Second Life is almost a teenager!

I remember the first time I heard about Second Life. I can't quite recall where on the internet I'd heard about it, but it was someone's personal website where they talked about having a virtual persona in a virtual world on the internet. As an individual who had grown up MUCKing and MUDding their way through highschool, this was very intriguing to me. Social virtual environments, heavily cruxed on the lifeblood of imagination have always fascinated me. This was no exception.

Alas, I had to wait a year to join because I did not yet own a credit card (yes, this was back in "ye olde SL daes of yore" when you were still required to have a credit card to join), but as soon as I had that little piece of plastic between my fingers, I created my account on August 31, 2005, logged in, and never looked back.

I won't soon forget my initial experience, stepping into the Welcome Area after visiting Orientation Island. This was before Mesh. Before Sculpts. Before Flexi Prims. Before Animated AO's. Everything was built with a mish-mash of spheres and cubes and cones and cylinders and toruses (torii?). Second Life was (and likely always will be) a culture shock for the newly-indoctrinated. I stood there as I watched a tiny hyena in a dress converse with a seductive-looking demon, while Kirby and Bowser and Master Chief flew through the sky overhead. There was someone with pink flamingos attached to themselves every-which way as newbies wandered, rezzing cubes and immediately attaching them to their heads.

I wasted no time IMing everyone I knew to tell them about this phenomenon I'd just discovered. I think my actual words were:

"This is !@#$%^& awesome."

I dove obsessively into this new virtual environment. Within a week, I'd already gotten a handle on how to build. Within two weeks, I'd created my first head of hair. Within one month, I'd created my first sellable product -- and Refined Wild was born.

But enough about my life story! Time to talk about Somniatis.

 :: Somniatis :: Ascension of the Digital Consciousness

 "Somniatis" (sohm-nee-ah-tis); Latin for 'to dream'.
         

Somniatis is a meditation piece -- something of

travel, contemplation and beauty. It flows upward,

towards a higher state of digital consciousness

via surreal imaginings and dream-imagery. Things

become more solid, complex and advanced as

individuals travel to the apex of the spiral -- the

end of their journey -- going from the state of 

"idea" to the state of "completion".
            

On the way back down, the traveler re-connects

with the primal technological state -- the formation 

of the idea. The code. The data. Which works to

operate the abstract core of the completed

thought.
            

Second Life is to live within a collective

consciousness. We journey through these vast

terrains of ever-expanding, ever-changing worlds

-- worlds that are mirrors of our inner thoughts 

and inner selves.
            

Second Life is a pocket dimension of digital

existence, where dreams are realized in a very 

tangible manner. We weave the thread between the

realms of reality and that of our psyche - which

is endless, infinite and ever-growing upward and

outward.
            

We are a generation of digital shamans.

Click the image above to visit "Somniatis"

Somniatis was developed by myself, once again featuring the motion art of Methias Kira from [-Abstract Soul-]. It was assisted in assembly by Saikatsu Epsilon and Kaelis Ember.

Methias and I both have Somniatis-related items you can obtain for FREE by clicking our respective signs at the exhibit! They will only be free for the week of the SL11B celebration, so get those freebies while you can!

There is also a SLtography contest going on, where you could win $10,000L! Click here for details.

Click here for a direct SLurl to Somniatis!