I was looking back at a few other opinions on this episode and remember someone mentioning resemblances to The Matrix, although I may not be as "plugged into" that later movie as others and was just thinking of "virtual reality" in general while watching the episode. It may be "small praise," but I can't think of a reason the original story isn't "worth reading"... even if I was mostly letting its connection to Mystery Science Theater make me think of it as a simple curiosity.