metaverse

Commentary

In a 3D virtual space, columns rise from the middle of a calm pool, and spectral white platforms form a spiral staircase around the perimeter. A forest and the sky are visible in the background

Holly Herndon / Ian Cheng

A promotional image for a video game, where a woman points a gun at semi-abstract figures spilling forth from a doorway

Commentary

A person stands with arms outstretched in an arid desert landscape, appearing to wear a dress made from red and pink balloons

Commentary

A view of a virtual world, with three stand-alone columns serving as portals to social areas. They stand around a blue pool opposite red trees

Commentary

A digital rendering of a circular hall with a central column adorned by the Liberland flag

Simon Denny / terra0

A potted plant sits on a table in an exhibition booth; grids shaded with colorful gradients hang on the black walls

Steve Pikelny

A screenshot of a virtual world, showing the interior of a church with a cross-shaped window opening onto the blue sky. The walls are hung with photographs of religious pamphlets

LaTurbo Avedon / Skawennati

A view of a virtual community space, with a white glowing tree in a plaza surrounded by gracefully curving buildings under a blue sky

Simon Denny

Alan Lau

An abstract portrait of the collector Alan Lau, created from digital renderings of geometric shapes

Guest editor Shumon Basar offers stories, strategies, and speculations for an era after the end of eras. Predicting the FUturee

A cartoon man stands alone in thought, sandwiched between indistinct photographs of a parking lot and a city at night