This chapter situates the metaverse in a long line of utopian and dystopian visions of a digital future in which being simultaneously ‘here and elsewhere’ is tied to claims about disruption and revolution. It does this by tracing the main narratives about virtual worlds and their historical origins—including their escapist visions of disembodiment and spatiality—back to twentieth- and early twenty-first century scientific and fiction literature, sci-fi movies, and corporate and political documents.