The World has Changed

Following my last post lamenting my absence from a world I was once completely ensconced with, I decided it was probably a good time to log back in and satisfy my growing nostalgia. I had thought about it for days. I even resisted for a while. And like it always has been every time I get these urges, my experience lasted all of fifteen minutes. Nostalgia satisfied and my stomach left bitter, I logged out again.

My first stop was Gibson, my home; the great city of Nexus Prime. It was empty like it once was and nothing had changed. The same buildings were in the same places as I wandered the same spaces. It blew my mind to say the least. This was Nexus Prime, a city known to never be complete! For as long as I had been in Second Life it was undergoing constant revolutions, redesigns, and developments. It's been over a year now and the city hasn't changed drastically if at all. My heart sank immediately. I couldn't stay long.

I next visited the original Welcome Area. It never changed as often as Nexus Prime, but it too was the same. Overflowing with new residents as it always has been. Mostly blank staring avatars standing around silently. I felt a slight wrench of nostalgia for the old balloon ride and the path that led to the first sandbox I ever rezzed a prim in. It would be the last wrench as I couldn't stand it for long.

I headed back to Nexus and scraped through my aging friend list. A few people were on. I knew better, but I IM'd them anyway. Hoping I guess that maybe there was still something there. Everyone was working. Like, working their jobs. Our conversations fizzled out after the initial recognitions. I almost felt another pang of nostalgia, but I was used to this one... instead it became a dryness in the mouth.

I would've searched the directories or wandered, but I knew what I would find. The world was a different place. It had changed. The home I once had is gone.