We playfully crouch down to pet an everyday cat that follows us into a chamber while navigating the Great Pyramid of Giza. As the room suddenly darkens, our guide Mona attempts to deflect potential panic, sharing an extra light torch and boasting about her professional preparedness. The cat, knocking the torch onto the ground, transforms – still feline but much larger than a house cat – into Bastet, an ancient Egyptian goddess serving as the protector of homes and families, and associated with fertility, childbirth, and women's secrets, as well as the afterlife, where she is sometimes depicted as a guide to the dead.
We gaze into Bastet’s piercing emerald eyes, as she takes flight and guides us through the remainder of our 45-minute immersive virtual reality (VR) journey. Opening to the public on Friday in New York, the unrivaled VR experience has enchanted audiences in London, Paris, and Atlanta. The New York debut presented by Excurio ’s Immersive Expeditions takes over 11,000 square feet of interactive space in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan.
As my husband, son, and I awaited our tour, we watched as others often-awkwardly traversed the sprawling Eclipso space. No doubt my movements were observed with raucous laughter. While comical to watch others, once we donned the firm-fitting VR headsets that stay in place even as we move in response to abrupt landscape shifts, we meet our surroundings with deep reverence.
During a funeral scene, we respectfully w.