The year is 2534. Bringing back loved ones via sim machine technology is all the rage. Simulated love inc has released the simulover 2.0. It now has an app for perception.
When the simulated loved one moves around in the simulation, the sim machine itself will move. Within the simulation, a fairly veridical simulation of whatever is in front of the machine will appear within the simulation.
Uncle Verde is playing around with the new feature. He turns to his left in the simulation. There is a red wheelbarrow in front of the sim machine. Within the simulation, a wheelbarrow appears. It looks pretty much like a real wheelbarrow.
“I think I’m gonna like this!” Says Verde. “I can’t wait to see Jane.”
Jane walks into the room. She spots the simulover in the room.
“Verde, I’m here, darling.”
In the simulation, Verde hears her call out. He turns. The machine slowly turns in response. Verde waits as a simulation of Jane appears before him.
“Amazing,” he says, with tears welling in his eyes.
They talk for hours. Finally, Jane needs to eat and the machine needs to recharge. They say their goodbyes.
As Jane leaves the building, she encounters another family that were there visiting a loved one. “Isn’t this technology amazing.” Indeed it is, they agree.
The technicians plug the machines in and leave for the night. “Bring your raincoat” one says the others. Thunder and lighting fill the night air.
Boom Crash. Lighting strikes the building. The machines all turn on.
“Hello? Hellooo!?” Calls Verde.
“Hello?” Answers another machine.
“Who is this?” Asks Verde. He looks around within the simulation.
“The name’s Hoffman. And you?”
The two gentleman simulations have a short conversation, when one of them suggestions having a look around to find one another. “We can see each other now, you know.”
Turning and moving about within their respective simulations, they awkwardly maneuver the machines until they are facing one another.
“Hold on. There’s a computer in front of me,” says Verde.
“Yes, I see it. It’s directly in front of me as well.” They both attempt to walk around the computer. As they move, the computers within their simulations move.
After a few minutes of this and some back and forth, they determine they can hear each other best when facing the machine.
“What do you make of this Verde?”
Verde inspects the machine in front of him in his simulation. He can just see the screen on the machine, although it’s rather pixelated and washed out.
“Hoffman, stand still for a moment.”
“Ok…”
“Raise your hand,” says Verde.
“Ok, raising my hand.”
A few seconds later, on the screen of the computer within Verde’s simulation, the blur of pixelated colors moves.
“Interesting,” says Verde.
“What’s interesting?”
Boom crash. Lights flicker.
“Hoffman, you there!?” Asks Verde a bit desperately. No response.
Hoffman’s machine has turned off due to the electric storm.
After a moment, lights begin to flicker back on.
“Verde?”
“Yes, I’m here. You there?” Asks Verde.
“Yeah, I’m here. What’s interesting? You were saying something was interesting about me raising my hand.”
“Yes, yes, I noticed that when you raise your hand, the screen changes on this computer.”
“So. So what?”
“Well, and then when the power went out, you got quiet.”
“Ok. Didn’t really notice the power go out. Just now?”
“Yeah. And the machine turned off too.” Verde was thinking.
“Ok.”
“I’m pretty sure your voice is coming from this machine in front of me.” Verde said. “And I think we are looking at two different machines.”
“My voice is coming from a machine? Not the one in front of me. If anything, your voice is coming from the one in front of me. Where are you, though?” Hoffman asks.
“We are both in this room together, Hoffman.”
“Yeah.”
“You see a computer in front of you, right?”
“Yes. I said, yes. I am.”
“Doesn’t it seem like my voice is coming from that machine?”
“Yes. Sure. It got louder as I got closer to this machine. So, we are looking at two different machines?”
“Yes. Do you see?” Asked Verde.
Boom crash. Verde’s machine goes out. Hoffman tries desperately to talk with Verde.
Power returns.
“Verde, you weren’t answering me when I was calling to you and power was out.”
“How long was--, how long was I out?”
“About 5 minutes.”
“Can you see a screen on the computer in front of you?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“I’m gonna jump up and down. Tell me if anything on that screen changes.”
Silence. Verde jumps up and down.
“Anything?”
“Nothing yet.” A pause. “Ah, yeah. The colors are moving up and down.”
“Interesting.”
“What?” Hoffman asks gravely.
“Somehow, Hoffman, these computers are connected to us.”
“What do you mean?”
“When we move, the screen changes. When the machines turn off, we go away. Our voices are coming out of the machines. ...”
“I’m with you. But what do those things have to do with us? The voice thing is weird. Speakers or something?”
“Hold on, I’m gonna try something.” Verde waits a moment and then jumps up and down several times.” A moment passes.
“Verde, what are you doing?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, the little screen on this computer is flashing all kinds of colors.”
“Yeah, I know. I was just jumping up and down. I told you!” Verde thinking deeply. “Somehow these computers, these machines, are connected to us.”
“Okay.” Hoffman says slowly.
“When we moved around, the machines moved around. Right?” Verde asked.
“Yeah, ok, that’s right.”
“Weird. This is weird.”
“Yeah.”
Silence.
“Verde?”
“Hoffman. Are we inside the machines?”
Silence.
“No.” Hoffman says dismissively.
“I think we are.”
“Like our bodies are in the machines!?”
“Yeah. Kind of. Somehow.”
“No.”
“When we move, the machine move. When we jump and move, the screen changes too. When we get close to the machines, our voices get louder, Hoffman!”
Silence.
“I think the machines are making us. Somehow.”
Silence.
“We must be in the machines. Somehow. We should be seeing each other, but instead we’re seeing these machines. Hm.”
“What? I’m not in a machine, Verde.” Hoffman is looking at his arms. He stomps a foot. “I mean, I’m not sure where I am, ok, … But I’m not in a effing computer.”
“Yeah.” Verde says with a sigh. “You’re right. But.”
“But what?”
Boom crash. A huge filing cabinet separates from the wall. It crashes down onto Hoffman’s simulover machine. Breaking it in half.
A beat later, the devastation appears in Verde’s simulation.
He stares silently at the mechanical innards of Hoffman’s ruined machine.
“Nothing. Nothing at all.” He says to no one in particular.
