World Travel Arena Term Analysis

When Mateo and Rufus are at the World Travel Arena with Lidia, the teller explains that while Deckers get in for free, their guests must pay to join their dying loved ones. Though Mateo pays the price willingly and adds on the donation, it’s worth questioning the morality of charging people like Lidia. While it’s hard to take issue with what the Travel Arena offers—the chance to take a simulated trip around the country or the world in an hour or so, something that a majority of Deckers will never have the opportunity to do—it does read as opportunistic to charge friends and family for the privilege of spending a couple hours with their soon-to-be-dead love one. However, because of the role that death plays in Mateo’s society, he doesn’t see any issue with the way this works out. For him, this is to be expected—which speaks to the way that this kind of commodification becomes normalized very quickly. But though it’s normal in Mateo’s world, that doesn’t necessarily make it right. The tragic reactions of individuals like Victor and Deirdre, who work at Death-Cast and Make-A-Moment, respectively, make it clear that the economic aspect of businesses like these leave a lot to be desired and prey on everyone—Deckers, non-Deckers, and employees alike.