Adaptation

On my first trip to VA and second trip to a cybercafe overall (for the sole purpose of multiplayer gaming), I finally understand how guys can game for hours and hours on end without fatigue.

They automatically assume the position of least energy: they slouch in their chairs, as far back as they can while at the same time keeping a visual on the screen, backbones seemingly dissolve in flacid muscle, and their jaw slackens considerably, attaining that gormless look that's so often likened to goldfish.

Their right hand rests on the mouse, wrist on the edge of the table, and their fingers follow the exact curve of the instrument so that no strain is involved in actually holding up any part of their body. Their left palm rests on the edge of the keyboard and they flick their fingers across the keys with maximum precision and minimum exertion.

Optically, they achieve a fine balance between relaxing their eyes while keeping the screen in as sharp a focus as needed for whatever particular game they're engrossed in.

Watching them play is a bit like stop-start animation, the bright lights of the computer dance in their glassy eyes or off their spectacles as all other organs cease to function and their nervous system moves into overdrive, making their fingers and wrists twitch in time to the demands of the game.

This is the zone.