Poor Little Buddy

Samuel has recently become engrossed in a game called Spore.  I don't know if you've heard of it, but it's similar to TheSims in that you create a being and live as that being until you die.  In Spore, the main difference is that you also evolve.  Your character begins life as a single-celled organism that moves about eating other organisms and growing appendages and adapting to its watery surroundings until it can live on land with the other legged creatures.

Well, Samuel began a civilization a few weeks before the kids left for their fall break.  Tonight he went back to his saved game and continued playing for a while.  When he and I went into the bathroom to work on his teeth cleaning routine he told me that his character's buddy had died.  His little creature was living in a nest with another similar creature and the two of them went off to conquer a band of other creatures.  During the fighting his buddy was mortally wounded.  He seemed a little sad when he told me this but he quickly rebounded and said, "It's okay, though.  I'll find another buddy," and that was that.  Conversation moved on.

About 20 minutes ago Solomon came to me and said that Samuel was in bed, crying.  I went to find out what was wrong.  He was sobbing really hard and couldn't talk.  I asked a bunch of questions and finally surmised that he was crying over the loss of his creature's buddy.  Poor little dude.  I feel so bad for him.  And at the same time I can't help giggling a little to myself because it's kind of silly, too, you know?

Also, it reminded me of my own brush with virtual mortality.