Vivi swung her plow with surprising strength. It was a nearly fruitless gesture, however, as the Sun-baked Earth had taken on the texture and hardiness of fired clay. Nevertheless she drug the iron implement across the surface as best she could, causing a small rut of loose soil to form in its wake.
The heat wasn’t terrible, but it was relentless. She wiped her brow and looked upon her work. In all, it had been about three days, and she’d tilled about two and a half acres… She had about another four to go.
In the distance she saw a figure slowly approaching. She watched as the silhouette drew closer, blurry at first due to the heat emanating off the ground, but quickly coming into focus. She could see that the person was a woman about her age, but wearing a smart-fitting suit that made her obviously ill-equipped for agrarian life.
The strange woman carried a ScanPal. Vivi frowned.
“You know it’s supposed to be Nebraska in 1910, doncha?” Vivi asked when the stranger drew close enough. She nodded at the technology in the woman’s hands. “That’s not gonna be invented for another 170 years.”
“I know.” The woman nodded. “I apologize, but you did give permission to keep your Link open.
“I also specified the time period.” Vivi replied coldly.
The woman nodded. “I suppose. Sorry.” With a nod her appearance radically changed. The suit disappeared, and in its place a bright Sun-dress materialized. A pair of thick glasses manifested upon her face. Her modern haircut rolled itself into a bun, and the ScanPal became a notebook.
“Better?” She asked with a smirk.
Vivi nodded. “Better. Now, what can I do fer ya’?” She did her best to stress the accent.
“My name’s Danielle and I’ve been sent out to do a story on the emergence of Strife Cafes. You ever hear of the DandyCast?”
Vivi couldn’t help but feel a momentary lapse of character as she was overcome with surprise. “That’s one of the biggest podcasts out there!”
Danielle smiled. “Mind if I get a few words?”
“I ‘spose.” Vivi turned toward her log cabin and beckoned. “C’mon, let’s rest and get some water.”
Danielle took a seat on the front porch as Vivi went to the well, drew up a bucket, filled a couple Earth-hardened mugs, then joined her guest on the porch.
“It’s pretty desolate out here.” Danielle said.
“Could be worse. There are some hardcore people who choose to live in the USSR during the height of communism.”
“Yes, but they keep their Links closed.”
Vivi took a sip. The water was cool, and it felt wonderful dripping down her dust-caked throat. “Well they are hardcore.”
“They choose to live a surprisingly hard life, sure, but yours here isn’t exactly a walk in the park either… So why do it? Don’t you have a good life?”
“Oh sure. I wake up with the chickens at dawn, then-“
“No, I mean your real life.”
Vivi sighed. “Here, in this world, we refer to our outer-lives as dreams. Like ‘I dreamt I lived in the year 2200. I dreamt I was a code-reductionist. I dreamt there were buildings miles-high and there was no room to move.’ Get it?”
“Is that why you’re here? No room in the real-world? Errr, the dream-world?”
Vivi shrugged. “That’s part of it, but more that that, in the dream-world, there isn’t any real struggle. People drift around listlessly and with no direction and they sink into depression. Out here, things are simple.” She gestured to her field. “If I don’t plow, I don’t plant. If I don’t plant, I don’t harvest. If I don’t harvest, I don’t eat. My purpose is survival, and I know what I need to do to survive.”
“So it’s purpose you lack?”
“That’s also part of it, but it’s also the hardship. You’re right, it is tough out here, and that’s why I love it. Outside, errr, in the dream-world, everything is easy. Food is automatic, you don’t hafta work. It’s a cheap, plastic, disposable existence.”
“Hence so many choosing to live in difficult times and places.”
Vivi nodded. “They’re called Strife Cafes for a reason. My therapist, I mean, in one of my dreams I had a therapist, and he told me that coming out here regularly a few times a week would help put my life, my dream-life, in perspective.”
“And has it helped?”
Vivi considered it. “You know what? I think it has. I’ll tell you what, after spending a few days in the fields, the minor inconveniences of 2200 seem paltry by comparison. I’ve been working from sun-up to sun-down for the past two weeks, and in the dream-world, only a few hours have passed. When I get back, the feeling of accomplishment will last for days.”
“Even though nothing here is real?”
Vivi sighed. “That water you’re drinking tastes pretty real, doesn’t it?”
Danielle looked into her cup as if to confirm it was still there. “I suppose I see what you mean.”
“And I’m sure you’ve heard of Sim-Sadness… People who spend too much time in fantasy realms where there’s magic and super powers and dragons and things, then when the time comes and they get back to reality they fall into a deep depression because the real world just doesn’t stack up.”
“So this is like the opposite?” Danielle asked.
Vivi nodded.
The questions continued for a couple more hours… Questions about the reasoning behind Nebraska circa 1910, the conditions of Vivi’s life, her existence in the dream-world…
Eventually the sun began sinking low into the sky, and Vivi had to excuse herself.
“I beg yer pardon, ma’am.” She said, remembering to thicken her accent once more. “But I must return to my fields before plantin’ season.”
“I’m sorry I’ve wasted so much of your time.” Danielle said. She nodded, then set off across the land before disappearing against the horizon.
Vivi looked around at her unfinished work. She frowned.
“Well I suppose it wasn’t exactly my fault I wasn’t able to get the chores done today.” She closed her eyes and imagined another acre had been plowed.
She opened her eyes.
The extra acre had been cut with deep, effective gouges and the soil had been coaxed up from its hardened form.
“Maybe a bit more than I could’ve realistically done, but eh… I’ll work doubly hard tomorrow.” She promised herself.
She turned and returned to the house. She figured the work was important, sure, but even living in such barren wastes would help her better appreciate the real-world… The dream-world.