source 'Bennu' from PB the House of Hathor) had
placed him in this reality. Even the very stars seemed out of place. Their presence had lead the elderly man
to believe that this seemingly was at least Earth. The locations of each constellation also lead him
to believe, among other appearances, that he had somehow been moved back in time over thousands of years.
Although he regularly enjoyed the wild outdoors and making due without technology's amenities, life here
would certainly be more challenging without the quick conveniences of his starship. He had found himself
in a somewhat similar situation before, uprooted from all of what he had known and thrust into a different
life. He had lived 50 years in the span of 20 minutes back in a false time on a world that had been dead
for almost a millennium. Appreciation for all he gained from that experience had changed him quite
profoundly and made him a better man. This also could be a challenge for him and a real life growing experience
to take part in building a thriving society in this virtual reality land.
As he washed his face and cooled himself from the desert heat in crystal clear water, he discovered by his reflection
that his physical appearance had also been altered. He was taller, larger, with much darker skin, and with an incredible
muscular physique. His own face was barely recognizable to himself. His new genetic composition was of "The Son of
Baal" sect, yet he still bore the small scars of his French country-side childhood. He gathered that despite the
genetic make-over, his other old injuries would prove withstanding and for a brief moment he prayed that fact
would not deter life in this new land.
He wandered for miles putting questions to those who would answer him exploring the land. The average mental state
of those who survived the hardships of this life seemed of a stronger character and ability than other worlds he had
visited. Even as the earlier species of man...’these’ Egyptians had evolved into a cooperative social community
but were as cold or kind as any other beings he had encountered, despite their lack of war and violence.
It was almost a complete opposite from the land his last mission had taken place in. He had heard
many great things of this era, and due to the so out of the ordinary, common, helpful, attitude in this land,
he wrongfully set much too high an expectation onto the general population. Even though he was ecstatic
to be here, he was out of his element in their day to day procedures and language. For ancient times compared
to technological advances, most tasks were repetitive and surprisingly somevery complicated. The Egyptians
didn’t speak in Federation Standard. They used numerous and sometimes inconsistent abbreviations that
at first to him said nothing. Without the universal translator, most of their speech however intending to be
helpful, was beyond his understanding. Frustration showed its ugly face many times to him and others within
the clumsy communications. Although most people were quick to give an answer or free item, he quickly learned
to be more selective as to whom he would attempt associations with. The realization came to
be that despite the general higher intelligence and greater adult percentage found in this land as apposed
to most other places, many of the people still didn’t possess the maturity to recognize their own faulty
actions and some even chose the path they took wittingly despite the strife it caused to others. Some still didn’t
posses the ability or lacked the desire to communicate what they did know in simple terms, or had too much
pride to admit to not knowing. Many were hurried, impatient, and much too vernacular to be of much help.
Many more that he encountered were arrogant, dogmatic, and constantly made blanket statements without
providing the first steps or at least leading one to reach the conclusion on their own robbing them of
the fun of discovery. Others made action decisions for an entire group without consulting the group, then took
offence and complaint at others who did the same. Rather than talk it over with the one concerned, they
expressed their negative perceptions with third parties compounding the conflict, and never looked to their
own for their example or a resolution. Then there were those who were too narrow-minded and willful to even
discuss why certain things should or shouldn't be their way and simply enforced their own wants onto
others without concerning themselves with the wants or conceptions of those others. And still there were those
who foolishly took in other’s expressed perceptions as fact and acted on hearsay without making their own
evaluations and then not taking responsibility for the action. Despite the very premise of the game and
foreknowledge of the obstacles within, the same old negative human characteristics were challenged and brought
forth to the surface by ‘The Stranger’s Tests.’ It is all of our jobs to ‘pass the telling’ to recognize the bad
and reject it, especially within ourselves. All Egyptians were quite willing to give access and reference to
their collective data and research called the WIKI and used it wisely and often as their chief means of
sharing knowledge and telling the story of ‘A Tale in the Desert.’
(Although personally I would rather learn by doing or watching then to read an out of game resource no matter how inter-connectively part of the game it is. I do bear witness that ATITD is much too vast and multifaceted to be completely memorized by all but the very few or to be individually discovered or those discoveries tracked and accessed solely in game.)
(To Picard, being deposited here was more comparable to a colony ship crashing on a planet in a different dimension where technological devices (and the science that created them) proved incompatible with the surroundings. Basic knowledge had to be relearned as if different laws of physics existed here.)
He was in ancient Egypt now. Not in command on the secure bridge of his starship anymore. He wasn’t alone,
but those many trained and disciplined mature minds who supported him in the past, were now few and far between.
Much different than the crew on a starship, people here were hard to draw out in open chat to discuss and
debate, fight for right, to hold the majority together as a interdependent team, and to hold each other accountable.
Many chose to do their own thing and cared little what others did or said until it adversely affected them.
To each their own, but if the masses don’t hold others accountable, the likelihood of being adversely affected increases.
As his daily struggles progressed, the fact around how he arrived here became lost to him, and as the days
passed...became irrelevant. Here he was now, and here it seemed he would stay, despite finding the same
old ugly parts of humanity from a previous life, that he had sworn to combat and enlighten against.
As long as he was surrounded by humanity, human characteristics both good and bad would always be found.
He again made the choice to do his best for as many concerned that expressed their concerns, goals, wants,
and needs, and set out to enjoy what life he could make here. Simple personal achievements would never be enough for
this coordinator; he would have to learn where and how he could add his contributions, find his niche,
and just how to help improve the quality of Egyptian life for those around him.