I don't think it is too dark, the potential for the 'metaverses' of the future to be social and intellectual prisons of our own making is a very real threat. The platforms currently vying for the walled garden that is the device that replaces our phone and the internet will all talk about openness (for awhile) but ultimately every one of the digital land barons wants the territory for themselves with as big a moat as the law will allow.