Jake, with his fogged-up glasses, button down shirt, and a briefcase filled with scattered crumbled up notes and a laptop, quickly makes his way to the living room where Tony and Molly are chatting. Tony is wearing a jean jacket over a tie-dyed shirt eating nachos, while Molly is wearing rompers and an oversized sweatshirt. The living room is the only room in the house without technology and is kept clean so that these friends have a haven to escape the mess that exists throughout the house.
Jake having just got off a late shift at the space organization, Takeoff, where they all work is welcomed by everyone, but Jake has urgent news to discuss. Throughout work, he cannot get an idea out of his head. He sits them down on the U-shaped couch that sits in front of a tv surrounded by abstract paintings and a fireplace.
“I have an unexplainably complex idea that I think we should engage,” says Jake.
“Oh god! Here we go again. Another tripped out, dumbass idea from good ol’ Jake. Let’s hear it buddy,” Molly replies.
“Our universe is almost certainly a simulation.”
Jake works at Takeoff as a simulation specialist, creating model simulations of planned space journeys and phenomena like the Big Bang. The others are engineers and mathematicians that help to build and plan space missions.
Jake’s mind is constantly adventuring to places that others would not even fathom and may have surpassed his most abstract thought with this one. Despite these ideas being far-out, they make for good conversations that entertain the whole room, so his friends keep him around for the laughs and the philosophical conversations.
“Hear me out!” says Jake. “I work with simulations all day. I know how they work better than any of you. It’s all math. The computer functions entirely on energy. Compare the simplicity of these ideas to our universe. The laws of physics are simple math. The cause and effect of the universe consists of transferring energy. Looking at these simple similarities, it makes sense that we could be in a simulation. Certainly, there is more to dissect than this, but just think about it!”
“Interesting,” Tony says as he pushes up his glasses and clears his throat. He is clearly astonished by the thought. “It seems that Jake actually makes a decent point. So are you assuming that we are spawned here as a test society to be judged and studied by our creators? I am confused as to why these simulators would create us.”
Molly chimes in, “And when would our existence have started? Would it start with the point of our individual existence? For example, when we are born, does the simulation begin? Or does it begin when we think the universe began. You know… The Big Bang.”
Jake responds, “First off, Tony, does it even matter? Whoever created us, created us. We are here and that is all that matters. We will never know what their purpose was of putting us here, but if we could somehow prove that we are certainly in a simulation, that would be the biggest step in humans understanding ever to be made. And Molly what was your question?”
“When would the simulation have started? It doesn’t make sense for the universe to have begun with the Big Bang because that would require billions of years before life to form, and I assume, if they created this simulation to study life, then they would not want to wait a long ass time for it to begin. However, it also doesn’t make sense for the simulation to have begun with individual lifeforms because we have all this mathematical proof to show how old the universe is.” Molly turns to Jake confused out of her mind hoping for an answer.
Jake responds, “If we were to make a simulation, which I think we should at least attempt, we would have the ability to transverse through time at our own will. The simulation would be linear, a single timeline where all beings within it would experience one directionally, but we would have the ability to view any point in time we wish. After we run the simulation, we can analyze the entire simulation within seconds of starting it.”
Tony says, “So how do you propose we go about ‘making a universe’.”
Jake frantically opens his briefcase, and his notes spill out everywhere. He begins rummaging through them and finds his notes for the simulated universe project.
“See here, it is not so hard,” he says as he hands his notes to his friends. “We have the computing power to simulate this. All we have to do is program the laws of physics, a world of cause and effect, quantum mechanics, chemistry, everything that we already know scientifically. Once we apply the laws of science, we must input enough matter into a tiny atom, just like the big bang, and watch as the tiny dot explodes into a world of color.”
“I think you are simplifying the situation a little too much. ‘Program everything we already know scientifically’. I don’t know about you, Jake, but I have learned a lot of science in my day” says Tony.
“Okay it may not be as simple as I am making it out to seem, but we could possibly find a loophole. Perhaps there is a database that has all the laws of the universe already stored in it. For example, textbooks contain so many functions and laws, we could just copy these into a code and click run, it really is not that hard. Think about the result of doing this. If we create a universe within a simulation, it gives great foundation to the idea that we are in a computer. Perhaps, if we discover that we are in a computer, we can somehow communicate with the simulators running the computer. Maybe, they can tell us what happens after death. Maybe, they can give us the secrets to a perfect life. Maybe, they can tell us the meaning of our life. Maybe, maybe, maybe.” Jake seems to be losing his mind at this point, but his insanity is contagious to the whole room. There is a moment of silence where everyone is lost in thought. Then Jake starts talking again.
“Take a walk outside. Examine the breeze of the wind, the color of the sky, the drying puddle on the sidewalk, the people walking in front of you. Everything around us is science, energy, and it is all living in harmony. The laws of our natural world have been so well thought out that they have existed for billions of years without ever destroying itself. It is nearly impossible for a world so beautiful to have been created by chance. If we think about creation, we think about a god with some supernatural power, spawning us into existence. Maybe, we think that a tiny atom that existed in darkness, randomly decided to explode and create this beautiful world. Would it not make more sense for our world to have been created in a way that can be understood by us? If we can create a simulation that holds the universe. It almost certainly has been done before. If our simulated universe holds life that eventually develops intelligence like ours today, they may have the same idea that I did. They may make a simulation of their own. Their simulation may spawn another, and another, and another. Who’s to say we are not in a simulation already. Trapped in an infinite cycle of universes spawning universes. This reality makes sense to me. There may be no purpose to it. There may be some supernatural power out there somewhere that spawned this cycle of infinite universes into place, but it brings me to ease having the knowledge of where our independent universe came from. Will you both please just help me create this simulation so that we can bring this knowledge of our reality to life? Please.”
………
“Okay, I’m in,” Tony agrees as a smile stretches across his face.
However, Molly seems disturbed. “Hold up Mr. Nut. Have we lost sight to how crazy this idea is? You are asking us to become gods, and for what? If we create this simulated universe and prove that we are in a simulation, nothing good would happen. You said it yourself, ‘trapped in an infinite cycle of universes’, ‘there may be no purpose to life’. Like dude, you’re asking us to prove that life is pointless in a sense.”
“Woah woah woah! That is not at all what I am saying. I am saying that we can get closer to the truth of everything by making this simulation. Say we are in a cycle where universes respawn, there is still an answer behind that. Where did the cycle of universes begin?” Jake says defensively.
“Say this is true, that there is some god that created a universe full of other gods spawning universes, why would it even be worth looking into. At that point, don’t you think we are too insignificant to be researching such complicated subjects. Perhaps, there are infinites beyond the infinites. It can go forever, so there is no chance for us to understand a top of the chain.”
“I mean you make a fair point, but Molly, don’t you think, in some sense it would be worth it. We could be famous. This could be a stepping stone in the journey of humanity. One step closer to the top. Maybe we never make it to the top, but humanity is ambitious. It is not human to simply say, ‘ehh that’s too hard’.”
“You guys, I’ve been thinking.” Tony says chiming in with a serious look on his face. “Like you two have been saying, we could know literally nothing in the grand scheme of things. What if the truth to our world is far more abstract than we are imagining. I was just thinking about how strange it is that we exist. Every theory we come up with to explain our existence is extremely unfulfilling. However, this simulation theory you brought up today is very sensical, but like Molly says, it has some very obvious gray spots. If we make a simulation, and if we are a simulation, then there is an obvious infinite loop going on here.”
Jake interrupts, “Dude, are you simply repeating everything we are saying, or what’s going on.”
Tony picks up where he left off, “Without this infinite loop we would be nothing. The dichotomy is too intense. Infinite or nothing, that’s all our minds can conceive. Perhaps the infinite is at a war with nothingness. Perhaps, these two concepts are the gods of existence. Without one, the other could not exist.”
“Okay, I have no clue what you are talking about dude. Jake, any idea?” Molly says, as Tony begins sweating as if he is in the battlegrounds of a war.
“I think he is trying to say that the middleground of infinite and nothingness is the habitat of our reality, but, hell, I’m even having trouble connecting the dots in Tony’s head right now”.
Tony straightens up, and chuckles gently, “Perhaps, I’ve gone a bit too far out, but this conversation is just getting my mind going ya know.”
Jake and Molly start cracking up. “So you don’t even know what you were talking about”, Molly says with tears beginning to swell.
“Well.” Tony thinks hard about his response. “It made sense to me a second ago, but now I don’t even know.”
Molly begins snorting. “You fucking nerd”.
“Hey give him a break, this is some heavy lifting for the brain.”, Jake chimes in, mostly sarcastically.
“Thanks Jake, anyways. If this simulation works and proves something about our reality, do you think the public will react positively to it? I could see some people losing meaning to live in a world without a single god that cares about us.”
“Right? That’s what I was thinking. What if this idea causes humanity to enter a dystopian world! Now that is a far out thought.” Molly says sounding unnaturally excited for a dystopia to occur.
“I would hope that would be the opposite of what happens. I would think that science would take a leap forward in understanding, and our ability to capture knowledge would skyrocket. If we know how our world was created, then I would think, we would be able to understand how and why things happen much easier.” Jake explains, completely diminishing Molly’s enthusiasm for dystopia.
“Yeah, I guess that makes sense, but it would be weird for sure. People would have difficulties coping. Religious people have a lot of trouble coping with rapid evolution of technology as it is, and this would be a lot larger of a leap forward in understanding than we have ever had before. What would people have to believe in?”
“They could believe in the future of science and human knowledge.”
“Well alright then.” Molly says rolling her eyes.
“No seriously. Belief in science and knowledge would have to be inspired, but it could replace religion. We could believe in a future where technology is so great that humans can live in complete bliss without the stress of day to day lives. People would need to set a goal for technology that all humanity could look forward to. Such as creating a chamber where humans can alter reality to whatever they please. Now that would inspire me to believe in the future of science.” says Jake.
“Yeah but not all people would believe that is possible. My mom doesn’t even think space has potential. She thinks Earth is where humans were meant to live for eternity and leaving Earth would be a rebellion against God”.
“Yes, but in this world, God would not be as relevant.”
“Yes, but my mother would not believe God is irrelevant.”
“Yes, but eventually, if someone inspires her, she would.”
“Yes, but..”
Molly gets cutoff, by an annoyed tiger, Tony.
“Next one to start a sentence with yes is gonna get a whooping.”
“Yes”, Jake and Molly say together.
Tony lunges for Jake and tackles him off the couch, picks up a pillow and throws it at Molly, and then sits back in his chair, smirking smugly.
“Now that was uncalled for. Can we please get back on track though? Are there any issues with my theory that have not already been solved? I need feedback, but more importantly, I want you guys to be on board with this.” Jake is beginning to get tired with their lack off conclusion.
“I just don’t see the point in pursuing something that has the risk of being for nothing, but out of all the wacky ideas you have had, this one seems the most interesting and the most possible.” Molly says.
“It is not for nothing! It will spark an evolution of technology like never before. People will need to have something to believe in and that can be the future of technology. I’ve had this idea for a while, which I mentioned earlier, that we could invent a technology where we can manipulate reality to be whatever we want. Imagine it, a computer where we can see, feel, think, hear, and touch anything we want. We can manipulate what is in front of us to be perfect.”
“Wouldn’t that take away humanities need for socialization and desire to accomplish tasks? If we had a perfect blissful world, we would be lonely and have nothing to keep us occupied with.” Tony says.
“Well our realities could be intertwined. For example, we could visit other people’s worlds and fall in love with their minds and the realities they create. Additionally, if you are worried about having nothing to do or accomplish, just create a reality where you can work and be extremely happy with your work.”
Molly and Jake seem to be falling in love with this idea and seeing this, Jake makes a push to seal the deal.
“So… What do you guys think. Are you up to help me with this simulation?”
“Jake you are one wild mind, and I love it. I’m in. But if the dystopia Molly talked about happens, and the only way to end it causes suffering to you, I’m turning you in.” Tony says, mostly mocking Molly and her dystopia obsession.
“I’m in too. Finally one of your far out ideas are actually usable.”
“Alright, then it’s settled. Let’s get to work on becoming gods”.
