Thursday 3 August 2000

Pic of the day: Screenshot from The Sims. Don't tune out yet ... there's a story behind this one. Sometimes artificial intelligence is, after all, a match for the natural one.

Fantasy vs Reality: 1-1

The other night I was playing The Sims again. (Obviously.) In the game, I've created various characters: There's the overweight fridge raider Garamond and his skinny young wife Amber, and Garamond's daughter Lucida from some earlier relationship. And in the opposite corner, there's MCF, Magnus CodeFighter. (Yes, I was an unabashed admirer of the comic book MRF, Magnus Robot Figther, until Acclaim bought up the title and closed it down, as they also did with other good comic books. May they get what they deserve!)

Anyway, the newlyweds invited Magnus over for dinner, the remnants of which can be seen in the picture. (Magnus brought the chocolate cake in the background. Notice how it is barely even touched.) After the meal, Magnus tried to chat with the hosts, but they suddenly remembered other things they had to do. (Garamond probably ran for the toilet again - it's either that or the fridge with him most of the day.) Amber suddenly found this was a good time for a bath.

Magnus eventually tried to talk to the child, Lucida. And she went like "oooh!" and suddenly there was no stopping her. The two of them just kept talking and talking about school and pets till 1 in the night, when the others had already gone to bed, and Magnus simply had to go home.

***

As I watched this funny little episode unfold on my screen, I could not avoid remembering another Magnus and another little girl, years ago. A bright child that just could not stop talking, and a guest who somewhat to his surprise found that she was always interesting. Yes, that was me and the SuperGirl (now officially SuperWoman) back when she was just a bouncing ball of braids and freckles and endless ideas.

Now in all honesty, she wasn't the only person in the house that interested me. Ahem. But still, it was a funny thing how a grown man and a child could get along so well. I guess it says a little about each of us. She was awfully bright already then, though of course her little head was not yet filled with all kinds of knowledge the way it is today. And I guess I was still a bit childish, and perhaps I still am. As the French saying goes: "All men are children. When a woman understands this, she understands everything."

Anyway, the funny thing is, even though she was 18 years younger than me, I didn't feel like a father figure or like I was taking care of her. (If anything, she was taking care of me.) We were friends who just happened to be born in different generations. And that's the way it continued, for many years, until fate cruelly tore us apart. *waah*

Sometimes reality is weirder than fantasy. And sometimes they are pretty much equally weird. Still, I do miss her and the time when we were together, happy and carefree, and the world was filled with knowledge just there for the taking.

***

Speaking of fantasy, I've visited Project Gutenberg which has free e-texts of books whose copyright has expired. I've downloaded and started reading on Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barzoom (Mars) books, starting with "A princess of Mars". Fair warning: My language may turn flowery if I read too much at a time. I love Burroughs' way with words.

Of other entertainment, I guess I should mention the freee online comic strip Suburban Jungle starring Tiffany Tiger. I just found it yesterday and kept reading despite myself. It is not exactly Zot! but there is more than a year of it to catch up on, and it's all freeee! :) Needless to say, I prefer the stripes with Dover.

OK, enough for now! Best of luck for you, wherever you are!