Speaker 1: I've never much cared for religion. I mean as interesting
in all that all parabosom philosophic insets from people two
millenniums removed from the prison. I particularly enjoy the books
of the apocryphur in the Bible's Mapromopis of Revelation, if
nothing else than interesting stories. Even some of the tenets,
like an emphasis on strong family bond and moral I
can resonate with, but in terms of a giant on
the prison entity that created everything, yet loves us unconditionally,
watching our every move from unseen planes. Yeah, I don't
know about that. I still don't describe to a singular
religious doctrine. But knowing what I know, doubt well, let's
just say the title of atheist would be a little
disingenuous stake in my flagon. That camp we contradict all
my principles of the scientific method and furze hand observation.
Try as I may, I cannot in good faith deny
or refute what I myself witnessed. Calling whatever we discovered
God may prove a bit remedial or inaccurate, but there
is no denying it. We found something. Science has at
times become the sort of monolithic and infallible institution, one
that suffers from the ostracization of fringe concerts that fail
to breach the egotistic blockade. It is all too often
wielded as a trump card to negate all that doesn't
assimilate to the prevailing narrative. Too often outlandish claims are
torn asunder because no metrics exist to properly digest them.
For all the good has brought, science is still not
and will never be, an absolute. Nothing is absence of
proof is not proof of absence. And what happened out
there in that lab deep below the frozen streets of
Stockholm now stands as a testament in my life to
all the venture as humanity is yet to embark upon.
It serves as an anchor, and if ever I find
myself drifting away into the blissful seas of cognitive dissonance,
it is there to remind me how small a naive trulium.
I graduated from UCLA with the bachelors in physics, and
an incredible opportunity landed in my lap. One of my
professors had put in a good word for me, and
I was contacted by a lab out of Stockholm and
offered an internship. They were apparently impressed with mathesis, which
delve into the topical string theory and mathematic application to
universal process. I of course accepted the offer without a
moment's hesitation. From there, I approuded my Californian lifestyle to
move halfway around the world to the frigid north of Sweden.
I was not prepared for the cold. Most of my
summers were spent in a bikini, frolicking on the sandy
beaches of Santa Monica and lounging in the sun. Sweden
might as well have been another planet. Temperatures would plummet
to a born chilling negative thirty in the winter. Luckily
for me, though, at a marvelous host family who helped
me a climate myself and integrate into Valhalla. I was
brought on to the team and slowly began the arduous
process of melting into the group. They were all incredibly
kind and welcoming, but still the feeling of being woefully
auclassed by my colleagues was thickest har pitch. The project
consisted of over fifteen men and women, all of them
among the best of world had to offer. They hail
from Germany, Japan, Poland, Hong Kong, South Korea, and many
other sovereign states. It was a melting pot of some
of the greatest minds the world had to offer. Seeing
them in their element and marveling at the way their
minds hurtled thas nine topics to day l straight to
the cortex of reality was altogether incredible and more than
a little intimidating. The express goal of the coalestion was
to study the behaviors of particles in the subatomic realm
to further decode the complex world of theoretic energy matrices.
By extension, the group also allotted the sources to develop
tools for observing and decoding quantum entanglement hypotheses in the
aforementioned string theory. These principles were still in their infancy
at the time, and none of us could have ever
imagined the enormous magnitude of the things that were to come.
The lab had its very own particle accelerator, which I
myself pretty much obsessed over from day one. Most of
the concrete data, however, was relied from the lab in Geneva,
home of the large Hadron collider. I'd even got to
see the magnificent machine in person on a few occasions.
One thing that has always staggered me is the amount
of incredible achievements capable in pursuit of knowledge guides the way. However,
the complete polar opposite is also true, as curiosity without
empathy or too often yields crimes against humanity. As you
may already know, the Large Hadron Collider was the first
machine capable of synthesizing the particle known as the Higgs boson.
The machine is a particle acceler or built in a
twenty seven kilometer loop. It uses a state of perpetual
vacuum and temperature colder than that at a space to
accelerate particles to nineteen nine percent the speed of light.
The particles collide with one another, creating spectacular bursts of
radiation and results the rise to be similar to that
of the Big Bang on a much smaller scale. It
is also through this process that the infamous Higgs bosson
can be synthesized. Some call it the God particle, but
many physicists are not fond of the omnipotent moniker. It
is in a way suitable, though, as it is ubiquitous
and conspontaneously manifest or to materialize through processes which are
not yet entirely understood. It is a sort of bridge
between matter and antimatter, the entity that binds the ethereal
with the corpore reel. It is the place between light
and dark, hard to define, as one's light and shadow
begins and vice versa. The exact moment of intersection is
difficult to pinpoint, but there is a definitive moment, and
that moment is the Higgs bosson. It was once thought
that matter could only exist in one place at a time. However,
the particle slit test of our progenit has proved otherwise.
A particle accelerator is used to eject protons between one
of two microscopics. They naturally assumed the protons would passed
through either slit or slit B, and when directly observed,
their premise was corroborated. However, when an imprint background was
installed by Past Director Division, they noticed a peculiar detail.
The particles produced what is known as a wave or
interference pattern, and the imprint like ripples in a pond.
This meant that the particles were interfering with themselves whilst
simultaneously passing through both and neither of the slits. It
was at first thought to be a false negative and
an outried impossibility, but thousands of repeated experiments all reached
the same conclusion. There was no denying it any more.
Matter can exist in more than one place at a time,
and reality is also simply by perceiving it. The world
of particle physics is a strange one, and one which
we have only just begun to glimpse the majesty of.
At times, it may even require us to spend our
own limited human understanding of things to contemplate things beyond
our mind's comprehension. It was this idea which was the
tabernacle of all the group was trying to achieve, to
unravel the mysteries of the subatomic universe and better understand
reality itself. The group was funded exorbitantly and state of
the art equipment was provided from lavish donors from all
around the world. My contemporaries and I began to study
the processes again from square one. This consisted primarily of
monitoring the nature of protons and testing the same process
over and over adnossium. Progress was slow, and many failures
and errors were soon under our belts, but you can't
build a house without chopping down a few trees. It
took years to decode part of the formula, but eventually
we learned that the behavior of these particles could be
predicted under certain pretenses. They could also, to a certain extent,
be directed programmed to inhabit separate locations at the same time,
giving them the perceived ability to exist in two places
at once. In reality, though, it was morkin to a
transfer of localvia microscopic slits in the Higgs balsam. We
realized it was not a matter of traveling to but
instead traveling through through the fabric of space itself. With
electrical stimuli and coordinate base geosynchronization, one could manipulate these
particles to transfer locations faster than the blink of an eye.
The machine used was permitive compared to later iterations, but
its true potential was not lost on us for a moment.
Time went on and the technique was further refined, most
readily in the distance particles were able to be transposed.
It started as only a few nanometers, but eventually we
could transfer particle several feet. It was through this process
of blueprints for an entirely new type of machine were firstivised.
It was to be a machine unlike any before. Instead
of electrical stimula sent through circuits and wires, it was
transferred directly from one location to another wireless energy transposed
through space. This greatly improved computing capabilities and allowed the
machine to act much cricker than anything ever seen before.
Initial ideals for the machine was skeptical at best, but
as time went on the real significance of its potential
became apparent. When combined with a suitable processor and digital interface,
it soon began to coding, encryption, and translating mathematical ciphers
in a fraction of the time of anything seen before it.
It didn't stop there, though, With a binary converter, it
wasn't long before human physology itself was deciphered and converted
into convenient little anagrams and simplistic formulas. This soon gave
the machine ability to replicate human tissue and organs from
fetal stem cells. When given raw biomass, it could manufacture
duplicate heart while long one that was genetically indistinguishable from
that of the donor's DNA. On one occasion, the machine
even managed to regrow the arm of an ampuity war veteran.
Most of us thought it couldn't possibly work that the
nerve endings in the man's arms would be unable to
be resuscitated after so long. But after seventeen I was
in surgery when I saw the vet move as new
fingers for the first time after transplant and cell resuscitation,
and knew we had discovered something special. Disease and deformities
were also unlocked, able to be observed on a molecular
level and eradicated before gestation of virus or bacterial strain
could be genetically reprogrammed attack and destroy itself rather than
the hostage. B veeds, a black death, the common cold strep,
throat gonnery. None of them stood a snowball's chance in
hell against the unrival power of the machine. It could
even program human DNA to desire proportions, eliminating extra chromosomes
and restoring neural pathways to reverse and tropic cordative illnesses
like dementia and Parkinson's. Even pre birth conditions like cerebral
palsy and microcephaly were in the process of being all
but eradicated. It was just organic material eater. The machine
could take a block of carbon and alter its iceotopes
to create carbonmin is fourteen and illicit radioactivity. This proved
interesting for further power possibilities, as the machine demonstrated the
potential of creating its own fuel source. But there was
another more pertinent discovery. By rearranging the number of protons
in the atomic nucleus, the given elements atomic weight was
altered that by turning it into another element. Altogether, the
machine held the power to change the very building blocks
of the universe itself. It could turn copper into gold,
bramin into iodine. I think it was then that we
first realized the scope of what it was that we
had created. The applications with the machine seemed endless. It
could write books, clone living organisms, and alter the very
elements beneath our feet. It was the philosopher's stone, the
holy Grail, and the all seeing eye. In onet convenient
little package, the Dissex Machiner, the world's very first quantum
computer was born. One important distinction I would like to make.
Despite prevailing rumors that the quantum computer was not in
fact an AI, it had computing power which trumped almost
everything else on Earth. A thousand times over, and the
ability to perform almost any task given to it provided
the necessary accommodations were implemented. For this reason, it was
not allowed to make decisions for itself. Many of my
colleagues were justifiably nervous at the prospect of artificial intelligence,
somehow gaining sentience and going rampant with the power of
quantum manipulation. We really had no idea where our experimentation
would lead us, and so the decision was made early
on to prevent it from thinking on its own and
going all skyn It on us. The computer was a
beast of burden, happily doing any task given to it,
but it was us that held the reins. That was
when the bureaucrat at Troubles first began. A lot of
donors for the project, and even a few of my
fellow team members had their own ideas on how to
best utilize the machine. Every nation involved wanted it for
themselves and had their own vision on how best to
implement its capabilities. Several members of the coalition ended up
leaving the project or being our trait dismissed, promising to
return with the battalion of lawyers at their back. One
man was even caught attempting to smuggle data from the
LAP and detain to weight prosecution. The reigning project overseer
was also relieved of duty. In his place, doctor Henrik
Lungren assumed the role of director of Operations. Doctor Lundgren
is a dear friend and a brilliant mind. That's what
makes his fate lie so heavily on my heart. His
a tragedy were withel him. But I won't act as
though he wasn't responsible for stocking the flames. Lunker managed
to settle the group down and united divided faction of
scientists who all held their own agendas. He made the
executive decision to keep the computer in the hands of
the international team and continued to study it for optimum
replication and continued data analysis. All those who didn't abide
were dismissed or remove physically as the need arose. Lunggren
had toiled for years and the development of the machine's
virtual capabilities and decided it best to invest more heavily
into it. It took months of development, but soon a
fully functional SIMSUS program was up and running. It was incredible.
The simulation was modeled to be an exact carbon copy
of our own world and held all the coordinating pieces
within it, all the people, animals, and nations. Augmented control
apparatus were then developed to allow us the ability to
view the computer's creation firsthand. The simulation it created was
so viscule that none could even perceive that they were
in a simulation at all. Test subjects were exposed to
their own loved ones within the programme and could not
distinguish them from their real life counterparts. I even took
a firstpin a few times. I was hooked up to
the monit of our neurocordex interface and had my mind
rendered into the simulation. I woke to the sites of
sunlight peeking through my blinds and the sounds of cars
outside around me. On the walls were posters of Harry Potter, Jojo,
and the ex Files, among countless others. I recognized immediately
where I was. It was my childhood home, an apartment complex,
and Sacramento. My parents were both there, enacted in accordance
to how they would behave in real life. My dad
even made new corny jokes in a fashion that suited
his personality. It wasn't a memory, though, It was an
entirely newscenario concocted by my mind and the quantum simulation.
My parents are both to cease in the real world,
and getting to spend time with them againa was indescribable.
Even if they were just simulations, the experience was profoundly
cathartic for me. I ended up leaving the simulation in tears,
overwhelmed by the experience and the ability to speak with
my pas errants once again. The event was so enlightening
for me. It even made dealing with their absence a
little easier. After all, I could now speak to them
any time I wanted. I found myself never wanting to
leave the matrix. Doctor Lundgren subsequently questioned me about my experience,
and I was all too happy to relate the things
I had seen. He listened intently, with simple occasional nods
and one were of responses. His gray face wore smile
and cheeks dimpled in delight, but his eyes were far
from the present m worried. We held a meeting with
all staff members some time after. Lundgren stood and paced
in front of the group, silent and lost in thought.
When he did finally speak, he held our undivided attention.
He walked through all that our little group had managed
to accomplish, and all the things we had learned on
our journey, all the miracles unraveled and translated into digital coding,
and all the advancements made. It was not a triumphant voice, however,
it was somber, as if none of it truly mattered.
He then first proposed his theory. Here we were with
an entire simulated universe at the tips of our fingers,
a digital reality created and maintained by my machine. We
had built a simulation that was so authentic that no
one could tell it apart from reality itself. And if
we had the power to create that, how did we
know that our own universe was not the result of
the same process. How did we know our reality was not?
In fact? Just as simulation and a nerving silence befell
the rest of the group as Lungern concluded his epiphany,
all an attendant seemed to silently contemplate the idea, but
the noticeably nervous or are now lingering. There wasn't much
said after that, but there didn't need to be. We
had an entirely new goal. Upon returning to work. The
following day, I immediately noticed that several of our colleagues
had abandoned the project without so much as good bye.
Only seven of us remained, among which was the prestigious
Henrik Luncerun. He was changed, though, his upbeede optimism and
inquisitive attitude devoted to an impatient, ghibbering wreck of a man.
He became hostile to prolong questioning, and I could see
the idea on his mind as he walked the tight
tripe between madness and genius. At times he appeared in
the verge of catatonic psychosis. He would ramble and talk
to himself and pretty much stop leaving the laboratory altogether.
We set our sights on a new task to dismantle
and test the hypothesis of Lungern, to develop an ability
to break through the boundaries of our suspected simulation and
pe beyond our own reality to glimpse whatever may lie
on the other side. Nothing else seemed to matter any more.
By that point life may be accidental consciousness too, and hell,
even complex organisms like human beings are the result of
genetic evolution and a bit of luck. However, simulation is
not accidental. It requires an immense amount of dedication, programming, logistics,
not to mention power and maintenance. The ability to synthesize
digital world is not something learned or accomplished by accident.
It takes time, resources, and brain powery even attempt it,
and even then it's no guarantee. The one concept that
was off the table immediately was that the theorist simulation
was the result of a natural or phenomenon or randon
cosmic alignment of Lunggren's hypothesis was correct in our universe
was indeed an illusion, then some one or something had
to be pulled in the strings behind the veil. Powerful
as the quantum computer was, even it did not have
the ability to glimpse directly into higher dimensions as stated before,
to commands only from us, and could only perform tasks
which we could coherently articulate to it. We realized rather
early that directly viewing outside the boundaries of the universe
was likely not possible. The only option was to send
a message through imedial experimentation. In dozens of ponderous sleepless nights,
we finally had a breakthrough. Our reality is based on laws,
laws of motion, laws of attraction, laws of physics. These
laws cannot be broken accidentally, but with quantum technology they
can be manipulated. Many believe that intelligent extraterrestrials were first
alluded to humanity when the atomic bonds fell on Hiroshima
and Negasaki. iOS was essentially the same idea, demonstrating that
we had the capability to toil with the quantum world
in hopes of eliciting a response from a higher being.
If we could break or bend one of these laws
of reality, then perhaps the supposed orchestrator would be compelled
to respond. One of the early discoveries we made was
that of a concept of reverse time. Time is a
measurement of something that occurs, and without anything to observe,
time is meaningless. The concept only makes sense when in
the presence of matter. The two concepts of space and
time are coterminous, like light and dark or hot and cold,
one does not exist without the other. Where there is
space is time, and where there is time, there must
be space. The opposite of matter is not nothing but
anto matter. A true nothing is avoid of anything substantial
does not exist. It cannot exist based upon the nature
of existence, itself. Anti matter is the invisible material that
operates unseen and fills all the gaps that matter does not,
all of it held together by the Higgs boson. If
an opposite of matter exists, then an opposite of time
must as well. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction,
and all reactions must remain proportional to false exerted. By
utilizing the quantum computer, we had the ability to send
protons back in time sort of. We could make them
exist where they once had not before by using dark energy,
matrice eased and particle superpositioning to make them exist in
two places at once. The discovery had actually been made
some time earlier, but never officially tested. It was restricted
and marked as unburgable. As many of our patients were
rightfully concerned by the prospect of an intentionally altering the past.
Doing so could create a butterfly effect and recavoc upon
the present. We were told vehemently that the reverse time
expert imtation was forbidden, but now we had a legitimate
reason to take interest. It took some convincing on our end,
but eventually we were successful when we promised to unveil
the greatest discovery yet the parameters were set within the
computer and the lab was prepped for the operation. A
single seed of Diantus carrierphulus was placed in a transparent
reinforced container in the center of the room. The specimen
was placed on damp brezen paper, and several little green
tendrils had sprouted from mitchell. The idea was to reverse
the test subject symbiotic metabolism and cause it to rapidly
revert to a zygote state. Seed would be directed to
perform its life cycle backward at by contradicting the natural
forward flow of life and time. The parameters were finished
and Lungern stood by the machine. He glanced to each
of us individually, a sullen demeanor and never strinkle in
his eye. He looked to me less, and I nodded.
Lundgren took a deep breath, adjusted his glasses, and flipped
the switch. Immediately, the tendrils within the sea began to retract.
They disappeared within the shells soon after, and the sea
trunk until the point in which it was no longer visible.
The computer alerted us that the task came been completed,
and silence descended upon the crew. We stayed that way
for several seconds, until a commotion from the computer drew
our attention. An array of flickering lights and sirens began
to well like banshees, indicating an arrow of some sort. Suddenly,
the seed reappeared and began to grow at an impossible rate.
A mass of wriggling green tendrils erupted from the shell
and pressed firmy against the case. Within seconds, it swelled
within and the chamber violently ruptured a moment later, sending
shods of glass catapulting throughout the room. I managed to
duck away just in time, but others in the group
were not so lucky. One man, Reginald Diabeck, was struck
with a shard in the neck. The piece cut a
gash across his throat, causing a thick crimson to spill
forth from his gullet. He collapsed to the ground as
others began to rush to his aid. Before we could
reach him, the engorged serpentine appendages of the seed and
snared him, slithering around his neck an abdomen. Di iabet
gurgled and terror filled his eyes as the green bathonic
groups began to constrict him. I watched at a loss
for words. As the wind sealed, his gray hair turned
to a dark brown. The wrinkles on his forehead and
bags below his eyes dessolved into his skin in a
matter of seconds. The black heads and liver spots on
his cheeks soon followed suit. All of us watched, stupefied
as the process continued onward, and Diabec appeared to age backward.
Dia Beeca to have been nearly sixty years old, but
in a matter of moments he appeared as though he
was a young man in his early thirties. He then
went young adult, then juvenile, then teenager. Thabec screamed in
terror as his voice cracked from a gruff rasperitone to
a high pitch, propubescent shriek. His body shrunk in his clothes,
and his extremities retracted within his coat. By the time
we had reached him, he was gone. We didn't have
time to gok as our stupor was interrupted by the
computer blaring a warning siren and a flickering pletho of
lights designated an external problem of some sort. The display
was a fair safe design to protect the computer from
malicious outside sauces. Most of us thought the firewalls of
the Quantum computer were enough to prevent any attemptied breach,
but apparently we were wrong. One of my colleagues scrambled
to the kill switch. He was poised to throw it
when he was halted by a sudden shout from lungern
under and stood, eyes wide as dinner plates and mouth
agape as he stared at the main monitor of the computer.
The warning display had ceased and only a single screen
remained active. Upon it was displayed a single loading bart
with approximately twenty percent of it being filed in. This
indicated only one thing, something was being downloaded. We immediately
surmised that it must be of virus or utter malware
of some sort, a prospect once thought impossible based on
the security measures of the computer, and yet the download persevered.
All attempts made to restrict the download and hauled as
progress proved futile. We exchanged nervous glances with one another,
torn on whether to pull the plug and save our
creation from hostile insurgents or allow it to continue to
whatever ends. The call was eventually made by the investors
outside the room, who had since been notified of the development.
They demanded powerb cat and the machine be saved. A
computer represented a colossal investment, and the cost to repair
replace it if any damage were to ensue was not
something taken lightly. The grudgingly lungern followed orders and commanded
shutown protocol. It was done straight away, but the machine
did not power down. It continued impossibly and without a
direct power source sustaining it. Panic began to erupt from
the lap and power to the entire facility. It was
ordered to be cut from the mainframe. It was done
within seconds, and the room fell into darkness. The only
light that remained was that of the main monitor. As
the download reached the half remark, the computer crone and
word under enormous dress. As hundreds of fan shot to
life to attempt to call the Leviathan machine, we sit back,
unable to make heads or tails of the development. There
was simply no possible weight a machine should have remained active,
and yet it was. It continued to fill up the
progress bar powered by the fuel of some unknown outside source.
With no other viable solutions at hand, barring physical destruction
of the computer itself, we could do nothing but await
the combination. The download finished several minutes later, and the
room fell into pitch black. We deliberated for a moment
before deciding our only recourse was to power up the
computer once again. The mysterious file weighed in it an
impressive one hundred thousand turbites, enough to fill hundreds of
normal hard drives, but just another drop in the ocean
for the quantum computer. Once formability was a chief, a
single never before seen prompt filled the screen a known
file type. Do you wish to execute the file? All
attempts made to buy pastor PROMP failed. We quickly used
a separate program on another screen to trace the file's origin,
but to no avail. Now there is no hiding from
a quantum computer behind a proxy or VPN. It uses
an algorithm based process combined with a ping response speed
to determine probable origin up to an accuracy of nineteen
nine point ninety nine percent, where talking response time measured
in millions of a second. But for a quantum computer,
it's as simple as the A B C. Sure it
gets it wrong once in every million attempts, but the
point is it always has a guess. This time, however,
we received a new message, unable to determine file origin,
Lundgren took a step back and pondered the situation and
wiped the beads of glistening swept from his brow. With
nothing else at our disposal, he realized there was only
one option left, and so he gave one last command Opene.
The computer began to render the file, the process taking
several minutes to complete. It was entirely in binary code
and eventually translated to a single message upon completion, two
words in whitefaunt sat silently amidst a black background. I
never thought two simple words could have such lasting effects
on MISSIKEI. Those two words have made me question everything
I thought I ever knew. The computer fizzled out moments
later and shut down. All this just kind of left.
After that, I returned home, overwhelmed by the events, and
left with a mystic sense of terror still deep in
my stomach. The following morning, I was called by one
of the investors. He informed me that some one had
broken into the lab late the previous night and sabotasiti operation.
The lab was lt ablaze and soon reduced to a small,
dering pile of ash, and a quantum computer was damaged
beyond repair. Whoever had done it possessed a security corward
and seemed to note the exact process required to dismantle
the automatic sprinkler system. Police held a single suspect in custody,
a man who appeared as an erotic mess in the
center of a moniical nervous breakdown. He was tried and
convicted some time later and declared clinically insane. He was
ordained to a mental health facility in northern Sweden, and
it is there that he remains to disday. That man's
name Henrik Lundgren. I've never been able to properly assess
just what it was that happened that day. The event
has left me shaken and confused in more ways than
I could possibly list. I don't suppose I'll ever be
whole again. I just can't be. I know the truth
the reason for our meager existence. We had reached up
far beyond and something had answered our call. Whether or
not it was truly what we would call God, I
cannot possibly say, but I will say after what I
saw happened to Diebeck and what became of Lungerin, I
can't think of a better word for it. I think
God is something we never could have imagined. It holds
us all within the palm of its hand, and with
a simple flick of the wrist we would cease to be.
There is no love, there is no salvation. There is
only that which lies beyond the margins of reality, that
which we have no possible hope in understanding, let alone combating.
One thing is also certain. It is watching us, and
it does not want as meddling in what we have
no business. E. We are set amidst a notion of
infinite black seas, and it was not meant for us
to travel far. That final message could not have been clearer.
And any time I find myself drifting, I remember those
two simple words, relayed by the quantum computer in its
last moments of life, turned back