Halting State has an interesting mix of the technology of today and the technology to come. There are three major advancements when it comes to virtual worlds. They are Cop Space, Spooks, and the visual specs people wear to enter virtual worlds. Each of these either pull
people away from reality or force them to rely on technology too much.
Ever since the Nintendo Virtual Boy, and even further in science fiction, people have always wanted to put our eyes up to a viewer and be completely enveloped into a virtual space. Even with the motion controls of the Nintendo Wii it still can’t erase the fact that you know you are just looking at a television screen. You see Mario or Master Chief on the screen. but you are aware that a screen separates you from truly being Mario or Master Chief.
After the abysmal failure of the Virtual Boy the video game industry pretty much gave up on creating a virtual reality experience through an eye piece. However this technology is still being explored today. In a recent experiment subjects wore virtual goggles that showed them, themselves from a third person perspective. When their virtual selves were poked the subjects would react even though their physical beings had not been touched. The results would “call into question the axiom that everything you are is anchored in your body.” Virtual Experiment
One particularly disturbing moment in Halting State was the point in which Jack confronts Chen. Jack and Chen are both inside the virtual space, but Jack is stabbed in the real world (173). He doesn’t realize he has nearly been killed until a moment later. This is truly a frightening experience, as it is shown how someone can forget their real body while in a virtual world.
Cop Space is another example of the advancements in virtual worlds. As stated in Halting State “Just Cop Space? That’s not a game, that’s a metaverse like Real World or Second Life…” (51). Cop Space is definitely not a game, as the police seem to rely on it for their information on everything and everyone. Without it the lack of knowledge on crime is astounding. It reminds me of times when I need to Google something or look it up on Wikipedia, and there isn’t a wifi connection anywhere to be found. I get the feeling that 90% of my brain is missing. When Cop Space is going down and all the other technology could be crashing as well, Sue is very worried. Thanks to the easy access of information, more complex sub laws have been created. “The old British government passed, and then revised justice acts since independence, replaced the old catch all offences like “breach of the peace” with a huge array of very specific charages" (265). With access to great amounts of information at a time institutions are expecting a lot more when they pass laws.
Spooks is possibly the most frightening new virtual reality. This is due to the fact that is played in real life. There is no screen or specs separating you from this new world. Also unlike the Zone the non-player characters are not computer controlled but are real people. When zombies were moving about in the Zone they were an annoyance. When Spooks players were role playing as zombies it becomes a real life disturbance (301). Spooks was also turning players into agents which is the most frightening prospect. What if we thought we were playing a war video game and were actually be trained to be soldiers?
Jack’s near death experience behind his game specs, the police’s over confidence in Cop Space, and the march of the Spooks zombies all show the control that technology holds over the world of Halting State. Charles Stross has done an excellent job of taking the current day technology and enhancing it to dangerous levels. Losing your self behind virtual goggles has already taken place today though not through out a large population. Second Life is being used to gather information on consumers. Though nothing as large as Spooks really exists, LARPs are still prevalent today as I've seen them at the anime convention Otakon. All these real world things do have the potential to lead to a Halting State.
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