By Becky "Sha" Shamen
As I began to plan on which adventure to entice my readers with next, I
remembered buying an outfit and making props for my previous article,
"Once Upon a Cure". I had intended to show that whether or not a thing
is true, it can still lead one to finding truth. I included a picture of
a white rabbit, wearing an Alice costume, pondering which way to go, to
get to the real Wonderland. Alas, I did not write that into the
article.
We all know, from reading Alice in Wonderland, she wakes up from a
dream, so no amount of scientific evidence will ever convince us that
Wonderland can be located in real life. But, what about in Second Life? Sure
enough, using search, inworld, brings up "Dysphoria Wonderland", located
in the Oxygen Island sim. It was described as "The Best" version of
Wonderland, that Second Life had to offer. If that's true, I needed to go there
and write about it. I changed my av and costume and clicked to TP to
Wonderland.
As the scene rezzed, at the landing, we see a large tree, with a white
rabbit and a hole at the base. A message, in local chat, tells us to
walk to the hole. Doing so, we fall down a deep hole. About half way
down, we land on a platform, with objects floating about it. Somehow,
the place feels familiar. Have I been here before? I knew I needed to
step off the platform and continue falling. At the bottom of the hole,
we find ourself in a large round room. On one side, there is a small
door. In the center of the room is a large glass top table, with a key.
At the base of the table, we see a box, labled "Eat Me" and a bottle,
labeled "Drink Me". Flying is not allowed here, so clicking the box puts
you on top of the table. I took the short-cut and just panned my cam to
the table top, to get the key. Now I know why this place seemed so
familiar. To get the key, you have to join a group and it costs L$200. I
had been this far before, but, at that time wasn't interested enough to
pay the fee.
This time, I had a story to write, so I joined. Any future visits will
be free. Key in hand, I click the small door. The door opens to a blank
texture which, when clicked, puts you in a crawling animation and
switches to a view of crawling out the other side, in Wonderland. A
note, in chat, tells you to stay on the path, continue to the end and
then stop. In places, the path is a bit hard to see, but as long as you
proceed around the sim in a counter-clockwise direction, you will see
everything, even if a few water hazzards slow you down. We are reassured
of having gone the right direction, as we spot the Cheshire cat,
sitting on a tree branch ahead. As we approach, he slowly fades from
view, leaving only his familiar grin.
Before we proceed, I should tell you, try clicking on any interesting
objects and furniture you spot. Many of them contain gifts or surprises.
Our next landmark is a house, the home of the white rabbit. Be sure to
go up to all the floors, to see what little tricks he has placed there,
for your entertainment.
Proceeding down the path, we next find it blocked by a large black widow
spider and her web. Clicking the web will get you stuck in it, with the
spider inching it's way closer. After getting free, try going around
and getting back on the path, on the other side.
Next up, we come to a windmill. In the front yard, there are tables and
chairs. We, instantly, recognize this as the Mad Hatter's Tea Party. The
other guests seem to have left, leaving a mess behind. As we sit, for a
bit of tea, we discover one of the guests is still there. A sleepy
doormouse sticks his head out of the sugar bowl. You may decide to drink
your tea, unsweetened. We get up and go inside the windmill. Click
everything, as there are many free prizes to be had here.
Moving along on the path, we notice a forest of giant mushrooms and
think we know what will be found here. I start looking for a giant
caterpillar. He wasn't there, but a butterfly was flying around a large
mushroom and there was smoke coming from the top. Clicking it put me
seated on top, next to a hooka. Knowing there was still adventure to be
explored, I decided against trying to inhale any smoke, (laughter). While
there, I took one of the best snapshots ever, as seen at the top of this
article.
After panning the camera around, to get the best shot, I found myself
lost, when I got down. I could see, on the top of a nearby hill, a
castle with red trim. I knew what that was for, but just couldn't find
the path to it. Fortunate for me, I spotted a balloon. Guessing that it
might be the only way up, I clicked on it and began floating off in the
wrong direction. In the chat window, I was instructed to use the left
and right arrow keys, for direction and the page up and down, for
elevation. I quickly mastered piloting the slow moving balloon and
steered my way to the castle's courtyard. Before entering the castle, I
walked around it and posed for a picture with a couple of aces, from the
queens army. This place is called Dysphoria, for good reasons. I felt
an abnormal feeling of anxiety, as I entered the castle. I was glad to
see that the Red Queen was not at home. I went right up to the throne
and sat on it.
Having satisfied that royal fantasy, I got up to search the rest of the
castle. I found a side chamber, where a queen might entertain guests. I
sat down, at the pipe organ and played a bit of Bach, before exploring
farther. Pulling a curtain open, I found a stone wall, where a window or
door should be. I thought it might be a secret passage and clicked to
see if it would open. When that didn't work, I looked at the wall on
both sides and found the button. The wall slid open, revealing an
external stairway. At the top of the stairs, there was no door, but it
had the same button, so I clicked it. Now I was in the queen's bedroom.
Naturally, I went straight to her bed....and danced on it. From there, I
found her private balcony at sat down to enjoy the view and sip some
champagne. I had gone as far as one can go here, so I stopped. A word of
advice, if you're going and get all the way to the balcony, you'll see a
pidgeon that says "Don't click me". DON"T click on the pidgeon.
Overall, Wonderland is a great adventure. The graphics are great and the
sounds and scenery did produce some anxiety, like what you feel when
getting on a roller coaster. It was worth the L$200 fee.
"Sha"
