A Life of Its Own

In the days when literature was supreme, one of the highest compliments one could pay to a writer was that a character in a work of fiction took on "a life of its own." The impression being that the portrayal was so "real" that the character jumped off the page to take on a life within the imagination of the reader. So ... let's apply this to virtual worlds. What if one's own avatar becomes so real as to begin acting with an apparent independence? Is this a compliment to the creator, or a sign of mental illness? What if it happens to be another person's avatar? Does that, then, bring us back from the brink of mental illness and closer to the unambiguous realm of the compliment? Or even more intriguing ... what if the virtual world, community, or circle of friends becomes populated with characters who seem very, very real? Is this a compliment to the technology, a sign of mass hysteria, or something entirely new in the way people connect with each other and spin imaginary worlds that "take on a life of their own?"