[ IP ] Lean With It

The Sculptor strode over to the chair, slowly, carefully, feeling every last bit of the disease that was killing him. He did n't have one of the worst ones, the ones that killed with pain, and anguish. Not Virtex, or the Scronk, or God forbid, Black Jitters, but what he had would prove fatal nonetheless. But this was no time to lament his own fate. The first batch would be here soon, he had to hurry. Sitting in the large, soft chair, he placed the Halo^tm on his head. `` Activate'' he said, to initiate the main activation sequence. A flash of light and color, and he found himself standing in what appeared to be an endless white space. 
 
 `` Welcome to GeoSculpt, your All-in-one virtual reality modeling suite. Would you like to create a new file, or open a saved world?'' a female voice echoed unseen from the distance, accompanied by the usual sound file for the program, a pleasant little jingle that reminded him of a lullaby. 
 
 `` New file, please.'' the Sculptor replied. The system did n't understand manners, was n't complex enough for it. But something in him made him say please all the same. The rote practice of dealing with real people, he supposed. 
 
 `` File name?'' the female voice sounded back. Janice. He decided to call her Janice. Not out loud, she ( or it ) would never understand having a name, but just for himself, she would be Janice. 
 
 `` Greenbriar Orphanage.'' 
 
 `` Saving Greenbriar_Orphanage.geo,'' Janice dutifully responded. `` Saving complete. Please select toolbars.'' 
 
 `` Um, give me Earth, Temperate Forest, and Night, for now. Left-aligned, please.'' 
 
 `` Loading toolbars. To access the tutorials, please...'' 
 
 `` Skip,'' he interrupted, cancelling the pre-recorded message. He had been a Sculptor for three years, and was way past the point where the tutorials could help. Raising his left hand, he opened the Earth toolbar with a simple swiping motion. Plains, Mountains, Coast, and a few other pre-made templates were listed in front of him. There was also a free-form option, but he disliked hand-sculpting basic terrain. Not that he had time for it today, anyway.A grabbing gesture, and a flick of the wrist loaded the `` Plains'' template. The stark white surroundings were replaced with a flat, dirt field. It seemed to extend off into the horizon, disappearing out of sight, but he knew the boundary was only a few hundred yards away. The file sizes were large, but not infinite. 
 
 `` Close Earth toolbar, please.'' The toolbar vanished with a simple ding noise, no response from Janice. For a brief moment, he felt a small tinge of loneliness at her absence. He quickly brushed it off as silly, and retuned to work. A second swipe opened the Temperate Forest toolbar, with Pine, Oak, Maple, Birch, Grasses, Shrubs, and a scrollbar to reveal more options. Not having the time to get fancy, he placed an average assortment of trees around the perimeter of the property, using the built-in `` randomize'' feature. 
 
 Satisfied with that, he began scrolling through the Grasses sub-menu, looking for that perfect `` feel'' for the place. The grass was always his favorite detail, having spent many summers as a boy running across manicured lawns on a still-thriving Earth. Those lawns would all be gone now, ravaged in the wars, and the Collapse, and the Plague. There had always been many theories as to how the world would end, but no one ever thought it would be `` All of the Above.'' Humanity was dwindling, on the border of extinction. But their Children would live on, so that was a comfort. 
 
 Sentimentality. No time for it now, he thought. They're coming, and we... we're going. `` That's the stuff...'' he said to no one. Deep green grass, in need of cutting, but not yet unmanageably wild. Perfect for a youthful frolic, should the need arise. 
 
 `` Load Large_Farmhouse.bld, Janice.'' he commanded. 
 `` Large_Farmhouse.bldjanice: File Not Found'' came the reply in Janice's soft, even tone. 
 
 `` Load Large_Farmhouse.bld'' he said, internally chastising himself for his slip-up. She does n't have a name, not now, not ever. The Children will have names, but not her. 
 
 `` File loaded. Would you like the Building Toolbar visible?'' 
 
 `` Yes, please. Right-aligned.'' He got to work customizing the building with what it would need for its intended purpose. A few more bedrooms, bunk beds, and an extra bathroom. He used the basic furnishings toolkit to outfit the house for the lives of ten children, and three caretakers. He stockd the fridge and the pantry, filled the cabinets with dishes and the drawers with utensils. Illusions, but necessary for their goals. If you want to raise children right, they need the best home you can give them. 
 
 Returning outside, he placed a quaint wooden fence along one side of the property, with power lines just beyond. Everything had to visually make sense, even if it was n't really functional. The Children coul n't guess their world was fake until it was time for them to grow up. He got the sunlight and reflections tuned just the way he wanted them, then switched the rendering to the night sky, his favorite part. 
 
 Another swipe, and the Night toolbar was open. `` Activate gesture control.'' he commanded, more sternly than his previous commands. This was serious stuff, this sculpting of stars, he was about to engage in the Craft of the Gods. 
 
 `` Gesture control activated'' Janice demured as he raised his hands towards the sky. A poke of the finger placed the first star. Then another, and another. Soon, he was painting whole constellations in broad strokes. Finally, bringing both hands together over his head, a long sweeping motion painted the band of the Milky Way. Lowering his arms, he put his hands in his pockets, and surveyed his recent work. 
 
 `` Not bad,'' he thought. The galactic band was directly overhead, a straight band of uncountable colors. `` Maybe if I...'' 
 
 He stared at the sweeping mass of stars, and began to lean to the side slowly, tilting the night sky as he did so. When the angle was just right, he sighed, and thought, `` Yeah, just there.'' 
 
 `` Gesture control off, please. Save file, and finalize.'' 
 
 `` Gesture control off. File saved. File uploading to WorldServer. Upload complete.'' 
 
 His work was now part of the Virtual World, the last creation of mankind. The safe haven for their Children, the AIs spawned from their machines during the last years of the wars. The Earth was a ruined husk, devastated by the wars, and the environmental Collapse. The Plagues were killing off the last of the survivors. But in these virtual worlds, in gigantic machines meandering through lazy orbits among the planets of the solar system, the Children would live on. They would grow up, raised by the best virtual avatars humanity could program. And when the time was right, they would be shown the truth, and given a choice. Stay here, in this virtual world, or take cybernetic bodies, and explore physical reality. The Sculptor wondered which they would choose.
