Novel: "When We Were Real" by Daryl Gregory
Searching simulated saints share sincere speculations.
"It's interesting to think that Jesus Christ lived in a simulation and didn't mention it to us." – Sister Janet
The idea that the world we observe with our senses is not the "most real" world is not new. From Plato comparing this world to a cave where we only see shadows cast from a higher plane, to Descartes considering if he would know if an evil demon was using his perceptions to deceive him into thinking the observed world was real, to the antics of Jim Carrey as Truman in The Truman Show whose whole life was an elaborate reality TV show, there is a tickling paranoia—or perhaps even hope—that the absurdity of our world results from it being an imperfect, lesser world compared to the "real" one.
But the idea that the world we observe is a computer simulation, perhaps most popularized by the Wachowskis in their Matrix movies, has become a matter of faith for a certain kind of person and in certain kinds of communities. Some scientists, including astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, take the possibility very seriously, suggesting we have about 50-50 odds of living in a simulation. Flip a coin. If it's heads, let's assume we're in the Matrix. Or maybe the simulators don't want us to know.
I don't know, man. In an expanding universe of infinite possibilities, I suppose we can't write this idea off. After all, programmers are almost able to create a simple, one-millimeter-long worm that "lives" in a simulation. It bears mentioning that, with some exceptions, it has been privileged, isolated men with lots of time to think who question the material reality of stuff and relationships.
When We Were Real distinguishes itself from other simulation thought experiments and worldviews by making it common knowledge to all the characters in the book that they live in a simulation. This frees the book from the burden of having to prove the premise to its characters and can instead explore the impacts this common knowledge has on their relationships, psychologies, spiritualities, and politics.
Seven years prior to the start of the book, the Simulators announced that the world is a simulation and set up physical Impossibles which defy the perceived laws of nature, such as a tornado that stands perfectly still.
People respond differently. Some try to prove it's a conspiracy by the government. Others assume that it's a Groundhog Day situation and that all memories are implants that give context to a single, repeating day. Others adopt the posture that they are the only "real" people, the protagonists of the story, and everyone else are soulless AIs or bots.
Gregory uses the premise of a road trip to mush these worldviews together in a bus and send them out to view the Impossibles. Of particular interest to me were the portions of the book that dealt with the experienced nun Sr. Janet, the novice nun Sr. Patrice, and Rabbi Zev. They ask the kind of questions you'd expect from people of faith who found out they live in a simulation. Is God here? Why didn't Jesus tell us it's a simulation? Should we worship the simulators?
These questions are fundamentally questions of apologetics, that is, making an argument for how God exists. As I age, I become less and less interested in apologetics. I'm not motivated to "prove" or "defend" God's existence. Partly, this is because I think apologetics tend to objectify God, as if we could understand God enough to prove God's existence. Partly, this is because apologetics are just so damn boring.
All the arguments have been made. Very few of them are good for the soul. Rather than theology as faith seeking understanding, as Anselm gave the traditional definition of theology, apologetics tend toward argument seeking control. This is not to say that we shouldn't use the gifts of language, reason, conversation, and debate to deepen our understanding of God, but, as Augustine said, "Si comprehendis, non est Deus." If you comprehend it, it's not God. Our theology is a striving after God, drawing nearer, but never capturing or controlling God. God doesn't play by our rules.
Much of the theological wrestling that the characters do in When We Were Real centers on these kinds of apologetic questions. If the characteristics traditionally assigned to God—such as omnipotence, omniscience, etc.—can be assigned to the Simulators, then aren't the Simulators God?
This line of questioning, while intellectually interesting, misses what I've come to see as the heart of faith. They aren’t that important. My faith is both apophatic and incarnational; that is, God is love and mystery, and God is revealed in fullness to humans in the person of Jesus Christ, who is "the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation (Colossians 1:15)." I know who God is through a collection of manuscripts about Jesus, a poor, first-century Palestinian Jew who lived on the edges of the Roman Empire and was executed by that empire. This Jesus emerged from a tradition that recounts a faithful God who is as immanent as transcendent. The Holy Spirit gave birth to the Church which testifies to the salvation accomplished by the faith of Christ, making it possible for us to love as God has loved us. These are matters of faith—I do not need to prove the existence of God, as love cannot be "proven." We see signs of love, but never love itself in its fullness.
God is good, and that is sufficient, regardless of what “layer” of reality I live in. I don't need to locate God. I don't even need to know if this life I'm living is "real" or not. It is enough for me that I've been freed from cycles and systems of sin and death, have been given a community that, at its best, bears witness to this love in the world, and trust that God is not inhibited by the parameters of this existence to draw this world into God's New Creation.
As one of the characters (a Groundhogger) says in the book, "Loop or not, how you treat others matters." Why would I worry if there's another, more real world? The word became flesh and dwelt among us. Christ draws us nearer to God through grace in this world.
When We Were Real can be purchased at this link. I will earn a small commission.