The virtual/simulated reality created by hallucinogenic
drugs that Lem presents is very similar to that presented in the Matrix, as
well as many other works of fiction (check it out!: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simulated_reality_in_fiction).
It also strongly reminded me of a short story by Ray Bradbury, “The Veldt”,
wherein two children begin to love their simulated reality nursery more than
their parents; that story ends with the parents being eaten by lions, a fate
that the children had imagined so many times that it came true. I wasn’t really
sure what to make of the ending to either of these stories (simulated reality
will come true and eat you? everything is a dream?), but both stories share a
critical apprehension of simulated realities. When does the simulated reality
end and the real world begin? As the two worlds blend together, we become
attached to the more pleasant and utopian virtual reality. As Lem showed, our
attachment to that virtual reality would make it nearly impossible to be able
to face the stark realities of our crumbling world. It’s much easier to slip
into a perfect virtual world than it is to promote change and prosperity in a
world where everyone has an opinion, and compromise seems almost folkloristic. Waking
up with the world still crumbling around you, or seeing to fruition the
parricidal fantasies of young children shows the harsh truth that simulated
reality only serves to conceal. We need to be present, to be involved in our
world and our future.
I agree that the novel suggests we must be immersed in "reality" in order to control our future. I feel that Sci-fi as a genre has this as its root moral. Much of sci-fi is dystopic and presents with a future to avoid. We can only avoid these possible futures if we are presently aware of our actions and what impacts our actions have on the world around us.
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