Love is only a dirty
trick played on us to achieve continuation of the species.
W. Somerset Maugham
I start tonight by
apologizing to my readers.
I begin
this way not because I’ve misspoken or somehow screwed up a prior story. Although, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m
quite capable of both.
I
apologize because by the time most readers see this story, its subject will be
long closed and gone from Second Life (SL).
Several
days ago, my good friend inworld, Perry
Peterson, and impresario extraordinaire told me about his current
event taking place in Mieville Midway.
It was an anti-Valentine’s Day function based on Edgar Allen Poe’s
famous short story, The
Tell-Tale Heart.
Now, given
how Perry is the same person who brings us more traditional holiday festivities,
I was admittedly a little surprised. But,
since he always has a unique spin on things and has never disappointed me with
his who factor, I took down the details and promised to visit soon.
A little
bias on my behalf must be owned up to.
Poe is one of my favorite writers, right up there with Orwell and
Hemingway. (I’m nothing if not eclectic.
Significant Other sometimes wonders what this says about our
relationship.) Some say he is the father
of the modern mystery. Others, one of
America’s greatest poets. Some, a
diseased mind who somehow managed to capture his thoughts on paper before dying
under mysterious circumstances. They’re
all true.
The Tell-Tale Heart is one of Poe’s
darker tales which is saying a lot. I
won’t give away the plot. Read it for
yourselves if you haven’t already. I
just think it was a stroke of genius on Perryn’s part to play the idea of this
short story against the heart associated with Valentine’s Day.
Late one evening in
Real Life (RL), I take the time to visit the Mieville Midway and see the Gacha
Expo: A Tell-Tale Heart for myself.
I’m in a
darkened room in RL, hunched over my machine and enter into Poe’s world of
madness as Perryn has laid it out.
(Significant Other is more sensibly camped out in front of the
television watching the Winter Olympics.)
I arrive on a dock in a nineteenth century port surrounded by ships of
sail and steam. A light house’s beam
cuts through the night and the fog.
Given the hour and that the end of the Expo is nigh, I’m all alone.
Turning
around I see a town above me with roads leading into it and some hills. Ravens (what else?) fly overhead. The colors are dark with touches of drab
added in. The scene is atmospheric and
brooding. I think of Poe. I feel that I’ve entered his consciousness.
Yes,
Perryn has done it again. Although, as he pointed out to me as this was posted, Jalynne Ohma did the actual builds. Perryn only donated the prims, sent out applications, and collected fees. But his structure provides a unique marketing venue for inworld builders.
Jalynne has
captured the essence of an idea and created a visual image of it inworld. Walking through the empty, silent streets
with brooding buildings looming over me, I have the sense of something out
there which is maybe way Poe tried to convey in his story. I can’t help but glance over my shoulder both
inworld and in RL. (Significant Other’s
been known to startle me when I’m sometimes too deeply engaged. Claims I need to keep a sense of balance.)
Yes, there
are shops filled with merchandise and gacha machines in the streets but I’m not
here to do business. I’m here to
experience an author’s work in a way that is impossible to do on the printed
page.
A
circuitous path takes me through the edges of the town through its center and
back to the waterfront. This is one of
Perryn’s finest creations. He has
captured the feeling of the story and laid it out for all to see and
experience.
Unfortunately,
since I’ve been running around doing other things in both RL and SL, I post
this story on the night the Expo closes.
And, since, Perryn doesn’t repeat these experiences if you haven’t seen
it already then you never will.
For this
then, I apologize.
If there’s
a lesson here, it’s keep close to Perryn and his future events so they won’t be
missed. (BTW, I’ve been given a peek at
a highly confidential project of Perryn’s and it’s going to be really
something. Watch here for more details!)
I include some
pictures from my short visit and I hope you enjoy them for this is all many of
you will get to see.
I’d like to thank
Perryn for taking the time to tell about Gacha Expo: A Tell-Tale Heart and all
his efforts to bring this sim about. I
look forward to his next projects! I'd also like to thank Jalynne for her very creative work!
As always, I’m grateful to
all inworld for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who
was passing through their lives.
I welcome feedback from
readers, please either comment on my blog or
e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com
.
If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.
If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.
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