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Up until now, we have spent most of our time alternating between looking at books and movies like in Song of the Sea<\/em><\/a> or The Bird Box<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0 More recently we\u2019ve started discussing broader topics through the lens of fiction, such as with The Election Story<\/em> <\/a>or Is the Bible Fiction<\/em><\/a>. We have not looked at many shows or other forms of media. However, I\u2019ve found that one of the better forms of storytelling these days is in the world of video games. The game Stray<\/em> got my attention last year for its beauty, its innovation, and its message of legacy.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n It used to be that a video game translated into a movie was a near-instant failure. Does anyone remember that horrifying version of The Super Marios Brothers<\/em> that came out in the 90s? But recently there has been a resurgence, with stories like The Last of Us, Fallout,<\/em> and even a new Mario<\/em>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n So yes, video games can contain some great fictional worlds. But do those fictional worlds hold the same potential for revealing God? I would argue, yes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In the video game Stray<\/em> you play as a feral orange cat in a post-apocalyptic landscape. After getting separated from your colony, you fall into what is later shown to be a buried city.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Keep in mind, that this cat does not speak and accomplishes tasks through very feline means. It is not a cartoon animal, but rather very closely based on a real cat. I think that is what makes this story all the more enjoyable. The restrictions are unique and force the story off the well-beaten path. In addition to the gorgeous art, it makes it a truly enjoyable experience.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n The cat ends up in the lowest sector of a city overwhelmed by rat-like, sentient bacteria created by now-extinct human beings in an attempt to clean the garbage and radiation produced by their industry. After the initial escape, you are connected with a tiny robot who narrates the story by sharing its memories and thoughts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This robot, you find, was formerly a scientist. He explains to the cat, and thus the audience, the dangers of the city and wonders at the things that have evolved since his human form died.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The new residents of the city are also robots, though of a different type. They scrounge what living they can off the world around them while struggling with the echoes of the humans before them. These robots suffer from classism, have religions, wear clothing, and experience familial relationships.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As the cat protagonist travels up the layers of the city and moves upward in the class system, we get to know these robots. They show other signs of their human predecessors. They create art. Painters, gardeners, and musicians are everywhere. They experience anger. We see one robot angrily shake its fist at others when the paint is spilled in front of their door. Another robot comments on loving the smell of paint, despite not having any form of olfactory organs. More importantly, they have a dream. These robots long to leave the closed-off city and see the sky.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n As the player works through the game Stray<\/em>, they have an opportunity to explore many details of the world. Not only can you interact with various non-player characters you can take the time to hear their stories and see how they go about their lives. You can also find clues and breadcrumbs left behind by the human beings who created the buried city.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n While there are still many questions in the end, it seems logical to understand that these robots were, like the tiny hovering robot that narrates the story, once human beings. The fact these robots have memories of the taste of food, the smell of paint,\u00a0 relationships and emotions, and of dreams, indicates that they are more than just parts.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n This is especially true when you reach the final chapter of the game in the control room at the very height of the city. The player experiences soulless robots whose only purpose is to clean and maintain the locked room. While it could be that these robots just had no chance to advance, without the social structure of the robots below, it is also likely these robots just did not had any human consciousness uploaded to them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In escaping from the room, the scientist robot is irreparably damaged and dies. However, the city is open to the sun. As a result, the threat of the sentient bacteria, which dies in ultraviolet light, is ended and the robots have, for the first time, access to the surface. The game ends with the cat lead enjoying the warmth of the sun.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n As a young teen, I went through a long period of struggle against the existential dread of death. I would identify my core value as \u201cpurpose.\u201d I can live a life without happiness, peace, love, or joy, but I cannot function without a foundation of purpose.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n What terrified me about death was not the question of what lay on the other side. I wasn\u2019t even necessarily afraid of the process of dying, though that intimidates me now. What caused me the most fear was the understanding that I would be forgotten.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n While I knew that, at least for one or two generations, I may have people who knew me personally, eventually, they would die too. I couldn\u2019t tell you my grandmother\u2019s grandmother\u2019s name. And while I know I\u2019m here because of her, I couldn\u2019t tell you anything about her.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This fear grew to an entirely new level when I was unable to have children in my adult life. While I hold out hope for adoption in the future, it seems clear to me that I might be forgotten before my life even ends. While I hope my books and art will create a small echo of me, I won\u2019t have anyone to keep those in print or circulating.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In the United States, we don\u2019t think often about death. <\/strong>When we do, it\u2019s only an inspiration for art, music, and gothic decorations. Its a joke, or a morbid personality trait. We all have those friends who make Halloween into their entire personality. <\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 My father used to point out that death is carefully tucked away in hospitals, funeral homes, and graveyards. This is not the typical experience of the rest of the world. Death is much more present in most non-western countries, and even in several western countries.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nInto Darkness.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
What is Left Behind.<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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When I Die.\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n