SL Amsterdam

When I arrived at Amsterdam (the SL recreation of the famous European capital), everything was gray.  As I wait for the region to load (or to rez as is the SL jargon I believe), I don’t know what to expect, having never been to Amsterdam.  In a minute, I found myself on a quaint street looking at the stars with bright street lights on one side and bright stores on the other.  I can easily imagine that this is Amsterdam at night and that I have just instantly traveled there.

Then I proceed to toggle the daylight settings to dawn, something that I cannot do in real life (although I now find myself imagining the limitless possibilities).  And I also notice that the street is very completely empty except for me, even the train passing on my left has no passengers and no conductor.  Then I enter the nearest building on the left, a casino-like establishments and I see others for the first time here.  However, when I approach them I discover that they are “robots” that are just scripts intended in aiding me in gambling my Linden Dollars.

In the end, I am struck by how realistic certain elements of SL are, and how eerily different they are at the same time.  At any one time, I could watch the sun set over Amsterdam while a person sitting on the same bench as me could enjoy a midday meal.