hen I got a press release inviting me to fully immerse myself into a multi-sensory extended reality (XR) story, I almost circularly filed it. Yes, the title “U.S. Premiere of a Multisensory XR Story Symbiosis at PAM CUT // Center for an Untold Tomorrow” sounded intriguing. But after experiencing an overabundance of screen time for over two years, I wasn’t sure if I was up for yet another “virtual” session, even if this particular XR event contained an in-person component.

Some days I feel as though I’m living in some Sci-Fi B-movie. Yes, I appreciated the connective nature of technology to keep us together somewhat during this extended self-isolation brought about by Covid. However, my experiences covering both South by Southwest (SXSW) and the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) left me feeling a bit disjointed. My body kept telling me I had to limit my consumption of technology in order to save my soul. Simply put, I needed human touch. 

Yet, the wording of this particlar press release intrigued me. This seemed to be an actual interactive experience where I could participate as both spectator and performer. “Through individualized haptic suits and soft robotics, as well as taste and smell-based story elements, the human body will be experientially redesigned to merge with technology and nature itself. Brought together in one VR experience for six participants, you explore a world changed beyond recognition which you can taste, hear, see and feel.”

I began to wonder what I might discover by immersing all my senses into what was described in the press materials as a world set 200 years in the future where a “rich biosphere of mixed life-forms has taken over the earth: human-animal, and human-machine hybrids.” So, I signed up for a slot.

Beginning my multi-sensory journey

After I arrived at the PAM/UNCUT and signed the requisite release form, I sat through a short demonstration that tried to explain how we would all going to embody this world some 200 years into the future as seen through the body of a Colorado River toad, Monarch butterfly, slime mold, or anglerfish. We were informed that the taste (food) portion of this experience isn’t available for this preview but that through this suit and the accompanying VR headset, we will experience the remaining senses of touch, sight, smell, and audio where we can envision a post-human world where there is no competition, only symbiosis.