a platform where people can exist at all times. they want to create social spaces where people can come and hang out with their friends, they can watch movies, they can do everything that they would do in normal life but within that platform. almost like the movie ready player one, in a way. this is the oasis. stephen spielberg's 2018 adaptation of ernest cline�*s novel of the same name tells the tale of a downtrodden teen hero who escapes the dystopian sprawl of a near future america by spending as much time as possible online in a multiplayer virtual world. a place which mashes up characters and pop culture themes from movies, comics and games. it was another sci—fi novel that coined the phrase "metaverse", though — neal stephenson�*s 1992 book snow crash, which also has a hero who's got a crummy life who escapes