Thomas World by Richard Cox Page A

their world to be real? Perhaps the illusion is so compelling that it doesn’t seem to be an illusion.
    I think again about who might be watching me and I wonder where they really are.
    A new text box appears, set inside the current box. This text is red. It says:

    Save Robert Paulson Ant?   Yes - No

    Where have I heard that name before? It sounds familiar. And in any case, why wouldn’t I save him? What sort of horrible god would I be if I let the poor man—I mean, ant—die?
    I click on Yes.
    The game resumes for a split second, only to stop again with another text box.

    Prayer from Kathy Robinson Ant
    Sex: Female
    Age 31

    Please. I don’t know what to do. The water came out of nowhere, some kind of freak storm, and it tore my home completely apart. All three of my children were washed away. I can’t find my husband. Please give me some reason to live, because right now I don’t want to. The pain is too much.

    Please give me something. Anything.

    -Kathy R.

    Whoever designed this game is a sadist. Especially because there is no option to help Kathy Robinson Ant. Everyone important to her died and there’s nothing I can do about it.
    Then I receive this little gem:

    Prayer from Christine Coulter Ant
    Sex: Female
    Age 16

    Help! My boyfriend wants to have sex and I don’t. He’s obsessed by it! But I don’t feel any desire at all! I love him and everything, but I’d rather spend time being close to him and talking and kissing.

    My boyfriend says I would do it if I loved him, and I’m afraid he’ll leave me if I don’t give in soon. What should I do?

    Love,
    Christy

    P.S. Can you help me pass my trig exam? If I don’t pass I’ll be taken off the cheerleading squad right before the playoffs. I just got moved up to varsity! I should never have let my advisor convince me to take such a hard class. I’ve never failed a class in my life! If you help me pass, I promise I will work much harder in the next six weeks to make up for it. Thank you!!!

    Another one of those red, inlaid text boxes appears and says:

    Christine Coulter trigonometry exam:   Pass - Fail

    I click Pass. Why the hell would I let her fail? She’s a cheerleader taking trig, for Christ’s sake.
    Now another box appears on the screen, what seems to be an alert. All the text in this one is red. It says:

    Kathy Robinson Ant has committed suicide.

    Now come on. As much as I know the ant farm is only a game, this is bullshit. I would never create a world where the ants would want to kill themselves, and I certainly should be able to intercede before they do.
    A lot of my indicators are dropping further. Safety is down to 31, Life Meaning is 25, Transcendence is 19. Aestheticism , on the other hand, is 86, and Love isn’t exactly low at 72.
    I don’t even know what aestheticism is. I would look it up on Wikipedia, but the game takes up my entire screen, and I’m not sure what will happen if I navigate away from it.
    More prayers and messages pop up. Many ants need money. Their parents are failing them. Their spouses are cheating on them.
    Cheating on them.
    I think about Gloria, sitting in her office, working on her computer. The colors of my imagination are faded, the contrast turned up, like I’m watching an edgy independent film. And here comes Jack, in his expensive handmade suit. Gloria looks up and smiles…that look of warm surprise her face used to make when I would say something especially romantic, or when she picked me up from the airport after I’d been away on business. I can’t remember the last time I saw that look, and now I’m afraid Jack is the one who gets to see it.   He asks for some data on a certain product, and she obliges. He makes a joke and she giggles a bit. Gloria feels flush…she always feels flush when Jack talks to her in private, when he smiles at her, when he sits on her desk and leans across it, peering