Virtually Divorced Woman Kills Virtual Ex

The Associated Press reports, apparently with a straight face, that a 43-yearold Japanese woman who was suddenly divorced in a virtual game got so upset she killed the ex-virtual husband’s online persona. She’s in jail right now, not because killing a virtual character is illegal but because she is under suspicion of hacking.

The virtual game is called “Maple Story,” in which players have online characters, called “avatars,” and through them, they engage in social activities, develop relationship and fight monsters. It’s not all that different from “Second Life,” which may be more familiar to western readers.

In any case, the AP says she told officials, “I was suddenly divorced, without a word of warning. That made me so angry.” She has more or less admitted that she “used login information she got from the 33-year-old office worker when their characters were happily married, and killed the character. The man complained to police when he discovered that his beloved online avatar was dead.”

She now faces five years in jail and a fine of up to $5,000 or so for illegally accessing the computer. Officials haven’t determined if she is married in the real world, but they are pretty sure she had no plans for real world retaliation.

One can hear the tsk-tsk coming from Luddites who are convinced that computer gaming is killing off social interaction. “This game drove the woman crazy.” Actually, this crazy woman (or at least an unbalanced individual) played a computer game. One remembers the worries over whether “Dungeons and Dragons” encouraged witchcraft and devil worship in the 1980s – it didn’t. Actually, her response seems rather well calibrated. Her virtual ex apparently never explained why he divorced her, so may be she’s not entirely in the wrong. If only all of mankind’s problems were virtual ones.

© Copyright 2008 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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