An interesting business transaction recently took place where Facebook purchased Oculus in order to get its hands on the rising public interest in virtual reality. This touches directly with my newest novel, Unrelenting Nightmare.

I was first introduced to the concepts of virtual reality back in the 1960s, when I saw a visual demonstration of laser technology as it applied to stage design. A laser projection, using three separate lasers, was projected onto a stage. The resulting image was a forest scene that came to life for the audience. There were many snags with the concept as it applied to its use on stage, but the concept certainly drew my attention.

Years passed, and my attention was drawn to the new development of virtual reality games, and where that technology might go. I wondered if the combination of laser imagery with virtual reality could be a realistic concept, and the possibilities that might offer the world.

My imagination went to work, and I put together a fictional plot of that possibility actually happening, resulting in me writing Unrelenting Nightmare. In writing the story, I removed the present necessity of using a headgear devise from the picture. But in creating the story, all sorts of issues came to mind about how society would deal with this kind of technology, and what effects it would have — both good and bad.

I guess we’ll have to wait and see.