Naoto Shirogane (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
truedetective) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
retrospec2017-06-01 01:41 pm
truedetective) wrote in retrospec2017-06-01 01:41 pm
Entry tags:
I reach out to the truth; text
It's no secret that what we've experienced over the past several months has been unnatural, to say the least. Things that shouldn't be possible have been occurring with regularity. Our memories have been changing, our physical bodies have been changing, the world has been changing, and sometimes it seems that though we are the only ones aware of it.
Upon observation and analysis, I have a theory-- rather, a hypothesis. I'm not entirely happy with it, because it seems ridiculous even to me. Yet it would seem to explain everything that is going on here. I've yet to encounter a piece of evidence that would disprove it... though I welcome any suggestions, because as I've said, I don't like the implications either.
Before we get to my hypothesis, let's examine the oddities we've faced.
1) Memory alteration, version 1. (Which may in fact be memory preservation.) We are the only ones aware of changes to the world and the prior state, such as the existence of horses.
2) Memory alteration, version 2. We have awakened to "hallucinomemories" of things that seem impossible, of lives we've never lived, of people we've never met. Often, these memories accompany us remembering skills and abilities that return fully and immediately-- such as a completely new set of languages spoken.
3) Physical changes. Eye color, hair color, even physical limbs changing to something new.
4) World changes. We all shrank, temporarily, while the rest of the world did not.
It is worth noting that these only ever apply to users on Retrospec. There doesn't seem to be any instance of non-Retrospec users encountering these; moreover, people who did not previously use Retrospec but who were given access to the app suddenly began experiencing these as well. For that reason, I believe Retrospec users are "awakened" of some kind. I don't know if that's the best term, I'm not a writer.
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But I digress. The point is this: I believe that this world is a simulation of some kind. We are inside some sort of vast computer program.
However, we are real people. I don't know whether our physical bodies are hooked up to some computer in "reality" or our minds were copied, but we existed elsewhere at some point. This is the reason for items 2 and 3: The "hallucinomemories" we've been having, the skills we've been relearning, the physical changes... these aren't invented. We're remembering our real selves, our prior lives. I'm sure of this much; I have personally remembered shared experiences with other "awakened" Retrospec users, with shared details that none of us had told the other.
This also explains items 4 and 1. As a simulation, the world and its parameters can be changed. It would be trivial to change our size, or to replace horses with chocobos.
Retrospec is the key to this, obviously. I do not yet know whether it is intrinsic to our being "awakened" or if it merely exists as a means for the simulation operators to keep tabs on us. But it, and the company behind it, do seem to be the masterminds.
Think about it: Isn't it odd that a social media company would limit its presence to a single city? Where are the nationwide Retrospec users, where are the international ones? Does that mean that this city alone is the simulator?
Again, I am aware that this seems far fetched. But this theory does seem to explain every question we've encountered, and I can't think of any data to disprove it. If you know of any information that might make this less likely, I eagerly await it.
I don't like the idea of being a data simulation any more than you all do. But I am resolved to find the truth, even if it's unpleasant.
-N
Upon observation and analysis, I have a theory-- rather, a hypothesis. I'm not entirely happy with it, because it seems ridiculous even to me. Yet it would seem to explain everything that is going on here. I've yet to encounter a piece of evidence that would disprove it... though I welcome any suggestions, because as I've said, I don't like the implications either.
Before we get to my hypothesis, let's examine the oddities we've faced.
1) Memory alteration, version 1. (Which may in fact be memory preservation.) We are the only ones aware of changes to the world and the prior state, such as the existence of horses.
2) Memory alteration, version 2. We have awakened to "hallucinomemories" of things that seem impossible, of lives we've never lived, of people we've never met. Often, these memories accompany us remembering skills and abilities that return fully and immediately-- such as a completely new set of languages spoken.
3) Physical changes. Eye color, hair color, even physical limbs changing to something new.
4) World changes. We all shrank, temporarily, while the rest of the world did not.
It is worth noting that these only ever apply to users on Retrospec. There doesn't seem to be any instance of non-Retrospec users encountering these; moreover, people who did not previously use Retrospec but who were given access to the app suddenly began experiencing these as well. For that reason, I believe Retrospec users are "awakened" of some kind. I don't know if that's the best term, I'm not a writer.
----------
But I digress. The point is this: I believe that this world is a simulation of some kind. We are inside some sort of vast computer program.
However, we are real people. I don't know whether our physical bodies are hooked up to some computer in "reality" or our minds were copied, but we existed elsewhere at some point. This is the reason for items 2 and 3: The "hallucinomemories" we've been having, the skills we've been relearning, the physical changes... these aren't invented. We're remembering our real selves, our prior lives. I'm sure of this much; I have personally remembered shared experiences with other "awakened" Retrospec users, with shared details that none of us had told the other.
This also explains items 4 and 1. As a simulation, the world and its parameters can be changed. It would be trivial to change our size, or to replace horses with chocobos.
Retrospec is the key to this, obviously. I do not yet know whether it is intrinsic to our being "awakened" or if it merely exists as a means for the simulation operators to keep tabs on us. But it, and the company behind it, do seem to be the masterminds.
Think about it: Isn't it odd that a social media company would limit its presence to a single city? Where are the nationwide Retrospec users, where are the international ones? Does that mean that this city alone is the simulator?
Again, I am aware that this seems far fetched. But this theory does seem to explain every question we've encountered, and I can't think of any data to disprove it. If you know of any information that might make this less likely, I eagerly await it.
I don't like the idea of being a data simulation any more than you all do. But I am resolved to find the truth, even if it's unpleasant.
-N
no subject
[Though really, the distance they'd talked about was barely past the woods, so she wasn't sure it really counted.]
Some of the things we experience don't even seem to fit what little I have seen of a simulation. I'm not entirely convinced. I do think it's a possible description, and perhaps it might prove correct. But I also think that now that we are into the "Fantastic," there are other possibilities that we may not have even guessed at.
Keep searching, sir, but I'm not quite ready to make a final judgment. Not yet, anyway.
no subject
Were the people that left the city Retrospec users? How far did they leave?
Perhaps this is a bubble. Perhaps if they're not users, they don't leave anywhere;
their code just makes it seem like they do.
no subject
And yes, like I said, there is a possibility. I don't deny that it might explain some of the things, but if we're being very thorough, so might a trio of witches who summoned us from our lives in countless alternate realities and who cast magic spells on us that we see as the app.
I'm not saying you're wrong, but I don't think I'm at the point where this is the impossible explanation I accept. I will, however, agree that the explanation is almost certainly something we would normally consider impossible, and which we won't like in the end.
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I prefer to trust technology as an explanation over magic.
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It would also be an incredibly detailed simulation to fabricate years of memories.
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At the power and complexity needed, it would be tremendously beyond our comprehension.
However, we have an example of it doing just that: Replacing horses in the minds of everyone else.
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Computer programs do not happen gradually like that. I recall patches to a video game once. It happened immediately.
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But we don't know that these people are in fact programs. They may all be just like us.
After all, there are people who didn't awaken until after being granted access to Retrospec.
Perhaps it takes longer to alter their memories.
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Maybe I'll call Tim.
[Someone checked the app for a name.
...well, shit.]
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Are the people going back to unawareness? To being inactive, as it were?
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It can be very difficult to talk to people like that, and I barely knew Tim, other than that he was gifted.
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Lending further credence to my theory that our perceptions and memories are inherently untrustworthy.
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That? I will not entirely disagree with. They aren't completely trustworthy, but I don't think I can operate while doubting them too much. It gets confusing at a certain point.
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I'm not saying to discard them entirely. I don't know of anyone capable of doing that.
But we must not rely too heavily on something just because we remember it.
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And believing everything.
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