Virtual War Essay, Research Paper
Virtual War by Gloria Skurzynski, who lives in Salt Lake City, was
copyright February 1999. It is a book of the science fiction genre. It is based in
the future around 2053. By now the earth?s population is only around 2 million
because of disease, chemical and nuclear war-fare have made much of the
planet unsuitable for living. Now city?s people live in huge bubbles for ozone
and toxin protection. They no longer fight wars. There are too few people.
They instead wage virtual wars where a team of three of their finest fight for
them. (They are now fighting for an island that has recently became safe for
inhabitancy, Havi.)
The main character, Corgan is a boy. He is only 14 years old and has
lived in a ?aerogel? box for all his life. The world he knows is all holographic. He
was genetically made for one purpose, the virtual war. Corgan has acquired the
traits of Loyalty, Honorability, and Trustworthiness from the box. He has
genetically superior traits of coordination and quickness. He is to be the team
leader. He does not know much of the outside world, except for what ?Mendor
teaches him.?
Corgan?s box provided him with everything he needed. A program was
written to act as a mother and father to him, called the Mendor. It mended back
and forth as parents depending on the situation.
His team was of great excellence. The two chosen to be on his team are
much different than he, however their roots are very similar. Sharla, he finds
out, is to be his code breaker. She was from the same batch of babies as he
was. She had golden blonde hair, and blue eyes. Corgan felt embarrassed but
he liked her. She was unruly however, and escaped from her box many times as
a result of being a code breaker. She was experienced and knew of the outside
world first hand. She did not care for nobility and Honor like Corgan, she just
wanted it over with.
His other teammate was a genetic experiment gone wrong. He was a
mutant with a huge head and a small frail body. He was regarded as useless
until they discovered his brilliance. It wasn?t until that time they took him from
the ?aerogel? and put him in his own chamber. He was to become the strategist.
Because of his size and history, he came off as a rude, cry baby. He was
younger than Sharla and Corgan being only 10. However, he talked like a old
man.
They trained together and it seemed victory eminent. Corgan asked
before the war if they could live on the island when they win. The council, who
controls their city state, agrees and after the 9 hours of battle, they become
victorious. Afterward, they are celebrated as heroes. After the war they are to
go to a Reception. At the Reception, Corgan finds out that people placed bets
on the event, like it was a game. It was more than a game it was a realistic
recreation to show people mistakes of the past. The virtual war was held so
people realized what man was like and how he had to learn from his lessons.
The people had learned nothing
I would not recommend this book. It had a simple plot and lame characters with
simple logic it was like recalling old goosebumps books. Perhaps it would be a
good book, however for your little bother or anyone you dislike.
Bibliography
Virtual war book