Text: "Burning Chrome," by William Gibson

Objective: To identify and discuss the effects virtual reality may have on human relations.

Film Summary: " Sgt. John Spartan doesn't fight crime. He rips into it like a junk yard dog. He's the Demolition Man. And he's the future's only hope. Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes go at it amid a dazzling cyber-future of 2032
(designed by Blade Runner's David L. Snyder) in this funny action blast. Arch criminal Simon Phoenix (Snipes) has fled a 35-year cryo prison deep freeze to find a serene, nonviolent Southern California ready for the taking. Unable to deal with his psychopathic 1990s style, authorities seek an old fashioned cop to fight old-fashioned crime. They revive Spartan (Stallone), currently in CryoPrison from
his last encounter with Phoenix".(jacket).

Sources: Demolition Man, Produced by Joel Silver, Michael Levey and Howard Kazanjian.

"Burning Chrome" by William Gibson

Discussion Questions:
1. Do you think virtual reality sex is going to be an option? Will it become the preference? What benefits or drawbacks could this have?

2. Would virtual reality sex be the ultimate safe sex? How could it be regulated? Would it change people's attitudes toward sex since it could eradicate all STD's?

3. If it is not legalized would there be places like The House Of Blue Lights? Could a cyberoid race be created to be virtual sex workers?

In my presentation I showed the movie clip of a virtual sex scene between Sgt. John Spartan and Lt. Huxley (Bullock), afterwards I read a portion of Gibson's "Burning Chrome" so we could discuss as a class the different uses of virtual reality and if it would someday be possible to have sex that way. These two different perspectives gave us a glimpse at some of the advantages and drawbacks of such an important part of our future.