“Throughout the history of our species, we humans have always imagined other, better futures for ourselves, intangible worlds that we expect to be more fulfilling and experientially rich than our daily lives. Our ability to visualize and believe in these futures is itself a cultural technology, one that we use to improve our experiences of life and reality.”

As I was waiting for a connecting flight at Frankfurt Airport, I wandered—almost reflexively—into the airport’s bookshop. Among the familiar rows of titles, one cover stopped me in my tracks: Virtual Society by Herman Narula. The subtitle, The Metaverse and the New Frontiers of Human Experience, immediately resonated with my ongoing work in Extended Reality (as I’ve shared in a previous post). I bought the book without hesitation.

Narula, co-founder and CEO of Improbable Worlds Limited, lays out a bold and ambitious vision of the metaverse—not as a technological gimmick, but as a natural evolution of something deeply human: our drive to imagine, build, and inhabit alternate realities.

“Depictions of the afterlife, created by artists for millennia, aren’t just manifestations of religious devotion: They are extensions of an ongoing human impulse to instantiate the intangible, to visualize ideal worlds and thus make them real. We have always wanted to see, feel, and understand more than we do…”

Narula’s journey begins with a historical lens, tracing virtual world-building back to ancient civilizations—from the symbolic architecture of Egyptian pyramids to the mythological realms of various cultures. These were early attempts to manifest ideals and transcend the constraints of biology and geography.

In his view, today’s modern world, with its relentless focus on productivity, often leaves our deeper psychological and emotional needs unmet. Here is where the metaverse steps in—not as escapism, but as a space for real value creation: through community, creativity, and cultural evolution. These virtual worlds, Narula argues, have the potential to become arenas for authentic human fulfillment.

“Let’s now collect these reflections into a fully formed definition of the metaverse…”

He defines the metaverse as a network of interlinked realities—some physical, others digital—that gain meaning through social consensus. These worlds are not necessarily immersive or VR-based (though technology can enhance them); what matters is their ability to generate shared experiences, purpose, and value across different dimensions of life. Whether through cultural production, social bonds, or even commerce, these spaces become deeply integrated into our reality.

To help us understand the trajectory of virtual societies, Narula introduces a compelling three-level framework:

Level 1: Historical and cultural realms accessed through story, art, religion, and collective imagination. These virtualities are meaningful but largely symbolic and separate from the structures of our daily lives.

Level 2: Our current transitional phase—where digital worlds increasingly intersect with real-world systems. Communities, economies, and identities are being built online with tangible consequences offline. The virtual becomes a meaningful extension of the physical.

Level 3: A future where virtual existence could surpass the physical—enabled by technologies like brain-computer interfaces. Here, people could live fully within digital environments, shaping cultures and societies born entirely in code. It’s a bold, speculative vision of a post-biological humanity.

While Level 3 is still far on the horizon, Narula makes a strong case that Level 2 is already unfolding—and accelerating. The next societal leap won’t just be about more immersive technologies; it will be about designing virtual environments that genuinely enrich our lives and relationships.

Virtual Society is a thought-provoking, mind-expanding book that challenges readers to think beyond the hype. Narula offers a powerful perspective: virtual worlds are not the enemy of reality—they are its extension, its amplification, its creative counterpart.

But as I closed the final chapter, one reflection remained front and center for me: we must not lose sight of our humanity. Relationships—our capacity to connect meaningfully with others—are the cornerstone of the human experience. If virtual worlds are to be truly transformative, they must serve that fundamental need. Not replace it. Not isolate it. But expand it.

If we can design and inhabit virtual spaces that deepen our relationships, foster empathy, and strengthen our shared humanity, then yes—I believe we are heading toward a better future.