Simulation
09/09/2019
I put a plant in a simulation
I model the plant
Forward and back
The plant grows and shrinks
But the plant can’t tell
Because everything is normal
It grows in the sunlight
Blows in the wind
Drinks in the water
And wilts when it drys
A whole plant lifetime
Back and forth
It can’t tell
I put a mouse in a simulation
I model the mouse
Forward and back
I see the mouse move
But the mouse can’t tell
Because everything is normal
It burrows with its family
Gathers food and plays
Makes its babies
Grows and dies
A whole mouse lifetime
Back and forth
It can’t tell
I put you in a simulation
I model you
Forward and back
I see you move
Reliving the same thoughts
Reacting the same way
But you can’t tell
Because everything is normal
You’re born to your mother
Go to school, get a job
Have your own children
Watch them grow
Age and die
A whole human lifetime
Back and forth
You can’t tell
I stop the simulation
Turn it off
Throw it away
Time is over now
I’m not watching it at all
But that doesn’t seem to matter
You can’t tell
Everything is the same
Then I look around
And I see that it’s the same
What was already true to those inside
The simulation was a game
An approximation of something
That already exists
To those within that universe
Everything still persists
The simulation was arbitrary
For those inside
Time was their own
No machine needed to run it
No watcher had to see
The watchers of any consequence
Were those inside
That came to be