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Falsuphobia

Falsuphobia
Image from Steve Bowers

Sometimes known as apatophobia, falsuphobia is often mistakenly called virchophobia by the uninformed. However, the two phobias are distinct. While virchophobia is the simple fear of being in a virch, falsuphobia is a fear of receiving false sensory information without knowing it. Falsuphobes often avoid virchs, not because they are afraid of the virch itself, but because they fear that they might become tricked into believing that the virch is the real world.

Falsuphobes often avoid bionic implants that interfere with their senses, like eye implants or synthskin, and completely avoid implants which interface directly with their brain. This often leaves the falsuphobe at least partially outside of the digital landscape, isolating them from normally functioning individuals who conduct much of their interaction over digital links.

The worst falsuphobes are socially crippled by their disorder unless they are ludds or prims. Lesser falsuphobes may get by, by making partial connections. A lesser falsuphobe may allow one eye to be able to receive digital input, keeping the other eye as a safe-guard to ensure that the real world is still there, and use subverbal mikes, fingertwitch sensors or other "crude" mechanical input devices to interact with the digital landscape.

Some falsuphobes have learned to get by amazingly well by forming symbiotic relationships with digital entities, which are able to act on the falsuphobes behalf in the digital world, while the falsuphobe uses methods that do not require direct neural interfacing.

 
Appears in Topics
PsychologySoftwareVirtual/Infotech
 
Development Notes
Text by Thorbørn Steen
Initially published on 05 December 2004.

 
 
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