When I TPed in, I was met by more than a dozen people, many holding signs in support of either Mubarek or the protesters. Turns out I had TPed into a virtual protest in Tahrir Square! It was eerily quiet, though. Every once in a while, someone would say something about democracy or some other random slogan and then it went silent again. One person asked another why she supported Mubarek but didn't receive an answer.
While there I spoke to a CNN correspondent (Real or Virtual or the difference I don't know) and asked her what the place was like: had people been here all along? Did they talk more? Where are they from? She said she had only been the day before but that it was consistently populated. Indeed, the location is a landing hub for new avatars so there was a mix of protesters with signs and new folks doing the SL duck waddle. I'm sure they were looking around like "what the Hell??"
Out of curiosity, I asked where everyone was from. Three of us from the USA and one from Egypt. I IMed the Egyptian, asking if she was currently in Egypt and she said yes, with her family. This just after the announcement was made that Egyptians had gotten their Internet back. I told her that I was glad she had communication again with the outside world but she had gotten preoccupied helping a couple of new arrivals.
She thought they were both girls. She TPed us back to her house to help them with their skin and clothes. While there we got on voice chat (one of few times I've used that) and discovered at least one of the girls was a guy. I think the Egyptian lady became uncomfortable helping a guy out and felt confused so she TPed all of us to a different welcome area and disappeared.
But I was now there with two lovely folks from a Spanish business school, a guy and a girl. The guy certainly wanted to be a guy in SL and there had just been a miscommunication. I only had time to pass some hair to the girl before they had to go. They friended me and I allowed it, though I rarely do for strangers, because I always try to encourage newcomers into SL that are trying to blend RL and SL and I know that SL has a fairly steep learning curve.
So they left and someone else, noticing I was helping them, started asking me for help. And then another. After spending quite a while there I was finally able to get back home.
I sat on my couch, sipping tea, when I noticed a couple on the street outside and one shouted "I broke into it." After chatting them I discovered they were a recently married couple and they were interested in the brownstone I live in to move to their own sim. I invited them in for a tour and they were very thankful and polite. They said I helped them decide on it, but that was no surprise - my brownstone is truly one of the best builds I've ever lived in.
When they left I tried on my new zombie skin, but that's another story.
So what is "virtual" and what is real? I communicated, albeit briefly, directly with a woman in Egypt in a time when her nation is under the world's magnifying glass. And within just a short time of regaining Internet access, this woman decided to come into a virtual environment to interact with - even assist - other people from around the world. They are making history and we are standing right there in a virtual representation of the real forum. We spoke to each other and heard each other's voices. Isn't that real?
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