Demonstration in Second Life Supporting Iranian Protesters (2009)

By Bixyl Shuftan

Most Americans are well aware that Iran's government is undemocratic, Islamist and punishing of dissent. But what not everyone knows is that not every Iranian blindly follows it, but a number question it, sometimes openly. Following the results of the June 2009 elections in which it was announced only two hours after the polls closed that the hardliners had won, the results were protests by both the supporters of the opposition candidates and spontaneous demonstrations by others in the public. The response from the regime was brutal, arresting thousands, whom often were tortured while in captivity, and killed many, including Neda Agha Soltan whose death was widely broadcast on social media, making her a symbol of the protests. In Second Life, it was announced there was a demonstration of support for the protestors.

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On Thursday June 25th, a number of people in Second Life in support of the protesters in Iran, whom have been speaking out against rigged elections despite the violent crackdown resulting in arrests and deaths. At 2 PM and 7 PM SL time, people gathered at the Palais Orleans Art Studio in the Roissy sim, many from the “Support Iran” group. A few held signs with raised fists on one side, and a picture of Neda, whom has become a symbol of the protests, on the other. The signs could be picked up in the Studio, along with memorial candles. The studio displayed pictured of Neda and the protests, and the people also passed around a green armband with a broken heart symbol. There were also “I am Neda” shirts.

One person at the first demonstration thought thirty to forty people showed up, some arriving a little late and some needing to go early, “We had a good turnout.” The second was smaller in number, but no less determined to make a point. There was also a security guard from the Justice League to keep any possible griefers away.

People were invited to make comments and give news they might have heard. Rene Grigorovich used voice instead of typing to make his point, “All these people are asking is for a free and honest election as is guaranteed by the constitution. .. the regime is absolutely bestial in how they treat the opposition. ... I would ask you all to keep these people in your prayers. ... thank you.”

There was one Iranian among the people in the second gathering, “I’m Iranian,” Melody Rosca told everyone. She was living outside the country. When asked how well Iranians could use the net, she answered, “I know that Internet connections have been next to nothing for the past day. I know that cell phones are shut off after 5 PM.” When asked if any SL resident in Iran could still get on, she answered, “All I know is that those I know are having lots of difficulty getting online and transferring information.” At another point, she spoke, “... it is extremely important for us, all of us, to remain aware. Knowledge is always power, and it’s no different in this turmoil.”

Thursday 25th was also the day singer Michael Jackson passed away, leaving some to wonder if the media coverage might distract the attention of the American public. Melody commented, “I’m afraid that just because there wasn’t as much news today, or perhaps tomorrow, or even a week from now, everyone will forget and just assume it’s over.“

The group talked about the role of Internet blogs and Twitter in helping the protesters get images and information outside the country. However, some described the theocracy as making it harder for the people to communicate with the outside world. Melody told, “... information is being filtered much more drastically than a week ago.” Someone else mentioned satellite dishes were being confiscated.

One man had a story to tell, “I have a personal stake in the protests. I’m in love with an Iranian woman. I don’t know if she’s alive or dead. ... I have not spoken to her since last October, when she told me she asked her father for permission to marry me. ... She and I had many low-level arguments concerning her government. At first, she thought I believed all Iranians were fanatics. Then when she realized I made the distinction between her government and the people, she still insisted that I was wrong, that is was not like that in Iran. She honestly believed Iran was a free country, and that her government would not actively harm her. It took her several years to begin seeing the truth.”

“When she told her father that we wanted to marry, he confirmed all that I had said to her and more. She broke off contact after one final conversation. We talked on the phone for hours that last night. ... If a pro-government militia ever found out she was in love with me, the girl whom got ******ed to death with a baseball bat would have been luckier. ... They’re chopping down protesters with axes and shooting them in the streets. What do you think they’ll do to a woman who’s in love with Iran’s proclaimed ‘Great Satan.’ ... My desert rose is much stronger than she thought she was. My greatest fear is she took to the streets. I decided within a few days of the election that if she called me, I’d be forced to say things I did not mean in order to convince any officials tapping her phone line that she no longer had any ties to America.”

Some were concerned, wondering at one point the possibility Iranian government agents were conducting searches in SL. Still, there was optimism, “It might take a generation ... but the Iranian people are seeing what their government is capable of now. The Iranian people overthrew the Shah and they will eventually overthrow the current butchers.”

Eventually, the vigil came to an end. People wished each other well, some vowing to continue. We were told the Art studio would keep the pictures of demonstrations and candles and signs, “for the foreseeable future.” Palais Orleans Art Studio and Designs is at the Roissy sim at (31, 58. 24).

“Freedom is worth dying for but dying is easy ask your selves is it worth losing everything for and possibly being tortured to death for? this is the question the brave freedom fighters of Iran have asked themselves. They said yes, and for that courage I stand with them.”

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Sadly but not unexpectedly, the protests failed to change the result of the election. The response by the hardliners to the "Twitter Revolution" as it was called was to effectively shut down the Internet, bringing it back only after heavy censorship software was installed, and the shutting down of pro-opposition traditional media, in addition to brutally cracking down on dissent. In American politics, the Iranian protests became an issue when Republicans complained the Democrat President was refusing to act sufficiently in support of the dissidents. Within months, protests against the election results had been effectively quelled.

Bixy Shuftan

Sci-fi Author Larry Niven & Artist Michael Whelan Appear in Second Life (2008)

Originally published in September 2008 in Second Life Newspaper

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By  Bixyl Shuftan

Science-Fiction fans had a treat when author Larry Niven and artist Michael Whelan appeared via their Second-Life avatars at the Writer's Convention and Fundraiser in Monogram Tria at 11 AM SL time on August 30th. Taking place at the Monogram Virtua Convention Center, the event was held to raise funds for Alzheimer's research. They offered a poster/wallpaper for charity, and answered questions from the audience.

Niven and Whelan's virtual selves, LarryNiven Magic and MichaelWhelan Xue, were posed seated at a desk, signing copies of artwork. The art of Whelan's was the picture used for the cover Niven's book "Integral Trees," with the signatures of both the artist and author. For a donation to the Alzheimer's Association, one would get a copy, and a notecard for where to download a computer wallpaper version for one's computer.

In a conversation with Monogram Virtua VP Anakalia Catteneo after the event, she told me Niven's and Whelan's avatars were based on their real-life appearances, "That is as close as we could get to the photos we had."

Whelan and Niven took some time to answer some questions from the audience, Niven used mainly voice while Whelan was "stuck with typing only" with his computer. Monogram Virtua co-founder Dubble Rokocoko typed out what Niven spoke for those in the audience not able to hear sound.

Hiliary Grant: Mr. Niven....Please tell us your journey to getting published?

Niven, "Regarding my journey to getting published, I did two obvious things." He signed up for writer's school in the 1960s, "and learned enough to get going." He bought the magazines he most liked and looked at the inside editorial page. "You send your stuff there until somebody buys it." It took him about a year and a fourth.

Frond Karu: Mr. Niven, what type of science books or magazines do you research prior to writing?

Niven, "Scientific American, Science, I don't look into them much."

MichaelWhelan Xue: Fate magazine ;-)

Niven, "There's a guy who sends me anything interesting that comes up on the net. And I keep track of rocket research. Mostly, my sources are friends."

Scarlett Qi: Is this the first virtual world you both have visited?

MichaelWhelan Xue: yes, outside of things like the Myst worlds etc.

A1 Markstein: Is Ringworld over, dead and buried?

Niven, "No. As I was saying, Ed Larner and I are planning five books. The fifth book would be set after Ringworld, so we'll likely see Louis Wu going home."

A1 Markstein: what happened to J Pornelle?

Niven, "Pournelle is recovering from radiation therapy. His cancer is gone."

Katronix Serf: Mr. Niven what do you think of authors who podcast their novels?

Niven, "I have no opinion on that, except that there's probably more money in selling them as books."

Hiliary Grant: Mr. Niven..Other than copyright protection..were you ever afraid that someone would copy your ideas from your novels?

Niven, "It happens. I learned to use the word 'homage' rather than 'rip off" because it saves my sanity."

Hiliary Grant: Do you suggest sending a Non-Disclosure Agreement to protect yourself when sending your work in for submissions?

Niven, "I don't bother. Everybody knows the rules."

Frond Karu: When thinking through your story ideas, do you imagine them in color Mr. Niven?

Niven, "Yes. I am one of the more visual writers. I notice in my collaborators that they don't picture what's happening as readily as I do."

JordanM Rossini: What inspires you most Mr. Whelan?

MichaelWhelan Xue: The most...? I guess, my own work, now. Whatever I've done lately. I react to and am informed by both my recent work and things going on around me. As an illustrator, of course, my main influence is the written work I am illustrating.

Hiliary Grant: Mr. Niven...How long has it taken you to get your novels published...from the pen to the shelf and what was the longest novel written?

Niven, "I think my longest was a collaboration called 'Footfall.' A little over a year is how long it takes. It takes about a year to write, and another year to publish."

MichaelWhelan Xue: I was art directed to death for FOOTFALL. My preference was to do an entirely different approach to what ended up on the cover.

Paradox Olbers: surprising, Michael, [to a publisher outsider like me] after you being established for decades by the time you did Footfall cover...

MichaelWhelan Xue: I loved the book. Well, it wasn't the art director, actually. It was Lester Del Rey. He had a set idea about the cover and wouldn't budge from it. I thought it was terrible to give away the surprise of what the aliens looked like on the cover, but oh well

A1 Markstein: I hope to see you sometime in a SF convention. Will you be at any in the near future?

Niven, "Yes. There is one coming up in San Jose this month. And then, thank God I'll be clear. I've gone to too many conventions this summer."

Abronia Mubble: With all the recent advancements in science and technology, does this make it easier, or harder, to come up with unique ideas for science fiction?

Niven, "What I've found is I used to be able to be first with an idea.  This is no longer possible. Everyone has access to everything that happens. Now I have to be best."

JordanM Rossini: Mr. Niven, what was the hardest book for you to write? What made it a challenge?

Niven, "I had some real trouble getting into 'Destiny's Road.' It was an irresistible idea, but I found myself trying to write a man's story from childhood to middle age. I flinched from that. When Michael Whelan did the cover, he thought it was finished. It took me four years before it was finished. Of course, he worked from outlines and some text I'd written."

Frond Karu: Mr. Niven, do you write everything on your computer (I am slow typist).

Niven, "Yes I write everything on my computer. Given the right keyboard, I'm a fast typist."

Mira Caerndow: Where do you find inspiration, Mr. Niven?

Niven, "I find it in all directions. I never know, but I don't do research as I do read for fun, and let the research create the story."

A1 Markstein: What did you think of the cartoon Star Trek "Slaver Weapon" story?

Niven, "I wrote it. ... I liked the way they handled it."

Charlene Siemens: Have you ever rejected an idea as too implausible or unlikely, only for it to become reality some time later?

Niven, "No."

Abronia Mubble: What do both of you think about sci-fi movies these days? Good, bad, indifferent?

Niven, "I'd say that sci-fi movies are getting better. A little more attention is being paid to the values that wind up in the books."

MichaelWhelan Xue: I agree with Bill Maher. He said that maybe we shouldn't be releasing so many movies based on comic book stories. The rest of the world might think Americans live in a fantasy world where all problems are solved by violence. I'm still waiting for a movie as good as 2001 and Bladerunner. SF movies these days are too empty-headed for me. They are nice visually, but not much to speak of in terms of real meaningful content.

(following a comment about Ringworld) Niven, "I heard from Mandell recently. Mandell is the guy who owns the movie rights to Ringworld. He's thinking of generating a lead up, 13 episodes.

A1 Markstein: There's already been a Ringworld game Sir.

Niven, "There have been Ringworld games, yes. Two from Tsunami. They felt a little claustrophobic to me. There are possibilities, I'd rather not talk about them. It isn't that I'm afraid of jinxing anything. it's just nobody's business until it becomes real."

Frond Karu: Mr. Niven, when collaborate with another author, does it expand your writing time to more than one year?

Niven, "Writing with another author can make it shorter or longer."

Hiliary Grant: Mr. Niven...Do you suggest joining a Writer's Guild...as a published author of Cyber Blues by Love Freeman..would that be the best avenue for me?

Niven, "I think anyone might benefit from joining the Writers Guild."

At one point, there was a bit of funnery when a young girl avatar tried to wear an object only to find it was still in the box. Niven asked, "and what is that little girl holding?A book?" Someone answered, "Newbee oops." Another mused, "She wasn't holding a Soft Weapon, thank goodness." Niven's comment about jinxing a Ringworld game led to a joke, "Hey, watch that ethnic comment! Re: Jinxians" (Jinx is a world in Niven's "Known Space" series). Whelan joked about having "virtual writer's cramp."

At the end of the hour, Niven and Whelan thanked everyone for coming, "It's been a pleasure interacting with your virtual selves."  "Thanks all." Anakalia Catteneo told everyone, "Please feel free to stay for the workshop, seminar and live music today. Also, enter the raffle to win the prizes that are on display, proceeds benefit the Alzheimer's Association." The guests of honor then took their leave and logged off.

Bixyl Shuftan

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Being behind the "Man-Kzin Wars" series of sci-fi novels, Larry Niven was known by some friends of mine. I never did hear of them appearing in Second Life again. Of the autographed artwork of their "Intergal Trees" story, I went ahead and bought one. Proud of it, I hung it up in my office. Today, it can be found at the SL Newser office in HV Community, a lasting reminder of this meeting with a well known sci-fi author.