//------------------------------// // The Puzzle // Story: Trapped // by Gylden Glor //------------------------------// Function "Kamehameha_Wave" executed. Recalculating variables... That's all I can think of. That's all I've thought of since I went into this sub-conscious state. Obviously, the most prominent thing to think about is the fact that I executed a function called "Kamehameha_Wave." Now, I may not be a geni-okay, I'm a genius. But in any case...Wouldn't that mean that I'm in some sort of computer? That all of Equestria is just one giant simulation? Well, that's, to say the least, impossible. First off, no computer can function illogically. Any illogical choice on the behalf of an AI is completely disregarded. The only way in which it can seem illogical is if the AI is programmed to logically make a certain choice when a variable is met, but the developers of the program make it seem illogical to the person observing the program. For example, in Skyrim, if you were to continuously insult someone, they would eventually attack you. That would be a logical execution of a string of code on behalf of the AI: you make certain choices in the conversation, and it leads to a certain outcome. However, if this were to be a simulation, it would have to be much more advanced than that, because none of the conversations are pre-programmed! If I were to walk up to a street vendor and say, "what do you have for sale, my friend?" They wouldn't give me a generic "here's what I have" line. Rather, they would respond accordingly to how politely I had asked to view their merchandise. However, if I were to say "Yo, asshole, show me what the fuck you've got for sale," then the vendor wouldn't respond with "here's what I have to sell," they would respond with "get the fuck out of my face, you fucking piece of shit." At least, that's what I think they would respond with. However, if I were friends with that street vendor, it could be a sort of running joke kind of thing that's different each and every time. There wouldn't be any repetition of a line, because there wouldn't any prerecorded lines in such a realistic simulation. Rather, each AI would have to have a thought process, and there would have to be a coherent bank of words and their definitions and their application in speech. And not only that, but that brings up the idea of friendship and interaction: emotions are near impossible to simulate within a computer program. You wouldn't be able to create emotions from a simple interaction unless you had a simulation of a biological brain behind it. So, you'd have to have simulations of negative and positive responses to certain things, and each and every AI would have to be able to make split-second, natural decisions based upon their attitude and connection with a fellow AI. If I were to say to Twilight "fuck you," I would receive a different reaction than if I were to say the same thing to Rainbow Dash: one would be hostile, and one would be a joke. However, in order to know how the individual would react, there would have to be a sort of system that stores the AI's affinity with the other AI. So, would that mean that every single AI would have to have a simulation within themselves? As in, a simulation of a biological brain, making decisions based upon both emotion and logic due to different chemicals being released, and different synapses being oxygenated? If that's the case, then there would have be millions upon millions of simulations going on at once, all interacting with each other and storing data and variables and whatnot. And not only that, there are three major simulations that I can identify, although they would also require sub-simulations: a simulation of positive emotions and reactions, a simulation of negative emotions and reactions, and a simulation of the physical environment of the world: physics, lighting, rendering, magic, flight, wind, everything. And that also means that, in order to make a truly realistic simulation, there would have to be a lag between light and sound. So, each and every AI would have to be able to interpret the world individually. Each and every AI would have to be self-aware, not only to physically interpret the world, but also the have emotions and whatnot. But what sort of computer could ever run that kind of simulation? And who could ever create a simulation like that!? And not only that, if this is a simulation, how the fuck did I get in!? I mean, it's obvious that Celestia lied to me: I obviously didn't die in a car accident if I'm in a computer. I mean, maybe I'm actually dead in real life, and I'm in a sort of...Veelox-styled Lifelight thing? Like, from Pendragon Book 4: The Reality Bug? And I just realized something else, by bringing up the whole thing of Pendragon: the AIs have to have the ability to interpret information in a logical way, as well. Which means that each and every AI needs a memory unit to themselves. Which is impossible. That would require WAY too much RAM... But, hold on, maybe there's actually a sensible way to explain how this could be a simulation. Alright, I've got an idea: I'm going to list off each and every thing that would be needed to make a simulation as realistic as what I've experienced so far. First and foremost is emotions. Next is physics and magic. (Not very realistic, but it's Equestria.) Next is...sounds. The ability to make sounds that aren't already recorded on some sort of storage unit. Almost infinite capacity for data storage and recollection. Actual memory. Social interactions. Illogical choices based upon logical points of data from emotional influence. Something to keep all the different simulations that are running separate, and yet together through interactions. A graphics card that doesn't actually output to any kind of external screen, but rather, makes each of the AIs individually interpret the world. Genetics and biology in general. A super-constant power source that doesn't let the simulation just shut down. Perhaps an infinite power source... But, wait...hold on, maybe I'm thinking of it all wrong. Maybe it's actually incredibly simple. I mean, I know that it sounds stupid, but what if someone managed to fully understand how the human brain works? If they did, then making a program based on it would be incredibly simple, no? They could just make a code that creates a network. A code that makes it all because that code is the same code of the human brain! Maybe it's just a code that makes the same matrix as is seen in the brain, per the Human Connectomes Project... What if it's just... What if it's me? What if my brain is the thing that makes it all run? What if it just emulates my brain, copies the way it works and makes itself into a brain... Does that mean that I sacrificed myself for the sake of creating this simulation? Does that mean that...I made the simulation? Am I just a brain floating in a jar in a giant computer? If so, then...nothing I've experienced so far is real. It's all just a very elaborate program that's run off of the most powerful computer in the world: the human brain. So...Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash, all the ponies I've come to love as equals and even more...they're not even real. They're just programs, a glorified mess of 1's and 0's... And yet, it doesn't seem that there's much I can do about it. It's not like I can leave; I can tell that I'm dead. I don't know how, but I can. It's just...a feeling, really. So I guess Celestia didn't lie about the dying part. But still...Just...Everything is just a simulation, which means that none of it actually fucking matters...None of this matters. None of it! So what if they all die, it's not real! But...I've experienced things. I've experienced things that are undeniably real. The feelings I have for Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo, one as a lover and one as a daughter...those are real. If I'm just a brain in a jar, then I'm actually experiencing those emotions - the chemicals are making the reactions that produce those emotions! But still...what does it matter? It's a giant computer... But I still love Rainbow Dash, and I still love Scootaloo. Even if they're not real, I still love them. And besides...it doesn't look like I'll be leaving any time soon. So I guess I may as well suck it up, then. Nothing's really changing because of this revelation. Just...everything, really. It changes everything. Because it gives me power. I can do anything. I can change everything. I... I can be a god. So...Why not exercise that power? Nothing can touch me so long as I'm in control of this simulation; nothing can ever harm me! I can be a god, I can be the most powerful being alive! Well, sort of alive, at the least. Yes...Yes...Yes! And the first order of business... Is to kill anything that stands in my way.