Status Updates From Permutation City

Not since Asimov's short story THE LAST QUESTION have I read a SciFi story that speculates about the ultimate nature of the universe with such nakedness and equanimity.

Fantastic. Second read.

Not sure where this is going but the buid-up is captivating:
"In 2024, John Vines, a Boston neurosurgeon, ran a fully concious Copy of himself in a crude VR. The Copy's first words were, 'This is like being buried alive. I've changed my mind. Get me out of here.' Despite the Copy's discouraging testimony - the headlines were all immortality, mass migration into VR, and the imminent desertion of the physical world."

By 1994, when this was first published, I had become so busy with RL that I wasn't reading nearly as much as I had been the previous 2 decades (mostly hard-core SciFi of the early 20th century); subsequently missing out on a lot of great SciFi written at the end of the 20th century.
Now is my chance to catch up on what I was missing. This author comes recommended by gr Friend Darnoc Leadburger, thanks Darnoc!