She is a sojourner in virtual space
a liminal being once embodied
cultural schemas unhinged by truly novel situations
these hollow shells carry imaginary insides
figures of polygon mesh rendering reality
if viewed from different vantage points simply disappear
thwarting her cross-cultural integration
Axioms applied through hidden surface removal algorithms
memories of successful interrelationships are no longer connected
complex cognitive structures for social interaction become
bounding volume hierarchies creating invisibility/occlusion trees
if/then evaluations of nodes (and child nodes)
efficiently grading, determining what is drawn into existence
Acquisition of interpersonal relationships is vital
in this haptic interface, teleoperation robotic tools
vibrotactile effectors provide sensory feedback
lacking primary social interaction schemas
she must employ data driven processing
requiring monumental effort and attention
Divergence from the host culture becomes clear
using self-regulation to remove ambiguities
strategic maneuvers to ensure emotional survival
the intertwining of native culture and the neo-galaxies
of virtual reality requires poly-mythic invention
prototypical archetypes for avatars
Stories for a new era where touching another
requires electroactive polymers and piezoelectric surfaces
next generation actuator technology
3-D holograms creating sensory input through acoustic radiation
acculturating her senses to mechanical intermediaries
adaptations to the host-culture environment
a new language for refugees in a virtual world
Linked to dVerse Poets Pub Open Link Night. http://dversepoets.com/2012/04/10/open-link-night-week-39/ Come join the fun!
Chromapoetica 
This was such a difficult task you set yourself, yet the poem is that well crafted that most of the pitfalls were avoided. Very impressive. Not quite sure if the refugees would be able to cope with the new language, but for me, very impressive. I shall read it again.
Thank you David, you’ve certainly given me a thrill this morning acknowledging the crafting of the poem. This piece in particular had to be researched and then set aside. It wasn’t until I came upon my cryptic notes and two important typed pages (one with the sojourners’ axioms and the other with algorithms for solving the problem of 3-D computer graphics becoming invisible when the perspective of the viewer shifts) that I was able to assemble it properly. I added in the haptic technology to take it to the next level interface of virtual reality. I appreciate the reread and the feedback. No, I’m not sure the refugees could cope either.
‘she must employ data driven processing
requiring monumental effort and attention
Divergence from the host culture becomes clear
using self-regulation to remove ambiguities
strategic maneuvers to ensure emotional survival’
An absolute giveaway on what it entails! Obviously elements of cross culture would affect the initial make-up. Otherwise there has to be a concerted effort on certain sectors to keep pace. Powerful process working here. Brilliant verse!
Hank
Thank you Hank! I’ve always been fascinated by cultural schemas and finally thought of applying then to virtual reality. I think there are some fascinating responses to and research being done in virtual reality (especially at the lab at Stanford) and haptic technology (using electroactive polymers like artificial muscles, etc.).
ah yes, a language we shall all be forced to learn. i loved the cadence of this, these threads of words trying to trip up my tongue but instead forcing it to move forward.
fabulous.
Forced is likely true, thank you Kelly! I’m so glad to hear the cadence worked, I think that’s important when introducing readers to words that are unfamiliar. Thanks again for the inspiration and encouragement around NaPoWriMo!
This is very much a lot of what I think about with regards to cyber communities and relationships, and how it is different from real life social ways. There’s often a struggle to reconcile, to normalise, to make sense of things in this strange place.
There’s a lot of technical and mechanical words and expressions in this one, giving the feeling of constructed environment, definitely man-made and if you don’t know how it works, you might break something. 😀
I see a person attempting to form meaningful relationships in this environment, and I agree, it takes a lot of effort.
“lacking primary social interaction schemas
she must employ data driven processing
requiring monumental effort and attention”
The next stanza seems to talk about the problems that could come up. There is a feeling of a need to hold back a little, moderate, to take care. So interesting that you should use “emotional survival”. I think it’s an awareness that you need to keep your humanity intact. On the other hand some people think keeping oneself distant is best way to protect one’s emotional state.
“of virtual reality requires poly-mythic invention
prototypical archetypes for avatars”
A suggestion of recreating oneself for this environment. “poly-mythic invention” is interesting, suggesting trying to squeeze as much of the best admired qualities (or ones that stand out) into perhaps, each of these avatars.
The ending seems to a glimpse into the future, I think, way ahead of my era. It sounds wonderful and frightening at the same time.
You know what? I just like this one very much, it expresses well many of the puzzlements of being in this new “space”. I don’t think I’ve read anything better regarding this. Please excuse my ramble.
Oh, and great that you are doing NaPoWriMo. 🙂
I don’t believe you’re rambling but doing that engaging the text bit that is so gratifying to hear about :). Your reading comprehension skills are stellar and I often gauge the effectiveness of my work against them. I thought this one might get your attention and I’m happy to see that it has. These are, I think, some of the fascinating questions for our time and the next era when the haptic interface moves beyond the controller vibrating when something explodes in game (something I don’t like, it feels like the invasion of fantasy into real life) and into teleoperation where your surgeon resides on the other side of the planet but can operate on you at your local hospital via a robot. The truly unique experience of online interaction and virtual reality spaces like Second Life is that instead of NPCs, you are dealing with humans controlling avatars. Not only has psychology not fittingly directly addressed the emotional impact of these interactions but we have little mythic structure to guide us through the dangers and joys. One of my friends is doing her thesis film on social media and identity and I think we need to look further into the whole environment aspect. When you have cross-cultural interaction in what is to both parties a foreign environment (the virtual space) there are unique challenges and conflicts that arise. Anyway, it was wonderful to hear your thoughts, they are always interesting, and I deeply appreciate your level of interaction with my poetry!
My husband told me these entities were “on their way” in the 80s. Well I know they’re not here yet. I agree with Raven, I felt that our “on line relationships” are a little robotic. Through this community we know each other’s work, but not really each other. We can’t know that special otherness that makes us unique and separate from our words. As you know that worries me. I think I may be misunderstood. I may lose valuable relationships because I wasn’t careful enough.
As to accepting robots into my life, I would do so gladly. I saw a wonderful television show (it may have been a twilight zone) many years ago. Three small children were being taken care of by Maureen Stapleton (an actress you may not know – very skilled – mostly did stage acting until she was middle aged). She was warm, grandmotherly, caring. The parents of the children were gone or had died. She announced she was going to have to leave when they became teenagers, but told them she’d return when they “needed her”. It cut to the children as retired senior citizens who had lost their mates. She came back from the “warehouse”. She was exactly as they remembered her. They had thought she was old once, and now she seemed so “young”.
Whatever the cost of a single robot – one who could care “not nurse, just care” for the elderly would save the world a fortune, and would increase the quality of life for the seniors who can’t make it in this isolated and daunting world, requiring machines of all sorts to exist. One entity who could, would be miraculous!
Loved your brilliant and thought provoking piece!
Yes, on-line we only make statements at one another, can’t read body language or tone of voice, and rarely know how people are responding to us. It is difficult to know the rules, how to best communicate, to be honest but not too revealing to complete strangers. How do we build and maintain trust? Also, especially with the new ticker in Facebook and the search engines of the internet every conversation is a public one. There are no quiet corners in the pub so to speak. I was just joking with my friend of 11 years who manages the business affairs of a recently famous fashion designer (with two seasons on TV) that in face to face social interaction sending someone an e-mail is considered less intimate (and maybe even distancing) but doing so in the context of an on-line relationship is taken as an invitation to a more intimate relationship. Oh, and don’t get him started on dealing with fans and the cult of celebrity.
I am familiar with Maureen Stapleton though I did not see the TV episode you describe. It’s fascinating that you bring up the subject of caring because many new video games have included ‘friendships’ and ‘romance’ in the role-playing experience. It’s interesting that people tend to form attachments to entities that exhibit caring characteristics, even when they know they aren’t real. Psychological experiments on baby monkeys show that they will bond with artificial mothers as long as they’re soft and provide nurturing. If they receive only what they need (food, water, shelter) from artificial mothers they form behavioral disorders. The psychology of AI/human interactions is surely an area worth further exploration. Thanks for sharing your ruminations, lots to think about! Now I’ve got to run get my day 2 post completed :).
fascinating piece…its not just that i get impressed with your language but that you make it sound so lyrical..and great subject as well…pretty fascinating too the ufo sighting the other day…i imagine that contact may jump us light years when it really happens..and robotic life not far behind…it is interesting the connections we make online…and many read more or less into them…we do talk at each other and missing the other levels of communication it is easy to miss the message…
Thanks Brian, I do work at making the language more accessible through lyricism. The surprising thing is that most of this tech is already available, how it’s being used is always evolving and more and more we are interfacing with machines. I think the online, in-game, and virtual reality environments can be highly confusing and our tendency to hear what we want to and ignore the rest doesn’t help the situation. Glad you enjoyed the subject and the poem.
Loved reading it again. It deserves more readers for sure.
Thank you Gay, that’s very kind.
Anna, i am impressed with your language and how well crafted this is. You always amaze me.
Thanks ayala, it’s a concatenation of cultural schema theory, computer graphics, and haptic technology.
I really like the language you used here. It just seems like a meeting between traditional and new tech (if that makes sense), and it reads so well.
Really enjoyed this, great work.
Thank you skyraftwanderer, nice to meet you. I look forward to reading your poem.
a new language for refugees in a virtual world indeed…and all to ensure emotional survival…where are we going with all this i’m wondering sometimes…masterfully penned as always anna..
Ah Claudia, I thought you’d have some ideas about this one, thank you so much for popping by!
Such a complex read and yet, fascinating for its intricate detail and high tech delivery that (for the most part) we can understand. When I think how far we’ve come in the past 15 years, I wonder what our technology will look like in 15 years time. When the robots and nanotechnology has advanced so far that robots are self-aware, I do hope someone remembers where they plugged it all in. LOL I find it all so fascinating and want to be around for a bucket load more years to see all the new wonders and yet, there’s that nagging feeling that one day ‘we’ are going to be the makers of our own demise through being so clever (maybe)
Fabulous write again Anna, quite amazing, in fact.
It’s exciting to hear this engaged you. I’m laughing over the AI plug issue, nice one. I really appreciate your feedback and continued reading!
“complex cognitive structures for social interaction become
bounding volume hierarchies creating invisibility/occlusion trees
if/then evaluations of nodes (and child nodes)
efficiently grading, determining what is drawn into existence” <— soooo kickass
I'm ALWAYS blown away by your work, Anna! your poetry is a language all
on its own. The balance of complexity & the actual meaning you create without over-watering the poem's root… pfft, brilliant.
Haha, I’m 38 so ‘kickass’ is making me feel a bit younger and slightly cooler :). I’m glad you appreciate the language; it’s really important to me that each piece create its own world through the diction.
Anna, very cool. Love the feeling of stainless steel throughout the piece- really love the machine-like, robotic appeal here. Is a great proof for how the precise choice of words can really paint both the landscape of the poem, as well as the characters and ideas within it. Very cool. Thanks
Yes, the cold sleek sterile adamant steele. I think it contrasts nicely with the warm, human emotion. I appreciate you seeing that the landscape, characters, and ideas evolve from the specificity of the language, that’s awesome. Thanks Fred :).
I spend so much time translating speak, words, music, customs I feel immersed in a virtual language pool already. The form and presentation is beyond kool, in my world of kool. Always love a visit here. Impressed as always.
Thank you ever so much Henry, I am sorry to hear you’re already living in this world as the language can be brutal. Hopefully you aren’t going to need surgery soon ;).
SKILLS! – technically exact – prescision on point… awesome language and a complete picture deliverence; sign of the times – futurama – cybertastic… i liked it ;D
and the tie… my work shirt – booorrrrinnng! hahaha 😉
Hahaha, well, I have a difficult time imagining you working, less so in a tie, but I am thankful as I thought maybe there was a wake or something. Cybertastic, I might have to use that one, thanks!
what i like about this is the irony in that cyber-relationships are really just like r/l relationships, just that people make it seem like it’s something else, and you make it seem so complicated with your words and images, but it is what it is!!
messy little girl
Yes, we need to remember there are humans behind these avatars and statements.
One of my earliest research papers was entitled something like “Piezo-pyroelectric photometric spectroscopy” and actually worked with pyroelectric actuators which acted as sensors! And one of my latest papers (more than 150 published so far) is on “Robotic removal of highly-radioactive particles from nuclear heat transfer systems”. So there!
All of which means that I read through your piece with great interest, and a big smile. Love the way you re-cast emotional responses through a tehcnological intermediary, a very unusual undertaking, and – if you were looking to portray the dissociative nature of modern interfaces – effective. Bravo!
Wow, I’m super impressed. I have one research paper to my name ‘Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Markers in Quercus Gambelli”. Absolutely, as I told Ayala it’s a concatenation of cultural schema theory, computer graphics, and haptic technology focused on the psychological distance and cultural difficulties encountered in these virtual environments and the strangeness of haptic interfaces. Usually with my technical/scientific pieces I am not fortunate enough to get an expert opinion. Thank you very much for coming by to read it!
If anyone could write the app, the software code for the emerging polyphonic future, it’s you, Anna – this meme plucks drops from psyche, song, science, painting, music, seas, culture and myth and looses all of them in its virtual petri dish. I join the crowd in the gallery curious to see just what the heck evolves. – Brendan
Thank you Brendan, what a beautiful compliment you’ve left me. It’s fascinating to see if new myths will be birthed in response to some of these technologies. I hear you on the curiosity factor, in the ever evolving world of high tech who knows what will emerge (especially if the nanobots get a hold of the super-viruses – but that’s a sci-fi horror poem for another day and maybe another writer :)).
refugees ina virtual world- what a great concept- TI think this poem achived exactly what (i think) you wanted it to do- show how to a ‘refugee, the world of technoclogy can be complex, challenging, but when you delve deeper, very intersting AND beautiful. the way you put these words together baffled me- a task WAY beyond my means- very clever and thoughtful- and not aneasy subject to tackle either! oh and hey- i got the right poem this time! not the girly one! ha ha 🙂 great work Anna- your output astounds me
Well thank goodness for that 🙂 (my output will be restricted to 2-3 poems a week once NaPoWriMo is over much to the joy of my overtaxed readers :)). I appreciate you saw the challenge and the beauty as I do think there’s potential for both especially once we begin to develop useful cultural schemas and axioms/codes of conduct for virtual space.
Whoa, turning scientific terms into poetry. I actually tried that with neurobiology before, with much less interesting results.
I do it a lot as my education is in science, good it was at least interesting. Thanks for stopping by :)!
Intriguing. You made me pull out my virtual dictionary for this one! I love these haunting lines: “hollow shells carry imaginary insides
figures of polygon mesh rendering reality”.
Thank you Steve, those are some of my favorite lines too.
She is a sojourner in virtual space
a liminal being once embodied
.. and the conceptual language you put on like gloves to explore this is so apt. Beauty in the construct..really enjoyed the experience of sharing those gloves for the time of reading.. I felt in a liminal space.. 🙂
Thank you Becky, that’s precisely the point of the language :)! It’s so wonderful you see the construct and participate in the exploration of that liminal space.
Just now finding, reading and loving this for the *first* time, of many, I’m sure!
Thanks so much for the visit!