CAJ: Average Joe Narrative

It is the year 2039, behind the mountain chain surrounding the city in the east, the sun slowly arises. It wraps the city in a friendly yellow and promises a beautiful, cloudless Monday morning. The big glass door of the Miller’s bedroom leading on the balcony provides a stunning few of the sunrise. Dan would never miss it. He has set his “alarm earplug” at 5 a.m. so that he can watch the breathtaking awaking of the city every day. With a gentle kiss on her forehead, he wakes his gorgeous wife Anny. When he sees her smile, he can stand up and walks into the kitchen where HR5 is busily preparing the breakfast. The development of robotics has been considerably progressing for the last ten years. Nowadays a household without its Household Robot would not be conceivable. Still, the biggest change in the last 25 years was clearly the proof of the Simulation Theory.

Five years ago, in 2034, a team of the most rewarded scientists from all over the world (Japan, Switzerland, USA, etc.) finally succeeded in revealing the most shocking fact of human life: reality is nothing more than a computer simulation. Physicists who have always been trying to solve the mystery of our universe were deeply distressed at this major breakthrough. In a way it implied that they had to work through all of their developed theories again, above all the M-Theory. At the moment, these physicists are trying very hard to find reconciliation between the Simulation Theory and the M-Theory.

Besides physics, also other parts of human life have been concerned by the new findings. Simulation Theory shows that there must be some highly advanced programmer of the future who has devised our world in form of a computer simulation. Therefore world religions have been suffering ever since this discovery. Dan Miller was always a strict believer. His worldview changed immediately. Creationism cannot be true as within a computer simulation there can be no God. A lot of religious people started questioning the existence of God. The church suffered a setback that finally led to the abolition of the pope. Also all other religions believing in some form of God are now considered to be completely ridiculous. Still, there exist fanatic groups of all kinds of religions trying to fight the Simulation Theory. In 2038, a cooperation of the most radical ones even succeeded in killing Nick Bostrom who was one of the champions in the simulation field from a philosophical viewpoint.

Along with the knowledge of the fact that our world is a computer simulation which has been achieved by creating own simulations and through the laws of mathematics, the whole western school systems changed. When children nowadays reach school age they do not only learn the basics of the alphabet and mathematics, they also follow obligatory simulation classes where they are being taught how to create their own simulation of a world. The major thought behind this concept is to make it possible that all children, when they finally leave school at the age of 18, are capable of creating a small simulation. Of course not everyone will be successful but computer simulations are one of the most important fields of the future. All governments agreed that they have to spark interest of the children to make sure that some of them will dedicate their lives to this subject. Dan’s children are completely fascinated by simulations and a couple of days ago his daughter, nine years old, announced that she wants to become a simulation scientist when she grows up.

That is what life is like in 2039 with the knowledge that our reality is in fact not real at all. Has something changed for Dan? He still is leading a normal life, going to work every day and loves his family more than anything else. Nevertheless, he does know that technology develops and that Simulation Theory has not yet fully developed its power. Things will eventually change more. He is sure of that. It will take decades but science is unstoppable. In a way this thought delights him. Just because his life is simulated does not mean that it is not a life worth living.

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