…within 10 to 20 years–roughly the same time it took for the Web to become what it is now–something much bigger than either of these alternatives may emerge: a true Metaverse. In Neal Stephenson’s 1992 novel Snow Crash, a classic of the dystopian “cyberpunk” genre, the Metaverse was a planet-size virtual city that could hold up to 120 million avatars, each representing someone in search of entertainment, trade, or social contact. The Metaverse that’s really on the way, some experts believe, will resemble Stephenson’s vision, but with many alterations. It will look like the real earth, and it will support even more users than the Snow Crash cyberworld, functioning as the agora, labo­ratory, and gateway for almost every type of information-based pursuit. It will be accessible both in its immersive, virtual-reality form and through peepholes like the screen of your cell phone as you make your way through the real world. And like the Web today, it will become “the standard way in which we think of life online,” to quote from the Metaverse Roadmap, a forecast published this spring by an informal group of entrepreneurs, media producers, academics, and analysts (Cascio among them)...

When fiction is stranger than reality (or is it the other way around?):



The following sample from the Encyclopedia Galactica is an extract from a piece about the "Terran" species, written by Shroom Man 777 (aka "The Kommissar!"):

Encyclopedia Galactica > Terran Religion > Neo-Scientology Neo-Scientology was founded in the year 2100 when a large number of excommunicated Scientologists broke off from the Church of Scientology after citing its unethical practices. While L. Ron Hubbard’s Scientologists denounced the ‘heretical’ Neo-Scientologists, the Neo-Scientologists actually became much more successful than their brothers on the other side. The controversial nature of the Church of Scientology did not follow the Neo-Scientologists, so they were more easily accepted by the various European nations that regarded the Church as a dangerous cult. Because of this, Neo-Scientology flourished as the Church declined. Today Neo-Scientology, along with Deism, Zen Buddhism, paganism and Born-Again Christianity, is one of the prevalent religions in the T-3 - or at least in the USE and LFW. The core tenants of Neo-Scientology are very simple and straightforward, if albeit unbelievable to those without faith – which comprises the majority of the human race – but one must note that to those without faith, all religions are unbelievable. The first belief of Neo-Scientology is the existence of an everlasting soul that dwells inside the body of all sentients. This soul, which originates from the ultra-dimensional superbeing known as Xenu or Xemu, is believed to transcend the twenty-five dimensions that are theorized to exist (according to hyperspace physics). This soul is also said to change hosts whenever the one it currently inhabits expires. The second belief is that the hosts a soul takes is initially pure and untainted, but because the soul is tainted with sin and immorality, the host’s consciousness is eventually subverted as the host grows up. The last belief is that through living a good, moral and honest life, and through frequent meditation, the tainted soul can be cleansed and the consciousness of the host can use this soul as a vessel to escape his crude material existence and attain an afterlife as a luminous being that will feed on the eternal interdimensional essence of Xenu. This afterlife is theorized to be located in hyperspace (one of the first Neo-Scientologists was Igor Watutu Baltivski, a pioneer in hyperspatial sciences). To uphold these beliefs, Neo-Scientologists form communities called enclaves. These enclaves are not meant to be evangelical, as Neo-Scientologist missionaries are frowned upon. Instead, these enclaves are meant to form brotherhoods between members of the religion, and through fellowship and teaching, strengthen their faith. Also, these fellowships enable Neo-Scientologists to discuss current happenings and their importance to their religion, and can offer council and help and company to not only fellow Neo-Scientologists, but also to nonbelievers. These enclaves also enable Neo-Scientologists to meditate together, or teach new initiates of their faith, creating a very positive atmosphere... Because these enclaves are where many Neo-Scientologists shed crucial facets of their personal life to one another, and because enclaves are often composed of very good friends and tight-knit communities, this has led to the misconception of the Coalition’s (overly Christian) populace that the Neo-Scientologists practice cultist behaviors... More here >