God bless the Hyperlink

It was high time to reconnect my beloved black console with her long lost friend, the World Wide Web. Like clockwerk, the screen faded to black and an automated message informed me that an update was available. As my black box was buzzing with exitement, I decided to peruse the Playstation Store.

It amazed me how much this glorified online webshop had grown and expanded. At first, it was hard to find my way around the PS3 Content, PS3+ Content, PSP, and all those other joyous acronyms. But once I saw the name 'BioShock' light up my 52inch screen, I knew I had arrived at my destination.

The awe-inspiring sight of the Big Daddy -or Subject Delta, depending on which BioShock game enjoys your preference- invoked all sorts of delicious imagery across my retinas. I was reminded of the Little Sisters I had adopted, forced to gather ADAM and subsequently rescued by removing the slug from their bodies. I could see myself drilling my way through yet another ADAM-infused, crazed Splicer who thought he could beat me. And of course, how could I forget, those first moments when the bathysphere opens and you emerge in the disturbingly beautiful world that is Rapture.

Indeed, BioShock has had a tremendous influence on me since the day I bought the PC version. I dare say 2K has made the most influential and innovating game of the last decade. Of course, some of you will disagree with me, and I grant you your diverging opinions, but to me, Rapture and its eery beauty will always prevail over the next Tomb Raider installment or Call of Duty war epic. And it's not just the haunted Art Deco style and Rapture's intriguing population that won me over, but the whole story behind this underwater dream-turned-nightmare.

When I think of all the times Wikipedia has been the five-course meal to my hunger for knowledge, I can't even begin to imagine a pre-Wikipedia life. Naturally, I had to look BioShock up on this glorious encyclopedia infinitus and I found myself unable to stop clicking those eye-catching blue words.

First, I looked at 'alternate history' and immersed myself in these works of fiction that took pride in discussing the question "What if ...?" From there, I jumped to the section involving time travel (what did you expect?), jumped back to 'alternate history' and then to 'video games', which included the Resistance and Fallout series. Finding myself too far off from my little submerged Valhalla, I leapt back to Rapture and came across the name Ayn Rand. Rand was a Russian-American writer who acted as a source of inspiration for 2K's masterpiece. Her work of fiction entitled 'Atlas Shrugged' has now made it to my Top Five Book 2 Buy.

I think this shows just how immersed and omniscient the Internet has become. Knowledge can be consumed with the mere touch of a button, links are made instanteously and the best part is that you don't have to do a damned thing. Everything is right there in plain sight, awaiting your every move.

I might be jumping the gun here, but I think that in about three or four decades, the Internet will render scholastic education obsolete. Teachers can talk all they want, but who wants to listen to the sleep-inducing nagging of a dissatisfied fifty year old, when you can just as well learn all about it in the comfort of your voice-controlled, holographic computer screen? With Dolby Digital Surround Sound, of course.