[ribosometronome]

>identify with the villains in media. Zuck looking at the metaverse and thinking hey that’s a good idea!

Are there many stories where the bad guys create the metaverse? AFAIK, Stephenson coined the term in Snow Crash and there it was built by the main character and his buds.

The Matrix, I suppose? Though I think Zuck's (immediate) vision and who he identifies as is way more Hiro Protagonist or James Halliday.

[jessetemp]

You might be right. It’s been a while since I read snow crash. I just remember the metaverse as a sort sad state of society, but I don’t remember if the evil corp stuff was in there or just in the world at large

[nullsex]

Zuck was gushing about Ready Player One. It's as if the villain was written for him.

[ribosometronome]

RPO's "bad guys" weren't the creators of the metaverse but a corp trying to win the contest to take it over. Halliday is flawed but a large part of the novel centers around that and he intentionally creates the contest in part to try ensure the metaverse ends up in appropriate hands, no?

[jazzyjackson]

Ready Player One