"Brian Plante - The Software Soul" - читать интересную книгу автора (Plante Brian)

my judgment and deviate, reading from the Gospel According to Luke, chapter 15, The
Parable of the Prodigal Son, and follow it with my sermon.
"As the Gospel says, the father did not merely take the repentant son back, but
celebrated his return," I tell the congregation. "And so it is with all penitent people who come
back to Our Lord."
I see my words, directed at the new congregant, make her fidgety and uncomfortable.
Perhaps I am too obvious and need to allow her to slip into the fold gently, without singling
her out. I do not want to scare her off, if it is her wish to partake anonymously. I decide to
change the emphasis of the sermon to stress the celebration rather than the penance
aspect of the reading.
After the consecration, I am disappointed that the Ann does not come forward to
receive the sacrament of Communion, but I hope to chat with her at the conclusion of the
liturgy. I want to find out who she is and what has brought her back to the Church. I also want
to know what is going on in the real world. Alas, she slips out of the pew and through the
door as I recite the final blessing to the congregation.
After Mass, in the narthex at the back of the church, I shake hands with the same old
sims as they depart until next week. Where do they go when they exit the church?
Presumably, they pop out of existence, only to be resurrected the following week when they
are needed again for services. Nevertheless, I am gratified to have had a real person attend
Mass this week. I do not know if I have made a difference in her life, but at least I can feel
like I have a purpose again.


The following Sunday, I am pleasantly surprised to see the new Ann persona sitting in the
back pew again at Mass. If she continues to attend, she ought to customize her persona. I
will still be able to pick her out of the crowd because of the hesitant way she follows the sims
near her whenever they sit, stand, or kneel. But if she alters her persona from the stock Ann
model to something closer to her natural appearance, I may have a better understanding of
who she is. Is she young or old, quick or slow, plain or fancy? It should not matter, but
knowing might help me tailor my sermons to meet her needs.
Also present at this Mass are three other new personas: a Patrick and two Marys.
Could it be that the Ann was suitably impressed with last week's Mass and has brought
along some friends? I think not. The four personas do not sit together, nor acknowledge
each other's presence. It is odd, though, that after so long with no new parishioners four of
them should appear at the same time. Perhaps they have come together, but do not
recognize each other in their VR personas among the crowd of sims.
In my sermon, I again stress welcoming and celebration, and keep the preaching to a
minimum. If the times are right in the world to begin building up a new congregation, let me
not be too heavy-handed and frighten them off until I have first won over their hearts. I make
a gentle suggestion to those who have not been to confession for some time to come and
receive the sacrament of Reconciliation on Saturday.
Although it was never my favorite sacrament when I was a living priest, hearing
confessions is the job that I was originally created to perform. As the number of human
priests dwindled over the years, the original Father Thomas had me modeled after his own
personality to help hear the confessions. Back then, churches were physical buildings in the
real world instead of virtual places like today, and my program ran in a confessional booth in
the back of the church. Some time after Father Thomas died, I was adapted to also be a
celebrant of Mass in the virtual version of the Church of St. Anselm. I prefer saying Mass to
hearing confessions, but both have become sparsely attended in recent years. If new
parishioners are showing up for Mass, perhaps I can get them interested in Reconciliation