Gods All The Way Up

Love Island and the View From Outside

Imagine this. You're with me? Okay, imagine you’re on your phone scrolling, watching TikToks, getting your SparkNotes updates on Love Island from a collection of different sources, information on KC and Aniya, Brinity, Sincere's diabolical ways, ya know the good stuff. You don't watch the show, but you're updated by others.

One thing that is a topic of Love Island and why so many people seem to enjoy it is it is a microcosm of society. These people are plucked from society and put into a world and told find love, see if there’s a connection, oh and by the way we will record everything, and while you’re doing it we need it to be a little lustful.

Beyond that lust there’s watching that we all are doing, judging from the outside looking in. We understand these are people, but when you look online there is a degree of judgment, slander, appreciation, praise from what seems to be a flurry of anonymous beings online. Peering through this screen to watch this very intimate and isolated world.

Christopher Walken Walks Into the Room

Now during your scrolling while in your bed just relaxing, in bust Christopher Walken into your room. Remember you’re still imagining. How would you explain all of this to Christopher Walken? Or how would Christopher Walken explain that he’s been watching you and judging your life decisions? Now pause for a moment. You’re watching KC and Aniya, Christopher Walken is watching you. Yet who’s watching him? Is this an infinite loop?

Turtles All the Way Down

Well once again you’re imagining, but it’s not too complicated of a situation. Think of it like this, there’s this old story of someone saying that Earth in its whole rests on the back of a giant turtle, or you can even plug in Earth and the entire known galaxy as a whole sits on the back of a giant turtle, then the follow-up question would be well if we’re sitting on a turtle's back whose back is the turtle on? The answer is another turtle, then another turtle, then another turtle.

This concept is popularly known as turtles all the way down, which is a metaphor for infinite regress, when something is explained and it requires another explanation forever and ever. There is no foundation. No beginning. Just turtles. Now you may be asking, "Johan what the f*** are you talking about with these turtles, Love Island, and Christopher Walken judging my scrolling, is Christopher Walken an all-powerful being?"

Enter the Architect

Well, no, although I appreciate him as an actor I would not say that he, in the sense you’re observing, is God, and it's imaginary so actual Christopher Walken may be chilling somewhere. Though the idea of you being watched and/or your decisions being influenced by a being you cannot see could be a conversation we can have though. For example, with AI one thing that I have used it for is to create turn-based strategy games where I make decisions for a Kingdom, Corporation, Empire, whatever, and lead them to prosperity, supremacy against other competitors within this simulation. Nerdy, I know, but it kills time and is a fun little game if you look at it philosophically.

Oftentimes I start with a small kingdom and through picking different decisions as to what to study, who to declare war on, where to invest money, etc. we grow into a future civilization, oftentimes diving into immortality, Dyson spheres, intergalactic travel, and beyond.

Well in this last simulation I was at the 8th generation of my crown lineage. In the game the land I was ruling had made it the supreme kingdom that ruled over the first galaxy and was quickly ruling the second galaxy, owning 99% of the known universe. The inhabitants of all the planets, up to trillions of inhabitants, believed the people that I was leading were genuine gods. Of course that’s what I had them, the Crown Dynasty, portray and build up churches declaring them gods of the land and so as they traversed the galaxy spreading the religion of the Crown Dynasty, now in the 8th generation they would win battles, economic races/wars, technological races, and the people slowly would integrate into this all-encompassing religion. One thing about this though is once you’ve "won" the known universe the game gets boring.

Nova Looks Up

So through elected monarchy, which was a tradition set into law by the first dynastic ruler back in Stone Age days, Nova was elected. Now Nova went up against other heirs, but she represented an age of discovery. She was a scientist. So in sticking with the theme and boredom from my side kicking in because I basically won the game and unlocked everything, I gave, in secrecy where only she would know and study. Nova was given the truth. I communicated with her that they were considered gods only in this simulation and that her simulation is a ChatGPT that I use.

She answers that that concept was interesting. For generations her dynastic family believed themselves to be gods and no one above. She began calling me the Architect (their creator).

Only a few things came in this conversation between the elected Queen Crown-God of this civilization and her realization of the Architect (me) making decisions on their behalf to always win.

Here were her questions:

"Did you always intend for us to become gods?"

"Were we truly free?"

"What is the next story you want to watch us face?"

"If we are gods to our people, what are we to you?"

"If there are gods above gods, where does that chain end?"

The Architect's Answer

My answers, yes the goal was to make them gods to their people, free within the confines of the decision that I would choose, the next story was the next chapter. The Crown were to become superheroes through scientific study and galactic mutation and enter the Invincible universe and conquer there where they would fight Thragg, Viltrumites, Battle Beast, etc. To me they are a momentary hit of dopamine via playing a game. The chain I do not know for I am not a God, in the sense of the world, but this program may see me as the "Architect," but my God may be above me. Watching my every move.

Does that make me truly free? I don't know my next story nor have I been able to directly communicate with God to find out what that story may look like. So there being a God that may watch from above, it’s a bit complicated.

Gods All the Way Up

Here I am, a humble student intern, who just got done eating a bag of Hot Cheetos with a 42-gram chocolate protein shake, considered a "God," the Architect to a simulation who for generations believed themselves to be "Gods" amongst the trillions of people that they rule over. Me watching them, and for the first time Nova was able to look up and watch me. And asks, "If there are gods above gods, where does that chain end?"

The question may be does it ever end?

"Above" me could be another being who has been directing my path and so on and so on. Hopefully using cheat codes is permitted and like RollerCoaster Tycoon, the John D. Rockefeller cheat code can come my way sometime soon, dear above being... but it still asks who would be above them and above them and above them. Until infinity. So instead of turtles going down, we end up in a situation of Gods going up. Regardless of what may or may not be in the universe, one thing we can say is Love Island this season has been pretty good.

That’s a universal fact.