The Machines of the City

At the same time the Weather Machine was being constructed, a group led by an enigmatic man named Vincent (mononym), whether for their own gratification, curiosity or morbid fascination began working on The Mind Haven.  The Haven, as it became known to those who used it routinely, was essentially Internet 2.0. It was a massive construct of servers which would be able to support the collective consciousness of hundreds of thousands of people.  The Haven was a large digital, interconnected series of literal minds and consciousnesses.  It was the greatest communication device ever created.  Never before had humans been able to seemingly interact face to face, with every sense of the word.  Each human sense, sight, hearing, even touch and smell were integrated into the system so that a complete experience could be achieved and enjoyed by users.  It was the closest you could get to "in person" without having to actually do go and meet the person.  Advances in technology, which were commonplace in the Age of Lights (AOL) gave way for this sort of thing.

It was going to be a simple design.  A plugin area would be there to rest one’s head, while sitting in a comfortable chair.  A cable connected the user to the servers, allowing interaction of one’s mind with another.  Here, the person could put their brain into a neural network with other users.  A level of VR that was unprecedented.  Upon transfer to The Haven, all physical feelings associated with the actual body were completely gone and were placed into a simulated body.   The public's response to this was enormous.   Everyone had to have one.  And those that did, enjoyed it immensely.  

However, like all things, especially structures of this magnitude, it was not without it's issues and faults.  While Vincent, the brain behind it, created with good intention, it was not used like that, that's for sure.  By this time, climate change was "in full swing." The City was plagued with excessive heat, intense droughts, extended periods of food shortages, and overall just temperamental weather.  The MH served as the next internet.  A distraction.  A way to literally plug in and not have to worry about anything.  The MH could take you away without a care and dump you into a world of colorful lights, fun people and an infinite source of mindless entertainment.   You could become your favorite video game character or be at the heart of a murder mystery.  You could explore accurately detailed parts of the world.  You could be transported right in front of anyone who was also hooked up.  And probably most impressively, you could attach memories into your own console, allowing for infinite reviewing.  People could saturate their anxious ridden mind with good feelings.

Because you could experience complete immersion, your corporeal body was left to its own devices.  You had the ability to monitor what was going on it but most people turned that off.  Who likes a pop up?  You never thank your laptop for telling you its low battery or those popups that tell you your password is compromised.  You take offense to it.  And so did the denizens.  They ignored the comments about health or shit like that.  And so, well, the body still needed food or rest.  And if it didn't get that? Well, you know what happens.

It was different for those that couldn't obtain the best device.  You weren't allowed to hook up to the "fancy" networks or utilize the best servers or graphics or experiences. Instead, it was extremely limited in its representation of thought.  It did not allow the user to see anything they wanted or even visualize pretty much anything of form.  Instead, it provided calm. It provided content feelings akin to that of a summer picnic with your favorite person after running around, playing tag or something similar.  It is that final sigh of happiness as you look upon the sun, slowly setting and your significant other rest’s their head on your shoulder.   Basically digital income inequality manifest.  A lot of people had issue with this.  Which was further exacerbated by the poorer time and effort given to maintaining these systems, leaving them to fall to ruin much quicker and much harder.  

And so groups formed to make this better.  But in the end, did either of them succeed? The MH in sustaining or those that told them off?