JAMES MCDANIEL
I was told there would be cats at Paul Allen’s Living Computers: Museum + Labs (LCM+L), but so far, I’ve only found people dressed as cats. At the Cats of the Internet Pajama Party—one of LCM+L’s many events aimed at making the history of computers (and on this night, kitties) a hands-on experience—everything is an illusion. The museum’s robots have been decked out in kitty accouterments, but living, breathing felines are in short supply, since they can endure only an hour of attention before the staff has to cut off admission to the cat Petting Room. “Don’t worry,” an attendant sporting an animal onesie tells the crowd, “the VR experience lets you become a kitty yourself.” Apparently, actual cats aren’t really necessary.
