Volunteers

The knob was turned once more.

The volunteer waited for something to happen, but nothing did.

There was a slight pause as people read information on screens and other devices.

– Nothing’s happening. Why isn’t anything happening?

No one had an answer.

The volunteer considered that everything could have worked, and this could indeed be a simulated reality, but then why was there continuity from the outside world and why were there still memories?

Someone was tracing cables and somebody else was already calling other staff to make sure all the machines had power.

– Everything seems to be plugged in.

On the other side of the room, others were trying something else.

– I’m trying to run some commands and they’re not working.

– People, talk to me. What is going on?

The volunteer was now considering that perhaps there was no continuity, perhaps there were no memories from the outside world, perhaps everything in this simulation was, indeed, simulated.

Could all those memories have been implanted? Could everything already be a lie? If so, how long would it take until somebody pulled the plug and the simulation ended?

Close to the door, the controller was going through some rather philosophical questions: who was to say that the volunteer was the real volunteer? Or whether the simulation was about to begin or had indeed begun or had perhaps begun days or years before?

The knob was turned once more.

The volunteer waited for something to happen, but nothing did, again.

Nothing, inside the simulation.

Outside, in a very different room, an alarm would go off with the turn of the knob, and everyone pondered what could happen each time the message was heard:

– Recursive simulation is not allowed.