Alternative Dimension — Bill Kirton

Joe Lorimer is a genius. His finest achievement is the online role-playing game Alternative Dimension, but he sees it as more than a plaything. He's fascinated by the freedoms offered by living in a virtual world and the more sophisticated he makes his creation, the more superior it seems to the alienating, faceless, ugly realities of daily life. His visits reveal many secrets of the psychology of the real people who are creating the avatars he meets. There are lovers, killers, crazies, animals, elves, vampires - even Health and Safety inspectors. Their stories are mostly wry, funny observations on the lives we all live and the real societies they're lived in. But Joe's fascinating attempts to bring the real and virtual together, to fuse the person and the avatar, lead eventually to an outcome which seems a far from ideal solution. Depending on your perspective, the ending is either a triumph or a tragedy.