Does anything really exist in Second Life?
While exploring Second Life yesterday, I came across a cube. Just a plain cube, called Prim Cube Final 01.04.03, created by Ryan Linden of Linden Lab. That date — whether it's 1st April or 4th January 2003 — puts its creation right around the very launch of Second Life itself. Its inspect panel shows 17th December 2003, so not quite a founding artefact, but still over twenty years old. I found it oddly moving.
But then — can a virtual object really exist at all? One of the first things I learned in science is that matter can neither be created nor destroyed. Yet the sim owner could simply press Delete and this cube would vanish without a trace. No atoms rearranged. Just gone.
The sim owner hasn't logged in since Christmas Eve 2024, so perhaps it's safe for now. But what if the tier lapses and the sim closes?
Early in my Second Life, I had a friend who died in the real world — far too young, in her early thirties, from cancer. I've always imagined that she hasn't entirely gone. Her avatar still exists in code on a server somewhere, in stasis, waiting patiently for her typist to log back on so she can wear her beloved Bax Boots again.
She left me two Kittycats — animated virtual cats. One day, one of them stopped. It just lay there, eyes closed, chest no longer rising and falling. I was devastated. The creator was wonderful and sent a perfect replacement — same codes, same appearance, an exact duplicate.
So now the copy Blueberry runs freely around my virtual house, while the original, motionless Blueberry is preserved in my inventory. And always will be.
Twenty-two years old, give or take. We sat together for a while.
Lenore Vectoscope and friend. Her typist left us 9th October 2011 -- In her own words
"Lenore is rather shy when she meets new people, even if she can often be found in places where that might seem unlikely. It usually takes her quite some time to relax and talk freely.
She enjoys reading (including profiles) - and she loves her boots.
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better."
Blueberry (copy) and Blueberry (original). Only one of them is really here.
