FICTION
How Would It Feel To Realize You’re Living In a Simulation?
What is existence in a simulation like? How did people react to this realization? Are you certain we are real boys and girls living in the real world? (Interdimensional Talks -Episode 9)
ABOUT THE SHOW:
Ladies and gentlemen, alien or domestic, Welcome to Interdimensional Talks with your host Mike!
The only fictional radio show in the world broadcasting across the universe and the multiverse. Listen in as we talk to the most diverse bunch of guests you can possibly imagine. We’re talking aliens, ethereal beings, artificial intelligence, and even humans from parallel universes.
Suspend your disbelief, open your mind, and join us on a journey of fascinating exploration of ideas. Grab a drink and enjoy the show.
EPISODE 9:
A parallel universe where people live in a simulation
MIKE: Good evening, dear listeners, and thank you for tuning in. Boy, do we have a special show for you tonight! We have found a parallel universe where people live in a simulation. Can you believe that?
It’s been theorized that we, too, are such people. Some of the greatest minds of our time have implied that our whole reality, or what we perceive as reality, is actually just a very convincing illusion — a simulation in which our minds determine what happens. What we believe we are experiencing with our five senses is nothing more than a play on our brains.
If you’ve ever delved into this worldview, it seems rather convincing.
But how would we ever know it was true?
How does a character in a story realize they’re just a character in a story and not a real person?
What even is a real person in a reality that isn’t real in any sort of material sense?
Even if we accepted that worldview, what good does that do?
How do we benefit from knowing the true nature of reality?
Does it change anything?
These are the questions we will try to answer in this episode. We have the unique privilege of talking to someone from another Earth, where they know for a fact that they live in a simulation, a virtual world, and thrive beyond anything I’ve ever heard.
Fasten your mental seatbelts. This interview is going to be a wild ride. Without further ado, allow me to introduce today’s guest. Her name is Elisabeth Berger. She is a researcher at a scientific college specializing in searching for the true reality (STR).
Elisabeth, welcome to Interdimensional Talks with Mike. I’m excited you’re here.“
ELISABETH: “Thank you, Michael. It’s an honor to speak with you.”
MIKE: “The honor is all mine. My first question relates to your job. It seems rather interesting that you specialize in searching for the true reality, as you call it. I’m reminded of how we seek knowledge about alien life and, a lot more prolifically, the afterlife. The idea that we don’t just disappear when we die but wake up in some other reality — heaven, hell, or something else entirely. Is your work something similar?”
ELISABETH: “Hm, I suppose so. We’re not so focused on what happens after we die, as we don’t see death as you apparently do. Since we live in a simulation, it is accepted that what comes after the simulation is like a person waking up from a dream or unplugging from a video game.”
MIKE: “So you don’t fear death?”
ELISABETH: “On the contrary, many in my world seek a quick transition to the real world. Playing the game of life is fun, but it gets tiring at times, and not all are interested in playing. They would rather know what is beyond the simulation, what the real world looks like, and who we are in our true form. Beyond the simulation.”
MIKE: “I can imagine they would. Do you have those answers?”
ELISABETH: “Unfortunately, we don’t. No one who has died has come back to reveal to us the truth. Well, that’s a lie. Individuals have existed throughout history, but it’s hard to believe those near-death experience testimonies or old myths. We’re interested in science and hard facts, not fairytales. This doesn’t mean that we intentionally seek death. Most of us today, anyway.”
MIKE: “Sounds ominous. There was a time when that wasn’t the case?”
ELISABETH: “Oh, yes. The Dark Ages, we call it. It was a horrible period in our collective history.”
MIKE: “Can you tell us more about that period? What happened?”
ELISABETH: “It was in the aftermath of waking up from believing we live in the real world. Suddenly realizing that you are nothing more than a character in a simulation and that everything you thought was real is just an illusion is a hard pill to swallow.”
MIKE: “When did that happen?”
ELISABETH: “Roughly two millennia ago. Some decades later, we started a new calendar. It seemed only logical since it was such a devastating event.”
MIKE: “Seems vaguely familiar, but within a different context.”
ELISABETH: “How so?”
MIKE: “Well, a religion called Christianity started in a similar fashion in our reality. A character called Jesus Christ was supposed to have lived and died, giving people a new understanding of God. It’s a whole thing.”
ELISABETH: “Seriously?”
MIKE: “Yes. Why?”
ELISABETH: “Well, it’s just that the event I mentioned — the Great Awakening — was caused by a character called Jesus Christ in our world as well. And some others, give or take a few centuries around the globe. He woke up the first few hundred people to the reality of our simulated existence. A bit of a tongue twister, isn’t it? Anyway, I can’t believe the similarity!”
MIKE: “And the disparity between what happened around that character. Fascinating.”
ELISABETH: “So, you didn’t experience the Great Awakening?”
MIKE: “Hell no! We went in another direction. Religion, oppression, wars, burning of the unbelievers…”
ELISABETH: “What? How is that possible?”
MIKE: “It appears that our realities diverged at this point. One pivotal moment in history led one Earth into religious wars and this whole madness we had here, and another led to an awakening to the reality of living in a simulation.”
ELISABETH: “I would love to compare the teachings of the two Jesuses. I can’t believe the same person, with the same name, had such a different impact on our two civilizations.”
MIKE: “We definitely should, but after the show. We don’t want to bore our audience with comparisons to the religious teachings of the old. Let’s talk about the following era. How did people receive the new revelation?”
ELISABETH: “First, with disbelief and resistance to the facts. It took some time and convincing to spread the word. It took even longer for people to accept this new understanding of their lives. It’s difficult to accept that you’re not a real person and that the world you thought was material and true is just an illusion of the mind.”
MIKE: “I can imagine. It would shake anyone to their core. I’m not convinced most would ever accept such an idea.”
ELISABETH: “Most didn’t. In the beginning, it was a fringe group of believers. They were hunted and prosecuted en mass. People refused to accept the truth, and they killed anyone who would disagree with their worldview.”
MIKE: “Seems familiar.”
ELISABETH: “Yeah. It’s a typical reaction of our species, isn’t it?”
MIKE: “Indeed it is. If we can’t accept something, we bury it deep, and everyone along with it.”
ELISABETH: “Sad, but true. Anyway, they couldn’t quite stop everyone who had awakened. But they tried. Oh, how they tried!”
MIKE: “Oh, I bet they did.”
ELISABETH: “You have no idea! We had fought wars for hundreds of years in the name of these two beliefs. One that we live in a simulation, and the other, that we live in the real world.”
MIKE: “Actually, this sounds like the religious wars we had in our universe. One ideology fighting another, and millions of lives were lost in the process.”
ELISABETH: “Exactly.”
MIKE: “I’m assuming that was the Dark Age you mentioned?”
ELISABETH: “Oh, no! That came later. After the wars and the mass awakening to the reality of living in a simulation.”
MIKE: “Really? How so?”
ELISABETH: “After they couldn’t suppress the awakening movement any longer, people started reading books about the nature of reality and how to manipulate it. More and more were waking up to this new reality where nothing is real and nothing matters. Such a profound change is not to be underestimated. Not all were capable of adapting.”
MIKE: “I see. How did people accept such a monumental change in perspective?”
ELISABETH: “With great difficulty. To this day, there are those who don’t believe it, the so-called realists. But most sort of accepted it as new, and new evidence started coming to light. Experiments rendered overwhelming data. With a deeper understanding of the physics, it was hard to argue with results. We had a lot of public discourses and scientific battles. Truth wins over time, I guess.”
MIKE: “They must have been convincing, indeed. You know, so that they couldn’t have just been explained away as pure theory or fake science.”
ELISABETH: “Oh, they tried. But in time, even the most ardent opposition fades away. Old generations die, and new generations grow up with a different understanding of the world. I never said any of these transitions were pleasant and easy. They weren’t.”
MIKE: “Can you give me an example from physics that attributed to the mass awakening?”
ELISABETH: “Sure, but I don’t know how relevant it will be to your world. We discovered something called Qubits and the fact that the smallest particles in the universe are not solid, as we imagined, but exist in a state of superposition. An existence of all possible states at the same time until an observer collapses them into one state. Listen, it’s complicated.”
MIKE: “This sounds an awful lot like our Quantum Physics.”
ELISABETH: “That’s because it is. You know it? Is this a physical fact in your reality as well?”
MIKE: “Theoretically, yes. Science doesn’t like Quantum Physics. There’s a stigma surrounding it, but there’s no denying that there’s something to it. Why?”
ELISABETH: “I’m finding many similarities between our worlds, but we seem to explain them in entirely different ways. I find it fascinating.”
MIKE: “Or scary.”
ELISABETH: “Why, scary?”
MIKE: “Because the more I talk to you, the more my mind is filled with doubts. Doubts about who’s got the right perspective here? I was convinced that a world where people live in a simulation would be nothing like ours. It turns out it’s almost identical. It’s messing with my head.”
ELISABETH: “Maybe we should skip this part for now?”
MIKE: “Yeah. Let’s talk about that aftermath of awakening you mentioned. The Dark Age.”
ELISABETH: “It’s Dark Ages, Mike. Plural.”
MIKE: “That bad, huh?”
ELISABETH: “Yes. First, there were the ideological wars. Those took a heavy toll on humanity. Then came a peaceful era when a mass awakening happened. When people realized they lived in a simulation, a few new ideologies developed — some good, some bad.
The worst was the Escapists — people who wanted to escape the simulation by killing themselves and often others in the process. They were convinced we had to die in order to wake up in the real world. They’re still around, but now a minority.”
MIKE: “I imagine they can’t grow in numbers because of their philosophy.”
ELISABETH: “Actually, we have had and still have a serious problem with epidemics of suicides.”
MIKE: “Seriously? I’m sorry to hear that.”
ELISABETH: “It’s not like it matters all that much, but it’s still sad to see people live a depressed life and not experience all this world has to offer. Simulated or not, we’re here now. We might as well make the best of it. Who knows what the real world is like, anyway? Perhaps this is heaven, and that is hell.”
MIKE: “Good point, and a sound philosophy.”
ELISABETH: “One, some people took too far. You see, on the other side of the ideological spectrum, we had the Lifers.”
MIKE: “Lifers? I like that.”
ELISABETH: “No. You wouldn’t like them.”
MIKE: “Why not?”
ELISABETH: “They’re the people who believe that since we live in the simulation, nothing really matters anymore. There are no ethics, morals, or right and wrong. They just do whatever they want, with zero regard for other people. They’re not the good guys, Mike.”
MIKE: “I’m sorry. It’s just that Lifers sounded so uplifting or something.”
ELISABETH: “Fraking anarchinsts! All of them! Selfish bastards. I can’t even…”
MIKE: “Okay. I see we struck a nerve there. Let’s move on, shall we.”
ELISABETH: “Whatever!”
MIKE: Do you have religions? How do these ideologies fit in?”
ELISABETH: “Of course, countless. Some accept the simulation, others deny the reality. As long as they are fringe ideologies, it doesn’t matter. But a few of those Dark Ages were also driven by religions gaining too much power and causing genocides across the world in the name of their God.”
MIKE: “Religions tend to go mental if given too much power here, too. It seems like your world was full of turmoil and bad actors. How did you stop them?”
ELISABETH: “I don’t know that WE did. All I know is that I did.”
MIKE: “I’m confused. Can you explain that?”
ELISABETH: “I’m trying to think of a way to explain how we see the world, but I keep coming short.”
MIKE: “We appreciate the effort. I know it’s not easy.”
ELISABETH: “I think we have to start by setting up some ground rules or initial facts of how our simulation operates. I don’t think we can skip this step.”
MIKE: “Great, let’s do it! Lay them out.”
ELISABETH: “Okay. So, we live in a simulation governed by rules and laws. The source code enables us to play within the scope of those rules, but beyond that, we’re free to do as we please. Rules like gravity, for example, and that our minds influence our experience of reality in this simulation. Are you following so far?”
MIKE: “I think so. Ground rules, laws of physics, free will. Go on.”
ELISABETH: “Nothing in this simulation can happen to us unless we accept it, create it, and release it into the simulation. Our bodies aren’t real, and neither is anything else. It’s all just a projection of the mind. While it seems like we’re living in the real world, we could just as easily be connected to a powerful computer, an entity of mind only, and we wouldn’t know the difference. Still here?”
MIKE: “Struggling, but sure. So, nothing is real? Is it all just in your mind?”
ELISABETH: “Yes. Everything we see, touch, smell, and feel is an elaborate, persistent, convincing illusion, but an illusion nonetheless. The chair I believe I’m sitting on isn’t really there. This room around me isn’t material, existing in space and time. It’s a projection from my mind that is united and interlaced with other minds into one giant playground. Like a video game world, where multiple players engage with one another, but even less tangible than that.”
MIKE: “Why less tangible? I don’t understand.”
ELISABETH: “I’m getting to that. In a video game, the creators set up a world into which you delve as you play with your character. You can only manipulate, destroy, create, and move around within the confines of the game world and its rules. As your character changes, levels up, and so on, the world interacts with you differently. It adapts to new input. You understand?”
MIKE: “Sure, so far. Go on.”
ELISABETH: “In this simulated reality that we live in, similar principles apply. But there is a difference. We’re the players, the game characters, and the developers of the game world at the same time!”
MIKE: “Mind freaking blown, Elisabeth! But how does that work in practice? How do you live your life in this simulation?”
ELISABETH: “Call me Lisa, please.”
MIKE: “Alright, Lisa.”
ELISABETH: “How do you live your life in your reality?”
MIKE: “I don’t know. Normal? You eat, talk, interact, think, sleep… “
ELISABETH: “As we do in our simulated reality. There is no difference apart from our knowledge and awareness of the true nature of reality.”
MIKE: “How? I mean. If I believed that nothing was real… I see where your ideologies are coming from now. If I believed that this was a simulation, I would…”
ELISABETH: “Eat, talk, interact, think, sleep, make love, explore, play, work.”
MIKE: Sure, but it’s not the same.”
ELISABETH: “Why not?”
MIKE: “Because what I do here has consequences?”
ELISABETH: “It has consequences in our world as well. Even in a video game, a character dies if something bad happens to it. It’s no different in life. Simulated or otherwise.”
MIKE: “But, … I’m thinking. Am…”
ELISABETH: “What you’re realizing is that there is no difference. Not really. Not to your experience or feelings. Whether you live in a simulation or the real material world makes no difference to you. You’re here. This is the life you live. You can make something of it or waste it. If you die, you don’t know what happens next. When you get hurt, you feel pain. When you love someone, you love them. It makes no difference if their body is real or simulated.”
MIKE: “I don’t think it doesn’t matter. It must matter, right? I mean, what is the difference between the real world and a simulated one if that’s not the case?”
ELISABETH: “What is the difference, indeed?”
MIKE: “Why do I feel that you’re playing with me here?”
ELISABETH: “I wouldn’t dream of it. But I do have a feeling you’re beginning to wake up.”
MIKE: “Ha-ha! Good luck with that!”
ELISABETH: “Well, thank you. Anyway, where were we?”
MIKE: “You were explaining what it’s like to live in a simulated world.”
ELISABETH: “That’s right. And we’ve established that it’s no different from what you experience as living in the real world — not from our perspective.”
MIKE: “So what is the point of knowing or believing you live in a simulation?”
ELISABETH: “What is the point of believing you live in the real world? What is the point of believing in God? What is the point of love, life, death?”
MIKE: “Life is still a mystery, then? Even for your people. Do you ponder these questions often?”
ELISABETH: “All the time. I would imagine more than you. Since we know we live in a simulation, the questions of who put us here, who built the world in the first place, and what the real world beyond this simulation is are even more dominant in our thoughts.”
MIKE: “I imagine they would be. Do you have any answers?”
ELISABETH: “We do. Unfortunately, they are not provable via experimentation. They shall forever remain a mystery.”
MIKE: “And what’s the theory? Who created your simulated world and put you in it? God? Aliens? Other, real humans?”
ELISABETH: “We did.”
MIKE: “I’m sorry, I don’t follow. What do you mean you did?”
ELISABETH: “Like I said before. We’re the players, the game characters, and the developers of the game world at the same time!”
MIKE: “But how did you come to this conclusion?”
ELISABETH: “You have video games in your world, don’t you?”
MIKE: “We do.”
ELISABETH: “Okay. So you understand it’s just a code written in some computer language? The whole experience, the world, characters, narrative, everything is written in this code, yes?”
MIKE: “Sure.”
ELISABETH: “Humans write the code of the game, and humans play the game. Do we not?”
MIKE: “This is true for video games, yes.”
ELISABETH: “Why would it be any different for the larger simulated video game we just happen to call life?”
MIKE: “Well, for starters, we know we are real people playing video games. And when we finish, we are still the same people remembering playing the video game.”
ELISABETH: “Exactly.”
MIKE: “Don’t leave me hanging here, Lisa. How is that the same thing as living in a simulation?”
ELISABETH: “It’s just a better video game — more immersive, with a higher definition, and with the additional benefit of suspending the awareness of who you truly are for the duration of the game.”
MIKE: “I’m sorry, Lisa. I understand what you’re trying to say, but I see no proof. It seems like a rather far-fetched assumption with no real evidence.”
ELISABETH: “Maybe in your reality. In mine, the evidence is overwhelming. It’s impossible to deny the true nature of the so-called reality. The evidence was always hiding in plain sight. We just had to open our eyes to see it for what it is, accept the truth of the matter, and make peace with it.”
MIKE: “What kind of evidence? Can you give me some examples from your universe?”
ELISABETH: “Sure. I’m going to give you three basic premises — evidence that proves that we are living in a simulation — in our reality, Mike. I can only ever speak for my universe, not yours. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.”
MIKE: “Of course. Please continue. I’m on the edge of my seat, Lisa. My brain hurts, but I’m loving this conversation.”
ELISABETH: “I’m sorry for the headache. Okay. The first truth is the quantum physics we have already covered. Everything is at the smallest particle in a state of infinite possibilities until an observer collapses them into one reality. No observer, no collapse, no solid matter. In computer language, no rendering of the world around the player.”
MIKE: “That’s quite a leap from the basic theory, isn’t it?”
ELISABETH: “I can’t explain the whole science in this short interview, Mike. Let’s just say that it proves the interconnectedness of things with Quantum Entanglement and our minds’ influence on what we perceive to be solid matter. And it’s provable with experimentation.”
MIKE: “There’s so much to unpack here. But you’re right. We can’t go too deep. Our audience can research these topics themselves after the show.”
ELISABETH: “Exactly. Besides, what is true in our universe doesn’t have to be true in anyone else’s.”
MIKE: “We mustn’t forget that part. We’re talking about your universe, not ours. You’re right.”
ELISABETH: “Okay. Second, our science and individual experiences have proven an undeniable connection between our minds, beliefs, and thoughts and the world as we experience it. We could say that we all live in our own little simulated worlds that operate according to our beliefs about the world.”
MIKE: “Can you give me some examples?”
ELISABETH: “Sure. We have measured the sending of thoughts, emotions, or images across time and space with zero friction and delay. People receive these messages in real time, which eliminates the possibility of physical limitations for the mind, such as the speed of light and distances.
We have quantified luck as simply a belief system of any individual that influences their experience in the simulation. We have experimented with visualization and have concluded that if you see something in your mind, you will see it in your experienced reality.
Thus, an objective material reality separate from your mind cannot exist. If that were true, you couldn’t influence it in the least. The mind would be impotent, but we can and do it all the time.”
MIKE: “I don’t mean to be rude, Lisa, but this all sounds like mumbo jumbo. No offense. It’s a whole lot of assumptions, beliefs, and theories that have nothing to do with science.”
ELISABETH: “Perhaps on your world. We measured these correlations and have countless studies confirming that our minds are indeed fundamental to our perceived reality. We all experience the world and life according to our beliefs, emotions, and predetermining constructs within our minds. This was always the case. Only in the old days, it was called magic, faith, or a miracle. Now it’s just science and something we all understand and practice to varying degrees.”
MIKE: “If you say so. We have something similar here. Only it’s contained to the crazies, the religious, dreamers, or philosophers.”
ELISABETH: “Interesting. In our universe, this is just a fact of life. We teach it as a basic class in school. We have hundreds of books written on the subject. We study it diligently. It’s one of the most important subjects in our society. If you live in a simulation, you might as well learn how to play the game.”
MIKE: “Mind over matter, vizualization, and manifestation of your prayers? Really? In school?”
ELISABETH: “Of course. What’s more important than understanding the nature of your mind and its influence on your life and the world?”
MIKE: “Math, grammar, geography… I can think of a thousand more important subjects.”
ELISABETH: “But those only cover the simulation, not the code behind the simulation.”
MIKE: “Which is what?”
ELISABETH: “The mind, Michael. The mind. It’s all in the mind. Weren’t you listening? In our universe, we understand that we live in a simulation created and governed by our minds. We exist in our own world, yet we’re connected in this complicated simulation, which we perceive as reality.”
MIKE: “I still don’t understand what the mind has to do with anything, even if you do live in a simulation.”
ELISABETH: “It has everything to do with it. No mind — no simulation, no life, no you or me. The mind is the only real thing, transcending the simulation and this reality, connecting us with the world beyond.”
MIKE: “But it’s just the mind, Lisa. Brains and neurons firing off.”
ELISABETH: “That brain and neurons are not the mind. They’re the biological computer that runs the body in the simulation. Nothing more, nothing less.”
MIKE: “What? I think you lost me.”
ELISABETH: “From our perspective, everything is a simulation, remember. Everything! No exceptions. And that includes our bodies in this simulation. Everything is just a projection of our minds, played on our consciousness’s screen. It’s not real. It doesn’t exist. None of it.”
MIKE: “I don’t get it. How is nothing real? You’re real. I’m talking to you. Your home is real. Your body is real. The Earth is real. What are you talking about?”
ELISABETH: “The exact opposite is true, Michael, at least for us. Everything we see, experience, smell, and touch is not real. It’s just a play on the mind to make it feel real. Everything is just a mind-created illusion of reality. A real-time rendering that doesn’t exist beyond our minds. Do you believe you see with your eyes and taste with your tongue?”
MIKE: “Yes, of course!”
ELISABETH: “You don’t. What you think you see, taste, smell, and feel is just sensory input interpreted by your mind as something. You label that something and perceive it as pleasant or unpleasant, but it’s not real.”
MIKE: “Of course, it’s real. I can taste it and see it. It’s real!”
ELISABETH: “Do you ever dream, Mike?”
MIKE: “I do.”
ELISABETH: “In your dreams, do things seem real?”
MIKE: “Sure.”
ELISABETH: “Can you taste, feel, and see things in your dreams?”
MIKE: “I guess so. But what does that have to do with anything?”
ELISABETH: “If you can taste, feel, smell, and see things as you dream, and your body is lying in bed, how is that possible?”
MIKE: “But that’s just a dream. It’s not real.”
ELISABETH: “How do you know it’s not real?”
MIKE: “I know it’s not because when I wake up, I realize I was just dreaming.”
ELISABETH: “Well said. When you awake, you realize that everything you thought was real, that felt, smelled, tasted, and appeared real, was indeed just a dream. You couldn’t distinguish between what is a dream and what is real when you were sleeping, correct?”
MIKE: “Sure, but…”
ELISABETH: “How do you know you’re not dreaming right now? Would you know the difference? Do you know you’re dreaming when you’re sleeping?”
MIKE: “I just. I would. No, you don’t. But then you wake up, and you know. You wake up to the real world and know it was just a dream.”
ELISABETH: “What if you woke up from a dream, which we can call a mind-made simulation with all of the experiences of it being real, but woke up in another dream? Still sleeping, unaware of the so-called real world, but believing you woke up. Would you know you were sleeping?”
MIKE: “I guess not. But that would still be just a dream.”
ELISABETH: “Dream, game, movie, projection, illusion, simulation. They’re all words describing something similar, aren’t they?”
MIKE: “Something made by our imagination?”
ELISABETH: “Exactly. Something made by our minds.”
MIKE: “Buy, we know they’re not real.”
ELISABETH: “Not while you’re trapped in the illusion, you don’t. Only after waking up do you realize you were dreaming this whole time, and none of it was real.”
MIKE: “Is this how awakening felt for your people?”
ELISABETH: “Yes. In a way. We woke up from the illusion, but we’re still stuck in the dream, in the simulation. We just know that we’re dreaming and have learned to direct the dream effectively instead of being dragged along like non-playing characters with fixed narratives.”
MIKE: “I think I’m starting to understand your point of view. You perceive reality as a dream, but as dreamers who have awakened within a dream and are now stuck in it. That would explain a lot.”
ELISABETH: “I knew you’d get there.”
MIKE: “Thank you. I guess?”
ELISABETH: “If you were stuck living in a dream world that you perceived as your whole reality, wouldn’t it make sense to learn how to dream actively instead of just passively being at the mercy of whatever happens in your dreams?”
MIKE: “Of course. That’s why you study and teach this philosophy to your people.”
ELISABETH: “Science, not philosophy, but okay.”
MIKE: “Sorry. It all makes sense now. Wow! Mind blown. What’s number three? The third premise or evidence you mentioned.”
ELISABETH: “Oh, yes. People who have died and returned have described similar experiences where they remembered the existence beyond the simulation. A waking up from a dream, if you will.”
MIKE: “Near-death experiences? Really? You take the testimonies as facts?”
ELISABETH: “We ran thousands of scientific studies on this subject. We have more than enough data. Yet, it is difficult to prove things beyond the experiments and testimonies.”
MIKE: “Wait, what? Let me see if I heard you right. You ran experiments killing people and bringing them back to life?”
ELISABETH: “Yes, sort of. Remember that we don’t perceive life as sacredly as you do. Millions of people want to die and see what’s on the other side. They want to wake up for a myriad of reasons. We stopped trying to prevent them and offered them a two-way trip if they participated in our studies. We don’t shy away from the unknown. We embrace it. We study it.”
MIKE: “I’m unsure how I feel about this, Lisa. It seems all kinds of wrong.”
ELISABETH: “I understand. Let me ask you this. Is it immoral or wrong to wake up from a dream? Do you not sometimes wish to wake up from a nightmare?”
MIKE: “Of course I do. I see your point. It still seems wrong. I’m sorry.”
ELISABETH: “That’s quite alright. As I said, all of this is just the tip of the iceberg. We have proven to ourselves, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that we live in a simulation. As to what the real world might look like, that’s another topic altogether.”
MIKE: “I would imagine that this is something that would occupy a lot of your thoughts. If I believed I was living in the simulation…”
ELISABETH: “And you were the one playing it and the one who creates it with your mind. Well, cocreate it as we all play our parts, I suppose.”
MIKE: “Yeah. That part still seems complicated. Which reminds me. You mentioned that you, am, defeated or stopped the bad actors in your world. You used the first tense, which confused me and got us into this Rabbit Hole. Can you explain that again?”
ELISABETH: “Oh yes. Sure. Since we live in a simulation influenced or created by our minds, we get to choose what we want to experience in our reality. It’s not as easy as it sounds, but let’s just say there are no coincidences in the simulation. Everything is responding to your mind, directly or indirectly. Sometimes, we see and understand the connection. Other times, we don’t.
It’s funny how it’s easier to control the simulation using your mind than to control your mind with your will. If that makes any sense.”
MIKE: “Not really, but go on.”
ELISABETH: “Ha-ha! What I’m saying is that our minds influence the simulation, our perceived reality, but we don’t always control what we help create. We are aware of some things, but not all. We act out only the conscious part of our minds. That’s what we control. But the vast majority of everything is ruled by our unconscious mind. The Iceberg analogy seems apt again. What we see and know is just the tip. The unconscious mind is hidden under the surface and is the thing that runs everything.”
MIKE: “That I understand.”
ELISABETH: “Great. So, the issue is not whether we can manipulate the simulation but whether we can mold our subconscious mind according to our will. That’s where the hard work begins and ends. We all live in our own microsimulations within the big simulation.”
MIKE: “The headache intensifies, Lisa.”
ELISABETH: “Okay. Imagine two different people. Jack is rich and handsome and was born in America. Ricky is an immigrant kid whose parents are poor, he has no education, and he suffers from a disease that has somehow disfigured him.”
MIKE: “Got it. I’m already feeling bad for the second kid.”
ELISABETH: “These two kids can live in the same town, on the same street, in the same country, and in the same time period, yet their lives will be completely different. Who they are will determine how many opportunities they are offered in life and how others perceive them. This is the environment or simulation reacting to their outside factors — the ones we can see.
But there is a deeper game played under the surface. Both Jack and Ricky have their own set of beliefs deeply seated within their subconscious. One believes he’s capable of great things, is confident, and knows he will succeed someday. The other sees only misery, pain, suffering, and financial struggles. As they live their lives, they might as well have been living on different planets; that’s how different their experiences will be. Are you with me so far?”
MIKE: “Yes, ma’am!”
ELISABETH: “The differences I described between the two boys on the outside are even greater on the inside. If you could see their minds, they would be nothing alike. Their beliefs about family, money, work, power, relationships, and the self will vastly differ as they grew up in different social and economic environments.
Their subconscious is their source code, creating the simulation they perceive as their lives. The whole simulation, the world, and everyone in it will respond and play along with the source code embedded in these two boys. What they believe to be true will inevitably show up in their lives, confirming their beliefs and determining their lives.
They both live in the same world, practically in the same location, but couldn’t live in more different worlds from their individual perspectives and experiences. This is part one of the equation.”
MIKE: “There’s a part two?”
ELISABETH: “Yes. The essence of your show, in a way.”
MIKE: “Paralel Univeres?”
ELISABETH: “Exactly. With every decision we make, another universe, reality, or simulation, whatever you want to call it, is created. We and our worlds have endless variations in a quantum world of infinite possibilities.
If we combine what we’ve talked about, we are jumping and effortlessly transitioning between these parallel universes from our perspective, according to our minds, beliefs, decisions, and actions.
Suppose everything exists right now in an infinite number of possible states, as per quantum superposition parameters. Every one of those possible realities exists in the same moment. When we, in our minds, change the source code of our simulation, we change the simulation. But not for everyone. Only for ourselves, as we sort of transition from one universe to another without being aware of the process.
MIKE: “From one dream to another?”
ELISABETH: “It’s more like going from one scene to another within the same dream, as we never wake up in between. We just jump into another scene with a different story and rules.”
MIKE: “Makes sense, I suppose. Let me see if I understood you correctly regarding our initial question about bad actors in your world. You created a world, a dream or simulation, a reality, where those bad actors ceased to exist — for you. Did I get that right?”
ELISABETH: “Bingo!”
MIKE: “Wow. That is a fascinating way of looking at life. Real or simulated. Are these experiences of shifting realities easy for your people?”
ELISABETH: “For some more than others. Understanding how things work and making them work is not the same thing. I understand that if I get up every morning at 5 AM and go for a run, I’ll build stamina to one day be able to run for twenty or more miles. That understanding alone doesn’t get me out of bed, and I still have to do the work. It’s similar to all things in life. We have found that the mind is the hardest project to work on, especially as you are trying to control the uncontrollable and make changes in the subconscious mind to where you don’t have direct access.”
MIKE: “So, no. It’s not easy.”
ELISABETH: “No, it’s not. Some of us instantly understand and can achieve great things. Others hardly move an inch. As I said, knowing is one thing, but implementing that knowledge is another. It takes enormous dedication, focus, and perseverance. It’s fascinating to see masters of the mind at work. If we didn’t know any better, we would call them miracle makers or magicians. Replicating their results, though, is something we all dream, but very few achieve.”
MIKE: “That sounds somewhat similar to my world, where we have these superhumans, whether in sports, wisdom, or business, whose achievements and personas seem almost impossible.”
ELISABETH: “I’ve noticed a lot of similarities between our two worlds, Michael. Surprisingly so. In fact, I’m beginning to wonder if you might not be prime candidates for waking up from your dream.”
MIKE: “Ha-ha! No, thank you! We’ve had our share of Dark Ages. We don’t need no more.”
ELISABETH: “Then call it enlightenment and do something good with newfound wisdom.”
MIKE: “I’m afraid we would fair no better than you have, Lisa. Besides, we don’t live in a simulation or a dream, but in the real world, remember?”
ELISABETH: “We thought so, too, until we realized it was all an illusion.”
MIKE: “I’ll tell you what. If that turns out to ever be the case, I’ll call you and ask for some guidance. Right now, a mass awakening of people to any version of what you’re describing as your reality seems like the last thing we would want to do. I can’t even imagine the carnage that would follow had we realized we lived in a simulation and nothing was real.”
ELISABETH: “Nothing but the mind and the you behind the body, name, and identity. It can be liberating, you know?”
MIKE: “I’ll take your word for it, Lisa. I would love to talk further, but our time is up, and to be honest, I’m exhausted. You’ve given me a lot to think about, and I will be pondering your words for days to come. As will our listeners, no doubt. Thank you again for taking the time and giving us a glimpse into your simulated universe. I would love to talk to you again sometime. Would that be okay?”
ELISABETH: “It was my pleasure. I didn’t expect to find you so similar to us. I would love to talk to you again. And remember, if you want to wake up from your dream, hit me up, and I’ll help you with your transition.”
MIKE: “That would be great. Your help won’t be necessary, as we live in the real world and not some simulation. I don’t know where you see so many similarities. Your world seems rather weird, to be honest. I can’t relate at all!
ELISABETH: “He said, somewhat confused and reluctant, covering his eyes from the truth out of fear, the poor boy.”
MIKE: “Goodbye Lisa. Thank you again for this riveting conversation, and good luck with your simulation. Create something lovely for yourself, will you.”
ELISABETH: “Always. Talk to you soon, Mike.”
MIKE: “I hope you enjoy this mind-bending episode, dear listeners. Talking to guests from all over the universe is sometimes fun, and at other times, it can be stressful. I’m completely exhausted. But in a good way. It was profoundly stimulating to think about such a different perspective from our own.
I don’t know whether I’m glad or sad we’re not in a simulation. While it seems nice to be able to influence and have some control over your life and reality, it also appears to be riddled with traps and dangers. Don’t worry. Elisabeth was just playing with us. You and I live in the real world. We’re real people. This is all real and tangible. They may be living in a simulation or believe they are, but we know better, don’t we? Don’t we?
Good night, and pleasant dreams.”
THE END
I would love to hear from you. Do you believe it’s possible that we are indeed trapped in some sort of simulation? Are you sure you would know if you were? How would such a realization make you feel?
If you want to read more about the idea of living in a simulation, please check out the “Nature of Reality” section of Master the Mind — Master the World substack.
How to Solve Crime, Prevent Murder, and Stop Terrorism?
We talk to the US president from another universe who cleaned up his country the hard way. We talk about the how, the effect, and the price they pay. (Interdimensional Talks -Episode 8)
A Dire Warning About the Dangers of Playing God (CERN — Large Hadron Collider)
CERN’s particle accelerator went crazy, opening the gates to another dimension, resulting in a fight for our planet and our very survival. (Interdimensional Talks -Episode 7)
Ascending Into Digital Form: What Is It Like To Have No Body?
In a parallel universe, humanity transcended their bodies to live in a digital world. Would you upload your consciousness to the cloud in exchange for immortality? (Interdimensional Talks -Episode 6)
The Mystery of the Lost City of Atlantis Finally Solved
What happened to the ancient city of Atlantis? We talk to a descendant of the ancient Atlantians, and they reveal the fascinating truth! (Interdimensional Talks — Episode 5)
Do You Want To Live Forever?
How does it feel to be immortal? What is life without death? What would you ask a man with an eternal life? (Interdimensional Talks — Episode 4)
What Would You Ask an Alien Predator While Being Hunted?
A terrifying interview with a starving alien desperately trying to eat us on his journey of radical transparency. (Interdimensional Talks — Episode 3)
What If You Forgot Everything In a Collective Amnesia Every 364 Days?
Can you imagine a life without memories? A new year — a new you! How would it feel to be free from your past? (Interdimensional Talks — Episode 2)
Interview With a Self-Aware Artificial General Intelligence
What would you ask a conscious artificial intelligence? Is AI dangerous? Can AI teach us anything? (Interdimensional Talks — Episode 1)
Thank you for reading! I like you. You don’t want to miss what comes next. Subscribe, and I’ll deliver all new stories right into your mailbox so you’ll be the first to read them. Free of charge. Don’t forget to like, comment, and share if you enjoyed the story. It means a lot.