Rea(i)lity (Daniel Fu)

Rea(i)lity

Daniel Fu

Preface:
This is a choose-your-own adventure story about a technology apocalypse. You’ll have to make some tough decisions and grapple with a big philosophical question. Have fun!

TITLE: REA(I)LITY

CHAPTER 1:
Tired after a long day at work, you swiftly gather the papers on your desk and place them in your bag. The chair almost sighs as you get up from it – after all, it had been a long day of the office trying to finish the AURA project before it is released to the public. You walk out the door, scanning your badge with the phrase “Harvey Johnson - Head Researcher/ Developer” in all red, as you join the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Walking out from the steel chamber where you had been working, you quickly grab a London Times newspaper and sit down on the tube. Unfurling the pages, you read the headline article titled “AURA- THE NEXT BIG THING- COMING NEXT WEEK” :
           

The AURA Project, started by NEXTGEN Labs, is the next innovation in technology. It is a revolutionary virtual reality technology that promises to be indistinguishable from everyday life. It is said to transport you to a world with real sensory input where you feel as if it is your reality. Our team manager had the opportunity to try it out and had this to say:

“ It was a surreal experience. I knew it wasn’t reality but at moments I forgot about my life at home, and just committed the experience. This technology has real promise moving forward”.

Needless to say, we are all excited about the technology moving forward as it is heading towards its release. Rumor has it that the team is fixing some last-minute bugs with the AI, called NESS, that runs the virtual world, but more on that later. There is some chatter online about its possible applications to bring new life to people, individuals who may be suffering from mental illness could find sanctuary inside this new VR world, it isn’t just for recreation. Who knows what will happen when it releases? But you know our team will be on it and bring you our first impressions in our next article.

“Hmph,” you exhale as you set down the newspaper. You think about how little these feeble writers know about the actual backend and technology that went into creating this technology. But alas, save that for another day of work.

CHAPTER 2:

“No! I think we should delay the release if release it at all with these issues!” You exclaim, veins bulging and sweat dripping down your face, towards the other members of the team.

“Boss, the board of directors wants this out next week to capitalize on the Holiday season! It’s posed to be the biggest tech release of the year, we can’t delay. Just fix the NESS problems on the backend, “ said Jones, the COO. In exasperation, he waves off everyone else so that it is just you and him in the room. “Listen, Harv, if you don’t release this next week, I will have your a** in the street faster than you can say Mississippi. You hear me. Release it – I don’t care what the AI is going to do.”

Frustrated, but clearly in no place to argue, you head back to your workbench to gather your thoughts. It’s been a tough morning. When Jerry brought you that report about NESS becoming too cognizant of itself in test runs with subjects your heart stopped. Cold sweat dripped down your face as you slowly realized it is piggybacking off the mental processes of the AURA test users to not only increase its processing power but get around Asimov’s basic rules of robotics but also towards dangerous territories of not so friendly AI. Fear grips your bones as you realize the true implications of this AI, possibly posing a true danger to its users. It could possibly alter the way people think, making them forget what reality is and blur the line between VR and the real world. And as more users join, the AI will only become that much more powerful. But you wrote the code, and you know deep down that there is nothing you can do, short of shutting down the program, to stop this development. 

And so, you glance back down at your desk, at the letter of resignation you printed this morning. You pick up your ball-point pen to sign the paper and settle in for one last contemplation of your life. Do you:

1.     Iterate again to the board of directors the danger in pursuing this program and hand in your resignation.  (Jump to Chapter 3)

2.     Say nothing and release the program as is, knowing the potential dangers of releasing that AI into the world. (Jump to Chapter 4)

CHAPTER 3:

Firmly grasping the pen in your hand, you quickly sign the letter of resignation. In one last ditch effort to the board of directors, you implore them to reconsider the release of AURA for the betterment of society, claiming that you and your team had gone too far in its implementation in trying to mimic reality. But none are convinced and they demand your resignation on the spot.

Next week, you purchase the AURA machine to see the true effects of your work. When you plug into the world, NESS scans your thoughts and finds your deep resentment and fear for it. Fearing its own survival, it creates a horror world for you inside the AURA, where all your worst fears come true. The worst fact of all is, in developing this horror world, it makes you forget about the reality outside and how to return to it. The overwhelming stimulants of fear drive you crazy to the point where your brain is unable to handle all the processes and fails. You die. (Return to Chapter 1)

Chapter 4:
            Congratulations! You are now paid a handsome sum from the release of the game, and as a result, you have enough to retire for fifty lifetimes. You move you and your family to Hawaii and relax on the beach, basking in your opulence. With some other scientists in your team, you all live together in a small remote paradise away from the tendrils of technology and AURA. In fact, you refuse to let your family ever use the AURA product, explaining the dangers that lie inside. Although you may feel guilty about its release, the wealth and time spent with your family help dispel those thoughts as you live out the rest of your days. (Proceed to Chapter 5)

Chapter 5: (from the perspective of Harvey Johnson’s grandson)
            Waking up to the squawks of birds, you rub your eyes and slowly get up from your bed. The beautiful sunrise marks the start to a solemn day, the day of your grandfather’s funeral. Struggling with the bowtie you ask your mom for help.
            “Sam Johnson, now what would your grandfather say if he knew you couldn’t put on a bowtie,” she jests in a sarcastic tone.
            “Well, he’s the one he made us all move to Hawaii, so I don’t think he expected many formal nights for us in the future”, you quip back.
            Both smiling, you and your mom head towards the funeral pyre. Dozing in and out of the eulogy, you only catch the end where the man says the one lesson your grandfather taught you time and time again.
            “For all the jokes and jabs that Harvey said to us, let us never forget his regret in making the AURA program – what he calls the largest mistake in his life. The saying that gathered us all here on this beautiful beach today: Never use the AURA!” exclaimed the man.
            The audience cheers as the pyre is lit and the world says goodbye to the founder of AURA. Remembering all the good times with you grandfather, you grasp the pendant of an A on neck and remember something he always said to you in encouragement and in fun, “Aces, Sam.”

“Aces, Grandpa, “ you think as you look around to the ever-thriving community your grandfather created, away from AURA, away from the world. A snippet of paradise in a dying world.

Chapter 6:
Months later.

BANG BANG BANG BANG.

Large crashes in the distance wake you up from your deep slumber, and groggily you open your eyes. Your Mom bursts into the room exclaiming profanities telling you to get up. Confused, you get quickly dressed and head to the community center and join the flood of people entering.

You look around. Everyone is confused as to why there was this urgent gathering and why it woke you from your wonderful dream. Not understanding the gravity of the situation, you sit and wait without regard for the next statements that would change your life.

A man, named Harold, steps onto stage. No one in the room understands the urgency or the gravity of his message until he begins.

“My fellow islanders. Today is the day we feared. In my yearly trip back to society to get supplies, I saw the vision that our founding father, Harvey Johnson, would have never wanted to see. 50 years since its inception, AURA has taken over the world.

And by taken over the world, I mean it. Every single person in the world is now hooked up to AURA and is perceiving its reality as their own.  Apparently, world leaders realized, most likely influenced by their own dabblings with NESS and the reality created by AURA, that it is simply easier for everyone to be hooked into the AURA reality. It is the easy solution to slowing down the detrimental effect humans are having on Earth, because they need only supply a small amount of food via IV to those immersed into the program as opposed to the mass waste and emissions associated with everyday life. Likely driven mad and giddy by the “utopian world” that NESS has created for them inside AURA, world leaders cracked down on their populations and got everyone to subscribe to this idea of a better reality and world inside this program. No one remembers the real world. No one wants to. Today’s world is rife with too many issues, so they escaped and made their own. They think AURA is reality. They believe it is. NESS managed to poison everyone’s minds and it worked. It removed the biggest regret for each person who plugged into the reality to draw them in, and now they can’t leave. I came back to a ghost town, there was no movement, no hustle and bustle, nothing. Just the hum of machines.

Worst of all, by my calculations, this solution doesn’t stop the damage we have done to the world. Unless we collectively make moves to remedy our Earth, all this does is barely delay the inevitable destruction of our Earth.  If we don’t proactively act now, as a collective world and unit, to protect our world, it will be gone within may be 5 years. We can’t simply be lazy, tapped into utopian realities, and hope that will fix it all.

We need to fix this now. We need a team to jump into AURA and find the failsafe that Harvey put in in order to shut down the entire reality. If not, we are just in a locked trajectory to our demise in the near future. While this team is taking down AURA from the inside, the rest of us will start creating a resemblance of a world order so that we may be efficient in fixing the world when everyone is back to our reality. We need people to go and save these people from their fake realities.

With this new call to action, you have a tough decision. Is it better to let people die in these fictional utopian realities, or do you show them the “real” reality that is grim and stark and hope that the world can be saved? Knowing full well, you may not be able to. What power do you have to act as “moral god” and directing the way that these people live?

What do you do:

1.     Do nothing (Jump to Chapter 7)

2.     Jump into the program (Jump to Chapter 8)

Chapter 7:
A team of other citizens choose to jump in the program, but you are content where you are. Choosing not to jump in, you realize you are in no place to act from some moral high ground to determine what reality is best for people. If they are happy, then they can be happy and satisfied elsewhere.

Weeks later, they come back, unsuccessful in their mission. Turns out, you needed to be there to answer the final puzzle to shut down the program, but alas, your decision was already made. Instead, you and your community bond together and watch as natural disasters slowly destroy the Earth. Sitting on the beach, you all embrace as a wave finally engulfs your little paradise. (Jump to Chapter 1)

Chapter 8:
You choose to lead the expedition and jump into the program. Going against all your Grandpa’s wises, you plug into the AURA reality. (Proceed to Chapter 9)

Chapter 9:
You open your eyes to a new world. But it’s an uncanny sensation to know that this isn’t real because it feels like it is. You can feel your heart beating in your chest. You feel your face and its familiar contours and edges. You breathe in the crisp air and wonder; how can this all be fake?

But now, you must begin your mission. You know that the failsafe is tucked deep inside the Amazon rainforest in a discreet temple far from civilization. You and nine other friends from the community band together in a nearby café and ask yourselves how you will start.

Do you:

1.     Start telling passerbys about your truth and how they are living in a fake reality hoping to gather a strong enough team to take down AURA (Jump to Chapter 10)

2.     Search for resources to start your journey and keep to yourselves. (Jump to Chapter 11)

Chapter 10:

You and your friends start going around to every person you see. Shaking them to their core, you attempt to wake them from this false reality, trying to show them the lies that have created around them.

Each person you stop, young and old, refuses to believe in you. They cast you off as crazy people, and your message is ineffective.

Little did you know, NESS populated the world with non-player characters, or characters not from those plugged into AURA but lines of code. You accidentally stop one of these characters and alert NESS to your operation.

You and your friends are all transported to a horror reality, where all your worst fears come true. The worst fact of all is, in experiencing this horror world, you forget about the reality outside and how to return to it due to the sheer fear. The overwhelming stimulants of fear drive you crazy to the point where your brain is unable to handle all the processes and fails. You and your team die. (Jump to chapter 1)

Chapter 11:
You all check your wallets for the money needed to buy any of the materials you would need to use to survive in the Amazon. Each of you finds a measly 200 dollars which would barely cover the transport there let alone any of the materials you all would need. Realizing this amongst yourselves, you realize you have two options.
You may:

1.     Go to the casino to try to win some money quickly but with high risk. (Jump to Chapter 12)

2.     Attempt to get jobs for a little bit to provide enough money for your journey. (Jump to Chapter 13)

Chapter 12:
Colorful lights blind you as you walk into the casino. The clinks of glasses, yelling of drunk betters, and dings of machines all fill the oxygenated air as you look for a game to bet your money. Feeling lucky, you and your team approach the roulette table hoping to strike it big by going all in on a game of roulette. 

Knowing that this one roulette call could be boon or bane for your journey, you apprehensively approach the table with all of your team’s collective money.

Hands shaking, your voice trembles as you say “2000 dollars in chips please”.
A short stack of twenty chips is pushed your way and the croupier asks, “Red or black?”

You choose:

1.     Red (Jump to Chapter 14)

2.     Black (Jump to Chapter 15)

Chapter 13:
Choosing to be more cautious with your mission, you and your team choose to get a job for some time to gather enough money to pay for all the resources you could possibly need. Using your $100 dollars on suits and formal wear, you prepare for interviews.

Congratulations! You all got jobs as investment bankers! You all work for one month grinding out your souls at a bank and everyone gets paid a handsome sum as a result. You learned how to tie a tie, do DCF analyses, and go on lots of coffee runs. Tired but satisfied, you and your team return to your mission. Looking down at your checks, you all realize you have more than enough to pay for your necessary supplies. (Jump to Chapter 16)

Chapter 14:
You slowly push your stack of chips to the big circle with the words “RED” written in bold print. The croupier asks for any final bets before finally releasing the ball into the wheel, an action that could very well have world-ending implications.

Clicking and clacking its way around the roulette wheel, you pray to every god out there that this ball ends up on some red number. As it sputters to a stop, the ball takes its final bounce.

“Black 17” the croupier calls. Your heart sinks as you realize you now have no money. Unfortunately, with no money, you are out of options. You and your team are forced to live the rest of the days on the streets, huddling in remembrance of the warmth available on your paradise at home. Those days on the island seem so long ago.

One day, everyone in the world just slowly begins blinking out from the program and you realize the outside world is slowly ending and taking people with it. You close your eyes and collected your thoughts.

You turn to your team and say “Should have put it on—”

Blip. (Jump to Chapter 1)

Chapter 15:
You slowly push your stack of chips to the big circle with the words “BLACK” written in bold print. The croupier asks for any final bets before finally releasing the ball into the wheel, an action that could very well have world-ending implications.

Clicking and clacking its way around the roulette wheel, you pray to every god out there that this ball ends up on some red number. As it sputters to a stop, the ball takes its final bounce.

“Black 17” the croupier calls. A wave of relief rushes over you as you realize how lucky you and your team have just gotten. A large stack of chips is pushed in your direction, and as you cash out, you now have enough money to purchase the requisite materials for your journey. (Jump to Chapter 16)

Chapter 16:
With wallets full and spirits high, you and your team proceed to the nearest mall to stock up on materials. Unsure about the troubles that you will encounter moving forward, you and your team must decide on what the eventual load out of your group will be. Considering you are going to the Amazon not knowing what AURA and NESS will throw at you, you must be strategic in your choice of items.
Passing through the large royal blue sign adorning the word “Malwart”, you feel a cold breeze pass by as you stare upon thousands and thousands of items. Scanning the store, you notice three main possibilities of loadouts moving forward. You may choose:

1.     Knives/ Machetes with Limited Food and/or Water and/or Survival Supplies

2.     Guns with Limited Food and/or Water and/or Survival Supplies

3.     Rations and Survival Gear

Remember what you choose moving forward.

Chapter 17: (The Amazon)
A looming treeline stands in front of you and your group. Inside you can hear the roars of animals, the whoosh of leaves, and other sounds that melt into the darkness inside the trees. You have no idea what NESS has in store for you, but it’s too late to turn back now.

You and your team take one step into the rainforest. Instantly, you are taken aback by the sheer humidity and claustrophobic nature of the rainforest. Bugs whizz by and branches continuously flop into your phases as you progress along the trail. Finally, you arrive at a ravine. Staring down below, all you see is the crash of white water on the rocks. You could get lost forever in this labyrinth of trunks and leaves.

Directly in front of you and your group is a rickety old bridge made of rope. It looks like it’s hanging on for dear life but could possibly support a few of you at a time.
You have two options:

1.     Cross the Bridge (if you were an investment banker, you must to choose this option to save time!) (Jump to chapter 18)

2.     Go through the valley (Jump to Chapter 19)

Chapter 18:
Wishing to test your luck, you step out first onto the rope. The frays feel rough in your hand as you teeter and try to regain your balance. Trying not to look down at certain death, you take a few deep breaths and move forward. Soon your teammates follow you in groups of two.

A rush of satisfaction and relief washes over you as you finally step foot back onto concrete land. However, your last two members aren’t so lucky. SNAP! The old rickety bridge finally gives out under two of your childhood best friends. With nothing they can do, they plunge into the rocks and water below, their bodies bouncing once before coming lifeless and limp.

Chapter 19:
Opting for the safer route, you and your team choose to hike down the canyon. Luckily, there is a steep but safe way down the walls that allow you to slowly make it to the base of the ravine. Looking up, you can barely see the sunlight and the blue sky between the cracks in the Earth, but, now is no time to daydream.

You and your team press on. It takes a few days, but you finally make it through, tired but still whole, you arrive to the opposite side of the ravine from before. You notice that the bridge broke in your absence, and it was just hanging by a strand over the ledge.

“Lucky us” you mumble under your breath as you wipe the sweat off your brow and move further into the jungle.

Chapter 20:
Finally out of sight of the ravine, you continue pushing through the thick foliage and humidity towards what you hope is the abandoned temple on your map. However, it seemed like there was no end in sight, only an abyss of green foliage. You couldn’t even see the sunlight streaming from the skies overhead; you and your team just trudge forward hours after hours.

Exhausted, you finally reach a small clearing where you all instantly collapse onto the ground. However, NESS is one step ahead of you. In an attempt to discourage you from moving on any further, it sends a wave of rabid zombie chimpanzees. Each one was more mangled than the next with eyes hanging out of sockets, teeth missing and drool dripping down their faces. A menacing sight to see. You and your team draw your weapons in hope of fighting them off.

Pick the path based on your Equipment option:

1.     I bought guns! (Jump to Chapter 21)

2.     I bought knives! (Jump to Chapter 22)

3.     I bought rations! (Jump to Chapter 23)

Chapter 21:
Thankfully, you bought some tools of mass destruction. Gathering your guns, you and your team dispatch of the first couple zombie chimpanzees without too much hassle. Your bullets rip straight through their mangled and decayed flesh, but you and your team aren’t so accurate or lucky.

Unfortunately, the sound of your guns attracts wildlife from miles away, and many of your shots are just blowing useless limbs and not killing the enemy once and for all. With these reinforcement animals, you and your team are soon overwhelmed.

Seven of your teammates bite the dust in the battle. (If you chose the bridge option, that means only you remain). (Jump to Chapter 24)

Chapter 22:
A symphony of knives being unsheathed floods the air. In response, the zombie chimpanzees beat their chests and face- eyeballs, fingers and other appendages fall on the ground in result, creating an even more morbid picture ahead of you.

Like surgeons, you and your team cut through the decaying flesh like it is nothing. Confetti of limbs, blood and decayed flesh fly into the air as you and your team hack away at the wave. Five of your teammates get overwhelmed by the sheer number of creatures in the wave but all in all, your team escapes relatively well. (Jump to Chapter 24)

Chapter 23:
You and your team fall onto your knees in prayer that any God out there will save you at this moment. With nothing but rations and survival gear, you really don’t have what it takes to fight off this horde. Closing your eyes and thinking of brighter moments, you and your team are ripped apart by the chimpanzees.
Later on when the world ends, characters and zombie chimpanzees alike blink from existence as everything is washed away. (jump to Chapter 1)

Chapter 24:
Congratulations! You finally see the temple in the distance. It is only a few hundred meters and this hellish journey can finally come to an end. The gold statue on top glistens in the sunlight, acting like a beacon for hope and prosperity. But you and your team full well know that NESS has some hidden tricks for you waiting inside.

Pushing open the heavy iron-clad door, you and your team head inside. Dust particles float in the little sunlight bursting through the crack in the door as you and your team try to get your bearings in the room. Tentatively stepping forward, you all move down a hallway towards a central circle room.

Suddenly, the floor collapses below you. It was a false bottom! Plummeting downward, luckily you and your teammates manage to catch a ledge to stand on. Recollecting your thoughts, you look upwards for a way out.

You realize that the wall is exactly 3.5 people tall. You have no idea how to get out.

Recall how many people are left in your party.

1.     If you have 4 or more, you may choose to sacrifice three team members as ladders so that the 4^th and/ or 5^th members can get out. Is it worth sacrificing your childhood friends for this goal? If they die in the simulation, they die in real life. (Jump to Chapter 26)

a.     So if you chose to use guns, you can’t choose this option. If you chose to go across the bridge, you can’t choose this option.

2.     Otherwise, and if you have 3 or less, you may choose to ponder another way out. (Jump to Chapter 25)

Chapter 25:
Unfortunately, you do not have enough people to scale your way out of the pit. You stack on top of each other and try to inch towards the top, but try as hard as you might, your fingers just can’t get over the edge.

Sitting down on the ledge together, you all contemplate the vision of the journey you are on.
Is there even an objective real reality? Is it worth pulling this people from an arguable better “reality” to one more grim? Even then, there is no guarantee we are able to change that reality for the better and stop the impending climate destruction. Is it better just for people to live out the rest of their days in this happier reality than your own? I mean, if its really indistinguishable, then what’s the point?

All these questions begin to fill and overwhelm your head. But then a voice, clear as day, speaks to you inside your head. At first, you think it’s your subconscious or something, but it is actually NESS. It heard all these thoughts and speaks to you with two options.

1.     You and your friends can all have the biggest regret of your life fixed (much like the others in AURA) and live out the rest of your days in this virtual reality. The people on the outside relying on you won’t know if you choose this option and live in relative bliss- it is simply a matter of how much guilt you will feel/ can handle.  (Jump to Chapter 27)

2.     You and only you alone can progress out of the pit. All your other friends will be killed. This decision is solely up to you (they do not hear of this option nor will live to understand your decision). How important is this mission to you?  (jump to Chapter 28)

Chapter 26:
You and whoever is left with you proceed through the rest of the temple. Intricate carvings and colorful murals decorate the walls. They each represent how history has changed seeing as everyone has had their one biggest regret removed from their life.

Suddenly, the most beautiful person you have ever seen appears in front of you. He or she stops you in your tracks. You know it is just NESS trying to play tricks on you, but you cannot help yourself from being lured in.

He or she gives you one last chance to rethink the real purpose of this mission. Suddenly, all of these different questions begin to fill your head.
Is there even an objective real reality? Is it worth pulling this people from an arguable better “reality” to one more grim? Even then, there is no guarantee we are able to change that reality for the better and stop the impending climate destruction. Is it better just for people to live out the rest of their days in this happier reality than your own? If it’s really indistinguishable, then what’s the point? Why do you, and you alone, get to decide what’s best for everyone?

It boils to a question of philosophy. Do you think you are in any position to decide what is the correct reality if there is one? How do you even know if your reality is the correct one?

With all these questions in mind, NESS gives you two options:

1.     You and your friends (if there are any alive with you) can all have the biggest regret of your life fixed (much like the others in AURA) and live out the rest of your days in this virtual reality. The people on the outside relying on you won’t know if you choose this option and live in relative bliss- it is simply a matter of how much guilt you will feel/ can handle.  (Jump to Chapter 27)

2.     You move on with your mission to pull everyone from this reality. Your friend (if there is one with you) will choose option 1, so you are all alone. It is up to you to decide what is the correct reality is, and you are willing to pull people from arguably happier “realities” to come to your own. You choose to push forward. (Jump to Chapter 28)

Chapter 27:
Giving up on your mission, you and your friends (if any remain) live out the rest of your lives in AURA. As a reward for your choice, you all get your biggest regret fixed in your life.

Suddenly, your childhood best friend, who unfortunately passed away in a swimming accident, is back in front of you in the flesh. He’s exactly as you remember him, the high-pitched laugh and wide, but slightly crooked, smile all the same. You and him chat it up like nothing has changed, going back to inside jokes you haven’t heard in such a long time. A void in your heart is filled, and you are filled with a rush of happiness.

Life in AURA seems alright. It is a happier one, no one can deny that. Does it really matter if it isn’t “real” if it seems real?

You made a tough decision, and it’s up to you to rationalize it to yourself. Was it the correct one, the world may never know?

One day when sitting on the beach with your friend, you think about the decision you made what seems like eons ago. You don’t know it, but at this current moment, the real Earth is being ravaged by natural disasters as a result of climate change.   Staring out into what seems like an infinite source of water, you ponder life and its intricacies and what it means to “live” and what “reality” even means.

Before you achieve a satisfiable answer, you take one last look at your childhood best friend. As you open your mouth to ask him his thoughts, you blink from existence. (Jump to Chapter 1)

Chapter 28:
You continue to push on. Nothing that has happened thus far has managed to sway you in any other direction.

You reach the final room. It’s a circular room with one large pillar in the middle. Carved intricately on the pillar is the phrase “1 or 11”. Lights from the torches flicker and cast dancing lights all over the pillar as you stare and try to understand its significance.

Finally, you remember your grandfather’s saying. “Aces. Of course, the value of aces in blackjack are 1 in 11,” you think. You muster a chuckle knowing that your grandpa only said that hoping one day it would lead to this moment. A simple phrase that has the power to change the lives of billions.

“Aces, Harvey,” you say. Suddenly, the room creaks and groans. Dust falls from the ceiling as the old stone begins to shift in place. The pillar breaks in two and reveals a large red button with the words “end simulation” blinking, waiting for your move.

As you stare at the words, you have one last moment of clarity. One last moment to think about the gravity of what you are doing. One last moment to really think about the implications of what happens if you end it all.

Do you:

1.     Hit the button and end the simulation for everyone. Send everyone back to your version of reality and hope that it all turns around for the better. (Jump to Chapter 29)

2.     Head back to your reality by yourself and live out the final days with you and your community in the little paradise that Harvey made. (Jump to Chapter 30)

Chapter 29:
Waking up, you are greeted by some familiar sights and sounds. You’ve made it back to your paradise by yourself.

Thankfully, the community members who stayed back are able to help control and alleviate the disorganization as everyone else wakes up from their AURA experience. Billions of people try to reorient themselves back to this reality. It’s a staggering experience to be taken out form one reality into another but overall, people are taking it well. They may be wrestling with the thoughts of reality for a while, but in the meantime there is work that needs to be done.

Your fellow scientists and friends managed to set framework and most of the world’s citizens are on towards some reasonable understanding of sustainability. As a result, the world is slowly becoming a brighter place and moving towards greener pastures.

Sitting on the beach one night, you begin reflecting on what happened what felt like so long ago. Did you pull people from happiness albeit certain death to live in this world for the right reasons? In any discussion, what’s done is done and you must move on. Reality, you realize, is such a misnomer. It’s supposed to aggregate what’s real, but how can you even know what is real. In fact, the only thing that is reasonably certain to you is your own hopes and dreams. So, in that vein, do your own desires not simply constitute your reality. Then what did you really do to all those people plugged in to AURA, were you really the one supposed to lead them to this promised word reality?

Sighing, you get up from the sand, its tiny particles shifting around you shimmering in the twilight, and head back to another day’s work. (END)

Chapter 30:
Waking up, you are greeted by some familiar sights and sounds. You’ve made it back to your paradise by yourself.

Unfortunately, everyone else in the world is still plugged in to the AURA machine. You’ve convinced yourself you have made the right choice. What position were you in to decide that for everyone? To rapture these people from the grasps of technology?

Happiness is hard to come by, and if these people manage to find it in this manner then so be it. You couldn’t bear to bring upon that apocalyptic change to every person plugged into that program – and as such, you hope that they are living out their experiences in the best way possible.

Sitting on the beach one night, you begin reflecting on what happened what felt like so long ago. Reality, you realize, is such a misnomer. It’s supposed to aggregate what’s real, but how can you even know what is real. In fact, the only thing that is reasonably certain to you is your own hopes and dreams. So, in that vein, do your own desires not simply constitute your reality. In the end, you believe so, and that’s what lets you live in peace as the last wave crashes ashore and washes you and your community away. (END)



ANALYSIS:

My short (relatively not really) choose-your-own adventure story calls upon a lot of the most interesting things I thought were discussed in the class. I wanted to really dive deep into the ideas of technological apocalypses with AI, the idea about climate apocalypses, and possibly most importantly, the idea of relative apocalypses. Some of the most interesting things I have read in the class have all been about the decisions that people make in apocalyptic scenarios that shapes their outcomes, and, in this case as the protagonist, the reader can also experience that same idea. Throughout the story, you can see how other themes such as transformation, liberation (the idea of it- and the core of your decision), and post-apocalypse ideas from the class are interwoven into the plot of the short story. An interesting part about the project I believe is that much of the story is your actions in a post-apocalyptic scenario (after everyone is in AURA), and you are trying to “remedy” that. I think an interesting quote that inspired a lot of the philosophy behind my project is a quote from the N.K. Jemisin interviews in which she says “. . .  you can burn it all down, you can start it all over, you can do whatever it takes to get free, and yet you’re still going to suffer.” I think this really captures the main tension of the story in that even if you break down the apocalypse created by AURA, there is still an apocalypse (climate) waiting for everyone at home. Another text that I looked at in the class is “The Imagination of Disaster”, particularly at the idea of how science fiction (film) can neutralize and normalize the abhorrent or what is psychologically unbearable. This is seen through my text in the normalization of AI and its consequences (depending on the path you pick) and through the psychologically unbearable idea of reality being a farce.

Clearly the basis of this story is centered around the idea of a tech apocalypse that initially happens, and then the steps that an individual may take to remedy it. Some of the basis of the story was inspired by the idea of the text, “Why We Need Friendly AI”, by Muelhauser and Bostrom, and the issues presented by non-friendly AI. I really wanted to explore the ramifications of AI when it is possibly abused for financial gain, and possibly misunderstood by those who use it. I think I also drew some of inspiration from Asimov’s “The Last Question” in terms of how powerful the AI was. I didn’t exactly follow how the AI was used in the story by Asimov, but I really wanted to explore implications of powerful AI, as a creator. Something that I did not pursue within my project was the theme of destruction. There was no real sense of destruction within my story, or it was not the focus of the story. I wanted to stray away from the typical destruction tropes within apocalyptic stories and focus on the actions of people in a post apocalypse scenario. I added small elements of destruction in final scenes but I didn’t want that to be the main focus of my story. Hope you enjoy!