Page - 170 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 03/01

170 | Michael R. Heim www.jrfm.eu 2017, 3/1, 159–181 escapist, need not induce bodily numbness or somatic amnesia. the handles for exit and entry are the primal ingredients codified centuries ago throughout the Mediterranean. these handles are the known four elements, the roots of real- ity, represented in almost all cultures, and they are easily overlooked because they are both subtle and primal: fire, water, air, and earth. These four elements are not identical with the literal material substances that we manipulate with our tools. they are rather archetypal qualities of experience. in fact, both West- ern and Asian traditions list a fifth element of spirit or attention that plays or hovers freely above the four elements. Spirit is sometimes called the fifth or “quintessential” element. spirit transcends the four elements so it can move among them. the spirit is what balances the four elements. so the architecture of worlds, both virtual and real worlds, can be felt as experience layered with four basic elements, four handles that the fifth ele- ment of spirit can grasp and harmonize for each world experience. tOUr Of tWO eXAMPLes the backstory of the four elements will make more sense after a brief tour of two pieces of virtual-worlds architecture. The Oculus Lobby is the landing pad where virtual voyagers – cybernauts – first perceive virtuality (see fig. 2). It is the combo hub/library/store where the immer- sion begins. the aesthetic of this room is both indoors and outdoors: the wide world reflected in virtuality. The Lobby shows a three-dimensional environment resembling a modern-style apartment with areas for socializing, reading, and Fig.2: View inside the Oculus Lobby Hub.