Just over one week ago the worst imaginable terror reached the streets and surrounding forests of Oslo, the capital of my hitherto rather peaceful country and hometown for 20 years. With its unbelievable bestiality and meticulously designed intent, the attack left us all in a state of total shock, and as our tiny nation leaves near no one personally untouched, the days since the attack have been spent mourning the dead, clinging to hope for the wounded and trying our best to support those who lost their loved ones.
As surprising as the attack was, was its source of origin.
It came not via the streets of Kabul, where Norwegian soldiers have been stationed for years (in spite of strong protests from large parts of our population). Not as a direct consequence of our fighter jets being - to our great shame - the most frequent droppers of bombs over Libya over the last 6 months. And not as part of the much hyped ideologically motivated 'invasion' by extremists from another culture, expected to be rooted in and justified by ancient religious ideas.
The attack came from within. From one man and his own twisted, augmented reality.
Amidst all the grief, we were lucky that none of our leaders chose words like "We will hunt you down", or any other form of revenge-fuelled, thoughtless remark doomed to throw us into a new spiral of violence. Our heads of state rather took their time to first pay respect to the tragedy of the event and its victims, before proclaiming "We will retaliate with more democracy, openness and tolerance". I have to admit that I could sense a strange feeling of pride at being Norwegian at witnessing this. Strange, because I've never paid much attention to any conscious national belonging before.
But the problem is that whether you want to answer to this horrid act of terror with more violence or by turning the other cheek, any form of retaliation against or dialogue with the responsible require that you both exist within the same universe. In regard to what just hit us, and destroyed so many bright young futures, I'm afraid I don't believe this to be the case.
I stood next to my kids in the living room of a flat in the northern part of central Oslo when the bomb went off. The entire building shook, even though we were kilometers away from the explosion. 30 minutes before I had been walking the streets very close to the area where it actually happened. My initial feeling was therefore one of fear.
Then, a mixed feeling of rage, anger and sorrow welled up as I started to understand what had happened.
But as a picture of the murderer was drawn out in the media over the next couple of days, my next feeling was one of guilt. Guilty, not because I in any way share the attacker's insane, murderous qualities or twisted beliefs, but guilty because as the contours of his monstrous operation became clearer, I started to recognize all too many of the technological tools and relentless, thoughtful, long-term planning that had to have been involved in the creation of his nightmarish plan.
Tools I have so far embraced as predominately positive seen from an artist's perspective - the very same tools that have enabled me to create my own transmedia art project over the last two decades - novel/soundtrack/exhibition-series 'Earthbound - Surfing the Apocalypse'.
Just to clear the air: This is in no way an attempt to plug my art on the back of a terrible disaster, but after the devastating consequences of the attack I believe that the circumstances require me to share some of my thoughts and experiences gained from researching and developing this project, hoping that they might be of value in the work that lies ahead of us in trying to prevent something similar from ever happening again.
I feel that I in some strange way might understand certain aspects of the process that have conditioned this madman, without by any means proclaiming that I understand his inhumane actions or apparent sociopathic lack of empathy.
I believe we have to discuss these things out in the open and search for what enabled this monster to grow so huge before entering our world with all his madness.
My countryman and Professor in Anthropology, Thomas Hylland Eriksen writes in The Guardian on Monday July 25th of 'the tunnel vision resulting from selective perusal of the internet', 'the filter bubble' and of 'the darker waters of the blogosphere'. I want to delve deeper into these same topics, but try to shed more light on the mechanisms I believe to be at work within a human being who has built up a personal worldview through these channels.
In order to do that, I need to refer to my own project first:
Briefly explained, my work of fiction is the story of one Victor Ixelles AKA Vix, a reclusive, damaged soul who spends most of his days perceiving the world solely through the blurry window that is his laptop computer. Luckily for us, both he and his interests are fairly harmless, he cares mostly for music, Nikola Tesla and the computer game 'Pong'.
My protagonist's biggest problem is that it slowly becomes apparent that both his closest friend and 'informer' of different 'truths' - more often than not of a conspiratory nature, or at least slightly alternate to our collectively agreed-upon history - as well as the parallel Fantasy-style storyline set in a future where Vix himself plays quite a significant role in the outcome of 'saving the world' - are all part of his own inner monologue.
Or, it's rather our problem, as Vix himself is too immersed in his own psyche to even notice than there's no one else in there with him.
The project consists of a 200 page text, a multitude of (fictitious) Facebook accounts, blogs, YouTube clips and other online pieces of constructed information that all play a part in creating the illusion of the story's universe. In addition, a series of music releases, art installations and Real Life events also serve as physical manifestations to help the storyline unfold into reality, and thereby in making the illusion more complete.
In other words: the character lives in his own universe within the fictitious universe of the story, with certain parts of both reaching out into the real world.
I therefore got a chilling sensation when I learned more of the Oslo terrorist. I felt there were too many similarities. It seemed to me like he had created something of a 'transmedia project from Hell', with his 1500 page 'manifesto' serving as a backdrop for his murderous 'live events'.
This madman had, like my character, also created his own world - a world where his inhumane actions were 'justified' and 'necessary' according to his own guidelines. He has only been able to create these guidelines because he's had the most powerful tools of self-conviction at his disposition - the tools to design a private mental universe that he could dwell inside for years.
Here, he could stay untouched, unchallenged and uncorrected by anyone outside of his own mind, making sure that all of his convictions - often based on fear and disinformation - got further cemented by only choosing to communicate with likeminded souls within his online network - only searching for the information he already expected to find, keeping safe within the 'filter bubble'.
The Virtuality (including all of the web, simulacra gaming and selective online communication), is now powered by unimaginable amounts of both verified and complete bogus pieces of information, endless personal choice and filtered searchability. When you add the possibilities of larger than life simulations and risk-safe models for any action taken - however violent or inacceptable - this mega-accellerator of the mind can amplify any thought-pattern into all-encompassing mental 'truths', whether these patterns are initially based on fear or other internal emotional reactions.
This powerful, immersive machine provided this savage soul with all he needed in order to build a perfect mental monoverse - in total opposition to the universe in which we all co-exist. This monoverse became a place where he could dwell inside the corridors of his own damaged mind long enough to severely amplify all of his narcissistic ideas - to the point where he felt nothing stood between him and any action that seemed rational in the context of a world where he himself was God, judge and executioner.
'Real Life', as the digital generation feel is the correct definition for the external world (former generations have been content with the word 'Life' to define our common human experience), is quite a different place - an endless process of negotiation between your own and a multitude of other, external willpowers.
Our Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg keeps referring to human society as 'Fellesskapet'. Broken down and translated to English it would read something like 'Our Common Creation' - a great definition. A good friend of mine in the gaming industry chooses to refer to Real Life as 'The Great Compromise' - maybe an even better definition - especially for the digital generation who live at least two lives and might need to differentiate these lives in some way.
'The Great Compromise' is of course a totally different place from a 'monoverse' created within The Virtuality. Out here, the dynamics of such a multitude of willpowers constantly create a shared output that we keep referring to as "reality" - a reality you can agree with or not. If you don't like it, you have the option to bring your personal opinions to the table, but will risk having them met with critique, correction and general response. That's what co-creation is all about, or what?
But when the self-created world of a self-created 'God' collides with our shared reality, he has of course never learned to interact as a result of living in a world where he has never had to make any compromises. When this 'ruler of his own monoverse' in addition has been nurtured by a muddy soup of (dis)information, fear and pre-mediated assumptions of what's right and what's wrong, he's more likely to spend most of his time trying to 'get his message across' to those who might disagree, rather than try to enter into any form of dialogue with the outside world.
As no topic has ever actually been a matter of discussion in the real meaning of the word, frustration builds as people in general don't submit to this 'truth' that he so eagerly wants to share, and he gradually turns into an angry driver speeding down an ideological one-way street, ploughing down anyone who might stand in his way - though still raging over the fact that not enough people do.
This 'ideological only-child' mentality is also reflected in the 1500-page 'manifesto' of the madman whose name shall be forgotten. Through it he leaves no room for dialogue, but rather generously shares with us 'the truth, and nothing but the truth'.
In the old days, any dictator who wanted to rise to power had to go through a struggle 'out here', in an environment inhabited with disagreement and opposition. Or he had to be conditioned by supporters, in a closed environment like a religious or political sect. Not so any longer. Now, any readymade sociopath, brainwashed by his own self, can come barging into society before anyone can say 'I object!'.
When he in addition has had years and years of virtual weapon tuition through First-Person Shooter wargames (yes, all my friends on the gaming circuit. That's my opinion, You don't educate chefs with flight-simulators, you use them to help pilots get ready for the real thing), the result will look like what we just saw happen before our eyes here in Oslo.
The least pretty sight I've ever seen in this country.
Now, before I hear the defense-speeches from the gaming circuit holler out: No, I don't think you're all potentially crazy terrorists. It is by no means my intention to call for more regulations or bans of violent computer games.
And anyway this is not how The Virtuality works. It's not of an hiearchical structure, and thus can't be organized in the same way society in reality is organized. You don't change things by regulating them just as you don't fight music downloading by 'outlawing' it, but rather make sure each individual music lover understand that if they don't support the artists they love financially, these artists will no longer be able to perform their art.
We have learned that the virtual world has a flat structure, consisting of tiny cells with (potentially) equal power of influence. 'Big Brother' cannot expect to make any more impact through his single Twitter account than anyone else, but a million Little Brothers and Sisters can - if they unite their powers.
And one still has one's personal power at hand. The positive aspect of endless choice. The execution of this power has resulted in that I personally never engage in these kind of games, and as a parent with responsability of others I have made sure none of my kids have been trained for a killing spree during their childhood - just in case.
The gaming industry here in Norway recently complained about the lack of financial Government support. Many of our developers claim that they need such support in order to match the international competition. Well, maybe you're just not good enough? Not creative enough to come up with any new concepts - concepts that can provide young gamers with skills they actually need out here with the rest of us in The Great Compromise? Skills that might even help these gamers make this world a better place?
As for the 'the darker waters of the blogosphere' (or let's just call it the blogosfear), there's a lot of work to be done. We are now in a position where we have a multitude of dim networks of anonymous users who either believe there's a 'global Jewish conspiracy ruling the world', an 'evil Muslim invasion conspiring to overthrow the Western World', or a 'reptilian alien race pulling strings from within the Pentagon'. Or worse!
Some of these networks claim to be 'movements' of a political or religious nature, but boiled down to their essence, most of them base their ideologies on a confusing cocktails of myth, speculation and assumption of the worst possible intent in others.
On this note it must be added that maybe the most valuable aspect of Wikileaks' current 'revelations' is that they proved that there's nothing of the sort going on - that what takes place in the real corridors of power is rather boring in comparison. Maybe the US authorities should rather than prosecute consider to honour Mr. Assange and his accomplices with medals for helping them out in killing off a few crazy myths? Maybe we then could focus on fighting real corruption.
These online cults - whatever they see themselves as - have to be hunted down where they exist - inside The Virtuality, and be forced to communicate with someone outside of their closed virtual circuit. Only then can they get some help in getting relieved of their fears.
We cannot solve this by invading countries with military force, or by hunting down 'terrorist groups' that really aren't groups at all, but clusters of lonely souls posting anonymously in the same forums. We can only achieve it by invading their own sphere - invade it with values of tolerance, understanding and the willingness to enter into dialogue.
Let's reclaim the virtual world - or make a collective 'virtuality-check', if you like.
As for authorities around the world, this will require their willingness to operate with near total transparency, thus leaving no room for speculations nurturing the build-up of more creative conspiracy theories.
Because most of all, fear is dangerous. It is often and mistakingly attributed to weakness. Not so. Some people get very dangerous when they become afraid, and to them attack is often the best thinkable defense.
I'm not afraid of Muslims. Or Christians. Or Jews. Or Aliens. I'm only afraid of confused, paranoid people of all origins and convictions - and their bombs.
