PREFACE
 I remember, even as a child, I really wanted to hear from myself from the future. Even a couple of lines written in a hurry, but so that they would be something like this: "We did it! We did it!" or "It's so beautiful here! If you could see how the world has been transformed!" Why was I waiting for such lines? Because knowing that everything would be fine would give me confidence in the future. 
Years have passed, and I realized one thing: it makes sense to fulfill an old dream and address not only myself, but also the whole of humanity with an essay from the future. Who knows, maybe it will turn out to be prophetic. In any case, let all the good things come true from it, and the prerequisites for the bad will be eliminated in time, since the road to the future is paved with every second of our present. 
I wish you all a pleasant reading!

To decide whether a virtual life of work is worth living or not worth it is to answer the main question of the outgoing XXI century. How and when did we come to this? It is difficult to determine exactly, and even in the scientific community, not to mention ordinary people, there are many hypotheses and assumptions, but all of them can be reduced to the fact that the causes of the metaverse should be searched for in the first half of this century. But there are pitfalls waiting for us here too. 
Most scientists refer to the fact that it all started with the advent of virtual reality glasses and the gamerization of life, but is this point of view true? I would say that these were the first heralds of a new era, but no more. Just as modern computers are not a direct continuation of computers designed exclusively for computing, so virtual reality glasses have not yet carried an entire metaverse. Speaking of gamerization, the conclusion is that people had no opportunity not to treat life as an endless game. All these gadgets, competing with each other on the Internet for the right to be called the best and have more fans. Obviously, children usually treat life as a game, not adults, but how do you grow up in a world where there are so many toys? 
Another part of scientists believes that it all started with the renaming of "Facebook" to "Meta" back in 2021 [1]. But even here there is one inaccuracy in trying to identify the cause. The fact that today the Meta company produces all products for creating, expanding and immersing in virtual reality is not related to what Meta was in 2021. This is confirmed not only by the preserved articles and notes in the news feed, which you can easily view for yourself, but also by eyewitnesses of those events to which I myself belong.
In 2021, I was still a student and watched the development of new technologies with genuine interest. The expectation of some kind of miracle that would qualitatively change life and make it look like, for example, the second part of the movie "Back to the Future" made me search for information on the topic I was interested in every time with a sinking heart. Therefore, it is not surprising that when I read about Meta and what the company's goals are now, I was completely delighted.
And really, what could be more beautiful than creating a huge world inside an existing one? It was not only me who caught fire, but also many people all over the planet, including entire corporations. But it was not possible to make the dream of creating a complete virtual world a reality, or, as the head of the company Mark Zuckerberg himself put it, to create "an Internet that the user can experience from the inside, and not just look at it from the outside" [2]. The reason for this was the imperfection of existing technologies, which simply could not not only create a highly detailed world and qualitatively immerse a person in it, but even process the minimum amount of data that was available. The attempt to create a metaverse also did not find a lively response due to the fact that virtual reality glasses and controllers (the necessary equipment for entering virtual reality), due to their high cost, could only afford wealthy people; the lack of specific tasks for which the metaverse was created, at best reduced to the very fact of its launch, caused disappointment even for those few who still had the opportunity to enter the virtual world [3]. 
As a result, all investors unanimously recognized the project as untenable, and turned all their attention to the development of artificial intelligence, which already brought considerable income. Therefore, in 2023, Mark Zuckerberg, who began to incur serious losses, abandoned the idea of creating a metaverse and decided to engage in a more profitable business – the development of chatbots [4]. So "Meta" turned from a grandiose project that carried the hope of the beginning of a new era in the Greek prefix "after" into a household word that began to denote serious business failures. And the metaverse as such was forgotten for thirty long years.
But then what was the reason why humanity returned to this idea again, you ask. I suppose, in order to find the reason, it is worth understanding one pattern here: nothing is created just like that. For example, the Internet was created because of the need for fast data transmission over long distances, or, a more illustrative example, the creation of a vaccine to prevent a new dangerous disease. Necessity is the engine of progress, not the free minds of geniuses. And the metaverse has become exactly the same product of necessity at a certain stage of human development. 
In my opinion, it all started with the use of nuclear weapons in the 30s, the echo of which peaked by the middle of this century. Having a population of 9.8 billion people by the middle of the century [5] and serious food problems due to constant environmental disasters, every person became a hostage to circumstances where hard and often monotonous work led to complete physical and mental exhaustion. Of course, the UN and its subordinate organizations have tried to stabilize the situation as much as possible, but so far no significant results have been observed. Therefore, it is not surprising that most people adhered to gloomy moods, considering the world a cage where they were put as prisoners for an indefinite period. Hunger. Fear. Endless hard work on the verge of a nervous breakdown for the sake of another day. And the question that no one could answer: when will it get better? When will the vast radioactive zones be habitable again? When will the air be cleared of synthetic impurities and it will be possible to walk without a respirator? When will everyone finally be able to buy food freely, and not receive a strict amount on the cards? When will tomorrow come like our best yesterday? 
Depression ceased to be a mental disorder, and antidepressants began to be produced on a gigantic scale all over the World. Every now and then some worker committed suicide (but more often collective suicides were practiced), and no one was horrified by this anymore. Gray days filled with hopelessness have become the norm.
The situation has worsened especially in Japan, where the death rate exceeded the birth rate by 5 times. Fearing the genocide of the nation in the near future, as well as the rapid surrender of leading positions in the world market, Japan wondered how to improve the living conditions of its people in a short time. Eliminating global problems such as environmental disasters and food shortages took a long time; reputable scientists believed that it would take at least 200-250 years. Therefore, it was decided to create a new world, for lack of an opportunity to change the existing one.
This task was taken over by the cybernetic company VR-global, which had previously been engaged in the production of products for games with immersion in virtual reality, and had long wanted to expand its capabilities. Having recruited the best programmers in the country, VR-global was able to create the first prototype of the metaverse in 10 years.
I think you may ask, why did it take so long to create a metaverse, when both people and money were allocated for this, and all the achievements of modern technology were used? From this point on, I turn to the consideration of the question "how did we come to this?", which was asked at the beginning of the essay.
So, VR-global faced a difficult task, which was to create an integral metaverse that would perform, to begin with, such an important function as a recreational one. To do this, the staff was divided into several groups, each of which was engaged in: A-group – creating the inner world of the metaverse, which, to begin with, they decided to do offline for faster troubleshooting of the problems found during testing; B-group – the creation of such an inventory necessary for entering the metaverse, which would be able to provide a qualitative fusion of three realities – virtual (VR), augmented (AR) and expanded (XR); C-group – the analysis of the psychophysical state of a person and the creation of a metaverse taking into account biological rhythms, as well as mental characteristics of a person [6].
I think few people today remember how the first metaverse worked and looked like. And although, unfortunately, I myself could not take part in testing the prototype, since I worked on one project at the North Pole, but after a six-month business trip, I managed to communicate with many participants in those events and, together with the official news, put together a complete picture of what was achieved in my head. It's worth starting with global changes.
First, with the launch of the metaverse, VR-global renamed itself Meta, considering the success of the prototype guaranteed. And they were not mistaken. The resulting product made a splash on the world market and made it possible to create an international company that would include members of all countries with specialists in this field. In fact, from that moment on, a corporatocracy began to form, which, however, did not neglect the power of the government, but complemented it, putting the development of technology under universal control.
Secondly, the psychological state of people all over the planet has improved. The demographic crisis was averted not only in Japan, but also in other countries, where it was gradually emerging. And although this did not happen immediately after the launch of the metaverse, which took place in 2064, but at least people had faith that all was not lost yet. The opportunity to see the world as it used to be – so green, bright, diverse – gave strength to overcome difficulties in the present, what the world should become, even if it takes more than one century. Of course, at that time there was such a problem that people did not want to leave the virtual world, but later it was solved by installing special limiters.
And finally, thirdly, the metaverse marked the beginning of a truly new era. Initially performing only one function – recreational – it thereby paved the way for versatility. It's like the first phones that you could only call, and what a development they got in the future! The same thing happened with the metaverse, which became a common platform for the exchange of experiences, opinions and ideas. And if before 2064 it was believed that being determines consciousness, now everything has changed – consciousness began to determine being. This revolution in the understanding of reality has led to a grandiose breakthrough in various spheres of our lives these days, which I will describe in detail at the very end of my essay. In the meantime, let's figure out how the first metaverse worked.
Firstly, as I have already noted, the metaverse was first launched offline, which affected the principle of its operation. So, although the metaverse was a self-constructing world, it was completely dependent on the long-term memory of an individual user. By recreating a certain memory, the metaverse began to work exclusively with it, which could not but affect its capabilities. And although the entire virtual world worked thanks to AICS (artificial intelligence of the cognitive structure), the metaverse still represented something between a simple memory and a lucid dream. Speaking of AICS, it is worth noting that the principle of its operation has not changed at all: as before, so now it uses the cognitive structure of the human brain as the basis for any operations and is an independent and self-developing system that does not require an external operator (the exception is security checks and system updates, which are carried out manually). But a truly original solution that deserves high praise should be considered the very presence of the user in the metaverse. Solving the dilemma between mental and physical rest, scientists have come to the technology of meta-sleep, based on maintaining the human body in a special state. This special state was achieved by maintaining the phase of theta sleep (surface sleep), in which the consciousness of the sleeper formed an inseparable whole with the reality constructed from memories and led to a gradual relaxation of the entire organism. 
Secondly, besides the imperfect work of the metaverse itself, the inventory used to enter virtual reality was also imperfect. To read the psychophysiological state during a person's stay in a state of meta-sleep, special meta-capsules were created, which, due to flexible settings, could adjust the work of the metaverse for each user individually. But because of their high cost and size, they needed to be replaced with something cheaper and smaller. In addition to meta capsules, meta bracelets were also used. But the meta bracelets of 2064 are very different from the current ones. Back then, the meta-bracelet was less functional and was a transparent gadget worn on the arm to adjust sensitivity, as well as used to introduce a person into the theta sleep phase. No connection to the network, watching movies and listening to music. But, in addition, the first meta-bracelets were also very expensive and were not very convenient to use because of their fragility, on the one hand, and bulkiness, on the other.
As a result, people from all over the world came specifically to Japan (some at their own expense, some on vouchers) to personally try out the metaverse. But even despite the privacy of the procedure, people felt uncomfortable, fearing that someone might see their memories and use them for selfish purposes, in addition, mentally retarded people and people with mental disabilities were forbidden to enter the metaverse, being in the metaverse for whom their condition could worsen. It was also not recommended for people with severe phobias to enter virtual reality, since although AICS was engaged in filtering memories, but memories that left a deep impression could break through its blockade. And these problems had to be solved somehow along with the increased meta-mania, which for some people was similar to extreme dependence on psychotropic or narcotic substances.
Therefore, Meta has set itself a goal for the next 10 years: to completely refine the metaverse and launch it online. To do this, all the possibilities of human thought and technological innovations were used.
So in 2074, Metaverse-1 was launched, which I personally attended the testing. I must say right away that I was somewhat skeptical, because it's one thing to hear from someone what it's like to be in the metaverse, and quite another to see everything for myself. In addition, new equipment was being launched: instead of meta-capsules, they began to use simulated metascopes. There is no one on Earth who has not heard about them, but nevertheless, I will explain in the hope that this essay will still be useful for future generations to understand history. So, what is a simulated metascope? – This is a rectangular device that is put on the eyes and simulates reality, as well as reproduces the sensations of a sleeper from a meta-dream. Their predecessor was virtual reality glasses, but they could not affect the brain by irritating the optic nerve and nearby synapses. In addition, a new generation of Internet has been developed specifically for the metaverse, which supports not only high data transfer speeds, but also has tactile feedback and a holographic display – 7G. But the question arose: how secure will the metaverse be with an Internet connection now? What if you manage to hack the system? What will happen to the person? But as it turned out, my fears were in vain, since the Internet inside the meta-network also passed through AICS, which changed its cipher every second, as well as the PIN codes of all users. 
Now, speaking of the metaverse world itself. Having plunged into a meta-dream, which at first was somewhat similar to a state of meditation, the first thing I saw was a white light. It stood like an impenetrable curtain around me, until in one second it was replaced by an endless wheat field. As it was explained to me later, this is a common place for users to appear. There were a lot of people around, and all of them disappeared and reappeared, like sunlight on a wall. The self-constructing reality, what surrounded us, was in constant change, so that the world seemed to be a kind of breathing being, giving everything around eternal movement. As it turned out, the capabilities of the metaverse have been significantly expanded, and now it has become available not only to share memories with other users, but also, using RAM, to communicate with people only in images, absolutely without words. Thus, we have simultaneously descended to the level of ancient people telling stories through rock carvings, and people of the new era – conveying even the easily perceptible details of any incident, dream, and even ideas with just the power of thought. But the innovations did not end there. 
It turns out that the function of creating closed interest groups or for a more comfortable communication of acquaintances and friends has appeared (so that's where users disappeared!). I must say right away that I did not join closed groups, because I thought that they were hardly any different from closed groups in computer games (and my assumption turned out to be correct), and I also did not meet anyone with whom I could discuss something worthwhile. Besides, I was more interested in the process of transferring a memory to another person. 
After thinking a little about what I could show the man standing in front of me, I settled on a childhood memory. Here is a part of a wheat field turned into the roof of a house, and a small paper airplane flew out of my hands. But as soon as he flew a little into the distance, he literally turned into a large airliner in a couple of seconds, gaining altitude with a hum. As it turned out, my memory and that man merged together, and for me it was akin to the effect of an exploding bomb. Just imagine my emotions when something so personal and immaterial, which seemed to be closed from the eyes of people forever, suddenly took shape, colors, sounds! I admit, I have never seen anything more beautiful, and everything that was happening seemed like fiction, which decided, at least in old age, to look in on me. 
I brought my first experience of being in the metaverse only so that I could feel the ephemerality and colossality of the new virtual world and thus understand the essence of the opportunities that have opened up. And, actually, it's time to move on to the last part of the essay and analyze the full range of possibilities of the metaverse.
Today, the window is almost the end of the XXI century. The year 2089 is coming to an end, and the world is not standing still. He has changed a lot, and I think he has changed for the better. Despite the tragic events of the past years, we have managed to come to harmony with ourselves and pave the way for harmony with the world, which would hardly have been achieved in the first half of this century, even with the creation of a metaverse. Would humanity listen to virtual reality, which calculated with the help of AICS capabilities a model of future destruction, famine and death? Or would the use of nuclear weapons have become a more thoughtful and therefore sophisticated torture for our planet? These are the questions that haunt not only me, but also many people who still remember firsthand what it cost to survive and at the same time preserve humanity. But this, in fact, was what it was then, and what do we have now?
First, medicine, which has stepped far ahead. What used to be just a theory or required a difficult experiment has become possible in the metaverse. The synthesis of scientists' ideas, brought to a logical conclusion by AICS, has never failed. Performing complex operations that in reality carried a high risk of death, or testing new drugs and vaccines, even on animals, but was it humane? Therefore, the main advantage of the metaverse is that, unlike the real world, it takes a couple of seconds to fix errors here and at the same time the victims are reduced to zero. 
Secondly, ecology, which has successfully coped with many problems. The extinction of flora and fauna, pollution of the atmosphere and hydrosphere were completely stopped, and a program for their reverse restoration was launched. The only visible problem is some vast radioactive zones, but I am sure that this will be solved even earlier than in 100 years. 
Thirdly, science, which has expanded its cognitive boundaries to the limit of human understanding. The multiplicity of worlds proved by physicists, the so-called Philosopher's stone, which turned out to be an unknown polymer found in several asteroids of our Solar System by chemists, the complete decoding of the human genome by biologists and much, much more. But at the same time, science has not ceased to bear the imprint of ethics, which was so often shown in dystopias. 
Thus, whatever a person touches today, everything is born and develops in the metaverse. Architecture, painting, music, cybernetics, sports, culture, and even the virtual metalogy that appeared with the development – they discover something new and improve every day. 
But this does not mean that the metaverse is used only to solve global problems. Almost all users prefer to learn languages in the virtual world, master a new hobby, take courses and master classes, as well as learn a new profession or just communicate, make new acquaintances and join interest societies. Personally, the metaverse helps me in solving many work issues when there is not enough time in reality for this.
And with all that I have already described, it is worth adding that the metaverse is in constant development. Scientists say that in the future, crime will decrease to nothing, since already now AICS analyzes the user's memory and identifies defective memories, and also at the beginning of the XXII century it will be possible to fully accept another person's memory. For clarity, you can give an example with a language. If it needs to be studied now, then in the future a native speaker will be able to transfer everything he knows about his language to another user in the metaverse. You will not need to spend many hours memorizing and constantly repeating. And what will we achieve then? This question remains open for now, but, definitely, a bright future awaits us, where technology will not reduce our humanity at all, because we will remember what it cost us before.
Therefore, answering the main question of my essay, "is a virtual life worth living or is it not worth it?", I will unequivocally answer: "It is worth it. And how else."