The time I went on border patrol in a virtual-reality world

In this virtual reality role-playing exercise in a Border Patrol simulator, my job was to keep an eye on the man.

He seemed nervous. His legs twitched. His eyes darted from side to side, as if he were searching for a chance to escape.

Suddenly, he walked to the driver’s side window of the sedan and reached inside.

I pulled my pistol from its holster, pointed it at him and yelled: “Sir, get back to the hood of the car! Get back to the hood of the car!”

The whole thing felt real, and that was exactly the point. The idea of the simulator is to immerse agents in the type of tense situations that they are likely to face on the job, and put their judgment and reactions to the test.