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Simulation Universe 1: "The 13th Floor"

Writer's picture: Arda EşberkArda Eşberk

"The likelihood of us living in the real world is one in billions!" Elon Musk


While the 1999 film "The Matrix" stirred debates about life being a simulation or virtual reality, there is another film that has gone unnoticed, "The 13th Floor"!


Directed by Joseph Rusnak, "The 13th Floor" takes its name from the 13th floor of a skyscraper in Los Angeles. Our protagonists, Hannon Fuller and his colleague Douglas Hall, have created a virtual world on this floor in a computer environment. This simulation, designed as an exact replica of 1937 Los Angeles, allows people to enter and exit the virtual world. Similar to someone preparing to fall asleep, the person who wants to enter the virtual world lies down in the cabin of the device, and through rays, information from the program is transferred to their brain, causing them to open their eyes in 1937. Unlike someone in a dream, the person is aware that they are in a virtual world, experiences sensations such as the coolness of water and the breeze outside, and feels emotions such as fear and excitement just like in real life. When Hannon is murdered, our hero embarks on a journey in the virtual world to solve the mystery. Likewise, the life of Douglas, who connects to the system in 1999 Los Angeles, is nothing more than a specially designed computer program. Because in reality, the year is 2024, and all the events he experienced are part of a simulation created in 2024, replicating 1999 Los Angeles.


So, what if we are also in a simulation in 2018 Turkey? What would you do if you realized that everything you thought was real is actually a computer program? Let's try to explore the answers to these questions in the light of religion and science. Perhaps by following the traces left by Hannon, we can realize our own reality...


Starting our journey in time and space in India, according to Indian philosophy, everything is part of an infinite game called "Leela" between the God Sada Shiva and his wife Adi Shakti. This dance between "Shiva and Shakti" is not unfamiliar to us! In the struggle between the "Oracle and the Architect" in the movie "The Matrix," the Wachowski Brothers tried to explain this infinite game to us! According to the Vedas, the oldest sacred texts known as the Vedas, everything in the universe is just a dream of God Brahma. Everything we think is real is Maya, an illusion. In the same geography, there is a beautiful story about this:


Thousands of years ago in India, Wise King Janaka once dreamed that he was a beggar. When he woke up, he told his Guru Vasishta about this dream and asked, "Am I a king who dreams of being a beggar, or a beggar who dreams of being a king?" The Guru smiled and replied, "You are neither and both. You are what you think you are, but you are actually none of them..."


Continuing our journey through time and space, when we come to our own geography, we encounter similar information. In Anatolia, Mevlana says, "The life of this world is nothing but a dream. Being wealthy in this world is like finding treasure in a dream..." Prophet Muhammad says, "People are asleep, they will wake up when they die..." Plato, with the "Allegory of the Cave," expresses that we live in a world of shadows.


The person who brought this issue to the modern agenda with the article "Are You Living in a Computer Simulation?" and inspired by Elon Musk is Oxford University Philosophy Professor Nick Bostrom. Inspired by this hypothesis, Elon Musk has made bold statements such as saying that we are all characters in a computer simulation at a symposium he attended. He said: "40 years ago, there was a game called pong on game consoles. 40 years later, now we are making 3D simulations in photo-realistic graphics, online video games that millions of people play simultaneously, and this is developing every year. At this rate, we won't be able to distinguish games from reality. If we follow this logic, our chances of living in the real world are one in billions."


If we are in a simulation, can we talk about free will? Is it possible to see signs of living in a simulation in daily life? What answers does cinema art give to these questions? Let's discuss the answers to all these questions and more information about past events in our August article!

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