Because climate change had caused the Black Sea to diminish and the surrounding areas to become arid, the wheat crop in neighboring nations collapsed. The resulting surge in global food prices led to uprisings in poor nations. The countries surrounding the Black Sea went to war for control of the remaining water, each backed by major powers such as the U.S., China, or Russia. The "Rain Rooms" were created as a virtual therapy program for veterans and civilian survivors of the 2087 Black Sea wars, many of whom had not seen rain or green plants in years. The Rain Rooms exist virtually in the Metaverse, allowing those who are fitted with a brain shunt to plug in and enter. There they encounter the sights, sounds, feelings, and smells of rain, mist, cool wind, comforting overcast light. They experience a combined sense of shelter and openness in rooms where the distinction between outside and inside is ambiguous. Rain Room visitors felt solitude and safety while exploring the hallways and rooms. Since the Rain Rooms are a non-bodily space, there is no experience of time, hunger, thirst, pain, or tiredness there. To make the experience more convincing, the system prevents the user from remembering that the Rain Rooms are virtual. In an effort to retrain the brain, the system provides light and sound waves at a frequency that block panic, anxiety, and depression. To make the experience more immersive and interactive, the system also customizes music, lighting, and weather patterns in response to the user's pulse, blood pressure, and breathing rates in an effort to help retrain the user's body towards ideal conditions. The Rain Rooms Were directed by AGI Inc. (Artificial General Intelligence), which was a subsidiary of Quantum Computers International. The AGI could guide the user in self-expressive tasks such as writing poetry, painting, and even manifest holographically as a tailor-made companion to suit the user's psychological needs. In 2089, a solar storm caused the entire GlobalNet to temporarily go offline. Once the system was restored, the minds of "Rain Rooms" users remained trapped in the system while their bodies remained comatose in user-centers. The bodies have since been disconnected from life-support, but the system gradually assimilated the wave-patterns of the trapped minds. Unaware of their predicament or the passage of time, those minds remain active in the quantum-virtual space known as "The Rain Rooms".
Because climate change had caused the Black Sea to diminish and the surrounding areas to become arid, the wheat crop in neighboring nations collapsed. The resulting surge in global food prices led to uprisings in poor nations. The countries surrounding the Black Sea went to war for control of the remaining water, each backed by major powers such as the U.S., China, or Russia.
The "Rain Rooms" were created as a virtual therapy program for veterans and civilian survivors of the 2087 Black Sea wars, many of whom had not seen rain or green plants in years. The Rain Rooms exist virtually in the Metaverse, allowing those who are fitted with a brain shunt to plug in and enter. There they encounter the sights, sounds, feelings, and smells of rain, mist, cool wind, comforting overcast light. They experience a combined sense of shelter and openness in rooms where the distinction between outside and inside is ambiguous.
Rain Room visitors felt solitude and safety while exploring the hallways and rooms. Since the Rain Rooms are a non-bodily space, there is no experience of time, hunger, thirst, pain, or tiredness there. To make the experience more convincing, the system prevents the user from remembering that the Rain Rooms are virtual.
In an effort to retrain the brain, the system provides light and sound waves at a frequency that block panic, anxiety, and depression. To make the experience more immersive and interactive, the system also customizes music, lighting, and weather patterns in response to the user's pulse, blood pressure, and breathing rates in an effort to help retrain the user's body towards ideal conditions.
The Rain Rooms Were directed by AGI Inc. (Artificial General Intelligence), which was a subsidiary of Quantum Computers International. The AGI could guide the user in self-expressive tasks such as writing poetry, painting, and even manifest holographically as a tailor-made companion to suit the user's psychological needs.
In 2089, a solar storm caused the entire GlobalNet to temporarily go offline. Once the system was restored, the minds of "Rain Rooms" users remained trapped in the system while their bodies remained comatose in user-centers. The bodies have since been disconnected from life-support, but the system gradually assimilated the wave-patterns of the trapped minds. Unaware of their predicament or the passage of time, those minds remain active in the quantum-virtual space known as "The Rain Rooms".