David's story...
The Virtual Life of Fizzy Oceans (published January 6, 2011 by Open Books) is my sixth novel and my eighth book, and it is very different than my previous works. I also think it is my best work to date. In fact, it is the novel I have been trying to write my entire life!
I began writing stories at the age of eight. I just turned fifty-eight a couple of days ago, so that means I have been writing for fifty years now. The Virtual Life of Fizzy Oceans took three and a half years to write, but in truth it is a novel fifty years in the making. Why? Because it documents all I know and all I believe, which makes it a truly honest work of fiction.
So, who exactly is Fizzy Oceans? Fizzy is the alter ego of Amy Birkenstock, a pretty average. down-on-her-luck young woman in Seattle, Washington. But she is also my alter ego. Because she not only lives in the physical world where we all interact each and every day, but in an alternate world - another dimension, if you will - where the dead are very much alive, where dreams and aspirations are manifest at will, and where the future is only a mouse-click away. Fizzy is forever curious, engaging, and prone to outrageous speculations (which she finds she can actualize at will). Yet she is an unlikely heroine, too. She has no super powers (other than her own mind), and in fact, she is very much like you and me. What does distinguish her is her ability to think inside out. And living her (physical) life during a time when the environment is failing and social constructions are falling apart, that ability is her saving grace. And ours, too!
Just before writing this author's introduction, I came across a Facebook page where, apparently, the persona is a fictional character in a popular Hollywood movie. It also refers prolifically to other characters in the movie, as if they were real people with whom I was invited to interact. I have always been fascinated with the idea of changelings - you know, people who appear totally different depending on their mood or when one might encounter them - so the page intrigued me. To be honest, the page was full of very recognizable movie stars, who on the FB page appeared as the characters in the film. This idea suggests to me an alternate reality in which I might participate - a make-believe world, so to speak. Of course Fizzy Oceans knows all about alternate universes, because even as her alter ego, Amy Birkenstock, is more or less ineffectual in the physical universe, Fizzy shines brightly in an alternate one. When we stop to think about it, we all live in multiple universes, even if we do not realize it or acknowledge it. For each of us, our mental (and perhaps spiritual) world is wholly our own. But are the lines between what we call 'real' and what we call fantasy really so finely drawn? Not anymore, I think. Each person who engages in social media like Facebook, or like Second Life, or Farmville or others, exists, for a time at least, in an alternative universe - one where we make up many of the rules and where superhuman activities are possible and easily actualized. And anyone who is even remotely knowledgeable about computer technology realizes that such things as holographic images are not far in our everyday future. How long will it be, for instance, before we can have our favorite fictional character over for dinner? Or how long before we can take a virtual vacation? In some respects all this already exists; it's only a question of quality. Analog life is finished; digital reality is the house of mirrors, the portal into multidimensional living, and we are all invited to the party.
Now, back to Fizzy... The novel, I believe, is a challenge to all who read it to move beyond their personal boundaries. After all, such boundaries are the ones that we ourselves set. It invites all who read it to suspend their allegiance to the literal world and begin thinking in terms of metaphors and symbols, and it further suggests that that world is even more 'real' than the literal one. After all, the literal world seems to be collapsing all around us (environmental degeneration, religious strife, wars, monetary collapse, social chaos - you name it!). Fizzy has discovered a portal, a door into a new way of seeing and interacting, and her 'virtual' life seems more 'real' to her than her physical (literal) life. I know many who read this essay will identify with that concept, because the transition in 'real' life is already well underway. Just consider how many hours per day you spend in the virtual world already. Might it not take over your concept of 'reality' at some point? Maybe it already has to one degree or another. But Fizzy's journey does not end with the virtual world. It moves even beyond that, because through her experiences in virtual life she discovers yet other dimensions in which she (and all of us) live simultaneously: NL (Natural Life); PL (Physical Life); VL (Virtual Life); FL (Future Life) and ML (Meta Life). Still, it is not a one-or-the-other concept; these are worlds (or dimensions) that exist simultaneously for everyone - worlds within worlds, shadow images, reflections of reflections of reflections. I do not take credit for this concept, because I believe it is one that has always existed right in front of our eyes. Only our self-imposed limitations prevent us from living effectively in a multidimensional existence. Fizzy leads us through the haze, not as some sort of guru but as an everyday person drawn to save herself and her friends (and everybody with eyes to see and ears to hear) from a stifling existence and even from extinction as a race.
I know that The Virtual Life of Fizzy Oceans will not be every reader's cup of tea. The novel asks its readers to think outside boundaries that are often well established. And it can be a little frightening to 'literally' give up the ground you stand on. But for those willing to enter Fizzy's world, the payoff is a perspective that is both expansive and circular in nature. It is also timely as we enter an era when the physical and virtual worlds merge and definitions about what is real and what is fantasy become forever blurred. It is a world predicated on the concept of possibility, and upon 'instant' actualization of ones visions and aspirations. It is the future, except the future is now for those willing to move from literal perception to a metaphorical frame of reference.
I hope you will give this novel a chance. And I hope Fizzy will work her charming way into your consciousness. I hope you will make her your friend, have 'virtual' discussions with her, see through her unique perspective from time to time. That is my hope as her creator, her advocate, and as her 'friend'.
Amy's story...
Hi – Amy Birkenstock here…
David A. Ross, the author of The Virtual Life of Fizzy Oceans, has asked me to write a couple of paragraphs to tell you a little about myself, and my place in the novel. Since he is the author, and my creator, whatever he says, goes.
To put it simply, I am one of three entities that make up ‘Fizzy Oceans’. As I said, David is the author, I am his creation, and Fizzy Oceans is our mutual altar ego. So I guess you could say that I am the so-called middle child, and everybody knows that that is not the most advantageous position in any family.
To be sure, I’m the one who takes the hard knocks. I dropped out of high school midway through my final semester, got married to the only boy who’d ever paid me any attention, and moved to Seattle from my home state of Missouri to experience the Grunge thing – remember that? Well, I ended up doing a lot of drugs, and going to concerts, and eating poorly and just hanging out. (Those were the good times?) But the marriage didn’t last, Grunge gave way to God Knows What, and I ended up alone and working at a medical billing office to make ends meet. The job was okay, as administrative jobs go, but I didn’t make enough money to live what you’d call a proper life. In fact, even though I worked for a doctor, I was given no medical insurance. I remember once I had a Strep infection that went untreated for six weeks because I couldn’t afford the medicine, and that burned in more ways than one. After working at the same job for six years, I was abruptly laid off at just the wrong time – when the Recession hit -- and I was forced to find another way to make the money I needed to live. Jobs were nonexistent, so I ended up shoveling fish guts at Chang’s outdoor fish stall just to buy a burger and fries. My life was definitely on a downslide.
Besides having no money for anything, I suddenly had a lot of time on my hands. I’m pretty computer savvy so I took to roll playing games in the virtual world. That’s when I discovered VL, and a whole new life opened up to me. My body may have been hungry, but my mind was taking in nourishment like there was no tomorrow. As the Farmers (the creators of VL) suggested, I made an avatar to navigate the terrain, christened her Fizzy Oceans, and my new life began. At least that’s the way ‘the novelist’ tells it.
My life in Seattle was purely black & white, whereas my new life in VL, as Fizzy Oceans, was in Living Color. Whatever I seemed to imagine instantly came true -- friendships, new boyfriends, interesting experiences, exotic travel, celebrities – in short, a meaningful existence. As Fizzy Oceans, I met Crystal Marbella, and together we started a business – one based on pure service, not on making money. Which was okay, because in VL we didn’t really need much money; ideas were the currency there. I also met Kizmet Aurora, who showed me my spiritual side, not to mention the two of us having a hell of a lot of girl fun.
Of course, the end was nearer than any of us thought – except for Fizzy perhaps. Not only was the economy on the permanent skids, but also the environment was precariously close to collapse – closer than we knew, closer than we dared to imagine… Tomorrow always seems like a lifetime away, doesn’t it? But in our case, tomorrow was already upon us. And even as I clicked away at my computer keyboard and moved my mouse to animate Fizzy’s life in VL, the icecaps melted, the waters rose, the oceans caught fire, and -- whoosh! – Our World was consigned to a watery grave.
Thank Heaven for Fizzy! And for David, too! The novelist saw the escape route, or maybe he invented it in his bid for immortality, and our intrepid Fizzy went tripping through the looking glass into…Guess Where!
What happened to me, Amy Birkenstock? I think you can guess that too. These days the author and I occupy a pod somewhere in the echoes of the past. But Fizzy! Yes, she’s still around. Except for some reason she doesn’t seem to need me anymore to program her adventures. She has become totally independent, the essence of an ephemeral woman. At least something good survived. So, I’ll let her take the story from here. I might pop in once in a while, just as a distant memory, but this is Fizzy’s world now, where ‘virtually’ anything is possible!
Fizzy's story...
Hi! My name is Fizzy Oceans. I am the main character in the novel The Virtual Life of Fizzy Oceans by David A. Ross. As my creator, Mr. R. says that I’m supposed to write this blog about my Virtual Life. Honestly, I don’t know where I’m going to find the time to document my many adventures in VL, but Mr. R. is hard to argue with, so I guess I’d better just get on with it.
Actually, I am a split personality. Primary is the afore-mentioned novelist who created my physical life counterpart Amy Birkenstock. Amy lives in Seattle and used to work at a Medical Billing office (now she works part time in Mr. Chang’s fish market). Finally, there is Yours Truly, Fizzy Oceans, archivist, researcher, adventurer, VL Greeter and all around nice person!
Confused? Don’t worry; you’ll learn to tell us apart. I’m the chirpy one with big ideas, Amy is the realist and always, it seems, down on her luck, and Ross is the typist, a bit grouchy at times but, all in all, a pretty special guy.
So, what exactly is VL, you ask? Well, VL is first and foremost a simulated, digital world in which we can create whatever reality we wish. But it is even more than that. Some say it is a whole other dimension, and I would agree. Others say it is just a computer game, and for those who see it that way, that is true too. I fell into VL quite by accident, as do most who end up there. Was it an errant keystroke, a wayward click of my mouse, or was it just fate? Who knows? At first it seemed pretty strange in VL – something like walking around inside a Roadrunner cartoon, or a Tim Burton movie. Then I met Crystal Marbella, who showed me around and got me acclimated. Crystal is my best friend in VL, and I’m sure she’ll drop by for a cameo appearance here on the blog from time to time. Kizmet Aurora is another good buddy; we go to the beach together, go gaming in virtual Las Vegas and we shop for clothes on the Côte d’Azur. Some of my other VL friends are actually quite famous: Mark Twain, Jacques Cousteau, the Dalai Lama and others.
Here in VL, the so-called rules of engagement are rather different: for instance, we can fly without effort from place to place – even to civilizations long ago consigned to history. It is also possible for personalities to return from the dead, and for formerly unknown species to manifest and interact with whomever they might encounter.
VL is a Brave New World. And you are invited!
Now, back to Amy for a moment. To be sure, life is not going well for her in PL (Physical Life). Her job sucks and she’s usually pretty broke. She used to work for a doctor but she couldn’t even get health insurance. Finally, she lost that job and had to find work at Chang’s Fish Market cleaning up fish guts just to get enough money for a burger and fries. Sound like somebody you might know? Well, I hope not. Circumstances like Amy’s are not all that uncommon these days, but that certainly does not make them any easier to bear. You’ve got to feel for the girl – I know I do. But I also have to hand it to her because she just won’t give up on her dreams. And that’s where I come in. Amy is my fictional representation in PL (everybody’s got to have one, I guess), and since she’s not working much anymore, she retreats into her computer, into VL, and she lives vicariously through me, Fizzy Oceans.
At least that’s how Mr. R. planned the whole thing. To be sure, it works for all of us: the writer, the medical billing clerk/fish market janitor, and for me. I’ve got the best part of the deal, I guess. I go all over and meet interesting people and cook up wild activities and generally have a blast. Which is why Mr. R. wants me to write this blog, I guess. And who am I to refuse? One keystroke from the author and I am history. He’s got me there, so write I will, fast and furiously.
And I hope you’ll come along for the ride. You never know who we might meet, or what new and interesting idea we might uncover. We’ll be talking about everything here – not just VL reality, but Your World, too.
So come sign up! Don’t be shy; you are welcome here in our world(s)!
