The Veldt

Work Title: The Veldt
Medium: Novel
Episode Title:
Year: 1951
Writer(s): Ray Bradbury
"Original" Writer: Yes Own work?: Yes

Summary:

You can read the short story online: http://www.veddma.com/veddma/Veldt.htm Very quick precis: A couple have bought a state of the art automated house. In the house is a Nursery a CAVE-like environment. This environment reifies the imaginations of the people within in. Two children create a Veldt with a pride of lions. The parents are worried that this world is quite violent. A psychologist states that the Nursery should be switched off and the children treated to cure their emnity towards their parents. The Nursey has become their parents because ever other function of their lives is automated. The children conspire to have the lions in the simulation kill their parents inside the Veldt. Its not clear on a quick re-read if the murder at the end is a metaphor for the children killing their parents or if the lions, despite assurances that they can't be physically created, are actually realised. There are hints towards both intepretations.


Era/Year of Portrayal: distant_future

Distinctive characteristics of the world in portrayal:

Life is completely automated, though it appears to be a consumer choice whether to accept automation


Technology

  • Name of portrayed presence-evoking technology: The Nursey
  • Description of the technology: A virtual reality room, detectable only by the fact that there is an open door out of it. It can recreate the heat of the sun in the African plains. It has odours.
  • Nature of task or activity: Play
  • Performance of the Technology: Very well
  • Description of creator(s): Unknown, but the device was purchased for about half the cost of a house. This is explicitly a choice by the parents to spend so much.
  • Major goal(s) of creator(s): To teach and play, but also to cure neuroses of the children.
  • Description of users of technology: N/A
  • Type(s) of presence experience in the portrayal: both
  • Description of presence experience: The fictions are the imaginations of the children. It is suggested that previously these varied between well-known or common kid fantasy stories, to the detailed and troubling world that is the Veldt.
  • User awareness of technology during experience: Yes aware, though they have a very strong presence response, and can't help running from lions.
  • Valence of experience: Parents find it unpleasant due to the content.
  • Specific responses: Strong behavioural response.
Long-term consequences:

The Nursery and the general mechanisation of domestic life result in the children killing their parents when they threaten to turn off their Nursery and the house.

Other:

Coder name: Anthony Steed
Coder email: A.Steed@cs.ucl.ac.uk
Coder affiliation: UCL