Timescape

 

Frank was a top notch timescape artist. He could create

a forties noir bar, a Roman feast, or a picnic watching the

first battle of Bull Run with equal aplomb. Virtual reality

had evolved so far that you could be anywhere at any era

you wanted, as long as you had the money, of course.

Now, the idle rich would never be bored.

 

The other ¨people¨ in the timescape, aside from invited

guests were, autonomous A.I.s, so the illusion of reality

was complete. One could input level of difficulty as well

as other qualities such as ¨romance¨ or ¨intrigue¨ to 

nudge the story line in a certain direction. Unlike in 

Neuromancer, where the clients were immobilized for 

their emersion, the timescape hardware was a chip 

(of course) implanted in the brain. The client was free 

to move around as he/she wished. Timescape used the 

existing environment and made it seem like somewhere 

else. A door would remain a door so one could function. 

Where the door was, what era, and where it led was

the magic of Timescape.