Study Material of Virtually True (Summary, Character Sketch and Word Meanings)
Summary of the Chapter
The story starts with a boy named Michael who reads an article in the newspaper about a "Miracle Recovery." A boy whose condition was critical but stable had been recovered from coma. Michael recollects that the boy who was mentioned in the newspaper was in fact Sebastian Shultz who he had met weeks ago while playing. This all started in the Computer Fair, when Michael's father who was Nutty about computers, bought him a new computer preloaded with games. When he plays the game ‘Wild West’, he becomes a Sheriff and is challenged by "Black eyed Jed" to a duel. He meets a Second Sheriff whom he was asked to go with. Unfortunately, the Second Sheriff gets shot by the villains and the game ends. Later on, he gets a printout which read "I 'm Sebastian Shultz try playing Dragon Quest".
In Dragon Quest his task was to save the Princess Aurora from the wicked dragon and collect the wicked creature's treasure along the way. He had the help of the second knight who was revealed to be Sebastian. Later on in the game, Sebastian was killed. The game ended with the printer displaying a message asking him not to give up and to try playing "Jailbreak."
In Jail Break, his mission was to escape with the prisoner, and he knew it was Sebastian again. They broke out of jail, ran to the roof as doors shut behind them. The helicopter arrived as they reached the roof. They got into the helicopter. As they took off, Sebastian fell off the helicopter and the game ends. Later on, he plays the game many times but the print out does not come.
Then one day, the printer shows a message telling him that the helicopter was a better choice, try playing "War Zone", Sebastian had also promised not to trouble him again if this did not work out.
He jumped right into the game. He found himself in some kind of a city scarred by battle wounds. He knew he had to save Sebastian. They ran together to an abandoned jeep they found amidst the rubble. They went towards a helicopter as a tank chased them. As soon as it came to their view, Sebastian stopped the car. The jeep went into a spin and Michael leapt into the helicopter. Sebastian does not enter the helicopter at this point. Michael waits and yells at him to come into helicopter but Sebastian does not move. Moments later, the tank collides with the jeep and Sebastian is thrown into the helicopter. They fly into clouds and the game ends, saving him. When he removes his visor he comes to know that he has got the High Score.
The narrator wanted now to cross-check the facts. He got out of the train and surfed the net for some details. He found out what he was looking for. Apparently at the time of the accident, Sebastian was using his lap-top to play one of the psycho-drive games that the narrator had bought.
The narrator realised that Sebastian’s memory had been stored on disk because the computer had saved Sebastian’s memory as its run, when Sebastian had banged his head in the accident. But how did it end up in the narrator’s computer. This was also solved later because the narrator came to know that when Sebastian had been in the hospital, someone had stolen the games and sold them and the narrator had ended up buying them. There was a message from Sebastian that said, “DEAR MICHAEL, THANK YOU. I’M NOT SURE HOW IT HAPPENED. BUT YOU SAVED MY LIFE. LET’S MEET UP SOON, CHEERS. SEB. PL. KEEP THE GAMES. YOU’VE EARNED THEM”.
This was a real and direct message from Sebastian. It was clear that by reliving the accident, something wonderful had happened. But then again, what can someone say about miracles. And what is true or what is virtually true - no one can say with finality. The narrator had undergone an experience that had proved to be virtually true.
Terms and Meanings from the Chapter
• Wheezy - to breathe with an audible whistling sound, with difficutly
• Coma - a prolonged state of deep unconsciousness
• Nutty - crazy about
• Gizmos - gadgets, especially mechanical or electrical devices
• Psycho-drive - driven by mental power
• Sarsaparilla - a carbonated drink flavoured with sarsaparilla root
• Skeleton swipe-card - a plastic card on which data has been stored magnetically and that can be read by an electronic reading device
• Vicious – brutal
• Riddled - making a large number of small holes in something
• Sniper fire - gunshots fired by somebody in a concealed position
• Hurtling – chasing
View NCERT Solutions of Virtually True