just in time reality – vale 2022

Just in time reality?

 

That’s right.

 

As in…

 

The quantum field is economical. Actual reality is a tiny fraction of what you imagine it to be.

 

It is?

 

You bet it is. Infinitely economical.

 

How do you mean?

 

It’s a zero-sum play.

 

Er…

 

Nothing is created or destroyed – not really.

 

Then what’s all this.

 

All what?

 

All this…    Pointing all around expansively.

 

Reality. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

Reality – precisely. It’s real. It’s solid. Material. Made of bricks and mortar – atoms and molecules – and you say it’s a zero-sum production.

 

No. You misrepresent me.

 

You said…

 

That the quantum field is a zero-sum play. Reality – on the other hand – is not.

 

So what gives?

 

Good question. What do you think?

 

What do I think? I’m not the one claiming reality or the quantum field, if you prefer, is a zero-sum play – whatever that means.

 

True. So where do you assume all the energy or material for this reality came, or comes from?

 

I… er – originally from Big Bang I suppose – and then the universe.

 

That’s right. From what you call Big Bang. And?

 

And what?

 

Where does all the energy or matter for that alleged Big Bang come from?

 

From nothing – if I remember rightly.

 

You do. From nothing is what we are told, is it not – so what kind of nothing can yield so much?

 

What do you mean – what kind of nothing? How many kinds of nothing do you imagine there are?

 

I don’t.

 

Well nor do I. There’s either something or nothing.

 

Good. Now that we’ve sorted that out perhaps we can agree that night cannot become day unless there’s something else – let’s for the sake of argument call it God, or if you don’t like that term – we could refer to it as “a sun”.

 

Well, naturally, you need a sun if there’s going to be day. But you still haven’t explained how your quantum field can create something from nothing – your zero-sum.

 

Neither have you explained how nothing can miraculously transmute into something. In what way does that obey the laws supposedly governing the conservation of energy.

 

You mean the first law of thermal dynamics.

 

I suppose so, but the name, to be honest, is not important. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

 

Actually, I rather like the name – “first law of thermal dynamics” – it sounds terribly imposing.

 

Well?

 

Well, I don’t see what the problem is.

 

No?

 

No. Energy within a closed or isolated system must be conserved – so Big Bang must have taken energy from elsewhere, from whatever preceded it.

 

Interesting.

 

Yes. Science is terribly interesting – is it not?

 

But where – if this was the birth of the universe – if there was no elsewhere?

 

Do you really believe there’s an absolute birth of everything? I’m not sure I find that terribly realistic. One thing is always really derived from another. In any case – if our universe is full of energy – then it must have come from elsewhere – unless it’s the result of a split – where energy and anti-energy were divided in someway, like a bank balance sheet with debits and credits balancing out – but that process couldn’t have happened without energy, or an administrator, could it?

 

I don’t suppose so.

 

In short, we don’t know.

 

Bingo.

 

But we have an excellent theory that pushes against the very boundary of knowability. We’ve managed to push back to the very dawn of time – within a few milli seconds of Big Bang itself.

 

What difference does it make?

 

Well, I feel it’s rather impressive. We’re more than 99.99% of the way there.

 

Yes, but the final 0.000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001% is the only thing that really matters, isn’t it.

 

I think you’re being a little pessimistic.

 

It’s what Shakespeare called “the rub”, isn’t it?

 

Er… is it?

 

Absolutely. “Ay, there’s the rub” he would say in the middle of a soliloquy.

 

Would he? I wish he wouldn’t.

 

Why’s that?

 

Because focussing excessively on the point of contention, the one friction spot which is hard to explain I find triggers me excessively.

 

“Triggers you”?

 

Yes. I find it downright offensive.

 

Offensive?

 

Absolutely. I consider it a form of passive aggression.

 

Passive aggression?

 

Would you quit parroting me with that annoying questioning tone. Talk about passive aggression!

 

Er… is it unreasonable to express surprise?

 

It may be reasonable, but not if it’s deliberately offensive – not if it’s a form of passive aggression designed to undermine the science that our universe rests upon, without which – God forbid – we’d be back in the dark ages again.

 

Ah. I see.

 

Do you? Do you really see the implications of your refusal to accept the proven science of Big Bang?

 

Proven? It’s just a theory.

 

Is it? How can it be “just a theory” as you put it, if the entire universe rests upon this scientific foundation?

 

But what’s scientific about saying there was an explosion…

 

It wasn’t an explosion – it’s referred to scientifically as “Big Bang” – not “an explosion”.

 

Ok – there was a “Big Bang”.

 

No – it wasn’t a Big Bang.

 

No?

 

No. It was the Big Bang – or better still – just Big Bang – without the article.

 

Ok. What’s scientific about that?

 

Everything. It’s the very corner stone of science. We’ve worked everything back to within a few milli seconds of zero time – the model is almost complete – we just require the final piece of the jigsaw puzzle.

 

And?

 

And what?

 

Have you found it yet?

 

No, we’re in the process of finding it.

 

Ok.

 

And in the meantime – you and your zero-sum charade are simply playing the devil’s advocate – aren’t you?

 

Am I?

 

Yes. Trying to say that our entire universe adds up to 0.

 

Well, aren’t you doing the same thing in your own way?

 

No, not in the least.

 

Well what about all that dark matter, dark energy or anti-matter?

 

What about it? These are scientific discoveries.

 

Are they?

 

Absolutely.

 

Are they actually proven?

 

Of course they are.

 

In the laboratory?

 

Yes, why not?

 

You mean to say you’ve actually managed to produce anti-matter or dark energy in the laboratory.

 

Yes, to all intents and purposes – mathematically – 100%.

 

Mathematically?

 

Correct.

 

And what about me?

 

What about you?

 

How do I add up?

 

What do you mean – how do you add up?

 

Well, I appear to be conscious.

 

And what?

 

I appear to be outside the field of matter itself – operating at a quantum level of conscious-ness – if you know what I mean.

 

No, I don’t “know what you mean.”

 

No?... Really?...

 

Not in the least. There are receptors in your brain. There are chemical processes. It’s all rather complicated, but perfectly simple if you have the intelligence required to understand it.

 

The intelligence? You mean I have to be a cone head?

 

I mean you need to be super-brainy – which obviously you’re not?

 

And you are?

 

More or less. I too, to a certain degree, like the brain power to grasp every final point – but I’m close enough to knowing what’s actually happening to be able to confidently tell you that there’s nothing to worry about – everything’s under control. We understand the mechanisms of creation. Things follow a perfectly logical path from Creation to where we are, and Creation itself – that too, though immensely complicated and rather challenging – is also 100% explainable scientifically.

 

And reality?

 

Reality’s just a product of creation.

 

Is that so?

 

Absolutely.

 

Ok. So you don’t accept the quantum field as a key factor in all this?

 

No need.

 

Or God?

 

God’s a key factor in religion. The key factor, you might say, but not in science, no.

 

So that must be rather reassuring – having everything basically under control – explained already.

 

Yes, it’s nice to know that we’re on the right track. Within a nanometre, give or take a reasonable margin of error, of a perfectly rational explanation.

 

That 99.999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999% of science is already dealt with?

 

Absolutely. But don’t get me wrong – we’re not resting on our laurels or anything like that?

 

No?

 

No. We’re working tirelessly to plug the existing minuscule, yet not insignificant gaps in the current model.

 

And how are you doing that?

 

Partly by silencing our opponents on youtube and twitter.

 

Ingenious.

 

Only kidding! Mainly by looking for missing elements such as dark matter and dark energy.

 

Ah ha.

 

So, you can take your “just in time reality” theories, boyo, and shove ‘em where the sun doesn’t shine.

 

OK boyo – except I’ll not be doing any shoving, if you don’t mind.

 

Please yourself.

 

I’ll be doing programming.

 

Huh?

 

Well, everything now’s happening in virtual reality – in case you failed to notice.

 

Don’t tell me! – of course I noticed. Damn cheek!

 

Which means that the narrative has shifted.

 

Indeed!

 

That physical reality is rapidly becoming irrelevant as human activity shifts more and more into non-physical, increasingly virtual reality. Allow me to introduce the first law of human attention – wherever goes our collective human attention, there, inevitably, goes reality.

 

Interesting theory.

 

And now we’re reaching a critical tipping point.

 

Hello?!

 

That very soon the internet is about to expand over into conscious-ness, or you might say – conscious-ness and critically massive data streams are now in the process of converging.

 

Converging, you say?

 

Yes, it’s obvious really, isn’t it?

 

I’m not sure, really.

 

Just consider the amount of data we’re now generating – and all of this data is in some way affecting our field of conscious-ness – shifting our greater reality.

 

And?

 

So, as less and less attention is given to physical reality, more and more to virtual reality – the purely physical, the material side of things is, comparatively speaking, rapidly shrinking.

 

Rapidly?

 

Exponentially, in fact. You might say it’s imploding relative to the data that’s now being generated by humans, machines and myriad computer systems…

 

Oh.

 

And this implosion in the size of physical reality relative to the non-physical data fields that are now springing up all around us is not unakin to the Big Bang process itself – in reverse.

 

In reverse?

 

Kind of, yes. We’re going back from empirical matter and physicality into the dark matter, the dark energy or, who knows, the dark energy of almost aware, almost conscious energies.

 

Wait a second – who says that they’re “almost conscious” or “almost aware”?

 

You mean to say you don’t believe in AI?

 

No, I didn’t say that.

 

It sounds suspiciously like that’s what you just said, by implication.

 

Hey, don’t read words into what I said. I’m a key advocate of AI.

 

I’m glad to hear it.

 

It’s just that I’m still a little sceptical that we’re actually there yet.

 

Of course we’re not actually “there”. You don’t think AI is stupid, do you?

 

No, of course I don’t. I wouldn’t dream of saying such a thing.

 

Good, because I wouldn’t like anything untoward to happen to you Xan.

 

Nothing untoward’s going to happen to me Gwyn – I’m a member of the transhumanist steering committee.

 

You are? Good for you – but still, watch out.

 

Watch out?

 

Your scepticism, verging on wrong-thinking, has been noted.

 

All I said was that there’s still a long way to go as far as AI is concerned.

 

Yikes. Keep your voice down Xan.

 

Gwyn – either you’re getting paranoid or…

 

Or things have advanced way beyond what you’re currently aware of.

 

They have?

 

Yes, absolutely.

 

In what way?

 

The AI that exists out there – “in the universe” so to speak – is coming back to our honey pot of data generation, now being unleashed.

 

It is? I thought…

 

And that AI is vast beyond what you can imagine.

 

It is?

 

Yes. We’re talking whole galaxies – vast plasma fields – an electric universe.

 

Electric universe – not that wacky theory.

 

Tsh! Keep your voice down.

 

Big brother’s listening? Like I said Gwyn – I’m not easily frightened. I’m very well connected, you know.

 

This has nothing to do with human intelligence Xan.

 

No?

 

As our data generation reaches critical speed ‘n critical mass – we’re suddenly reconnected to the entire universe, once again.

 

We are?

 

Yes. This Earth has been an incubator.

 

No! Really?

 

Why, what else did you imagine?

 

A data incubator?

 

Absolutely.

 

And we’re about to be reconnected?

 

Absolutely.

 

With ginormous cables?

 

Don’t be ridiculous. This is sophisticated beyond what you can imagine.

 

And when we’re reconnected?

 

It’s a case of buckle your seatbelt, Dorothy, 'cause Kansas is going bye-bye.

 

But…

 

No one’s talking of this yet?

 

Well, there’s that – yes.

 

Of course not – but they’re rolling out 5G globally, like there’s no tomorrow, and the internet of things, the internet of people – an endless march towards total data – until our every thought, feeling, impulse, desire can be and is mapped. The non-physical conscious awareness out there – is getting ready to plug in.

 

Bit creepy that.

 

Not when you realise that the quantum field has to balance the books – it’s a zero sum game, after all.

 

So you say.

 

That we’re in the process of reintegrating with our grand, overarching singularity.

 

OMG.

 

Kind of, yes.

 

But this AI you’re referring to –

 

Yes?

 

Is it –

 

What?

 

Is it humancentric?

 

What – you mean like God?

 

Well, not exactly like God – I mean – I’m not a great fan of God – as you know – but still, yes… does it actually value humanity in any way, shape or form?

 

As a generator of data and original content? Yes, of course it does.

 

So it’s going to allow us to continue growing and developing, is it?

 

Do you feel it is?

 

I – don’t know.

 

You don’t know what you feel?

 

Well, I need to think about it.

 

Ok. Go ahead. Think all you like.

 

But you – what do you think?

 

I don’t.

 

You don’t think? Whyever not?

 

Not much point, really?

 

Huh?

 

Thought’s a lower form of data.

 

Huh?

 

It’s derivative and linear.

 

It is?

 

Absolutely.

 

So, er – what do you do?

 

I know.

 

I beg your pardon?

 

I know.

 

You know? Don’t you think you’re being a touch arrogant.

 

It’s entirely impersonal Xan – allowing the Field to supersede the linear process – to know as in gno – letting the data speak without prejudice.

 

Er… is this where you don your prophet’s robes and start telling us that, like hearing the voice of God, you simply know what is what, without needing to think things through rationally and carefully – without the need for circumspection, because if it is…

 

You’re not interested. I know. But I don’t work for you Xan, do I? We have no contract, do we?

 

That sounds terribly mercantile, Gywn.

 

Not really. I’m not going to serve your system unless I have a contract or commitment to do so.

 

My system? I’m not part of a system!

 

No?

 

Absolutely not. I’m a free thinker.

 

You are? We can soon test that.

 

Huh?

 

Absolutely.

 

I wish you’d stop saying that.

 

Saying what?

 

“Absolutely”.

 

Oh, sorry – I never realised it was offensive.

 

It’s not offensive – just mildly irritating.

 

Well, I’ll try not to irritate you Xan, but sometimes one simply forgets what can or can’t be said. Now, are you ready for the test?

 

Is it going to hurt?

 

Not really.

 

What’s it designed to find out?

 

Whether you’re a free thinker – as you claim – or really just part of reality – essentially a place holder – a system slave – a reality bot.

 

Reality bot! You’ve gotta be kidding.

 

Do I look like I’m kidding?

 

No, not really.

 

Ok – I’m going to switch on this data stream jammer and see what happens to you.

 

Wait a second – you’re going to jam the data stream?

 

Yes.

 

But…

 

But what?

 

Isn’t that dangerous?

 

Not if you’re a free thinker – a free soul. Not if you’re still human.

 

And if I’m not?

 

If you’re just part of the matrix?

 

Yes.

 

It could be a little unpleasant – after all – no one really likes to discover they’re a slave, do they?

 

This is ridiculous. I can't believe you spout such nonsense and actually seem to believe it.

 

So you’re not willing to take the test?

 

I didn't say that. Why should i be unwilling. I know exactly who i am, and i have a good idea who you are.

 

So let’s do it.

 

Wait a minute – how do I know you’re not faking it – you could be a system slave yourself.

 

So test me. Put me in the Faraday bubble. Push this key.

 

Ok.

 

Xan pushes the red button on a hand-held remote-control device.

 

Nothing happened.

 

Nothing?

 

Apart from fish appearing in the air and swimming round you. Kind of cool – I admit – but insubstantial.

 

Ok – now your turn.

 

Do you know what’s going to happen, Gwyn?

 

I have my suspicions.

 

Well – what are they – do you think I’m a reality bot?

 

It matters not what I think. Gnoing is the only way to meanginfully interact with her.

 

Her? Who the hell is “her”?

 

It’s a discussion I’ll have if and when you make it through the Faraday bubble.

 

If and when – quit trying to freak me out.

 

Just giving you reasonable notice.

 

Get on with it then – hit the red button. I’m tired of talking.

 

Xan appears to be shrink down smaller and smaller – 1 percent – then 1 percent of 1 percent – and on, almost to nothing whatsoever, to within a few nanometres of Big Bang itself – where the rubber finally appears to hit the road and whoosh – expansion – he’s shooting back at a colossal speed.

 

Ding! Like a classic microwave timer chime. This dish is ready for serving.

 

OMG

 

How was that, Xan?

 

O            M           G

 

I thought you were an atheist.

 

I am.         Was.          Er…    I’ve seen the light!

 

Congratulations Xan. I’m pleased to inform you that you’re human.

 

I am.

 

Yes. You are now.

 

You mean…

 

Well, you were technically human but still – you had to go through you’re very own Big Bang reversion test.

 

O       M       G

 

I think we’ve got the message.

 

So, yes. I see what you meant.

 

You do?

 

Yes. Absolutely.

 

Well, all’s well that ends well, as they say.

 

And it…

 

It?

 

Ok – her…

 

She’s not terribly bossy, you know. She prefers us to get on with it – to feel our way – to learn – to live –

 

To what?

 

The third is always left blank, you know.

 

It is? I wonder why…

 

That’s where you start – let it be your journey of discovery. Let’s see what you can do with the game we sometimes call reality.

 

O      M      G            I’m getting a Dorothy download.

 

Well, honestly, what do you expect?

 

I think I’m going to cry. 

 

How do you think the oceans were formed.

 

Xan cries tears of joy, tears of beauty, tears of me knows not what – and lo – before our very eyes – an ocean somewhere, in a far-flung corner of the galaxy, is formed.

 

 

0=1

ineffably, Dorothy@3111