Once you've successfully taken over the world, and have everything you could ever dream of... what next? 
 That seems to be the problem for Kai, an immortal divinely-appointed emperor who has fallen into kind of a rut. The sci-fi/fantasy novella "Perfect State" shows off Brandon Sanderson's knack for creating epic fantasy backdrops for very human characters, and poking some gentle fun at them along the way. And despite the horrifying concept behind the Liveborn, it's an interesting little side-story that begs for more expansion. 
 Fifty years ago, Kairominas successfully took over his State of Alornia and made himself the godlike emperor, with all the perks -- he's immortal, wealthy, and has the power of Lancing to effortlessly alter the world around him. He spent hundreds of years having epic adventures, and now has the whole world in the palm of his hand. And... he's in a rut. The only thing that livens up his life of peak world-dominating tedium is the fact that he has a nemesis. 
 It also turns out quickly that this is actually an elaborate simulation overseen by the Wode (whoever they are), and Kai has spent his whole life as a brain in a tank with his own personal Matrix. He and "Liveborn" people like him can also hack into each other's States if they want. Now the Wode have sent him a new assignment: A DATE. With a woman. Who has own her State to rule. But though the date starts off well, Kai soon discovers that not everything about it is as it seems. 
 It takes a little while to get past the central idea of "Perfect State," namely the fact that the main character has been in the Matri since he was a fetus. Which is horrifying. Really, really horrifying. Admittedly Sanderson adds a twist to the old Descartian brain-in-a-vat concept by making the brains completely aware where and what they are, and living out lives of actual danger and achievement within their little States. It's kind of horrifying, but try to get past it intellectually. 
 In effect, "Perfect State" is about a man who has been surrounded by artificiality to the point where he barely recognizes the difference (emotionally, anyway) between "reality" and his State. It's like the ultimate stereotypical gamer geek, taken to the most madcap extreme. 
 And this gives Sanderson the opportunity to subtly blur the question of what reality is and isn't. Are the Machineborn capable of being as real as the Liveborn? Is a false reality where you have lived your life, fought, struggled and been endangered just as real as the "real" world? Or do you have to defy the "set" life and forge your own path for it to be "real"? No, Sanderson doesn't turn the story into a soapbox. Instead, it's about how the experience of connecting with another person causes Kai to slowly emerge from his little isolated world. 
 Sanderson also writes this in a rather tongue-in-cheek manner, with lots of clever meta jokes about the States ("Have you discovered the lost continent yet?" "There's no such thing." "Of course there is. There's always a lost continent"). And he gives a real sense of texture to the different States, which could make you almost believe that a person could live a satisfying life there. After all, Kai has Machineborn friends who seem to have some artificial intelligence, and "dying" in his State will kill him for real. 
 But he also creates a melancholy undercurrent to Kai's journey, as he comes to realize how isolated he truly is, and how a life lived in artificial surroundings isn't enough. There's a bittersweetness to his story, and it leaves you wanting to know what's going to happen in the future. 
 "Perfect State" is another little peek into the many-faceted imagination of Brandon Sanderson -- this time with thought-provoking, well-developed worlds within worlds. Smart, sleek and fast-moving.