"He couldn't watch a video, he couldn't watch TV because of the celebrities and the adverts and the adverts endorsed by celebrities, he couldn't jog or walk the streets because they would be filled with drunks, he couldn't eat because even the though of it made him sick. All he could do was sit before the computer. Yes, lose himself in another world. Take the bottle through. Log on to Second Life.
The waves were crashing. he was back on the beach and surrounded by people. Zed Reeves and Tame De Niro and Devil Huston. The animation was better tonight. When he hit the forward button he moved without delay. When he hit fly he flew, when he hit stop-fly he descended. It was the usual place, the place marked haven. Where people started before him. Tony Schwarzenegger and Tina Bardot were sitting on a bench together. He walked towards them. The icon said they were chatting. He wanted to sit and chat. He went through the menu to find the sit command. A bubble appeared/
'You do not have enough credits to sit here. Do you want to buy credits?'
No. He walked back and approached a svelte woman in a silver jumpsuit. Kiki Kidman. The drop-down menu gave him options: chat, shout. A box opened. Speak: 'Hi, Kiki, wanna chat?'
No reply. Kiki turned black. A box opened. 'Kiki is shape shifting right now.'
Whoever Kiki was. Some woman in Taiwan, or Hong Kong, some man in New jersey or Suffolk. He walked away.
The speech bubble opened. Message from Ziggy Cruise.
'Hi, Dad,' it said. 'What you doing online?'
Tom hit the turn button. Ziggy was in front of him. His son had changed. Ziggy was a fully grown man now, had beard and a black suit. Tom wanted to type: 'You should be in your bed.' He hesitated. Drank another mouthful.
'Though I'd find you here sometime soon,' his son said.
He needed to log off, right now. This was no place to meet his son. He typed.'Nice to meet you too.'
'Did you check out the disco? It's total cheese but they play no bad tunes this time of night. Mum's asleep, by the way. Total fluke meeting you. S'cool through.'
Ziggy was a man now.
'Sean, can't do this, I'm new here. Can I call you?'
'Follow me - show you some good shit. Be cool. By the way you got to do something about your avatar - it's not fully formed. Go to appearance on the drop-down menu and click on change.'
Sean was talking to him. With attitude. Tom could almost her his voice. He followed his son through the park over the beach to this place called Center. Pictures of landscapes floating in the sky, drop-down menus that said 'Go there' - a desert, a snowy wasteland, an infinite city.
'Cool huh, Dad? You wanna fly to the city with me? Watch a movie together?"
Tom was in tears.
'Gotta go'
No escaping anything. When was the last time he'd taken Sean to a movie?
'Gotta go, kiddo.'
'Say hi to your girlfriend for me. Mum says I can meet her Weds. That cool?'
'Yes, OK. nite nite.'
Tom logged off. Minutes staring at the screen, crying. OK, I'm crying I'm fucking crying. Let me be. The glass to the mouth. The trip to the kitchen to refill. Ok, he was a drunk. [...]" (p. 368-369)
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