The Real Thing

A private collector leads two visitors through a museumlike suite of near-perfect forgeries and immersive sensory devices, provoking debate about authenticity and value. A recorded poet's journal and an All-Sense feeliescope demonstration set off a discussion of whether expertly produced imitations can equal or exceed originals and whether experience can be replicated by changing stimuli or the stimulated body. The story juxtaposes technical speculation about reproducing experience with everyday vanities of ownership and collecting, and it ends with a small but revealing incident involving swapped currency that sharpens the tension between appearance and reality.