No More Hollow Space

I have been listening to the book, “Sea of Tranquility” by Emily St. John Mandel, and there is a passage set in the future where the characters are communicating as holograms. They are in the “holo” space.

I think the narrator is saying “holo” space, as in short for hologram space, but to me, it sounds like “hollow” space, as in having a hole or empty place inside. In the future, if we are able to communicate as holograms, will we be in the “holo” space, or will we just feel hollow?

The idea that we will be able to put on a headset and feel like we are part of a community in the metaverse without actually being with people just seems so sad. Didn’t COVID lockdowns teach us anything? Didn’t that time teach us how hard it is to be in the hollow space by ourselves?

We are meant to be in community. We are meant to go to church, school, work, and parties. We are meant to meet for coffee, chat with people at the gym, talk with our neighbors, and go to book clubs.

We are meant to be together, in community, feeling whole, not hollow.