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A Vacation from Virtual Reality

By Ann Francis

Copyright 2008, All Rights Reserved; Permission granted for educational purposes.

Mark raced forward trying to gain enough speed to leap over a dangerous ravine along the Appalachian Trail. As he pushed off to leap across, he heard his mother behind him frantically hollering out his name. Her booming voice startled Mark, distracting him from his task and robbing him of the energy needed for a successful jump. His body took flight, crashed into the rocky cliff opposite him, and slid two-hundred feet down the jagged rock, landing with a splash in the churning waters of the river below.

“Mark! Turn that computer off now!” Mrs. Johnson shouted.

“But mom,” Mark whined in response. He had become obsessed with Hiking USA, an online computer game where players attempt to complete obstacle courses in the “great outdoors” of a virtual reality setting. Mark had a ravenous desire to be the top scorer of the game. With diligence he had succeeded in getting his name listed as one of the high scorers, but that wasn’t enough to suit him. He wanted to be the best.

Mrs. Johnson checked her son’s negativity. “Stop whining! If you don’t stop spending all your time playing computer games, you’ll end up being illiterate. You should be reading travel guides. You need to get out and glean some information about the real world!”

Mrs. Johnson continued ranting, but Mark tuned her out. He had heard her speeches before and knew they never lasted more than six minutes. After precisely five minutes and twenty-three seconds a pamphlet sailed through the air and landed in his lap. Mark always knew his mother missed her calling to play baseball in the major leagues. As Mrs. Johnson walked away, Mark heard her say that they would be leaving next week. Leaving? For where? Mark realized that this time he should have listened more carefully to what she was saying.

He picked up the colorful, glossy brochure and read the title: Experience Nature at Hidden Haven. Photos of old men fishing on a peaceful pond, pitching tents, and sitting by a campfire were evidently meant to be appealing, but they made Mark feel morose. Clearly, there was no excitement to be had at Hidden Haven. Tossing the brochure aside, Mark turned back to his computer game, but before his fingers could touch the keyboard the electricity went out. His computer monitor turned black. In the hallway Mrs. Johnson tried to stifle her guffawing by covering her mouth with her hand. No doubt Mr. Johnson was in the basement strategically pushing levers on the electric switchbox. Mark did his best to tolerate his parent’s connivance to cut his computer game short, but he also vowed to pack his laptop for the trip.

A week later, when the Johnson’s arrived at Hidden Haven, Mark discovered how the vacation spot got its name. The place was so desolate that Mark was certain that neither online satellite photos nor Mapquest directions existed for it. No electric power lines traversed the landscape to ruin the beauty of the wilderness; consequently when Mark’s laptop battery died, there was no way to recharge it. He was left with no other option than to…EGADS… explore reality! Four trails lead off into the woods that surrounded the Johnson’s bivouac. Mark thought a moment. Finally, like Robert Frost, Mark chose the one less traveled, and it made all the difference.

Many hours passed without any sign from Mark. His parents, waiting at the campsite, were convinced the situation was becoming ominous, and they were right. After a five hour absence, Mark emerged from the trail in a daze. Unable to walk straight, he listed to the left and to the right like a drunk who had taken one too many drinks.

“He’s hurt!” Mrs. Johnson shouted to her husband as she ran toward her son. Blood was dripping down the teen’s leg, and upon close inspection Mrs. Johnson could see two small puncture wounds. “Snake bite! Call a ranger!”

Mr. Johnson made the call quickly, but then turned to give his son first aid.

Half in a trance, Mark rambled on about the escapades that lead to his snakebite. “It was awesome! I found a path that lead past a waterfall to the top of the mountain. I could see clear into the next state, but I didn’t notice the snake at my feet. I accidentally stepped on him. That’s when he bit me. He wouldn’t let go! I had to pry his teeth away from my leg. The thing had to be at least eight feet long. Just wait until my friends hear about it!”

Mark’s parents stared at each other in disbelief. Mrs. Johnson kneeled at her son’s side and said, “Mark, from now on you can play your computer game as often as you like!”