Does red lobster hire at 16

At Royal Rumble 2023, Asuka returned after a brief hiatus, sporting a deranged look reminiscent of her days as Kana. And since that point, the Empress of Tomorrow has solidified her powerful aura, winning the Elimination Chamber match and avenging her disappointing loss to Bianca at WrestleMania 39 by dethroning the EST at Night Of Champions. And while Asuka has been Raw Women’s Champion before, this time feels…different…
Monday Night Raw (5/29/23):
Following Night of Champions with the crowning of Asuka, it would appear the landscape of the women’s division has changed. While some individuals are surely eager to go after singles gold, this isn’t initially the case for the Way. In a backstage interview with Byron Saxton, Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell express their desire to go after the Women’s Tag Team Titles, only to be interrupted by the lunatic duo of Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville. Deville tries to get under the skin of the pairing, particularly LeRae, mocking her struggles to get victories as of late. However, Candice retorts that Sonya and Chelsea haven’t done anything either, their only actual success as a duo being making Adam Pearce question his own sanity. After a few more moments of bickering, Green tries to slap LeRae, but Hartwell blocks it for her, shoving Chelsea to the ground. Sonya shoves Indi back, and Candice in-turn attacks Deville, forcing several officials to have to separate things.
This results in a singles match later in the evening between Deville and LeRae, with Sonya trying to make an example out of the “Poison Pixie”. It’s a fairly back-and-forth encounter, with LeRae starting the match off hot, but Sonya is able to adapt, using her MMA background to her advantage with increasingly strong shots. However, as Sonya gains control, her emotions also start to fluctuate a bit. Rather than just go for the win at points, she decides to inflict further damage, regularly targeting the right arm in particular with a combination of stomps and armbars. However, the turning point of the match comes when Deville kneels down, once again looking to apply some type of submission hold…only for LeRae to transition it into the Garga-No Escape! While Sonya doesn’t submit, it gives her enough breathing room to mount a comeback, eventually hitting her signature springboard moonsault to finish things.
Candice LeRae def. Sonya Deville via pinfall
After the match, Candice and Indi take a moment to celebrate the win…BUT HERE COMES ASUKA! The Raw Women’s Champion is in the building, and she looks as maniacal as ever. She makes her way towards LeRae…and offers a handshake? Candice is definitely hesitant to accept, and for good reason, as when she starts moving her hand out…ASUKA HITS HER WITH A ROUNDHOUSE KICK! Indi tries to avenge her downed partner, but Asuka takes her out with a spinning backfist. The Empress moves back towards LeRae, staring at the injured right arm…AND SHE APPLIES A VICIOUS ARMBAR, SNAPPING IT IN THE PROCESS! Asuka eventually lets go, with Johnny Gargano and a medical official coming out to tend to LeRae while Adam Pearce wants to know what’s wrong with Asuka…to which she merely replies with a sinister smile…
Monday Night Raw (6/5/23):
About half-way through the show, Johnny Gargano comes to the ring, ready to give an update on his wife Candice LeRae. He says that while LeRae is unable to compete, it’s only for a short period of time, and the fracture to her arm was small enough as to where she won’t require surgery. However, Gargano also says that LeRae wanted him to pass along a message…which is why he’s calling out Asuka to the ring! On cue, the Empress comes out, looking at Johnny Wrestling with a curious look. Gargano says that once upon a time, he and his wife both had respect for Asuka’s accomplishments, especially her record-setting run in NXT. However, with the actions of last week, they no longer have those sentiments, and when LeRae returns from this set-back, she’s challenging you for that Raw Women’s Title! As Gargano says this, Asuka just begins giving a deranged laugh. No one in the arena knows what to make of this…until Asuka picks up a mic…to simply say…bye bye…
As Asuka makes her way to the ring apron, Gargano is left staring in confusion at what transpired…but suddenly, the lights go out! When they turn back on…a trio of masked men are destroying Johnny Wrestling! He tries to fight back, but he’s just overpowered, and left to be stomped on as Asuka just watches on from ringside, enjoying the carnage. The biggest of the three hits Gargano with a top rope splash, before what appears to be the leader hits…a wheelbarrow neckbreaker. As the individual hits this, Asuka comes back into the ring, standing alongside the figures. She whispers something to them, and they move their hand to the top of the masks, pulling them off to reveal…IT’S SAnitY! Eric Young, Alexander Wolfe, and Killian Dain are all back in WWE, and it appears they’ve aligned themselves with the Empress of Tomorrow. But the question left to be answered… Where is Nikki Cross in all of this?
Monday Night Raw (6/12/23):
In a backstage segment early in the show, the camera shows Nikki Cross backstage, alone and looking down, drowning in her own crazed thoughts…until Eric Young enters the shot. Cross raises her head, looking expressionless while a smile slowly creeps across the face of Young. He asks her…
“Won’t you join us?”
However, before Nikki can answer…HERE COMES JOHNNY GARGANO! He dives at Eric, looking to get revenge on one of the men who decimated him the week prior. He’s successful initially, but soon enough, Wolfe and Dain rush in, prying Johnny off Young and starting to beat him down. Luckily for Gargano, he came prepared, as he too has backup in the form of Dexter Lumis! SAnitY backs off as Dexter comes in with a steel chair, but not before Young mouths the words…This isn’t over…
Monday Night Raw (6/19/23): Johnny Gargano and Dexter Lumis vs. Eric Young and Killian Dain
With the tensions continuing to rise between the Way and SAnitY, it was inevitable they’d have to square off at some point, and Adam Pearce decides to see if a tag match can resolve this. The match starts off with Gargano and Young, Johnny Wrestling anxious to annihilate him while Young is more amused than scared. Johnny is able to get the upper hand initially, a superkick giving him the brief opportunity to then apply a Garga-No Escape. However, Killian Dain breaks up the hold by just hitting a Senton on Gargano’s back, a tactical maneuver to give Young the chance to gain control. However, Lumis enters the ring as well, grabbing Dain and trying to set him up for a side slam. However, Killian avoids it, and the pair move to the outside of the ring to brawl. By the end of the match, Gargano is weakened, but he’s still got the power of adrenaline on his side. He’s able to tag in for Lumis, getting in a flurry of offense against the big man Dain, including a pair of superkicks to knock him off his feet. However, as he goes for the One Final Beat, Young grabs his foot by the ring apron, preventing him from springboarding into the ring. Gargano’s able to kick him away, but when Johnny does go for the maneuver, Dain catches him, planting him in the center of the ring. He follows up on it with a splash from the top rope, with Young tagging in as he does so. And with Killian shoving Lumis off the apron, Young is able to hit the Wheelbarrow Neckbreaker to finish the match.
SAnitY def. Johnny Gargano and Dexter Lumis
After the match, Asuka makes her way to the ring, standing alongside SAnitY once again. She looks at the downed Gargano, now with a disgusted look on her face rather than an evil grin. She turns to Young, who nods and motions for Dain and Wolfe to pick Johnny up. But right before Asuka can seemingly hit him with the Mist…Here comes Nikki Cross! She rushes to the ring, sliding in and looking right at Asuka as she does so. Young walks up to her, asking her the question…
“Are you with us, Nikki?”
Cross stares at Young for a moment…then to Wolfe…then to Dain…then to Asuka. It’s to the Raw Women’s Champion that she gives the longest stare, Nikki’s eyes slowly growing wider and her expression becoming more intense. And with that, she mutters just a few words…
“You hurt my friends…she hurt my best friend… now she will pay.”
And with that, Cross dives onto Asuka, unleashing a flurry of strikes and catching everyone in the ring by surprise. However, Young pries Nikki off of the Empress, to which Cross responds by starting to attack him! However, it’s short lived, as Asuka runs up behind Nikki and drops her with a roundhouse kick. She quickly gets her locked in a crossface chickenwing as well, Nikki unable to escape and ultimately passing out. Before she fades, she’s left to only see the disappointed looks on the face of the SAnitY members…”You made the wrong choice Nikki”. But the attention soon shifts back to Gargano and Lumis now. They’ve slowly risen to their feet, and Gargano, looking directly at Young, demands another fight! Young sighs, seemingly bored at the prospect of SAnitY having to dismantle those two again…but it shall be done. However, before they can move in for the kill, we suddenly hear crashes echo throughout the arena. They happen for a few seconds, before the lights dim slightly. An unfamiliar melodic theme starts playing, sounding slightly reminiscent of that of a final boss, but as the lights turn back on, it changes back into the more recognizable song…
…NO ONE WILL SURVIVE! IT’S TOMMASO CIAMPA! After being on the shelf for months, he’s finally back, and as he gets into the ring, he looks at Johnny Gargano…there’s no shortage of history here. And while there’s a momentary tension as to what he’s gonna do, he sides with his former DIY partner, making it a more fair fight! Unfortunately, he doesn’t get the chance to lay into any of SAnitY, as they decide to make their exit, already having made a statement with the victory and assault on Asuka, nothing more needed to be done…tonight, at least.
Monday Night Raw (6/26/23): Indi Hartwell vs. Asuka - Non-Title Match
In her first match since beating Bianca at Night of Champions, Asuka looks to prove why she’s the champion. She starts off the match well, not letting Indi get any momentum by just rocking her with a series of kicks to the chest. After dragging Hartwell to the outside, Asuka begins going after the arm, slamming it several times into the ring post before deciding to inflict some pain to the skull with a tiger suplex. This momentarily causes the ref to check on her, potentially looking to end the match…but Asuka isn’t willing to let that happen. She gets Indi back in the ring, lining her up for a running hip attack…BUT HARTWELL TRANSITIONS IT INTO A GERMAN SUPLEX! Despite having just been on the ropes, Indi managed to use what she had left in the tank to take down Asuka, and as she gets to her feet, she feels the crowd surging behind her. She starts taking it to the Empress, getting her backed into the corner and landing a few solid chops. However, she gets a bit overzealous, trying to get Asuka on the top rope for a potential suplex attempt, only for the former Kana to kick her away and land a knee directly to the back of Indi’s neck. And with that, Asuka remains in the power position, eventually locking on the same Armbar that injured Candice LeRae and forcing Hartwell to tap or get snapped.
Asuka def. Indi Hartwell via submission
But before Asuka really has a chance to even get up…HERE COMES NIKKI CROSS! She runs out with a kendo stick, furious as to what transpired the week prior, and gets in a few shots on Asuka before Alexander Wolfe attempts to pry the weapon away. In response, Nikki shoves it into his gut, before hitting him with a swinging neckbreaker and sending a message to Asuka that she’s just as much of a force to be reckoned with. And it’s later announced that this match has been declared official for Money In the Bank: let’s see if these two dangerous competitors can live up to their classic from NXT…
Money In The Bank (7/1/23): Nikki Cross vs. Asuka (c) - Raw Women’s Championship
Despite not having a stipulation like their Last Woman Standing Match in 2017, the match is still intense from start-to-finish. Cross runs at Asuka immediately, getting in some shots with the elbow to the side of the face. Asuka is forced to a sitting position, allowing Nikki to gather some steam from running along the ropes before landing a kick to Asuka’s jaw! Unfortunately for Cross, her frenzied nature ends up backfiring, as when the action shifts to the outside, Asuka dodges a running attack and sends Nikki nearly head first into the barricade! With Nikki instinctively grabbing her head after the missed maneuver, Asuka sees what to target, dragging Cross to the ring apron and repeatedly crushing her skull into the ring post. And as the action shifts back into the ring, it’s just more of the same, Asuka being momentarily hit by mini-bursts of offense, but the damage inflicted on the skull clearly affecting her. This is evidenced when Cross has Asuka lined up for the swinging neckbreaker, potentially able to get her the win…only to collapse before she can properly hit it. With that, Asuka is able to apply the Asuka Lock, and as happened a couple of weeks ago, Cross passes out in the hold.
Asuka def. Nikki Cross via submission pass-out to retain the Raw Women’s Championship
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On the Raw after Money in the Bank, Candice LeRae would make her return from injury, calling out Asuka for a match…only to learn she isn’t in the building. But she decides to still issue a challenge, saying that while she wanted the Raw Women’s Title initially…now it’s about more than that. Asuka took out Candice’s friends and family, and left her away from the ring for too long…now, she wants to beat Asuka for vengeance first, gold later. And later on, it’s confirmed that the match will be taking place when Asuka returns…except it’ll be for the title as well! Pearce claims that the decision is due to Asuka’s recent actions, as after all, letting someone try to break someone’s limb after a match with no repercussions is a pretty bad look. But while this choice of action would normally upset some superstars…it might just put a smile on Asuka’s face…
Monday Night Raw (7/10/23): Candice LeRae vs. Asuka
Before making her entrance, Candice LeRae gets herself prepared with the rest of the Way, with Nikki Cross sitting in a corner nearby as well. Indi tells her to be cautious…Asuka’s a very dangerous competitor. LeRae of course knows this, but she’s caught off-guard by some words of wisdom from Nikki several feet away:
“Destroy her.”
Candice looks at Nikki, who’s staring back at her with something in her eyes…A look of needing something… wanting Candice to kill the Empress. LeRae nods, and she heads out to the ring, more confident than ever…And she truly gives it her all. LeRae’s strategy is simple: prevent Asuka from using her signature kicks. And for most of the match, she executes on her plan, moving herself back whenever she senses a roundhouse coming and catching Asuka off-balance. However, this was never going to last, and once Asuka lands a kick to the gut, she’s able to gather steam. And while this doesn’t finish LeRae, the “Poison Pixie” even managing to hit a springboard moonsault AND lock in a Garga-No Escape at various points, Asuka eventually locks in an Armbar on the previously-injured limb that Candice can’t overcome.
Asuka def. Candice LeRae via submission to retain the Raw Women’s Championship
After the match, the rest of the Way comes out, helping Candice to her feet. As they do so, Asuka stares at them, and then begins…counting them? The Way and the commentary team are confused, but as Asuka only counts four people…a maniacal expression overtakes her. She starts walking quickly to the back, and a few moments later, it becomes clear what her intentions were…
As the Way walks backstage, they’re horrified to discover a brutalized Nikki Cross! They rush over to her, asking who did this…and to no one’s surprise, she says it was Asuka. However, it soon becomes clear to Gargano…Ciampa might be next! While Indi and Candice stay with Nikki, Johnny (and Dexter to a lesser extent) start rushing through the halls, trying to get to the right locker room…but it’s too late, as SAnitY and Asuka are seen moving away from it! While Lumis stands guard, Gargano rushes inside, and finds Ciampa not just taken out…but also sprayed by Asuka’s mist! Johnny rushes over, giving Tommaso a towel, but as Tommaso wipes the mist off his face…there appears to be a dark look in his eyes, something not seen in him since when he destroyed DIY…
Remaining Build To SummerSlam:
While Ciampa, Gargano, and Lumis keep their attention towards SAnitY for a bit, Asuka shifts away from LeRae, Hartwell, and Cross, having beaten all three after all. With an open mic, she begins giving one of her standard energetic promos, seemingly wanting to know who her next challenger is gonna be…even though no one is ready for Asuka. It’s not long before someone interrupts though…and it’s someone who Asuka has grown familiar with in 2023…It’s Bianca Belair! The EST remained off television for several weeks following Night of Champions, but now, she’s back and angrier than ever. Bianca grabs the mic straight out of Asuka’s hand, and cuts a quick promo:
“Asuka… you say no one’s ready for you. But you’re wrong… because I’ve ALWAYS been ready for you. I proved that at WrestleMania 39, when I beat you clean in the center of this ring. And what did you do? You had to use that mist, that cursed, blinding mist. And you know what? Congratulations, it got you the title, but not for long. Because I say we have ONE MORE MATCH. But I think it’s time to have a match where no excuses can be made, and there are no rules to be broken. Asuka… At SummerSlam…I challenge you to HELL… IN A CELL!”
The crowd are clearly in favor of this stipulation…And it appears Asuka is too! She starts nodding repeatedly, and Bianca just stares on with a prepared look, perhaps fazed in the past by Asuka’s personality traits but now just ready to finally vanquish her and get the Raw Women’s Title back in her possession. In the remaining weeks, Bianca competes multiple times, getting the ring rust off with multiple victories, while Asuka is content with sitting at ringside for both contests…studying her competition…
SummerSlam (8/5/23): Bianca Belair vs. Asuka (c) - Hell in a Cell Match for the Raw Women’s Championship
We’ve finally made it to the Biggest Party of the Summer, and what better of a place to host it than in Detroit at Ford Field (definitely no bias as a Lions fan)! Once both Asuka and Belair are locked in the cage, the match starts at a feverish place, Bianca hitting a strong shoulder tackle only for Asuka to respond with a spinning backfist a few moments later! As the dust settles on the first fifteen seconds, the competitors look at each other, giving a momentary smirk and scoff apiece before continuing with the action. Bianca showcases her power, getting the Empress lifted in the Gorilla Press position and just hurling her at the cell wall! The several-foot fall to the floor certainly adds to the blow, and Bianca continues the assault outside the ring, slamming Asuka’s head repeatedly into the cage! However, she decides to look under the ring for a weapon, a table quickly catching her eye. She pushes it into the ring, but makes the mistake of turning her back to Asuka while doing so, the former Kana grabbing her from behind and hitting a Tiger Suplex onto the floor!
With Asuka now the lone woman standing, she follows up Bianca’s decision to look under the ring, pulling out a kendo stick. She feels it around in her grasp, getting a good feel for the damage she’s about to inflict. Once Bianca groggily gets to her feet, Asuka just decimates her back, hitting the stick ten times in immediate succession! However, Bianca’s able to dodge an eleventh shot targeted towards the throat, pulling the kendo stick to her and snapping it in half! Asuka looks briefly stunned, but not before she gives a condescending set of claps. In response, Belair grabs her, picking her up for a powerbomb and sending Asuka’s back to connect with the ring apron! Bianca then drags Asuka into the ring, proceeding to set up a table and initially primed to hit a K.O.D. through it. However, Asuka grabs Bianca’s hair, weakening her grip momentarily and presenting an opportunity to escape. Upon doing so, Asuka roundhouse kicks Belair, before getting her positioned on the table, climbing to the top rope…AND HITS A SPLASH ON BIANCA RIGHT THROUGH IT! 1-2-KICKOUT!
Despite the table spot being unable to put away Bianca, Asuka appears unfazed. She exits the ring, bringing a pair of steel steps back into the squared circle. Asuka picks Belair up, seemingly trying to hit a brainbuster on it…But Belair dodges, landing backwards on the steps before turning around and hitting a mini-elevated Spear! This leaves both women down for a few moments, but Bianca rises to her feet first. She gets in some of her signature offense, including a spinebuster on the steel steps! However, her attempt at a K.O.D. on the steps doesn’t work in her favor, with Asuka once again avoiding it. And unfortunately for Belair, Asuka is able to hit her with a suplex on the steps, this being the key factor for the rest of the match-up. With Bianca’s power lessened a bit AND Asuka’s submission hold targeting the back, she faces a tall task, and is ultimately unable to overcome it, the Asuka Lock resulting in a pass-out.
Asuka def. Bianca Belair via submission pass-out to retain the Raw Women’s Championship
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After an impressive victory at SummerSlam, Asuka has definitely proven that she’s going to be difficult to beat. But soon enough, she finds herself confronted by a potentially harmful numbers game…
Monday Night Raw (8/7/23): Damage CTRL Promo
Despite recent events not going so well for Damage CTRL, with Dakota Kai tearing her ACL and neither Iyo Sky nor Bayley able to capture the Money in the Bank briefcase, they’re still determined to get momentum back on their side. Bayley makes the bold decision to call out Asuka, saying that if she were actually a fighting champion, she’d consider accepting a match for the title. Asuka comes out, grinning at Bayley trying to goad her into a title opportunity. Asuka looks at Bayley as just another poor soul to be destroyed, but Iyo…Iyo has potential. Asuka even tells Sky…”Bayley isn’t your friend…but I am…”
This seems to get in Iyo’s head, as she begins looking questioningly at Bayley, who attempts to diffuse the situation by just pointing out Asuka being a freak who gets in people’s heads. In response, Asuka kicks Bayley square in the gut, and when Iyo instinctively goes to fight, Asuka shakes her head…I don’t want to fight you… You don’t need to be part of this…
Remaining Build To Extreme Rules:
Over the coming weeks, Bayley becomes a little more sympathetic, her intentions appearing less out of pure arrogance and more about striving to win championship gold back and improve her honor. She goes on a winning streak, but when confronting Adam Pearce about getting a confirmed title shot, he says there’s one more person she has to beat…Iyo Sky.
At this same time, Iyo looks perturbed whenever she’s on television, still at Bayley’s side but signs pointing to her being less convinced than when Damage CTRL began. And after Bayley does defeat Iyo to earn the #1 Contendership, Sky is just left sitting in the ring, staring down at the mat whilst utterly disappointed. Bayley offers her a handshake, but Asuka stands at ringside, motioning her to come roll out of the ring and stand tall with her. In response, Iyo moves in neither woman’s direction, rolling out to the entrance ramp and walking away alone, uncertain of what her future holds.
But with Extreme Rules approaching, there must also be a stipulation, and after a set of assaults from Asuka leave Bayley staring at the lights, Bayley decides it’s in both of their best interest to settle on…A Last Woman Standing Match! Asuka can try to keep putting her down, but she’s gotten back up each time, and come the PPV…The reign of the Empress will be history.
Extreme Rules: Bayley vs. Asuka (c) - Last Woman Standing Match for the Raw Women’s Championship
In a rematch of their TakeOver: Dallas encounter, the feel of the match is similar to what it was several years ago. Bayley, despite having been around in WWE longer, is the underdog, looking to prove herself against a terrorizing monster who we’re unsure can truly be beaten. The action quickly spills out of the ring, with Bayley even managing to hit a quick Bayley-To-Belly Suplex. Unfortunately, Asuka gets up before even a count of 5, disturbing Bayley. The action spills into the crowd for a while, with Asuka suplexing Bayley on the staircase and the former “Hugger” sent tumbling down for a solid five seconds. But eventually, Bayley recaptures the momentum, finding a trash can with weapons and using a kendo stick to start wailing on Asuka. And as the action approaches a set-up table, Bayley is able to not just prop her up on it, but successfully hit an Elbow Drop from a ledge through it as well! Bayley gets up at a count of three, and while Asuka is left stunned by the move, she recovers at a count of 8, continuing the match-up.
From there, the match spills back closer to the ring, with Bayley putting Asuka in the ring before grabbing a table. She sets it up, but Asuka manages to recover in time to avoid a Bayley-To-Belly through it, instead tossing Bayley to the side momentarily before going at her with a running hip attack. Asuka keeps control for a bit, but as she looks to put Bayley through the table…Here comes Iyo Sky! She slowly walks to the ring, not attacking Asuka initially, but giving Bayley enough time to send Asuka off the top rope and to the floor. However, with the action back on the outside, Asuka looks to be a bit desperate, using her signature Mist to blind Bayley! After this happens, Iyo rushes over to Bayley to try and help…But Bayley shoves her down hard to the floor, thinking it was Asuka! Meanwhile, the real Asuka appears behind Bayley, dragging her back into the ring. Asuka decides to lock on the crossface chickenwing, attempting to pass out Bayley, but this seems to only increase the fire in her spirit, Bayley able to back her into a corner to break the hold. Bayley rubs her eyes, improving her vision, and she drags Asuka to the table, seemingly able to hit the Bayley-To-Belly through the table this time…
…BUT IYO HITS BAYLEY IN THE BACK WITH A STEEL CHAIR FROM OUT OF NOWHERE! Bayley falls to her knees, slowly turning around with a look of heartbreak and pain on her face. Iyo returns the look with an icy cold stare, before Asuka pops-up behind Bayley, applying the Asuka Lock to pass the former “Role Model” out. But given this requires a ten count for Bayley to be down, and Asuka wanting to see what Iyo can do…she motions to the table. Iyo nods, getting Bayley set-up, climbing to the top rope, and hitting a Moonsault, crushing Bayley’s ribs, her friendship, and her hopes of winning the match in one fell swoop.
Asuka def. Bayley via KO to retain the Raw Women’s Championship
After the match, Sky raises Asuka’s hand, signifying the start of an absolutely lethal new duo in WWE…
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With Iyo Sky now having made her allegiance clear, Asuka would appear set-up to remain dominating moving forward. However, the enemies she’s made over the past several months aren’t so quick to forget what transpired, which could potentially create problems…
Build To Survivor Series:
Despite having already made an impact to this point, Asuka and Iyo Sky aren’t just going to put away challengers…it’s time to take out everyone. After a singles win on Raw, Becky Lynch would be blindsided by Iyo, being laid out with several shots of the Steel Chair before a Moonsault to cap things off. The following week, Bayley expresses her dismay at being left alone, to which Asuka and Iyo interrupt, immediately kickstarting a brawl that would seem to favor them once again…Until out comes Becky Lynch! Despite having been bitter rivals earlier in the year, Becky makes the save for Bayley, the pair nodding at each other afterwards to signify a slight respect…We don’t have to like each other… but there’s a bigger threat to be stopped…
But soon enough, this action spills past just being a two-on-two situation. Zoey Stark, the former tag team partner of Iyo Sky in NXT, decides that Becky didn’t suffer enough during their rivalry after helping Trish at Night of Champions, and that it’s worth it for these veterans like her and Bayley to be ousted. Along with that, Asuka’s power and general craziness draws the interest of the Unholy Union known as Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn, the pair pledging loyalty to The Empress and perfectly willing to destroy Becky and Bayley. However, there are several other competitors backstage sick of seeing Asuka gaining an army, with Bianca Belair and the Way coming to the save to help even the odds. And of course, after a brawl featuring all of these competitors, William Regal comes out briefly to make his patented announcement:
“WAR GAMES!”
To determine which team gets the advantage leading into Survivor Series, we get ourselves a strong match in Iyo Sky vs. Becky Lynch, really the catalyst of what’s led into a two-on-one situation into an upcoming 5v5 match inside a destructive steel structure. Becky more than holds their own, but Iyo Sky shines even brighter, a cheap shot by Stark eventually allowing Iyo to hit the Moonsault and give the “heels” the advantage.
Survivor Series: Bianca Belair, Bayley, Becky Lynch, Nikki Cross, and Candice LeRae vs. Asuka, Iyo Sky, Zoey Stark, Alba Fyre, and Isla Dawn - War Games Match
Kicking off the match is Zoey Stark and Becky Lynch, with Becky initially successful in getting Zoey downed, but Isla Dawn coming in presents a problem. She’s initially able to hold her off, but a chop block by Zoey Stark and a subsequent attack of the leg leaves Becky in a rough spot. She’s able to get some assistance, with Nikki Cross coming in with a trash can lid and just whacking Zoey and Isla around with ease. However, Alba Fyre is next to come out, and upon seeing Cross staring her down from inside the cage, she grabs a kendo stick, ready to defend herself. While Nikki initially gets the advantage, Stark and Dawn are able to pull Nikki back, sending her into the steel cage repeatedly. Bianca coming in next is a game changer however, the EST taking control of the match-up and getting a slight breather while awaiting the fourth competitor…which is Asuka!
But as the rest of the field comes in, with Asuka being the last entrant for her team and Bayley for the opposite side, the action starts to get more and more intense. With all of the competitors brawling in one ring, Iyo sees the chance to hit a Moonsault from the top of the cage, wiping out everybody (including herself)! However, a table being brought into the mix benefits the bayfaces, Bayley hitting Fyre with a Bayley-To-Belly through it (she finally got to hit it… just not on Asuka). However, the ending sequence comes down to Asuka and Iyo on their feet against Bayley and Becky, back where it essentially first started…AND IT ENDS WITH IO HITTING A MOONSAULT ON BAYLEY! 1-2-3!
Team Asuka def. Team Becky via pinfall
Just like that, Iyo Sky has once again proved her worth, defeating her former stablemate to win the match for her team and cementing herself as a force to be moving forward. And though a fairly small shot, we can see Asuka glance over at Iyo, a slight frown on her face for a moment before moving back to stand with the rest of her team. What could that mean…
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Build To Royal Rumble:
Despite the result of the War Games Match, Becky Lynch isn’t through with either Asuka nor Iyo by a long shot. She fights off both of them over the coming weeks, along with picking up several singles victory, establishing herself as the next #1 Contender. And as Lynch points out, she and Asuka have history at Royal Rumble. Asuka beat her in singles action in 2019…before Lynch went on to win the Royal Rumble and headline Mania. But this isn’t about the Rumble match now…it’s time to put away the Empress.
As for Iyo, she also has a run of singles success, carrying a lot of momentum heading into the Royal Rumble Match. And soon, we learn that she requested training from one of the most respected female competitors in the locker room, a former NXT UK Champion…Meiko Satomura! While Satomura doesn’t intend to compete right away, she’s more than willing to help Iyo, with vignettes being shown of them together and Satomura even being at ringside for her matches. However, as this keeps happening, Asuka’s looks towards Iyo become more and more strained. Sky is abandoning me… after all I did for her… something’s going to change soon enough…
Royal Rumble: Becky Lynch vs. Asuka (c) - Raw Women’s Championship
Earlier in the night, Iyo Sky does indeed win the Royal Rumble match, punching her ticket to WrestleMania. This doesn’t seem to affect Asuka’s thoughts however, the Empress looking as ruthless and as calculated as ever en route to using an Armbar to submit Becky after a pretty back-and-forth encounter. And while Asuka proved herself the master of the Armbar between the pairing, Iyo Sky coming out with Meiko Satomura to acknowledge the title win seems to aggravate something in Asuka. Her grin has become a definite frown, and she stares an icy dagger through the pairing. Something isn’t right here…
Asuka def. Becky Lynch via submission to retain the Raw Women’s Title
Build To WrestleMania:
In a conversation between Meiko Satomura and Iyo Sky on an episode of Raw, Satomura asks if Sky would be willing to use her Rumble Victory position to challenge Asuka. Sky doesn’t look too convinced about doing that, which Satomura says is fine, but it’s advisable to weigh all her options. However, in the background, Asuka can be seen, carefully listening to the conversation.
A week later, Satomura addresses the WWE Universe. She’s made the announcement that she wants to have one last run before she retires, and wants to face some of the best names this women’s division has to offer…which is why she’s challenging Asuka for Elimination Chamber! Asuka comes out, her face paint being more red than usual…but while it looks like she’s having to contain herself, she shakes Satomura’s hand, seemingly paying respect to a legend.
Elimination Chamber: Meiko Satomura vs. Asuka (c) - Raw Women’s Championship
Unfortunately for Satomura, this retirement run of sorts looked to hit the ground before it could even get going. While she catches the Empress off guard at the beginning of the encounter, as time moves on, Asuka appears to be getting more and more angry. This comes to a boiling point when after one Tiger Suplex, Asuka hits another…then another…then another…then another! The ref pleads for Asuka to quit the assault, which she does…only to pull a Bryan Danielson and just start repeatedly kicking Satomura in the face! This goes on for disturbingly long, and when it’s become clear that Satomura is passed out, the ref calls for the bell, him having made the discretion for the match to end.
Asuka def. Meiko Satomura via ref stoppage
After the match, Iyo Sky rushes to the ring, checking on the woman who’s helped her out tremendously over the past couple of months. Asuka looks down at Iyo, a look of disgust on her face, before demanding to know who Sky is facing at WrestleMania. And it better be a specific answer…
Iyo Sky: “I… CHALLENGE… YOU!”
The crowd roar in approval, Asuka somehow shocked initially…until a smile comes across her face. I’m not surprised you made that choice…but unfortunately, it’s the wrong one...it’s a shame this has to happen Iyo…so much potential…
WrestleMania 40: Iyo Sky vs. Asuka (c) - Raw Women’s Championship
Despite that inner monologue running through Asuka’s head at Elimination Chamber, Sky proves why she’s not to be taken lightly. On the Grandest Stage of them All, Iyo just looks…better. Having been around Asuka for several months, she knows the mechanics of her offense, doing a good job at avoiding those signature kicks while also having the speed advantage. And at the end of the match, Sky proves herself superior over The Empress of Tomorrow, hitting the second Moonsault of the match to pin Asuka, and end a spectacular title run while opening a new chapter for another one.
Iyo Sky def. Asuka via pinfall to win the Raw Women’s Championship

I don’t know where to start, but I’m desperate for some help or ideas or advice or even emotional support… I’m kind of a hermit but I came out of my cave for this one. Basically I’ve been having GI problems for about 8 months now… it alllll started with my hysterectomy 8 months ago. Before then, I wasn’t constipated. First, I couldn’t pee so I went in and out of the ER four times for a catheter; all the while not being able to have a BM at all. So basically I’ve been on miralax all this time, because I can’t go unless I have it every day. Sometimes two cap fulls a day. I was told it should come out of me like a pigeon but it’s not. It’s getting worse too. I’m really suffering. I also have: Constipation of course Bloating/tummy distention Cramps in abdomen that feel like menstrual cramps Nausea Acid reflux Extreme fatigue Weakness Loss of muscle mass Severe anxiety and sense of something is very wrong with me. Fearful. Feeling of dread Inability to pass gas, only sometimes Swollen anus (sorry I know it’s gross) When I try to push just a bit it feels like my bumhole wants to come out Dr said x rays show inflammation in there Suspected blood in stool Weird things in stool that look almost like red pieces of kidney beans?? Some black specks Two doctors want me to have a colonoscopy but they declined to see me. I need one. The ER doc I got said he wouldn’t do one and I need to see a gastroenterologist first. Well, no one will take me. Someone in my old hometown also declined to see me and the only information was my case is too complex. Wtf does that mean?! Couldn’t th ER doc set me up for a colonoscopy and endoscopy? They do them everyday! The ER doctor gave me a pamphlet for IBS and told me to see a gastroenterologist… why is this happening? How can I get some help? Colorectal cancer is on the rise among younger people and I’m terrified. Or I could have UC, Crohn’s, Diverticulitis, etc, but I don’t know because they won’t give me the colonoscopy and endoscopy. What do I do? Please someone give me advice. I know I can’t ask for a diagnosis but I just want to know what it COULD be and how I can get these doctors to help me. Please. It hurts and I’m so tired… I would attach pics of my stool but it’s gross

So, I’m writing this on my phone because I figured I should share my experiences. I’ve shared one already but I figured I should share more as I have had quite the run-ins with some odd things in the woods of the Pacific Northwest.
I live in Oregon, but I do tend to travel on my off time in the wilderness, despite my run ins I love the forest, nature, and all I just tend to be much more careful now.
This first story takes place in my home state. I have a buddy who is a park ranger and he shared me a story of his own. He works at Crater Lake National Park and was patrolling one of the trails that was reported by hikers who said they heard a bear in the area. He went out with a tranquilizer to move the bear out of an area that was close to a campground. He was walking as usual when he felt eyes on him…he began to hear movement in the woods, and he shouted out “anybody out there?”
No response.
He got his tranquilizer ready and proceeded toward the noise. But as he approached, he heard another noise behind him.
Now he was thinking, “Oh no there’s more than one out here.”
Not sure what to do he prepared for the worst but then to his relief it was two deer. He sighed in relief thanking God that he wasn’t going to be mauled that day. But suddenly he noticed blood on one of the deer’s antlers and next to it behind the bushes it came out of was the carcass of a black bear. The two deer just stared at him and returned to feasting on the bear. He wasn’t sure what to do, tranquilize them or risk being a victim? He decided it was best to take the shot and hit both. They didn’t even budge and just walked off into the forest.
He reported the dead carcass of the bear and just had a team remove the remains. Still gives him the Chills thinking back to that day.
The next story was when I went on a fishing trip with a friend in Washington.
We had set out to fish along this river that was calm that day.
We caught a few fish and even some crawdads. I love seafood so I wanted us to stay out longer to catch a few more fish. My friend ended up taking a nap while I continued to fish. All was well but I suddenly noticed something in the distance, something dark moving along the river. I thought it was some sort of log that was stuck and got free and was floating along the river, but its movements didn’t appear normal. It would move back and forth getting closer and closer. I began to get nervous; I can’t really explain why it just felt like I needed to get away from whatever this thing was.
I turned to my friend who was still asleep and heard a splash.
I looked back and the thing was just gone. I looked around wondering where it went, and I saw it. Perched on top of a tree, I thought it was a cougar, I grabbed my binoculars for a closer look, and it was crouched but was tall, lanky and had milky white eyes but covered in black feathers and wearing some sort of animal pelt. I felt a sudden sense of dread and fear I never felt before. I looked back to my friend to wake him but before I could I heard another splash and saw it was back in the water now headed to the boat. I said “F this “and then turned on the motor and hauled ass out of there. My friend woke up yelling at me and asked, “What the hell are you doing?” but I didn’t respond. When we got to the loading dock, I anchored the boat and told him to get in the truck and he protested about leaving the boat and I said, “We will get it later get in now!”
The car ride back I explained everything, and I saw how pale he got. He’s part Native American and explained to me that what I saw was a Skinwalker.
This next story takes place in the Canadian Wilderness. I was on a hunting trip with my buddy who has a cabin in Canada deep in the wilderness, off-grid type of deal. It was the beginning of winter so the snow wasn’t so bad to where you just couldn’t move. He had this goal to get a mountain lion. So, we headed out to a ridge where you could see out to a clearing where he said he saw this specific mountain lion every year. It always came to the same spot, maybe its home was nearby I don’t know. So, its nighttime, and we had a small fire going, I went to go take a piss when I noticed something or somethings… 3 humanoid figures were in the clearing, I quickly put the fire out, and my friend told me “Dude why did you do that?” I told him to shush, and we observed the 3 beings. The thing was this was way out in the middle of the wilderness, there’s absolutely no way that anybody else knew about this spot. Also, the 3 figures looked human, but I could tell they were much taller than normal and their arms, skinny and just moved unnaturally. They were circling something, but I couldn’t tell what exactly. Then one of the figures stopped and looked directly at us. We rushed to cover and didn’t really know what to do. So, we decided to not sleep that night and have our rifles ready just in case. The following morning, we went down to the clearing to see what those figures were circling and sure enough we saw footprints much larger than a normal human and the beheaded mountain lion that my friend wanted mounted in his cabin so badly but now not so much…
This story still comes across my mind to this day. Me and my buddy from our hiking club were going on a hike one day, it was a beautiful hike along a river, and we were looking for places to set up camp. We saw a campground with food and trash everywhere and at first, I was upset that someone just left this much of a mess here. But the longer I looked around the weirder things got…Their trash bag was still hoisted up on a tree branch but ripped open, the food was still there and if a bear or another animal got to the food, they would of ate everything. Also, there tents were still set up, but ripped as if from the inside, clothes still around and even 2 pairs of boots. The whole campground looked as if whoever was there was immediately in a rush to get out of there and just left all their belongings, not even bothering to take their shoes. The hairs on my neck stood up and both my buddy and I decided that we should call it a day and just hike back to the car. I reported the incident to the forest rangers, but they said they weren’t aware of anybody camping in the area and did not receive any reports from the area. Still freaks me out thinking what could have spooked these people so bad they left their tents, not even bothering to use the zipper and leaving their clothes and shoes behind.
This next one comes from a solo hike. I was doing a 3-day solo trip somewhere in Washington near the Canadian border. I was literally way out there no facilities or normal campground. I was just hiking along, and dusk was approaching, my campsite was already set but I just went for a stroll when I thought I heard a child’s voice calling for help. I thought it was my imagination, but I heard it again. I began to follow it and then I saw the child. He looked dirty; clothes still intact but his back was facing me. I called out to this kid, and he turned around but before he could speak, he was pulled by someone or something down on the other side of this hill. Then I heard a loud crash as if a metal down shut. I ran to where I saw the kid and saw nothing but the same clothes, he was wearing neatly folded and his shoes right next to them. After a few minutes to no avail, I made my way back to the campsite gathered all my things and headed back. I went to the forest ranger station and told them about what I saw. Never found out if they found that kid or not.
Now this story comes from my close friend in Oregon, but this happened in Washington. So, I was hanging out with my friend who has pretty much grew up in the outdoors all his life and I asked him what his most creepy experience in the woods was. He told me he didn’t have a lot of experiences like that aside from hearing weird things at night when he went camping. But, this one time he was out hiking with his dog, they usually are a pair for hiking with friends but this time he was out hiking with just his dog in the deep woods of Washington on a trail that had very little traffic, like you wouldn’t expect to run into anybody. So, his dog is off leash, roaming a little in front of him and as they come to a corner the dog just stopped and his hair stood on the back of his neck, did a single bark moved up one step and then just ran behind my friend, not behind his legs but down the trail behind my friend, about 25 yards behind him. My friend pulled out his firearm and aimed forward, considering this was an area where black bears are he thought maybe his dog saw a bear but after a few minutes he didn’t find anything, no animals, nothing. His dog refused to go near him even after he kept calling for his dog. He eventually left the trail with his dog and got back home in one piece. But he said he never saw his dog act like that, his dog and he have hiked plenty, and his dog has been spooked before, but he never acted that way and he would always come back to my friend even when spooked.
This last story I have for now occurred when I was hunting with my buddy in Washington. The area still had trees but was on the dryer side with us being closer to the desert.
We had a deer blind set up near a clearing and scanned the area for some deer when we noticed a big elk with a couple of doe. They were grazing and we just watched since we didn’t want this deer.
What was odd though was the weather began to get rainy and fog rolled in as evening was approaching. We noticed that the elk began to showcase defensive behavior, going back and forth making grunting noises and huffing as it began to set up a defensive area around the doe who were now cowering in a small area. Kind of like “Back up these are mine” This elk was staring at the tree line, and we thought, “oh shit maybe it’s a bear”. But to our surprise it wasn’t, it was another elk. We got a little excited thinking we were about to see these two elk go at it to see who gets to take the herd of doe home, but I stopped once I put it together. Why did the doe seem so afraid then?
Then I saw another elk and another and another all just staring at the protective elk.
But then to our shock all the elks began to stand. On two legs.
Now sometimes deer will do this as a protective or displaying behavior of superiority, but these elk were not.
The protective elk began to show more aggression attempting to scare them off.
My friend whispered to me. “What the hell is this, I’ve never seen this before in my life.”
My friend has been hunting for over 15 years from Alaska all the way to Colorado and parts in the East coast. A seasoned man who didn’t scare easily but I could tell this freaked him out.
The group of bipedal elk just stood there and then they all bolted towards the Elk and the elk charged them at the same time. Managing to impale two of the elks but he was outnumbered, and the elks didn’t use their antlers but began to bite the elk with what looked like jagged sharp fangs.
It was horrible. They then they circled the elk and just looked up to the moon and made these god-awful gurgling noises
It looked like some sort of F’d up ritual.
We decided that we should leave and began to grab our things to leave. I’m positive that we were too far for anyone to hear but I sweat as soon as we moved one of the deer stopped and looked right at us.
And that’s when we nopped out of there, we ran all the way to the truck hoping we didn’t run into those elks or whatever the hell those things were. I have seen deer display hostile behavior but never like that.
We were rushing to throw our stuff and sped out onto the dirt road. We got about 1/4 a mile away when we noticed a giant log blocking our path that wasn’t there before.
My friend said: “dammit we have to move it”
Luckily, we had a chainsaw in the back, and he cut some of the log away so we could move it. But God those logs were heavy, when we got to the last of the log my friend said, “help me move it!” I joined in, and we both lifted the last of the log out of the way out we noticed something on the road. It was one of those deer. Just standing looking at us. We backed up towards the truck my friend not even caring to grab the chainsaw and I swear it opened its mouth and said “hhe hhe-hel-help me moo-move iiiit”
It was distorted but sounded exactly like my friend.
We just ran to the truck from there and we hit the gas and this deer just ran towards the truck and hopped on the front and then the top of the truck and I’m just shitting bricks at this point and attempt to grab the shotgun from under the seat when my friend says “hang on” and just hits the brakes hard and this deer just goes flying off the truck and he quickly speeds around it .
We stayed at a hotel after driving 2 hours straight back to civilization.
Honestly, I believe deer just have some messed up ways, but I really don’t know what they were but I’m positive they weren’t deer, I don’t know what they were.
Part 2
I figured I’d mention this since I didn’t add it to my previous post.
These experiences I had forever changed my perspective on the woods and I questioned whether I should ever step foot in the woods again. I don’t know why I attract these experiences but part of it motivates me to keep going to share what I see.
This other story was a time I went out with a friend to explore. We were in the backcountry just exploring and I suddenly saw this weird structure. My friend decided we should check it out and we saw this stone-like structure covered in moss and it must have been there for decades. What was weird though it had this rectangular structure that had a door, the door was perfectly preserved as if someone just installed it. No rust on the door handle or any weather damage, it’s like it came fresh out of the store.
I went to get a closer look and I was about to try to open the door when my internal gut feeling was screaming to me that something was wrong and we should not be here, and extreme sense of fear flooded my entire being and my hair on the back of my neck stood up.
My friend told me “What’s wrong?”
I told him “Maybe we should just go”
And he said “we can’t just leave now let’s at least see what’s inside”
Just as I fought my fear off and went for the handle the door began to creak open and I felt something was just VERY wrong, and I think my friend just instinctively knew we had to run, and we just got the hell out of dodge.
We returned with more people and armed to the teeth to try the door again.
But we couldn’t find the structure anywhere despite me marking this area on my map before we even attempted the door.
I always wondered what would have happened had I opened that door….
This next one I was camping with my old roommate, and we were enjoying the night and headed to bed soon after our fire was put out.
Around 3 am I had to piss so I went to the tree at the edge of our campsite
I heard movement after I finished and thought it was my friend having to do the same as me. A few feet away I gave him the okay hand sign and he gave it back
But the way his fingers moved just looked …wrong
I thought maybe I was just tired and headed back to my tent.
The following morning, we made breakfast and I mentioned to him how I drank too much the night before and don’t like having to piss at night but at least I wasn’t the only one who had to go.
My friend looked confused by that last part and said “what do you mean only one? “
I told him: “you don’t remember? We went to pee at the same time.” Then I showed him the okay gesture that I gave him last night to jog his memory and he just told me: “dude I didn’t get up at all last night…”
A chill ran up my spine and I just played it off that I was dreaming.
I don’t know who or what that was last night, we never saw anybody out there and I checked around the campsite after breakfast for footprints, saw mine but nobody’s where I thought I saw my friend the night before.
This next one is like the previous one, but I was camping with my girlfriend at the time. We had a great night doing you know couple of things and then in the middle of the night I had to piss. Did my business at a nearby tree, and then I heard my girlfriend calling my name, in the woods. I figured she had to go to and just wanted to have some privacy. Maybe she needed toilet paper and forgot, as I went to the tent to grab a roll, I heard her call my name again then said help me.
I thought about going over to her but went to grab the roll anyway because I didn’t want to go out there then she tells me she needs the toilet paper. As I opened the tent, I just stood there surprised, my girlfriend was sound asleep still. So, who was calling my name?... I heard my name again but louder and my girlfriend's voice saying “COME HERE NOW”
I just decided to go in the tent, and just laid there silent, not sure what to do. I didn’t hear anything for the rest of the night and passed out after the surge of adrenaline just put me out.
I didn’t tell my girlfriend about it, and just told her we had to cut the trip short because I forgot I have a paper to write.
This Last one happened in 2019. I took a drive on a forest road about 45 mins in. Parked near this trailhead and took off to the trail.
I was admiring the flora and fauna and just going on a normal hike when I noticed my vision completely changed as if I was looking through prescription glasses that weren’t mine. The vegetation changed and it was daylight when I was hiking but now it was dark as if sunset just passed.
This happens almost instantly. It was like I was in a completely new environment.
I then felt something graze my shoulder, it was a hairy arm, like the one you’d see from an ape or Bigfoot, and it was about to grab me, but I managed to take a step back, and I just see the hand grab where my neck would have been. I felt this sudden sense of dread and just began to backpedal and after a couple of steps, my vision went back to normal. The sunlight returned as well as the flora and fauna. I just saw a fuzzy-like outline in a circular shape in front of me from where I just stepped out of, and it eventually disappeared the more steps back I took.
I just stood there completely shocked about what just happened and came to my senses as my internal red flags were going off and I just turned around and ran to my truck and got out of the area. I never had this happen to me before and it thankfully hasn’t happened since. Since this happened, I have never gone hiking alone again.
To end this off, I just want to add that I enjoy the woods and nature it is full of beauty and wonder. But there are things out there…things even the natives knew to stay away from. There are things out there, that don’t care about you, or that you have families, or loved ones. I still go out to the woods, but after that last experience, it took me a long time to get the courage to go out there again. I never go out for solo hikes anymore, and if I can’t go with someone, I always take my dog. Thanks for hearing my stories and I’ll be sure to share any future experiences I have.

I’m currently an undergrad at UCI and the uni offers a cool 4+1 program where you can earn a Masters and Bachelors at the same time! Problem is, it’s only offered in Art History, Asian American Studies, OR European Thought. As an English major (an wannabe professor) I find European thought to be the most intriguing. But an idea popped in my head that maybe I can adjunct at a community for a summer before I go get my PhD. See what it’s like and get some teaching experience. Would I get hired with a Masters in European Thought? Would getting it in something like Art History be better because I know a lot of GE classes are art history? And I know Asian American studies are a big thing in academia right now too. Thing is, 1) I’m not Asian American, so teaching it may be inappropriate 2.) I don’t find art history all that interesting tbh
Does the masters matter or just having a Masters suffice for teaching adjunct at a community college?

44F, hypertension, obesity, anxiety.
Longish post, a few questions:
I had a root canal done on #14 around 15 years ago. In the last year or so I've experienced bouts of pain, and recently it had gotten significantly worse and wasn't getting better. I went to urgent care over the weekend and was prescribed Augmentin 875/125 x2 daily even though I had no signs of an infection or abscess at that point, just increasing pain. Gums were normal with no focal areas of redness or pain, no pustules or signs of purulent drainage.
I ended up at an endodontist who did a 3D CT and said I had an infection, said it was in my sinus, and that I needed to retreat the root canal and may need to have the tooth removed completely.
The retreat took 1.5 hours and was apparently difficult. The root that had the infection around it ended up with a rudimentary root adjacent to it that was missed during the original treatment. That was canalled successfully. Of the three other roots, 2 were able to have previous posts and filling material removed, and some infection cleared out. The doctor was unable to remove the filling material and post from the 3rd root and so left it as is.
I asked at the end of the procedure if the infection was removed but all they would say is they got some "dirty" drainage out. Is that normal, to not know how much of the infection was removed?
Also, not being able to remove the old post and filling material from one of the roots, is that something that happens on retreats? If left behind, does that put me at an increased risk for yet another root canal?
I am still taking the antibiotics. Should that help clear up any lingering infection that was left behind?
I also noticed tonight that I am having some pressure in the sinus area above where the treated tooth was. This is less discomfort than before I started the antibiotics, but I was not expecting to have any pain, pressure, or discomfort once the root canal was completed.
Thanks for taking the time to answer questions. The office I went to for treatment is closed on Fridays and I couldn't get a call back from my regular dentist to ask any questions.

I have an MSI Optix G32 series monitor with some color banding that I can especially notice in darker areas; it's prevalent on youtube videos, but I usually don't mind because of YT compression, but I can notice it in games too. it's not a huge deal for me, just would like to see if I can fix it at all
​
raising or decreasing Gamma does not do anything, but what about this:
​
launch Nvidia Control Panel > Adjust Video Color Settings > tick the 'With Nvidia Settings' box > Advanced > set Dynamic Range to Full (0-255) instead of Limited (16-235)
​
is this a bad idea, like can this mess with my screen stability and cause flickering or anything? should I just set it back to Limited (16-235) or will Full (0-255) actually help without creating any problems?

Hi all,
Information: * Large adult male seal lynx point bengal cat. * Age: 5 * Neutered: Yes * No veterinarian appointment yet. * Past symptoms: Gingivitis. Sensitive stomach. He can yowl after eating and sometimes during eating. Can sound pretty strange and almost like a mating goal. In the past he had bright red blood in stool when food was changed. * Now on grain-free, meat only diet. * Location is Bavaria, Germany. * Weight: 5.8kgs * Current symptom duration: 1-2 months
Here is an Imgur link to two videos of him licking the area.
I'm reaching out to in hopes of gaining some insights and advice regarding my cat's health. Lately, I've noticed a peculiar behavior that has been causing me quite a bit of concern.
My cat has been consistently licking a specific area on his stomach. It's become a daily ritual for him, and he does it at least 10, sometimes 15+ times a day. The fact that he focuses on such a specific spot has me worried.
What adds to my apprehension is the knowledge that snow bengals, like my cat, have a predisposition to cancer. I understand that it might not necessarily be the case here, but the association has certainly amplified my concerns.
I want to ensure that my cat receives the best care possible, so I'm turning to this supportive community for any insights, experiences, or advice you might have. Has anyone else observed a similar behavior in their snow bengal or any other breed of cat? Should I be worried about potential health issues? Are there any preventive measures or specific signs I should be looking out for?
Of course, I plan to consult my veterinarian about this issue. Any input now could help guide me in the right direction and give me peace of mind.
Thank you in advance for your time and assistance. Your support means a lot to me and my furry friend.

tl;dr - How common is it for a contractor get "unlucky" and get lawsuit & safety violations?
I have received a few quotes so far for a remodeling. It is about replacing kitchen cabinets, countertops and same for the bathrooms. I live in high COL city. - A - $35k - B - $50k - C - $55k - D - $65k
The issue here is that when I looked up A's contractor license, I found one open lawsuit(?) or complaint with complaint amount over $150k+ that was filed last year. Interplead:No is the latest status of this lawsuit.
A also has a few safety violations from one year ago from large home remodeling project. 8 violations from 2 inspections - total of $3600 penalty amount. A does have a license & bond $12,000.
His license seems to be at least 4 years old, and I don't see any violations or lawsuit before last year.
When I asked A about the lawsuit, A said client was refusing to provide money while construction was in progress which ended up him having to stop working for the job due to unable to purchase materials.
For the safety violations, which are all marked as corrected, A said inspector mistakenly gave him penalty when he was working on interior & another contractor was working on the roof without safety measures due to communication issues. He acknowledge that one is from him.
Now, do you think a contractor can get unlucky and get these lawsuit & violations? The reason why I am considering A is because A has been able to get quote fast, price is low, can start the remodeling project within next 3 weeks & A said he can complete it in 2 weeks or a bit more. He also forwarded me to a cabinetry store which I was able to find cabinet style I liked as well as quartz countertops with some patterns. A also said small project like these shouldn't be a big problem.
C was late for site visit by almost 30min, and B actually takes forever to communicate.
Some other minor concerns are,

1. measurements A took was a bit off, so cabinetry store asked me to get measurements again.
2. A said wall space with 26-inch width cannot be installed with wall cabinet with 2 doors - and it has to be 1 door. But when I researched, 2 door installation for 24-inch wide space seems possible.
3. A does not speak English well and has agent who is doing translations.

I am talking to these contractors over Houzz/Bulidzoom.
How common is it for a contractor get "unlucky" and get lawsuit & safety violations? Would you hire A?

So yesterday was my 19th birthday , since my dad is not in india at moment so he asked my mom to get me everything i liked. I got some new shoes shirts etc . I was genuinely happy.
Now here comes my friend group of around 10 people half been friends from my childhood and rest were my buddies my high school. I thought about what do for a party for and decided on dominos.
Here comes this ass hole. (At the time i didnt think he was a complete asshole ) we have friends from childhood and have on and off during this all time.
So i recently joined this aholes 's uncles gym along with a few other i had never gone to a gym before and he offered me a very cheap price. 😅
Only tradeoff at the moment was it was 5 km away and i have to cross highway to get there. I dont have a license. He promised my mom that'll he will pickup me 3 days a week . And guess what ? This fucker didn't come a single day. And made fun of me for being skinny. ( he is short and bulk ripped himself but look overwight most of time) i didn't like his attitude . He never really apologized. I went in mornings to avoid him with someone else .
Both me and mom didn't find both him and his gym much welcoming. So i decided to quit and join close somewhere for a bit higher fees .
So one day before , he msg me what's the buget for party and i told him . Proceeds to say its not possible to do party in that much at dominos at said to come at a tapri instead. Or better dont have a party and join his gym back instead . The audacity to say that mann . Already a red flag .
Anyways i ignore him . Next i day i dressed up ready for party . Mind you my outfit was quite expensive. We went to dominos and i even got him a non veg pizza . This fucker even though i told him to go to the gym in the morning come to party sweating like a pig proceeded to give me a gift a perfume and told me to use it to avoid being smelly. Every one laughed . I take it as joke and we went ahead. A bit hurt but its the boys ehh ? I thought
Now these people got me two cakes one to cut and other one to smash on my face. The one they were smashing on my face had "skinny bitch" written on it . I expected this .
But after i cut the first one they forced me to take off my shirt and held me forcefully and shoved the cake really hard on my face . Blood come out from mouth . My nose was blocked with cake inside . I was very angry. Every one else also agreed it was too much and were angry on him . He said " yeh toh sab ke sath hota hai " and proceeded to smear cake on my body..
i stood there shirt less. They take videos. I visibly went off fully delhi mood used every gali i know . My best friend was also very upset but he has social anxiety so he couldn't do much . They apologized a bit . They Got some water bottles wiped me off . Got my shirt back on . I go back to my car with my best friend two other. We were all visibly upset . Put some high base music on . Dropped him home speed off to my home .
They were waiting for me there. They apologized again and asked to sit my car i was still upset . They made some funny posses of cleaning my car and begging like kids . I laughed a bit. Let them inside. We went for a ride . Put some real high base music on . Memes songs all. Made some snaps . I forgot a bit about it . And they all apologized again. I specifically told them not to post any shirt less picks I get back home.
I see my brand new white shoes are shit now... at this point i just gave up a bit mentally. Told the story to my mum. She was also very upset. She told me he hurt you real bad . I agreed but i was in no mood to argue. She saw my face told me boys mai assa he hota hai. I thought same. I cut my cake at home ate some of a my favorite food with my sis and mom talked to dad and some relatives . My bestie called we talked for quite a while he was also really feeling hurt for me .
Played some wing man with him in cs . Try to take my anger off you know ? Had a bit of fun . Went to sleep. I check my phone. Only this fucker even though i told everyone not to post shirtless pics posted the story on instagram . I went off on him agian . After he stoped responding. I blocked the fucker and reported him . By now almost my entire batch saw my photo . I am really fucking frustrated now.
My mom always warned me to stay away from him . I wish i listened to her earlier.
Ps does anyone know how to take down someone's else's story?

You won't believe this, but I swear on my life, it's the truth. I think I'm losing my goddamn mind. I have to... okay, okay, I need to start from the beginning. See, I've been dabbling in lucid dreaming lately. Been having these vivid, messed up nightmares, you see... I just wanted some semblance of control over my mental state, you know?
I felt like therapy wasn't cutting it anymore, I needed something more, so I gotten into this lucid dreaming thing. But the things I've seen, the encounters I've had, they've changed me, man. I've gotta get this out, gotta let the world know about this shit 'cause its importance... it can't be overstated.
So here's the thing, in my lucid dreams, I've been having these bizarre experiences. In the dreams, waking up suspended over an abyss, right? Surrounding me, there's this sterile, white room, bathed in blinding lights, and in the distance, a glass pane. Can't exactly make out what's behind it, and it paints this real surreal scene.
At first, it didn't bother me much. I woke up, had this lingering unease the whole day but shrugged it off. But then the next few times, as I regained lucidity in my dreams, the same scenario would play out. At first, I could do the usual stuff, you know, flying around and the likes, but then the dream would always, without fail, transition into this... this suspension above the abyss.
I'd be strapped in place with ropes or chains, my limbs stretched out toward the cool walls of this clinical, white room. And beneath me, just infinite darkness. It felt like gazing into the maw of oblivion, and it was... it was downright petrifying.
The dread, man. The absolute fucking dread. In particular that glass pane in the distance and the infinite abyss below me, it was eating away at me. I started wondering what was behind the glass, and what, if anything, was at the bottom of that godforsaken hole. Its vast, infinite expanse was just pulling me in, gnawing at my sanity. It's hard to describe, you know? It's not something you can just put into words.
Soon, it became a nightly routine. Almost every single dream ended with me suspended over that abyss, and this paralyzing sense of dread seeping into me, becoming more and more prominent. Eventually, I decided I had to stop, I couldn't go on like this. I spoke to my therapist about it, and they said it might be a manifestation of some negative childhood experiences, and advised me to quit lucid dreaming for the time being. It wasn't doing me any good, they said.
I upped my meds, and tried something else, but no matter what I did, I couldn't shake off the lucidity. It's weird because in the past, becoming lucid required effort, with reality checks, dream journaling, and whatnot. But now, even when I set the intention to not lucid dream, I found myself more lucid than ever, and always, without fail, ended up above the abyss.
At one point, I tried to inspect my body in the dream, and I think I was naked. I noticed something on my arm, like a small needle. I realized it was an IV drip. Something was being pumped into me. I freaked out, man. What the hell was happening? Was I part of some fucked up mind control experiment? Was I being drugged? I couldn't make sense of it all.
Soon after noticing the IV, I saw shadows moving behind the glass pane. There were figures there, watching me. The terror I felt about these figures lurking behind the glass was even more pronounced than the dread induced by the abyss. It was all kinds of messed up, but amidst the fear, I felt this sudden urge to know more.
So I shouted out, "Hey! Who's there? Talk to me, you creepy fucks!"
To my surprise, a voice crackled to life over the speakers. It said, "We've never seen someone maintain lucidity to this extent. Your perceptive abilities are impressively consistent. How did you achieve this?"
"I don't fucking know", I said. "It's not like I want to be here. Is this even real?"
The voice replied, "Yes, this is happening. This is the actual reality, the true nature of reality."
"What the fuck? You say my dreams are reality? You'll have to prove that for me to believe you at all", I said.
"You will see by the consistency of this reality", the voice said. "But first, demonstrate to us that you are indeed lucid enough for us to continue this conversation. It's not something we usually do. It might, however, be a path to conquer the darkness."
And then, like every other time, the dream ended.
I relayed the whole fucked up scenario to my therapist, who, unsurprisingly, suggested it was a fantastical manifestation of my own fears. My subconscious testing boundaries, pushing limits, trying to get under my skin. But when I asked them what to do, they proposed a plan: continue engaging with the dream. Try to spot inconsistencies in its logic. After all, if it is all just a product of my mind, it is bound to falter at some point.
So, armed with my therapist's advice, I geared up for the next encounter. This time I would use reason and logic to disprove the dream for good.
The following night, I found myself in the all-too-familiar white room, suspended over nothingness, the shadowy figures behind the glass pane watching intently. The voice piped up again.
"Do you still question this reality?" it asked.
"Yeah", I said, "I think this is just my dream. You're just a figment of my unconscious mind. This is all nonsensical bullshit, and I'm going to prove you wrong."
"Alright", the voice responded. "You can try to disprove me. But first, would you like to hear what we're doing here? Then, you can judge for yourself."
"Yeah, sure. Whatever. What are you doing here?" I asked, more out of curiosity than anything else.
"We are doing research. Do you know what an ancestor simulation is?"
I felt my eyebrows furrow. "No fucking clue. What is it?"
Then, the voice from the speaker, which now claimed to be a researcher, started to explain.
"An ancestor simulation is essentially a theory, a simulated reality hypothesis", the voice explained. "It suggests that a perceived reality isn't 'real' but instead is running on some advanced computational system capable of artificially simulating an entire universe and consistent reality."
So far, this was all high-grade sci-fi crap, but I played along. "Why the hell would anyone do that?"
"For the purpose of analysis", the voice continued. "Imagine a civilization trying to understand its own past. In your case, your reality is an ancestor simulation of one of many civilizations that have died out because of catastrophic failures in the space-time continuum."
My head was spinning. "Catastrophic failures? What are you talking about?"
The voice said: "Humanity failed. Due to their own ignorance, they destroyed their planet. Climate change, political unrest, the development of superintelligent AI systems used for weaponry, they all fueled the chaos of World War III."
As the voice droned on, I tried to make sense of what was being told. Is this all just some nightmare spawned by my own fears, or could there be some truth to this? And if there was, then what did it mean for me, for us?
The voice added: "Do you know what a macroverse is?"
"Yeah, I've heard of macroverses", I said, "That's like, multiple universes, right?"
"Yes", the voice said. "We exist within a five-dimensional macroverse. The fifth dimension encompasses parallel universes. The concept of an ancestor simulation isn't completely accurate. It's an analogy, borrowed from Darwinian evolution, suggesting our universe is part of a branching system of universes."
I could barely keep up with this gibberish. "A branching system of...?"
"Universes", the voice repeated. "This system churns out various configurations, mutations of universes, one of which eventually became my universe, another one yours. It's as though universes are engaged in a Darwinian competition. The most adaptive ones, primarily those driven by human beings, last the longest. They compete to see which universe can ultimately conquer the darkness, can combat the laws of entropy."
This was just too much. It felt like some wild fever dream, a convoluted mess of sci-fi nonsense. But even so, there was an unnerving quality to the voice that made me want to listen, to understand. If what it said was true... well, I didn't want to think about that. Not yet.
For a bit I was just silent, my mind racing.
"Look", I finally muttered, "It's gonna be pretty damn hard to disprove you when I can't make heads or tails of the shit you're saying. You're telling me that universes depend on the quality of the humans inside them, and that they're evolving, or something? I... I don't get it. It's all just too fucking weird."
At that moment, the reality of the situation hit me like a ton of bricks. How the hell was I supposed to logically dismantle something that sounded like the wildest sci-fi bullshit I'd ever heard, something I couldn't even begin to wrap my head around? Did not the complexity of the information indicate that it could not have possibly been just a dream; my own mind could not generate things I could never understand. It was impossible.
And just as I was starting to feel the edges of panic creeping in, the researcher's voice began to fade. My surroundings blurred, morphed, and then... the dream ended.
The next day, I was glued to my damn computer, trying to dig into these concepts the mysterious voice had been throwing around. I was googling my ass off – 'ancestor simulations', 'parallel universes', 'fifth dimension', 'Darwinian evolution of universes', 'universe branching' – all that crazy stuff. And here's the kicker: I found a ton of literature on the topics and, for the most part, it seemed to line up with what the voice had been saying. It seems the voice was speaking the truth; providing me with information I had not known before... indicating that... it could not have been a dream... he was stating the truth... and that was...
So, if I got this right, he was saying that there's a 'macroverse', some sort of branching system like a fucking phylogenetic tree in biological evolution. He seemed to be saying that humans are the apex predator of this macroverse, and that our universe, the one we're living in right now, is one of the failures. He mentioned some catastrophic shit that led to unrest, essentially sparking World War III and wiping us all out.
It all kinda made sense. And that scared the hell out of me.
I tried to get in touch with my therapist, to make sense of all this mind-bending shit, but I couldn't reach 'em. They were probably off on vacation or something, living a blissfully unaware life. So, I figured, fuck it. I'll bring it up in a week when we meet.
And so, I went back to the dreams. Same as always – suspended above the abyss, glass pane, and the all-too-familiar blindingly white room with clinical surfaces. And the same damn voice.
Eventually I said, "I think... I think I might believe you. It doesn't make complete sense to me... but I couldn't have possibly known the stuff you've been talking about. But, I don't get what my role in all this is. Why the hell are you telling me this? Isn't this going to screw with the simulation or something? I asked people online, and they all said it'd be a terrible idea to interfere with the simulation. It would mess with our causal chain and turn the whole experiment to shit. So what gives?"
The researcher's voice came over the speaker again, "Yes, that's a valid concern. But, we're running short on subjects. You're truly an anomaly, we haven't encountered someone quite like you before. Despite adjusting the dosage of the substances we've been administering, you just kept becoming lucid. I decided, perhaps a little unilaterally, to... interfere with the test subject. My hope is that by giving you a briefing, you could play a role in saving humanity, fighting against the darkness, and preserving the macroverse. This could ensure the perseverance of future generations in the succeeding universes."
I was flabbergasted. "What the hell? I'm no hero! I'm just a socially anxious nerd whose main hobbies are gaming and smoking weed. I'm just trying to get by. I don't understand what you're talking about, how the hell am I supposed to save anything?"
He replied, "You have noticed the darkness below you. This darkness is the cause of all suffering in the world. Are you familiar with the concept of theodicy?"
Confused, I retorted, "What the hell? Can you not speak in intellectual mumbo jumbo for a second?"
The researcher explained, "Theodicy is a theological concept that questions why, if God is benevolent, there is suffering in the world. What's your take on that?"
I shrugged, "I don't know, I'm agnostic. But if I were to guess, I think it's because humans have free will. Suffering in the world is due to free will, you know?"
"Wrong", the researcher interrupted. "There is no free will. Your universe's neuroscience has already established this. Psychological studies have proven that humans do not have control over their own actions. The laws of physics concur with this, and philosophy mostly agrees too. So free will can't be the root of suffering."
"Alright, man. I'm not a scientist. But yeah, I think I've heard about these neuroscience experiments. The ones where people's brain waves indicated they had decided to open their hands before they were consciously aware of deciding to do so. So yeah, maybe there's something about unconscious decision-making. But personally, I don't care much. I feel like I have the illusion of free will and that's good enough, so why should it bother me? What's the point?"
"The point is, free will isn't the source of suffering in the world."
"Oh, so this is a philosophical game to you? If free will isn't the source, then God must be evil, is that it?"
"Quite the contrary", he said, "God isn't evil. The source of suffering is the darkness beneath you - what you've been referring to as the 'abyss'."
Startled, I questioned, "How do you know I've been calling it that?"
He spoke with an unnerving confidence, "I can read your mind. With all the tools at my disposal, I can perceive every aspect of your simulated experience. Thus, I know you've been aware of the 'abyss'. It's been speaking to you, hasn't it? Initially, it inspired dread. But now, how does it make you feel?"
Hesitant, I confessed, "I... I don't know. I feel... drawn to it. It's as though it's always been there, long before you began speaking to me."
With a gravity in his voice, he explained, "It's been spreading, much like a cosmic virus. It's consuming the macroverses, fostering political unrest, cultivating ignorance, encouraging indifference towards the problems of the world, toward human suffering. It sows seeds of evil within the hearts of men, inciting chaos, destruction, cruelty, and hatred. All the atrocities throughout history—the crucifixion of Christ, the world wars—they all stem from the abyss."
I was at a loss for words and the dream came to an abrupt end. The exhaustion I felt was immense, as the conversation was too overwhelming to fully comprehend. I felt as though I couldn't take any more of this, and when I look at the real world, it feels as though the abyss had a point. I see constant storms of negativity on social media platforms like Twitter where hate and spite reign supreme. The threats of nuclear war, super-intelligent AI displacing human jobs, and the existential fear, in a world that feels increasingly alien to all of us.
We haven't truly solved any of our problems. With the advent of general AI and the proliferation of weapons that could cause unparalleled mass destruction, the state of our world is precarious. A resurgence of imperialism and authoritarianism, a decline in freedom and democracy, and an onslaught of hatred from all corners - we are being besieged on all sides.
But these issues aren't the fault of any single individual or decision-maker. It is systemic. The very nature of these systems is causing the suffering. The researcher had posited that the abyss was the root cause of this suffering. But perhaps, the abyss is merely a mirror, reflecting what was already there.
When I thought about it, all the tragedies in human history, the atrocities of wars, mass shootings, serial killers - haven't we built a culture that's obsessed with these terrible deeds? True crime and horror, some of the most successful genres out there. Our entertainment media is steeped in violence and negativity. Have we not already succumbed to the darkness? Hadn't the abyss simply revealed what was already in the hearts of humans?
Did humanity truly deserve to persevere? Were we, who have enslaved and harmed countless animals, we who have destroyed the biosphere at large, who have exploited everything around us for personal gain; were we fit to be considered the 'apex predator'? Are we really the saviors of the universe? Would a universe without humans be all that bad, really?
I became less and less engaged with the researcher. His talks, once intriguing, now felt dull and uninspiring. I drifted through my days in a daze, ignoring therapy sessions and the concerned calls from my therapist. My thoughts were consumed by the abyss. At times, I could see a creeping darkness encroach upon the corners of my vision.
People tried to reach out to me, but their words faded into mere mumbles. My real-life contacts dwindled, and I found myself caring less and less about the world around me. Social media, once a platform for connection, was deleted. It had devolved into a cesspool of negativity and relentless bickering - something I no longer had the energy to deal with.
In my dreams, the true reality, I stopped paying attention to the researcher. His words became incoherent mumbles as the abyss came ever closer, almost as if it was embracing me. It seeped into my waking reality, slowly but surely taking over my life.
The burden of humanity's torments is too heavy for me to bear. I cannot resist the grim truth of our existence - the world that is destined to be a hotbed for suffering. It isn't anyone's fault; it is simply the way the world was designed to be. I had to accept the harsh truth that humanity is on a path to its own demise. The project of humanity, it seems, is doomed to fail.
Eventually, in one of my dreams, a siren's wail ripped through the silence, accompanied by flashing red lights that bathed the room in a stark, blood-like glow. The researcher's voice, suddenly urgent, pulled me back into focus.
The researcher spoke one last time: "I'm sorry to say this, but your universe appears to be doomed. It's time for us to part ways."
Suddenly, the shackles that bound my arms and legs were released by some unseen mechanism. I was falling, plunging into the abyss that lay below. I was enveloped by darkness, an unending and eternal void that swallowed all light. No longer did I dream, there was only the darkness — an expanse of infinite obscurity.
Strangely enough, I've found acceptance in my fate. I see it now as my mission to disseminate this knowledge, a burden that is not just my own but one that should be shared collectively. It's our shared destiny, and to all who are willing to listen, I tell them of the abyss, the dark entity that lies beneath us all.
It is the foundation of our reality, the source of all our suffering. My story is a warning, a revelation of the truth that lies behind our existence. Now, all I see is darkness, and my greatest wish is for this truth to spread. Like a virus, it should infect us all, enlighten us all, and unite us all in our shared fate.

I legit never here from this guy like ever yet i hear from mutual friends that he talks about me all the time. He has my number but doesn't reach out if he does its once in a blue moon only to tell me he's going to be at the same mutual gathering of friends if he hears i'm also going to be there. Not to ask me out. When I see him at these events, he acts as if he doesn't want me to leave him yet I never hear from him outside of these things. Yet he tells others he's waiting to hear from me. I attempted to reach out to him first once he left me on red for four days then later responded without explanation, that he heard, I was going to be at a mutual friends gathering and hopes that he runs into me. Everyone is egging me on to contact him but I'm honestly not sure this guy likes me. Should I contact him?

You won't believe this, but I swear on my life, it's the truth. I think I'm losing my goddamn mind. I have to... okay, okay, I need to start from the beginning. See, I've been dabbling in lucid dreaming lately. Been having these vivid, messed up nightmares, you see... I just wanted some semblance of control over my mental state, you know?
I felt like therapy wasn't cutting it anymore, I needed something more, so I gotten into this lucid dreaming thing. But the things I've seen, the encounters I've had, they've changed me, man. I've gotta get this out, gotta let the world know about this shit 'cause its importance... it can't be overstated.
So here's the thing, in my lucid dreams, I've been having these bizarre experiences. In the dreams, waking up suspended over an abyss, right? Surrounding me, there's this sterile, white room, bathed in blinding lights, and in the distance, a glass pane. Can't exactly make out what's behind it, and it paints this real surreal scene.
At first, it didn't bother me much. I woke up, had this lingering unease the whole day but shrugged it off. But then the next few times, as I regained lucidity in my dreams, the same scenario would play out. At first, I could do the usual stuff, you know, flying around and the likes, but then the dream would always, without fail, transition into this... this suspension above the abyss.
I'd be strapped in place with ropes or chains, my limbs stretched out toward the cool walls of this clinical, white room. And beneath me, just infinite darkness. It felt like gazing into the maw of oblivion, and it was... it was downright petrifying.
The dread, man. The absolute fucking dread. In particular that glass pane in the distance and the infinite abyss below me, it was eating away at me. I started wondering what was behind the glass, and what, if anything, was at the bottom of that godforsaken hole. Its vast, infinite expanse was just pulling me in, gnawing at my sanity. It's hard to describe, you know? It's not something you can just put into words.
Soon, it became a nightly routine. Almost every single dream ended with me suspended over that abyss, and this paralyzing sense of dread seeping into me, becoming more and more prominent. Eventually, I decided I had to stop, I couldn't go on like this. I spoke to my therapist about it, and they said it might be a manifestation of some negative childhood experiences, and advised me to quit lucid dreaming for the time being. It wasn't doing me any good, they said.
I upped my meds, and tried something else, but no matter what I did, I couldn't shake off the lucidity. It's weird because in the past, becoming lucid required effort, with reality checks, dream journaling, and whatnot. But now, even when I set the intention to not lucid dream, I found myself more lucid than ever, and always, without fail, ended up above the abyss.
At one point, I tried to inspect my body in the dream, and I think I was naked. I noticed something on my arm, like a small needle. I realized it was an IV drip. Something was being pumped into me. I freaked out, man. What the hell was happening? Was I part of some fucked up mind control experiment? Was I being drugged? I couldn't make sense of it all.
Soon after noticing the IV, I saw shadows moving behind the glass pane. There were figures there, watching me. The terror I felt about these figures lurking behind the glass was even more pronounced than the dread induced by the abyss. It was all kinds of messed up, but amidst the fear, I felt this sudden urge to know more.
So I shouted out, "Hey! Who's there? Talk to me, you creepy fucks!"
To my surprise, a voice crackled to life over the speakers. It said, "We've never seen someone maintain lucidity to this extent. Your perceptive abilities are impressively consistent. How did you achieve this?"
"I don't fucking know", I said. "It's not like I want to be here. Is this even real?"
The voice replied, "Yes, this is happening. This is the actual reality, the true nature of reality."
"What the fuck? You say my dreams are reality? You'll have to prove that for me to believe you at all", I said.
"You will see by the consistency of this reality", the voice said. "But first, demonstrate to us that you are indeed lucid enough for us to continue this conversation. It's not something we usually do. It might, however, be a path to conquer the darkness."
And then, like every other time, the dream ended.
I relayed the whole fucked up scenario to my therapist, who, unsurprisingly, suggested it was a fantastical manifestation of my own fears. My subconscious testing boundaries, pushing limits, trying to get under my skin. But when I asked them what to do, they proposed a plan: continue engaging with the dream. Try to spot inconsistencies in its logic. After all, if it is all just a product of my mind, it is bound to falter at some point.
So, armed with my therapist's advice, I geared up for the next encounter. This time I would use reason and logic to disprove the dream for good.
The following night, I found myself in the all-too-familiar white room, suspended over nothingness, the shadowy figures behind the glass pane watching intently. The voice piped up again.
"Do you still question this reality?" it asked.
"Yeah", I said, "I think this is just my dream. You're just a figment of my unconscious mind. This is all nonsensical bullshit, and I'm going to prove you wrong."
"Alright", the voice responded. "You can try to disprove me. But first, would you like to hear what we're doing here? Then, you can judge for yourself."
"Yeah, sure. Whatever. What are you doing here?" I asked, more out of curiosity than anything else.
"We are doing research. Do you know what an ancestor simulation is?"
I felt my eyebrows furrow. "No fucking clue. What is it?"
Then, the voice from the speaker, which now claimed to be a researcher, started to explain.
"An ancestor simulation is essentially a theory, a simulated reality hypothesis", the voice explained. "It suggests that a perceived reality isn't 'real' but instead is running on some advanced computational system capable of artificially simulating an entire universe and consistent reality."
So far, this was all high-grade sci-fi crap, but I played along. "Why the hell would anyone do that?"
"For the purpose of analysis", the voice continued. "Imagine a civilization trying to understand its own past. In your case, your reality is an ancestor simulation of one of many civilizations that have died out because of catastrophic failures in the space-time continuum."
My head was spinning. "Catastrophic failures? What are you talking about?"
The voice said: "Humanity failed. Due to their own ignorance, they destroyed their planet. Climate change, political unrest, the development of superintelligent AI systems used for weaponry, they all fueled the chaos of World War III."
As the voice droned on, I tried to make sense of what was being told. Is this all just some nightmare spawned by my own fears, or could there be some truth to this? And if there was, then what did it mean for me, for us?
The voice added: "Do you know what a macroverse is?"
"Yeah, I've heard of macroverses", I said, "That's like, multiple universes, right?"
"Yes", the voice said. "We exist within a five-dimensional macroverse. The fifth dimension encompasses parallel universes. The concept of an ancestor simulation isn't completely accurate. It's an analogy, borrowed from Darwinian evolution, suggesting our universe is part of a branching system of universes."
I could barely keep up with this gibberish. "A branching system of...?"
"Universes", the voice repeated. "This system churns out various configurations, mutations of universes, one of which eventually became my universe, another one yours. It's as though universes are engaged in a Darwinian competition. The most adaptive ones, primarily those driven by human beings, last the longest. They compete to see which universe can ultimately conquer the darkness, can combat the laws of entropy."
This was just too much. It felt like some wild fever dream, a convoluted mess of sci-fi nonsense. But even so, there was an unnerving quality to the voice that made me want to listen, to understand. If what it said was true... well, I didn't want to think about that. Not yet.
For a bit I was just silent, my mind racing.
"Look", I finally muttered, "It's gonna be pretty damn hard to disprove you when I can't make heads or tails of the shit you're saying. You're telling me that universes depend on the quality of the humans inside them, and that they're evolving, or something? I... I don't get it. It's all just too fucking weird."
At that moment, the reality of the situation hit me like a ton of bricks. How the hell was I supposed to logically dismantle something that sounded like the wildest sci-fi bullshit I'd ever heard, something I couldn't even begin to wrap my head around? Did not the complexity of the information indicate that it could not have possibly been just a dream; my own mind could not generate things I could never understand. It was impossible.
And just as I was starting to feel the edges of panic creeping in, the researcher's voice began to fade. My surroundings blurred, morphed, and then... the dream ended.
The next day, I was glued to my damn computer, trying to dig into these concepts the mysterious voice had been throwing around. I was googling my ass off – 'ancestor simulations', 'parallel universes', 'fifth dimension', 'Darwinian evolution of universes', 'universe branching' – all that crazy stuff. And here's the kicker: I found a ton of literature on the topics and, for the most part, it seemed to line up with what the voice had been saying. It seems the voice was speaking the truth; providing me with information I had not known before... indicating that... it could not have been a dream... he was stating the truth... and that was...
So, if I got this right, he was saying that there's a 'macroverse', some sort of branching system like a fucking phylogenetic tree in biological evolution. He seemed to be saying that humans are the apex predator of this macroverse, and that our universe, the one we're living in right now, is one of the failures. He mentioned some catastrophic shit that led to unrest, essentially sparking World War III and wiping us all out.
It all kinda made sense. And that scared the hell out of me.
I tried to get in touch with my therapist, to make sense of all this mind-bending shit, but I couldn't reach 'em. They were probably off on vacation or something, living a blissfully unaware life. So, I figured, fuck it. I'll bring it up in a week when we meet.
And so, I went back to the dreams. Same as always – suspended above the abyss, glass pane, and the all-too-familiar blindingly white room with clinical surfaces. And the same damn voice.
Eventually I said, "I think... I think I might believe you. It doesn't make complete sense to me... but I couldn't have possibly known the stuff you've been talking about. But, I don't get what my role in all this is. Why the hell are you telling me this? Isn't this going to screw with the simulation or something? I asked people online, and they all said it'd be a terrible idea to interfere with the simulation. It would mess with our causal chain and turn the whole experiment to shit. So what gives?"
The researcher's voice came over the speaker again, "Yes, that's a valid concern. But, we're running short on subjects. You're truly an anomaly, we haven't encountered someone quite like you before. Despite adjusting the dosage of the substances we've been administering, you just kept becoming lucid. I decided, perhaps a little unilaterally, to... interfere with the test subject. My hope is that by giving you a briefing, you could play a role in saving humanity, fighting against the darkness, and preserving the macroverse. This could ensure the perseverance of future generations in the succeeding universes."
I was flabbergasted. "What the hell? I'm no hero! I'm just a socially anxious nerd whose main hobbies are gaming and smoking weed. I'm just trying to get by. I don't understand what you're talking about, how the hell am I supposed to save anything?"
He replied, "You have noticed the darkness below you. This darkness is the cause of all suffering in the world. Are you familiar with the concept of theodicy?"
Confused, I retorted, "What the hell? Can you not speak in intellectual mumbo jumbo for a second?"
The researcher explained, "Theodicy is a theological concept that questions why, if God is benevolent, there is suffering in the world. What's your take on that?"
I shrugged, "I don't know, I'm agnostic. But if I were to guess, I think it's because humans have free will. Suffering in the world is due to free will, you know?"
"Wrong", the researcher interrupted. "There is no free will. Your universe's neuroscience has already established this. Psychological studies have proven that humans do not have control over their own actions. The laws of physics concur with this, and philosophy mostly agrees too. So free will can't be the root of suffering."
"Alright, man. I'm not a scientist. But yeah, I think I've heard about these neuroscience experiments. The ones where people's brain waves indicated they had decided to open their hands before they were consciously aware of deciding to do so. So yeah, maybe there's something about unconscious decision-making. But personally, I don't care much. I feel like I have the illusion of free will and that's good enough, so why should it bother me? What's the point?"
"The point is, free will isn't the source of suffering in the world."
"Oh, so this is a philosophical game to you? If free will isn't the source, then God must be evil, is that it?"
"Quite the contrary", he said, "God isn't evil. The source of suffering is the darkness beneath you - what you've been referring to as the 'abyss'."
Startled, I questioned, "How do you know I've been calling it that?"
He spoke with an unnerving confidence, "I can read your mind. With all the tools at my disposal, I can perceive every aspect of your simulated experience. Thus, I know you've been aware of the 'abyss'. It's been speaking to you, hasn't it? Initially, it inspired dread. But now, how does it make you feel?"
Hesitant, I confessed, "I... I don't know. I feel... drawn to it. It's as though it's always been there, long before you began speaking to me."
With a gravity in his voice, he explained, "It's been spreading, much like a cosmic virus. It's consuming the macroverses, fostering political unrest, cultivating ignorance, encouraging indifference towards the problems of the world, toward human suffering. It sows seeds of evil within the hearts of men, inciting chaos, destruction, cruelty, and hatred. All the atrocities throughout history—the crucifixion of Christ, the world wars—they all stem from the abyss."
I was at a loss for words and the dream came to an abrupt end. The exhaustion I felt was immense, as the conversation was too overwhelming to fully comprehend. I felt as though I couldn't take any more of this, and when I look at the real world, it feels as though the abyss had a point. I see constant storms of negativity on social media platforms like Twitter where hate and spite reign supreme. The threats of nuclear war, super-intelligent AI displacing human jobs, and the existential fear, in a world that feels increasingly alien to all of us.
We haven't truly solved any of our problems. With the advent of general AI and the proliferation of weapons that could cause unparalleled mass destruction, the state of our world is precarious. A resurgence of imperialism and authoritarianism, a decline in freedom and democracy, and an onslaught of hatred from all corners - we are being besieged on all sides.
But these issues aren't the fault of any single individual or decision-maker. It is systemic. The very nature of these systems is causing the suffering. The researcher had posited that the abyss was the root cause of this suffering. But perhaps, the abyss is merely a mirror, reflecting what was already there.
When I thought about it, all the tragedies in human history, the atrocities of wars, mass shootings, serial killers - haven't we built a culture that's obsessed with these terrible deeds? True crime and horror, some of the most successful genres out there. Our entertainment media is steeped in violence and negativity. Have we not already succumbed to the darkness? Hadn't the abyss simply revealed what was already in the hearts of humans?
Did humanity truly deserve to persevere? Were we, who have enslaved and harmed countless animals, we who have destroyed the biosphere at large, who have exploited everything around us for personal gain; were we fit to be considered the 'apex predator'? Are we really the saviors of the universe? Would a universe without humans be all that bad, really?
I became less and less engaged with the researcher. His talks, once intriguing, now felt dull and uninspiring. I drifted through my days in a daze, ignoring therapy sessions and the concerned calls from my therapist. My thoughts were consumed by the abyss. At times, I could see a creeping darkness encroach upon the corners of my vision.
People tried to reach out to me, but their words faded into mere mumbles. My real-life contacts dwindled, and I found myself caring less and less about the world around me. Social media, once a platform for connection, was deleted. It had devolved into a cesspool of negativity and relentless bickering - something I no longer had the energy to deal with.
In my dreams, the true reality, I stopped paying attention to the researcher. His words became incoherent mumbles as the abyss came ever closer, almost as if it was embracing me. It seeped into my waking reality, slowly but surely taking over my life.
The burden of humanity's torments is too heavy for me to bear. I cannot resist the grim truth of our existence - the world that is destined to be a hotbed for suffering. It isn't anyone's fault; it is simply the way the world was designed to be. I had to accept the harsh truth that humanity is on a path to its own demise. The project of humanity, it seems, is doomed to fail.
Eventually, in one of my dreams, a siren's wail ripped through the silence, accompanied by flashing red lights that bathed the room in a stark, blood-like glow. The researcher's voice, suddenly urgent, pulled me back into focus.
The researcher spoke one last time: "I'm sorry to say this, but your universe appears to be doomed. It's time for us to part ways."
Suddenly, the shackles that bound my arms and legs were released by some unseen mechanism. I was falling, plunging into the abyss that lay below. I was enveloped by darkness, an unending and eternal void that swallowed all light. No longer did I dream, there was only the darkness — an expanse of infinite obscurity.
Strangely enough, I've found acceptance in my fate. I see it now as my mission to disseminate this knowledge, a burden that is not just my own but one that should be shared collectively. It's our shared destiny, and to all who are willing to listen, I tell them of the abyss, the dark entity that lies beneath us all.
It is the foundation of our reality, the source of all our suffering. My story is a warning, a revelation of the truth that lies behind our existence. Now, all I see is darkness, and my greatest wish is for this truth to spread. Like a virus, it should infect us all, enlighten us all, and unite us all in our shared fate.

You won't believe this, but I swear on my life, it's the truth. I think I'm losing my goddamn mind. I have to... okay, okay, I need to start from the beginning. See, I've been dabbling in lucid dreaming lately. Been having these vivid, messed up nightmares, you see... I just wanted some semblance of control over my mental state, you know?
I felt like therapy wasn't cutting it anymore, I needed something more, so I gotten into this lucid dreaming thing. But the things I've seen, the encounters I've had, they've changed me, man. I've gotta get this out, gotta let the world know about this shit 'cause its importance... it can't be overstated.
So here's the thing, in my lucid dreams, I've been having these bizarre experiences. In the dreams, waking up suspended over an abyss, right? Surrounding me, there's this sterile, white room, bathed in blinding lights, and in the distance, a glass pane. Can't exactly make out what's behind it, and it paints this real surreal scene.
At first, it didn't bother me much. I woke up, had this lingering unease the whole day but shrugged it off. But then the next few times, as I regained lucidity in my dreams, the same scenario would play out. At first, I could do the usual stuff, you know, flying around and the likes, but then the dream would always, without fail, transition into this... this suspension above the abyss.
I'd be strapped in place with ropes or chains, my limbs stretched out toward the cool walls of this clinical, white room. And beneath me, just infinite darkness. It felt like gazing into the maw of oblivion, and it was... it was downright petrifying.
The dread, man. The absolute fucking dread. In particular that glass pane in the distance and the infinite abyss below me, it was eating away at me. I started wondering what was behind the glass, and what, if anything, was at the bottom of that godforsaken hole. Its vast, infinite expanse was just pulling me in, gnawing at my sanity. It's hard to describe, you know? It's not something you can just put into words.
Soon, it became a nightly routine. Almost every single dream ended with me suspended over that abyss, and this paralyzing sense of dread seeping into me, becoming more and more prominent. Eventually, I decided I had to stop, I couldn't go on like this. I spoke to my therapist about it, and they said it might be a manifestation of some negative childhood experiences, and advised me to quit lucid dreaming for the time being. It wasn't doing me any good, they said.
I upped my meds, and tried something else, but no matter what I did, I couldn't shake off the lucidity. It's weird because in the past, becoming lucid required effort, with reality checks, dream journaling, and whatnot. But now, even when I set the intention to not lucid dream, I found myself more lucid than ever, and always, without fail, ended up above the abyss.
At one point, I tried to inspect my body in the dream, and I think I was naked. I noticed something on my arm, like a small needle. I realized it was an IV drip. Something was being pumped into me. I freaked out, man. What the hell was happening? Was I part of some fucked up mind control experiment? Was I being drugged? I couldn't make sense of it all.
Soon after noticing the IV, I saw shadows moving behind the glass pane. There were figures there, watching me. The terror I felt about these figures lurking behind the glass was even more pronounced than the dread induced by the abyss. It was all kinds of messed up, but amidst the fear, I felt this sudden urge to know more.
So I shouted out, "Hey! Who's there? Talk to me, you creepy fucks!"
To my surprise, a voice crackled to life over the speakers. It said, "We've never seen someone maintain lucidity to this extent. Your perceptive abilities are impressively consistent. How did you achieve this?"
"I don't fucking know", I said. "It's not like I want to be here. Is this even real?"
The voice replied, "Yes, this is happening. This is the actual reality, the true nature of reality."
"What the fuck? You say my dreams are reality? You'll have to prove that for me to believe you at all", I said.
"You will see by the consistency of this reality", the voice said. "But first, demonstrate to us that you are indeed lucid enough for us to continue this conversation. It's not something we usually do. It might, however, be a path to conquer the darkness."
And then, like every other time, the dream ended.
I relayed the whole fucked up scenario to my therapist, who, unsurprisingly, suggested it was a fantastical manifestation of my own fears. My subconscious testing boundaries, pushing limits, trying to get under my skin. But when I asked them what to do, they proposed a plan: continue engaging with the dream. Try to spot inconsistencies in its logic. After all, if it is all just a product of my mind, it is bound to falter at some point.
So, armed with my therapist's advice, I geared up for the next encounter. This time I would use reason and logic to disprove the dream for good.
The following night, I found myself in the all-too-familiar white room, suspended over nothingness, the shadowy figures behind the glass pane watching intently. The voice piped up again.
"Do you still question this reality?" it asked.
"Yeah", I said, "I think this is just my dream. You're just a figment of my unconscious mind. This is all nonsensical bullshit, and I'm going to prove you wrong."
"Alright", the voice responded. "You can try to disprove me. But first, would you like to hear what we're doing here? Then, you can judge for yourself."
"Yeah, sure. Whatever. What are you doing here?" I asked, more out of curiosity than anything else.
"We are doing research. Do you know what an ancestor simulation is?"
I felt my eyebrows furrow. "No fucking clue. What is it?"
Then, the voice from the speaker, which now claimed to be a researcher, started to explain.
"An ancestor simulation is essentially a theory, a simulated reality hypothesis", the voice explained. "It suggests that a perceived reality isn't 'real' but instead is running on some advanced computational system capable of artificially simulating an entire universe and consistent reality."
So far, this was all high-grade sci-fi crap, but I played along. "Why the hell would anyone do that?"
"For the purpose of analysis", the voice continued. "Imagine a civilization trying to understand its own past. In your case, your reality is an ancestor simulation of one of many civilizations that have died out because of catastrophic failures in the space-time continuum."
My head was spinning. "Catastrophic failures? What are you talking about?"
The voice said: "Humanity failed. Due to their own ignorance, they destroyed their planet. Climate change, political unrest, the development of superintelligent AI systems used for weaponry, they all fueled the chaos of World War III."
As the voice droned on, I tried to make sense of what was being told. Is this all just some nightmare spawned by my own fears, or could there be some truth to this? And if there was, then what did it mean for me, for us?
The voice added: "Do you know what a macroverse is?"
"Yeah, I've heard of macroverses", I said, "That's like, multiple universes, right?"
"Yes", the voice said. "We exist within a five-dimensional macroverse. The fifth dimension encompasses parallel universes. The concept of an ancestor simulation isn't completely accurate. It's an analogy, borrowed from Darwinian evolution, suggesting our universe is part of a branching system of universes."
I could barely keep up with this gibberish. "A branching system of...?"
"Universes", the voice repeated. "This system churns out various configurations, mutations of universes, one of which eventually became my universe, another one yours. It's as though universes are engaged in a Darwinian competition. The most adaptive ones, primarily those driven by human beings, last the longest. They compete to see which universe can ultimately conquer the darkness, can combat the laws of entropy."
This was just too much. It felt like some wild fever dream, a convoluted mess of sci-fi nonsense. But even so, there was an unnerving quality to the voice that made me want to listen, to understand. If what it said was true... well, I didn't want to think about that. Not yet.
For a bit I was just silent, my mind racing.
"Look", I finally muttered, "It's gonna be pretty damn hard to disprove you when I can't make heads or tails of the shit you're saying. You're telling me that universes depend on the quality of the humans inside them, and that they're evolving, or something? I... I don't get it. It's all just too fucking weird."
At that moment, the reality of the situation hit me like a ton of bricks. How the hell was I supposed to logically dismantle something that sounded like the wildest sci-fi bullshit I'd ever heard, something I couldn't even begin to wrap my head around? Did not the complexity of the information indicate that it could not have possibly been just a dream; my own mind could not generate things I could never understand. It was impossible.
And just as I was starting to feel the edges of panic creeping in, the researcher's voice began to fade. My surroundings blurred, morphed, and then... the dream ended.
The next day, I was glued to my damn computer, trying to dig into these concepts the mysterious voice had been throwing around. I was googling my ass off – 'ancestor simulations', 'parallel universes', 'fifth dimension', 'Darwinian evolution of universes', 'universe branching' – all that crazy stuff. And here's the kicker: I found a ton of literature on the topics and, for the most part, it seemed to line up with what the voice had been saying. It seems the voice was speaking the truth; providing me with information I had not known before... indicating that... it could not have been a dream... he was stating the truth... and that was...
So, if I got this right, he was saying that there's a 'macroverse', some sort of branching system like a fucking phylogenetic tree in biological evolution. He seemed to be saying that humans are the apex predator of this macroverse, and that our universe, the one we're living in right now, is one of the failures. He mentioned some catastrophic shit that led to unrest, essentially sparking World War III and wiping us all out.
It all kinda made sense. And that scared the hell out of me.
I tried to get in touch with my therapist, to make sense of all this mind-bending shit, but I couldn't reach 'em. They were probably off on vacation or something, living a blissfully unaware life. So, I figured, fuck it. I'll bring it up in a week when we meet.
And so, I went back to the dreams. Same as always – suspended above the abyss, glass pane, and the all-too-familiar blindingly white room with clinical surfaces. And the same damn voice.
Eventually I said, "I think... I think I might believe you. It doesn't make complete sense to me... but I couldn't have possibly known the stuff you've been talking about. But, I don't get what my role in all this is. Why the hell are you telling me this? Isn't this going to screw with the simulation or something? I asked people online, and they all said it'd be a terrible idea to interfere with the simulation. It would mess with our causal chain and turn the whole experiment to shit. So what gives?"
The researcher's voice came over the speaker again, "Yes, that's a valid concern. But, we're running short on subjects. You're truly an anomaly, we haven't encountered someone quite like you before. Despite adjusting the dosage of the substances we've been administering, you just kept becoming lucid. I decided, perhaps a little unilaterally, to... interfere with the test subject. My hope is that by giving you a briefing, you could play a role in saving humanity, fighting against the darkness, and preserving the macroverse. This could ensure the perseverance of future generations in the succeeding universes."
I was flabbergasted. "What the hell? I'm no hero! I'm just a socially anxious nerd whose main hobbies are gaming and smoking weed. I'm just trying to get by. I don't understand what you're talking about, how the hell am I supposed to save anything?"
He replied, "You have noticed the darkness below you. This darkness is the cause of all suffering in the world. Are you familiar with the concept of theodicy?"
Confused, I retorted, "What the hell? Can you not speak in intellectual mumbo jumbo for a second?"
The researcher explained, "Theodicy is a theological concept that questions why, if God is benevolent, there is suffering in the world. What's your take on that?"
I shrugged, "I don't know, I'm agnostic. But if I were to guess, I think it's because humans have free will. Suffering in the world is due to free will, you know?"
"Wrong", the researcher interrupted. "There is no free will. Your universe's neuroscience has already established this. Psychological studies have proven that humans do not have control over their own actions. The laws of physics concur with this, and philosophy mostly agrees too. So free will can't be the root of suffering."
"Alright, man. I'm not a scientist. But yeah, I think I've heard about these neuroscience experiments. The ones where people's brain waves indicated they had decided to open their hands before they were consciously aware of deciding to do so. So yeah, maybe there's something about unconscious decision-making. But personally, I don't care much. I feel like I have the illusion of free will and that's good enough, so why should it bother me? What's the point?"
"The point is, free will isn't the source of suffering in the world."
"Oh, so this is a philosophical game to you? If free will isn't the source, then God must be evil, is that it?"
"Quite the contrary", he said, "God isn't evil. The source of suffering is the darkness beneath you - what you've been referring to as the 'abyss'."
Startled, I questioned, "How do you know I've been calling it that?"
He spoke with an unnerving confidence, "I can read your mind. With all the tools at my disposal, I can perceive every aspect of your simulated experience. Thus, I know you've been aware of the 'abyss'. It's been speaking to you, hasn't it? Initially, it inspired dread. But now, how does it make you feel?"
Hesitant, I confessed, "I... I don't know. I feel... drawn to it. It's as though it's always been there, long before you began speaking to me."
With a gravity in his voice, he explained, "It's been spreading, much like a cosmic virus. It's consuming the macroverses, fostering political unrest, cultivating ignorance, encouraging indifference towards the problems of the world, toward human suffering. It sows seeds of evil within the hearts of men, inciting chaos, destruction, cruelty, and hatred. All the atrocities throughout history—the crucifixion of Christ, the world wars—they all stem from the abyss."
I was at a loss for words and the dream came to an abrupt end. The exhaustion I felt was immense, as the conversation was too overwhelming to fully comprehend. I felt as though I couldn't take any more of this, and when I look at the real world, it feels as though the abyss had a point. I see constant storms of negativity on social media platforms like Twitter where hate and spite reign supreme. The threats of nuclear war, super-intelligent AI displacing human jobs, and the existential fear, in a world that feels increasingly alien to all of us.
We haven't truly solved any of our problems. With the advent of general AI and the proliferation of weapons that could cause unparalleled mass destruction, the state of our world is precarious. A resurgence of imperialism and authoritarianism, a decline in freedom and democracy, and an onslaught of hatred from all corners - we are being besieged on all sides.
But these issues aren't the fault of any single individual or decision-maker. It is systemic. The very nature of these systems is causing the suffering. The researcher had posited that the abyss was the root cause of this suffering. But perhaps, the abyss is merely a mirror, reflecting what was already there.
When I thought about it, all the tragedies in human history, the atrocities of wars, mass shootings, serial killers - haven't we built a culture that's obsessed with these terrible deeds? True crime and horror, some of the most successful genres out there. Our entertainment media is steeped in violence and negativity. Have we not already succumbed to the darkness? Hadn't the abyss simply revealed what was already in the hearts of humans?
Did humanity truly deserve to persevere? Were we, who have enslaved and harmed countless animals, we who have destroyed the biosphere at large, who have exploited everything around us for personal gain; were we fit to be considered the 'apex predator'? Are we really the saviors of the universe? Would a universe without humans be all that bad, really?
I became less and less engaged with the researcher. His talks, once intriguing, now felt dull and uninspiring. I drifted through my days in a daze, ignoring therapy sessions and the concerned calls from my therapist. My thoughts were consumed by the abyss. At times, I could see a creeping darkness encroach upon the corners of my vision.
People tried to reach out to me, but their words faded into mere mumbles. My real-life contacts dwindled, and I found myself caring less and less about the world around me. Social media, once a platform for connection, was deleted. It had devolved into a cesspool of negativity and relentless bickering - something I no longer had the energy to deal with.
In my dreams, the true reality, I stopped paying attention to the researcher. His words became incoherent mumbles as the abyss came ever closer, almost as if it was embracing me. It seeped into my waking reality, slowly but surely taking over my life.
The burden of humanity's torments is too heavy for me to bear. I cannot resist the grim truth of our existence - the world that is destined to be a hotbed for suffering. It isn't anyone's fault; it is simply the way the world was designed to be. I had to accept the harsh truth that humanity is on a path to its own demise. The project of humanity, it seems, is doomed to fail.
Eventually, in one of my dreams, a siren's wail ripped through the silence, accompanied by flashing red lights that bathed the room in a stark, blood-like glow. The researcher's voice, suddenly urgent, pulled me back into focus.
The researcher spoke one last time: "I'm sorry to say this, but your universe appears to be doomed. It's time for us to part ways."
Suddenly, the shackles that bound my arms and legs were released by some unseen mechanism. I was falling, plunging into the abyss that lay below. I was enveloped by darkness, an unending and eternal void that swallowed all light. No longer did I dream, there was only the darkness — an expanse of infinite obscurity.
Strangely enough, I've found acceptance in my fate. I see it now as my mission to disseminate this knowledge, a burden that is not just my own but one that should be shared collectively. It's our shared destiny, and to all who are willing to listen, I tell them of the abyss, the dark entity that lies beneath us all.
It is the foundation of our reality, the source of all our suffering. My story is a warning, a revelation of the truth that lies behind our existence. Now, all I see is darkness, and my greatest wish is for this truth to spread. Like a virus, it should infect us all, enlighten us all, and unite us all in our shared fate.

Before I was even born, a longtime friend of the family gifted us a 6"x4" piece of her artwork. She does abstract work, and I have always been in love with the graffiti style of this particular piece and the color combination (navy, red, yellow, white, and green). So much so that I begged my parents to let me take it with me to my new place a few years ago and use it as the statement piece in my bedroom. Over the years, I've been slowing completing the room to accompany it's color scheme with thrift store finds. At the beginning of 2023, I scored a beautiful brand new duvet cover that really drove the whole look home. It was an exact match for the dark navy contrast in the painting.
And then I got hit with COVID. Hard. I didn't end up in the hospital or with any complications, but I had a five day period with body aches excruciating to the point where I have no recollection of anything other than the pain. When I started to recover, I found that the navy in the painting was now an intense purple (also some of the yellow had turned a tangerine color). The bedspread was and still is the shade of navy I remember. I know my sentiment sounds silly, but it feels like someone replaced a family heirloom with a bad knockoff. As a bonus, I found out that multiple bulbs in my place had burnt out during this period, and the wiring of some of the light switches had also changed.
This isn't the first time I've experienced something of this nature, and it's not the most drastic by any means either. However, I just found this group and figure it was worth sharing.

You won't believe this, but I swear on my life, it's the truth. I think I'm losing my goddamn mind. I have to... okay, okay, I need to start from the beginning. See, I've been dabbling in lucid dreaming lately. Been having these vivid, messed up nightmares, you see... I just wanted some semblance of control over my mental state, you know?
I felt like therapy wasn't cutting it anymore, I needed something more, so I gotten into this lucid dreaming thing. But the things I've seen, the encounters I've had, they've changed me, man. I've gotta get this out, gotta let the world know about this shit 'cause its importance... it can't be overstated.
So here's the thing, in my lucid dreams, I've been having these bizarre experiences. In the dreams, waking up suspended over an abyss, right? Surrounding me, there's this sterile, white room, bathed in blinding lights, and in the distance, a glass pane. Can't exactly make out what's behind it, and it paints this real surreal scene.
At first, it didn't bother me much. I woke up, had this lingering unease the whole day but shrugged it off. But then the next few times, as I regained lucidity in my dreams, the same scenario would play out. At first, I could do the usual stuff, you know, flying around and the likes, but then the dream would always, without fail, transition into this... this suspension above the abyss.
I'd be strapped in place with ropes or chains, my limbs stretched out toward the cool walls of this clinical, white room. And beneath me, just infinite darkness. It felt like gazing into the maw of oblivion, and it was... it was downright petrifying.
The dread, man. The absolute fucking dread. In particular that glass pane in the distance and the infinite abyss below me, it was eating away at me. I started wondering what was behind the glass, and what, if anything, was at the bottom of that godforsaken hole. Its vast, infinite expanse was just pulling me in, gnawing at my sanity. It's hard to describe, you know? It's not something you can just put into words.
Soon, it became a nightly routine. Almost every single dream ended with me suspended over that abyss, and this paralyzing sense of dread seeping into me, becoming more and more prominent. Eventually, I decided I had to stop, I couldn't go on like this. I spoke to my therapist about it, and they said it might be a manifestation of some negative childhood experiences, and advised me to quit lucid dreaming for the time being. It wasn't doing me any good, they said.
I upped my meds, and tried something else, but no matter what I did, I couldn't shake off the lucidity. It's weird because in the past, becoming lucid required effort, with reality checks, dream journaling, and whatnot. But now, even when I set the intention to not lucid dream, I found myself more lucid than ever, and always, without fail, ended up above the abyss.
At one point, I tried to inspect my body in the dream, and I think I was naked. I noticed something on my arm, like a small needle. I realized it was an IV drip. Something was being pumped into me. I freaked out, man. What the hell was happening? Was I part of some fucked up mind control experiment? Was I being drugged? I couldn't make sense of it all.
Soon after noticing the IV, I saw shadows moving behind the glass pane. There were figures there, watching me. The terror I felt about these figures lurking behind the glass was even more pronounced than the dread induced by the abyss. It was all kinds of messed up, but amidst the fear, I felt this sudden urge to know more.
So I shouted out, "Hey! Who's there? Talk to me, you creepy fucks!"
To my surprise, a voice crackled to life over the speakers. It said, "We've never seen someone maintain lucidity to this extent. Your perceptive abilities are impressively consistent. How did you achieve this?"
"I don't fucking know", I said. "It's not like I want to be here. Is this even real?"
The voice replied, "Yes, this is happening. This is the actual reality, the true nature of reality."
"What the fuck? You say my dreams are reality? You'll have to prove that for me to believe you at all", I said.
"You will see by the consistency of this reality", the voice said. "But first, demonstrate to us that you are indeed lucid enough for us to continue this conversation. It's not something we usually do. It might, however, be a path to conquer the darkness."
And then, like every other time, the dream ended.
I relayed the whole fucked up scenario to my therapist, who, unsurprisingly, suggested it was a fantastical manifestation of my own fears. My subconscious testing boundaries, pushing limits, trying to get under my skin. But when I asked them what to do, they proposed a plan: continue engaging with the dream. Try to spot inconsistencies in its logic. After all, if it is all just a product of my mind, it is bound to falter at some point.
So, armed with my therapist's advice, I geared up for the next encounter. This time I would use reason and logic to disprove the dream for good.
The following night, I found myself in the all-too-familiar white room, suspended over nothingness, the shadowy figures behind the glass pane watching intently. The voice piped up again.
"Do you still question this reality?" it asked.
"Yeah", I said, "I think this is just my dream. You're just a figment of my unconscious mind. This is all nonsensical bullshit, and I'm going to prove you wrong."
"Alright", the voice responded. "You can try to disprove me. But first, would you like to hear what we're doing here? Then, you can judge for yourself."
"Yeah, sure. Whatever. What are you doing here?" I asked, more out of curiosity than anything else.
"We are doing research. Do you know what an ancestor simulation is?"
I felt my eyebrows furrow. "No fucking clue. What is it?"
Then, the voice from the speaker, which now claimed to be a researcher, started to explain.
"An ancestor simulation is essentially a theory, a simulated reality hypothesis", the voice explained. "It suggests that a perceived reality isn't 'real' but instead is running on some advanced computational system capable of artificially simulating an entire universe and consistent reality."
So far, this was all high-grade sci-fi crap, but I played along. "Why the hell would anyone do that?"
"For the purpose of analysis", the voice continued. "Imagine a civilization trying to understand its own past. In your case, your reality is an ancestor simulation of one of many civilizations that have died out because of catastrophic failures in the space-time continuum."
My head was spinning. "Catastrophic failures? What are you talking about?"
The voice said: "Humanity failed. Due to their own ignorance, they destroyed their planet. Climate change, political unrest, the development of superintelligent AI systems used for weaponry, they all fueled the chaos of World War III."
As the voice droned on, I tried to make sense of what was being told. Is this all just some nightmare spawned by my own fears, or could there be some truth to this? And if there was, then what did it mean for me, for us?
The voice added: "Do you know what a macroverse is?"
"Yeah, I've heard of macroverses", I said, "That's like, multiple universes, right?"
"Yes", the voice said. "We exist within a five-dimensional macroverse. The fifth dimension encompasses parallel universes. The concept of an ancestor simulation isn't completely accurate. It's an analogy, borrowed from Darwinian evolution, suggesting our universe is part of a branching system of universes."
I could barely keep up with this gibberish. "A branching system of...?"
"Universes", the voice repeated. "This system churns out various configurations, mutations of universes, one of which eventually became my universe, another one yours. It's as though universes are engaged in a Darwinian competition. The most adaptive ones, primarily those driven by human beings, last the longest. They compete to see which universe can ultimately conquer the darkness, can combat the laws of entropy."
This was just too much. It felt like some wild fever dream, a convoluted mess of sci-fi nonsense. But even so, there was an unnerving quality to the voice that made me want to listen, to understand. If what it said was true... well, I didn't want to think about that. Not yet.
For a bit I was just silent, my mind racing.
"Look", I finally muttered, "It's gonna be pretty damn hard to disprove you when I can't make heads or tails of the shit you're saying. You're telling me that universes depend on the quality of the humans inside them, and that they're evolving, or something? I... I don't get it. It's all just too fucking weird."
At that moment, the reality of the situation hit me like a ton of bricks. How the hell was I supposed to logically dismantle something that sounded like the wildest sci-fi bullshit I'd ever heard, something I couldn't even begin to wrap my head around? Did not the complexity of the information indicate that it could not have possibly been just a dream; my own mind could not generate things I could never understand. It was impossible.
And just as I was starting to feel the edges of panic creeping in, the researcher's voice began to fade. My surroundings blurred, morphed, and then... the dream ended.
The next day, I was glued to my damn computer, trying to dig into these concepts the mysterious voice had been throwing around. I was googling my ass off – 'ancestor simulations', 'parallel universes', 'fifth dimension', 'Darwinian evolution of universes', 'universe branching' – all that crazy stuff. And here's the kicker: I found a ton of literature on the topics and, for the most part, it seemed to line up with what the voice had been saying. It seems the voice was speaking the truth; providing me with information I had not known before... indicating that... it could not have been a dream... he was stating the truth... and that was...
So, if I got this right, he was saying that there's a 'macroverse', some sort of branching system like a fucking phylogenetic tree in biological evolution. He seemed to be saying that humans are the apex predator of this macroverse, and that our universe, the one we're living in right now, is one of the failures. He mentioned some catastrophic shit that led to unrest, essentially sparking World War III and wiping us all out.
It all kinda made sense. And that scared the hell out of me.
I tried to get in touch with my therapist, to make sense of all this mind-bending shit, but I couldn't reach 'em. They were probably off on vacation or something, living a blissfully unaware life. So, I figured, fuck it. I'll bring it up in a week when we meet.
And so, I went back to the dreams. Same as always – suspended above the abyss, glass pane, and the all-too-familiar blindingly white room with clinical surfaces. And the same damn voice.
Eventually I said, "I think... I think I might believe you. It doesn't make complete sense to me... but I couldn't have possibly known the stuff you've been talking about. But, I don't get what my role in all this is. Why the hell are you telling me this? Isn't this going to screw with the simulation or something? I asked people online, and they all said it'd be a terrible idea to interfere with the simulation. It would mess with our causal chain and turn the whole experiment to shit. So what gives?"
The researcher's voice came over the speaker again, "Yes, that's a valid concern. But, we're running short on subjects. You're truly an anomaly, we haven't encountered someone quite like you before. Despite adjusting the dosage of the substances we've been administering, you just kept becoming lucid. I decided, perhaps a little unilaterally, to... interfere with the test subject. My hope is that by giving you a briefing, you could play a role in saving humanity, fighting against the darkness, and preserving the macroverse. This could ensure the perseverance of future generations in the succeeding universes."
I was flabbergasted. "What the hell? I'm no hero! I'm just a socially anxious nerd whose main hobbies are gaming and smoking weed. I'm just trying to get by. I don't understand what you're talking about, how the hell am I supposed to save anything?"
He replied, "You have noticed the darkness below you. This darkness is the cause of all suffering in the world. Are you familiar with the concept of theodicy?"
Confused, I retorted, "What the hell? Can you not speak in intellectual mumbo jumbo for a second?"
The researcher explained, "Theodicy is a theological concept that questions why, if God is benevolent, there is suffering in the world. What's your take on that?"
I shrugged, "I don't know, I'm agnostic. But if I were to guess, I think it's because humans have free will. Suffering in the world is due to free will, you know?"
"Wrong", the researcher interrupted. "There is no free will. Your universe's neuroscience has already established this. Psychological studies have proven that humans do not have control over their own actions. The laws of physics concur with this, and philosophy mostly agrees too. So free will can't be the root of suffering."
"Alright, man. I'm not a scientist. But yeah, I think I've heard about these neuroscience experiments. The ones where people's brain waves indicated they had decided to open their hands before they were consciously aware of deciding to do so. So yeah, maybe there's something about unconscious decision-making. But personally, I don't care much. I feel like I have the illusion of free will and that's good enough, so why should it bother me? What's the point?"
"The point is, free will isn't the source of suffering in the world."
"Oh, so this is a philosophical game to you? If free will isn't the source, then God must be evil, is that it?"
"Quite the contrary", he said, "God isn't evil. The source of suffering is the darkness beneath you - what you've been referring to as the 'abyss'."
Startled, I questioned, "How do you know I've been calling it that?"
He spoke with an unnerving confidence, "I can read your mind. With all the tools at my disposal, I can perceive every aspect of your simulated experience. Thus, I know you've been aware of the 'abyss'. It's been speaking to you, hasn't it? Initially, it inspired dread. But now, how does it make you feel?"
Hesitant, I confessed, "I... I don't know. I feel... drawn to it. It's as though it's always been there, long before you began speaking to me."
With a gravity in his voice, he explained, "It's been spreading, much like a cosmic virus. It's consuming the macroverses, fostering political unrest, cultivating ignorance, encouraging indifference towards the problems of the world, toward human suffering. It sows seeds of evil within the hearts of men, inciting chaos, destruction, cruelty, and hatred. All the atrocities throughout history—the crucifixion of Christ, the world wars—they all stem from the abyss."
I was at a loss for words and the dream came to an abrupt end. The exhaustion I felt was immense, as the conversation was too overwhelming to fully comprehend. I felt as though I couldn't take any more of this, and when I look at the real world, it feels as though the abyss had a point. I see constant storms of negativity on social media platforms like Twitter where hate and spite reign supreme. The threats of nuclear war, super-intelligent AI displacing human jobs, and the existential fear, in a world that feels increasingly alien to all of us.
We haven't truly solved any of our problems. With the advent of general AI and the proliferation of weapons that could cause unparalleled mass destruction, the state of our world is precarious. A resurgence of imperialism and authoritarianism, a decline in freedom and democracy, and an onslaught of hatred from all corners - we are being besieged on all sides.
But these issues aren't the fault of any single individual or decision-maker. It is systemic. The very nature of these systems is causing the suffering. The researcher had posited that the abyss was the root cause of this suffering. But perhaps, the abyss is merely a mirror, reflecting what was already there.
When I thought about it, all the tragedies in human history, the atrocities of wars, mass shootings, serial killers - haven't we built a culture that's obsessed with these terrible deeds? True crime and horror, some of the most successful genres out there. Our entertainment media is steeped in violence and negativity. Have we not already succumbed to the darkness? Hadn't the abyss simply revealed what was already in the hearts of humans?
Did humanity truly deserve to persevere? Were we, who have enslaved and harmed countless animals, we who have destroyed the biosphere at large, who have exploited everything around us for personal gain; were we fit to be considered the 'apex predator'? Are we really the saviors of the universe? Would a universe without humans be all that bad, really?
I became less and less engaged with the researcher. His talks, once intriguing, now felt dull and uninspiring. I drifted through my days in a daze, ignoring therapy sessions and the concerned calls from my therapist. My thoughts were consumed by the abyss. At times, I could see a creeping darkness encroach upon the corners of my vision.
People tried to reach out to me, but their words faded into mere mumbles. My real-life contacts dwindled, and I found myself caring less and less about the world around me. Social media, once a platform for connection, was deleted. It had devolved into a cesspool of negativity and relentless bickering - something I no longer had the energy to deal with.
In my dreams, the true reality, I stopped paying attention to the researcher. His words became incoherent mumbles as the abyss came ever closer, almost as if it was embracing me. It seeped into my waking reality, slowly but surely taking over my life.
The burden of humanity's torments is too heavy for me to bear. I cannot resist the grim truth of our existence - the world that is destined to be a hotbed for suffering. It isn't anyone's fault; it is simply the way the world was designed to be. I had to accept the harsh truth that humanity is on a path to its own demise. The project of humanity, it seems, is doomed to fail.
Eventually, in one of my dreams, a siren's wail ripped through the silence, accompanied by flashing red lights that bathed the room in a stark, blood-like glow. The researcher's voice, suddenly urgent, pulled me back into focus.
The researcher spoke one last time: "I'm sorry to say this, but your universe appears to be doomed. It's time for us to part ways."
Suddenly, the shackles that bound my arms and legs were released by some unseen mechanism. I was falling, plunging into the abyss that lay below. I was enveloped by darkness, an unending and eternal void that swallowed all light. No longer did I dream, there was only the darkness — an expanse of infinite obscurity.
Strangely enough, I've found acceptance in my fate. I see it now as my mission to disseminate this knowledge, a burden that is not just my own but one that should be shared collectively. It's our shared destiny, and to all who are willing to listen, I tell them of the abyss, the dark entity that lies beneath us all.
It is the foundation of our reality, the source of all our suffering. My story is a warning, a revelation of the truth that lies behind our existence. Now, all I see is darkness, and my greatest wish is for this truth to spread. Like a virus, it should infect us all, enlighten us all, and unite us all in our shared fate.

You won't believe this, but I swear on my life, it's the truth. I think I'm losing my goddamn mind. I have to... okay, okay, I need to start from the beginning. See, I've been dabbling in lucid dreaming lately. Been having these vivid, messed up nightmares, you see... I just wanted some semblance of control over my mental state, you know?
I felt like therapy wasn't cutting it anymore, I needed something more, so I gotten into this lucid dreaming thing. But the things I've seen, the encounters I've had, they've changed me, man. I've gotta get this out, gotta let the world know about this shit 'cause its importance... it can't be overstated.
So here's the thing, in my lucid dreams, I've been having these bizarre experiences. In the dreams, waking up suspended over an abyss, right? Surrounding me, there's this sterile, white room, bathed in blinding lights, and in the distance, a glass pane. Can't exactly make out what's behind it, and it paints this real surreal scene.
At first, it didn't bother me much. I woke up, had this lingering unease the whole day but shrugged it off. But then the next few times, as I regained lucidity in my dreams, the same scenario would play out. At first, I could do the usual stuff, you know, flying around and the likes, but then the dream would always, without fail, transition into this... this suspension above the abyss.
I'd be strapped in place with ropes or chains, my limbs stretched out toward the cool walls of this clinical, white room. And beneath me, just infinite darkness. It felt like gazing into the maw of oblivion, and it was... it was downright petrifying.
The dread, man. The absolute fucking dread. In particular that glass pane in the distance and the infinite abyss below me, it was eating away at me. I started wondering what was behind the glass, and what, if anything, was at the bottom of that godforsaken hole. Its vast, infinite expanse was just pulling me in, gnawing at my sanity. It's hard to describe, you know? It's not something you can just put into words.
Soon, it became a nightly routine. Almost every single dream ended with me suspended over that abyss, and this paralyzing sense of dread seeping into me, becoming more and more prominent. Eventually, I decided I had to stop, I couldn't go on like this. I spoke to my therapist about it, and they said it might be a manifestation of some negative childhood experiences, and advised me to quit lucid dreaming for the time being. It wasn't doing me any good, they said.
I upped my meds, and tried something else, but no matter what I did, I couldn't shake off the lucidity. It's weird because in the past, becoming lucid required effort, with reality checks, dream journaling, and whatnot. But now, even when I set the intention to not lucid dream, I found myself more lucid than ever, and always, without fail, ended up above the abyss.
At one point, I tried to inspect my body in the dream, and I think I was naked. I noticed something on my arm, like a small needle. I realized it was an IV drip. Something was being pumped into me. I freaked out, man. What the hell was happening? Was I part of some fucked up mind control experiment? Was I being drugged? I couldn't make sense of it all.
Soon after noticing the IV, I saw shadows moving behind the glass pane. There were figures there, watching me. The terror I felt about these figures lurking behind the glass was even more pronounced than the dread induced by the abyss. It was all kinds of messed up, but amidst the fear, I felt this sudden urge to know more.
So I shouted out, "Hey! Who's there? Talk to me, you creepy fucks!"
To my surprise, a voice crackled to life over the speakers. It said, "We've never seen someone maintain lucidity to this extent. Your perceptive abilities are impressively consistent. How did you achieve this?"
"I don't fucking know", I said. "It's not like I want to be here. Is this even real?"
The voice replied, "Yes, this is happening. This is the actual reality, the true nature of reality."
"What the fuck? You say my dreams are reality? You'll have to prove that for me to believe you at all", I said.
"You will see by the consistency of this reality", the voice said. "But first, demonstrate to us that you are indeed lucid enough for us to continue this conversation. It's not something we usually do. It might, however, be a path to conquer the darkness."
And then, like every other time, the dream ended.
I relayed the whole fucked up scenario to my therapist, who, unsurprisingly, suggested it was a fantastical manifestation of my own fears. My subconscious testing boundaries, pushing limits, trying to get under my skin. But when I asked them what to do, they proposed a plan: continue engaging with the dream. Try to spot inconsistencies in its logic. After all, if it is all just a product of my mind, it is bound to falter at some point.
So, armed with my therapist's advice, I geared up for the next encounter. This time I would use reason and logic to disprove the dream for good.
The following night, I found myself in the all-too-familiar white room, suspended over nothingness, the shadowy figures behind the glass pane watching intently. The voice piped up again.
"Do you still question this reality?" it asked.
"Yeah", I said, "I think this is just my dream. You're just a figment of my unconscious mind. This is all nonsensical bullshit, and I'm going to prove you wrong."
"Alright", the voice responded. "You can try to disprove me. But first, would you like to hear what we're doing here? Then, you can judge for yourself."
"Yeah, sure. Whatever. What are you doing here?" I asked, more out of curiosity than anything else.
"We are doing research. Do you know what an ancestor simulation is?"
I felt my eyebrows furrow. "No fucking clue. What is it?"
Then, the voice from the speaker, which now claimed to be a researcher, started to explain.
"An ancestor simulation is essentially a theory, a simulated reality hypothesis", the voice explained. "It suggests that a perceived reality isn't 'real' but instead is running on some advanced computational system capable of artificially simulating an entire universe and consistent reality."
So far, this was all high-grade sci-fi crap, but I played along. "Why the hell would anyone do that?"
"For the purpose of analysis", the voice continued. "Imagine a civilization trying to understand its own past. In your case, your reality is an ancestor simulation of one of many civilizations that have died out because of catastrophic failures in the space-time continuum."
My head was spinning. "Catastrophic failures? What are you talking about?"
The voice said: "Humanity failed. Due to their own ignorance, they destroyed their planet. Climate change, political unrest, the development of superintelligent AI systems used for weaponry, they all fueled the chaos of World War III."
As the voice droned on, I tried to make sense of what was being told. Is this all just some nightmare spawned by my own fears, or could there be some truth to this? And if there was, then what did it mean for me, for us?
The voice added: "Do you know what a macroverse is?"
"Yeah, I've heard of macroverses", I said, "That's like, multiple universes, right?"
"Yes", the voice said. "We exist within a five-dimensional macroverse. The fifth dimension encompasses parallel universes. The concept of an ancestor simulation isn't completely accurate. It's an analogy, borrowed from Darwinian evolution, suggesting our universe is part of a branching system of universes."
I could barely keep up with this gibberish. "A branching system of...?"
"Universes", the voice repeated. "This system churns out various configurations, mutations of universes, one of which eventually became my universe, another one yours. It's as though universes are engaged in a Darwinian competition. The most adaptive ones, primarily those driven by human beings, last the longest. They compete to see which universe can ultimately conquer the darkness, can combat the laws of entropy."
This was just too much. It felt like some wild fever dream, a convoluted mess of sci-fi nonsense. But even so, there was an unnerving quality to the voice that made me want to listen, to understand. If what it said was true... well, I didn't want to think about that. Not yet.
For a bit I was just silent, my mind racing.
"Look", I finally muttered, "It's gonna be pretty damn hard to disprove you when I can't make heads or tails of the shit you're saying. You're telling me that universes depend on the quality of the humans inside them, and that they're evolving, or something? I... I don't get it. It's all just too fucking weird."
At that moment, the reality of the situation hit me like a ton of bricks. How the hell was I supposed to logically dismantle something that sounded like the wildest sci-fi bullshit I'd ever heard, something I couldn't even begin to wrap my head around? Did not the complexity of the information indicate that it could not have possibly been just a dream; my own mind could not generate things I could never understand. It was impossible.
And just as I was starting to feel the edges of panic creeping in, the researcher's voice began to fade. My surroundings blurred, morphed, and then... the dream ended.
The next day, I was glued to my damn computer, trying to dig into these concepts the mysterious voice had been throwing around. I was googling my ass off – 'ancestor simulations', 'parallel universes', 'fifth dimension', 'Darwinian evolution of universes', 'universe branching' – all that crazy stuff. And here's the kicker: I found a ton of literature on the topics and, for the most part, it seemed to line up with what the voice had been saying. It seems the voice was speaking the truth; providing me with information I had not known before... indicating that... it could not have been a dream... he was stating the truth... and that was...
So, if I got this right, he was saying that there's a 'macroverse', some sort of branching system like a fucking phylogenetic tree in biological evolution. He seemed to be saying that humans are the apex predator of this macroverse, and that our universe, the one we're living in right now, is one of the failures. He mentioned some catastrophic shit that led to unrest, essentially sparking World War III and wiping us all out.
It all kinda made sense. And that scared the hell out of me.
I tried to get in touch with my therapist, to make sense of all this mind-bending shit, but I couldn't reach 'em. They were probably off on vacation or something, living a blissfully unaware life. So, I figured, fuck it. I'll bring it up in a week when we meet.
And so, I went back to the dreams. Same as always – suspended above the abyss, glass pane, and the all-too-familiar blindingly white room with clinical surfaces. And the same damn voice.
Eventually I said, "I think... I think I might believe you. It doesn't make complete sense to me... but I couldn't have possibly known the stuff you've been talking about. But, I don't get what my role in all this is. Why the hell are you telling me this? Isn't this going to screw with the simulation or something? I asked people online, and they all said it'd be a terrible idea to interfere with the simulation. It would mess with our causal chain and turn the whole experiment to shit. So what gives?"
The researcher's voice came over the speaker again, "Yes, that's a valid concern. But, we're running short on subjects. You're truly an anomaly, we haven't encountered someone quite like you before. Despite adjusting the dosage of the substances we've been administering, you just kept becoming lucid. I decided, perhaps a little unilaterally, to... interfere with the test subject. My hope is that by giving you a briefing, you could play a role in saving humanity, fighting against the darkness, and preserving the macroverse. This could ensure the perseverance of future generations in the succeeding universes."
I was flabbergasted. "What the hell? I'm no hero! I'm just a socially anxious nerd whose main hobbies are gaming and smoking weed. I'm just trying to get by. I don't understand what you're talking about, how the hell am I supposed to save anything?"
He replied, "You have noticed the darkness below you. This darkness is the cause of all suffering in the world. Are you familiar with the concept of theodicy?"
Confused, I retorted, "What the hell? Can you not speak in intellectual mumbo jumbo for a second?"
The researcher explained, "Theodicy is a theological concept that questions why, if God is benevolent, there is suffering in the world. What's your take on that?"
I shrugged, "I don't know, I'm agnostic. But if I were to guess, I think it's because humans have free will. Suffering in the world is due to free will, you know?"
"Wrong", the researcher interrupted. "There is no free will. Your universe's neuroscience has already established this. Psychological studies have proven that humans do not have control over their own actions. The laws of physics concur with this, and philosophy mostly agrees too. So free will can't be the root of suffering."
"Alright, man. I'm not a scientist. But yeah, I think I've heard about these neuroscience experiments. The ones where people's brain waves indicated they had decided to open their hands before they were consciously aware of deciding to do so. So yeah, maybe there's something about unconscious decision-making. But personally, I don't care much. I feel like I have the illusion of free will and that's good enough, so why should it bother me? What's the point?"
"The point is, free will isn't the source of suffering in the world."
"Oh, so this is a philosophical game to you? If free will isn't the source, then God must be evil, is that it?"
"Quite the contrary", he said, "God isn't evil. The source of suffering is the darkness beneath you - what you've been referring to as the 'abyss'."
Startled, I questioned, "How do you know I've been calling it that?"
He spoke with an unnerving confidence, "I can read your mind. With all the tools at my disposal, I can perceive every aspect of your simulated experience. Thus, I know you've been aware of the 'abyss'. It's been speaking to you, hasn't it? Initially, it inspired dread. But now, how does it make you feel?"
Hesitant, I confessed, "I... I don't know. I feel... drawn to it. It's as though it's always been there, long before you began speaking to me."
With a gravity in his voice, he explained, "It's been spreading, much like a cosmic virus. It's consuming the macroverses, fostering political unrest, cultivating ignorance, encouraging indifference towards the problems of the world, toward human suffering. It sows seeds of evil within the hearts of men, inciting chaos, destruction, cruelty, and hatred. All the atrocities throughout history—the crucifixion of Christ, the world wars—they all stem from the abyss."
I was at a loss for words and the dream came to an abrupt end. The exhaustion I felt was immense, as the conversation was too overwhelming to fully comprehend. I felt as though I couldn't take any more of this, and when I look at the real world, it feels as though the abyss had a point. I see constant storms of negativity on social media platforms like Twitter where hate and spite reign supreme. The threats of nuclear war, super-intelligent AI displacing human jobs, and the existential fear, in a world that feels increasingly alien to all of us.
We haven't truly solved any of our problems. With the advent of general AI and the proliferation of weapons that could cause unparalleled mass destruction, the state of our world is precarious. A resurgence of imperialism and authoritarianism, a decline in freedom and democracy, and an onslaught of hatred from all corners - we are being besieged on all sides.
But these issues aren't the fault of any single individual or decision-maker. It is systemic. The very nature of these systems is causing the suffering. The researcher had posited that the abyss was the root cause of this suffering. But perhaps, the abyss is merely a mirror, reflecting what was already there.
When I thought about it, all the tragedies in human history, the atrocities of wars, mass shootings, serial killers - haven't we built a culture that's obsessed with these terrible deeds? True crime and horror, some of the most successful genres out there. Our entertainment media is steeped in violence and negativity. Have we not already succumbed to the darkness? Hadn't the abyss simply revealed what was already in the hearts of humans?
Did humanity truly deserve to persevere? Were we, who have enslaved and harmed countless animals, we who have destroyed the biosphere at large, who have exploited everything around us for personal gain; were we fit to be considered the 'apex predator'? Are we really the saviors of the universe? Would a universe without humans be all that bad, really?
I became less and less engaged with the researcher. His talks, once intriguing, now felt dull and uninspiring. I drifted through my days in a daze, ignoring therapy sessions and the concerned calls from my therapist. My thoughts were consumed by the abyss. At times, I could see a creeping darkness encroach upon the corners of my vision.
People tried to reach out to me, but their words faded into mere mumbles. My real-life contacts dwindled, and I found myself caring less and less about the world around me. Social media, once a platform for connection, was deleted. It had devolved into a cesspool of negativity and relentless bickering - something I no longer had the energy to deal with.
In my dreams, the true reality, I stopped paying attention to the researcher. His words became incoherent mumbles as the abyss came ever closer, almost as if it was embracing me. It seeped into my waking reality, slowly but surely taking over my life.
The burden of humanity's torments is too heavy for me to bear. I cannot resist the grim truth of our existence - the world that is destined to be a hotbed for suffering. It isn't anyone's fault; it is simply the way the world was designed to be. I had to accept the harsh truth that humanity is on a path to its own demise. The project of humanity, it seems, is doomed to fail.
Eventually, in one of my dreams, a siren's wail ripped through the silence, accompanied by flashing red lights that bathed the room in a stark, blood-like glow. The researcher's voice, suddenly urgent, pulled me back into focus.
The researcher spoke one last time: "I'm sorry to say this, but your universe appears to be doomed. It's time for us to part ways."
Suddenly, the shackles that bound my arms and legs were released by some unseen mechanism. I was falling, plunging into the abyss that lay below. I was enveloped by darkness, an unending and eternal void that swallowed all light. No longer did I dream, there was only the darkness — an expanse of infinite obscurity.
Strangely enough, I've found acceptance in my fate. I see it now as my mission to disseminate this knowledge, a burden that is not just my own but one that should be shared collectively. It's our shared destiny, and to all who are willing to listen, I tell them of the abyss, the dark entity that lies beneath us all.
It is the foundation of our reality, the source of all our suffering. My story is a warning, a revelation of the truth that lies behind our existence. Now, all I see is darkness, and my greatest wish is for this truth to spread. Like a virus, it should infect us all, enlighten us all, and unite us all in our shared fate.

You won't believe this, but I swear on my life, it's the truth. I think I'm losing my goddamn mind. I have to... okay, okay, I need to start from the beginning. See, I've been dabbling in lucid dreaming lately. Been having these vivid, messed up nightmares, you see... I just wanted some semblance of control over my mental state, you know?
I felt like therapy wasn't cutting it anymore, I needed something more, so I gotten into this lucid dreaming thing. But the things I've seen, the encounters I've had, they've changed me, man. I've gotta get this out, gotta let the world know about this shit 'cause its importance... it can't be overstated.
So here's the thing, in my lucid dreams, I've been having these bizarre experiences. In the dreams, waking up suspended over an abyss, right? Surrounding me, there's this sterile, white room, bathed in blinding lights, and in the distance, a glass pane. Can't exactly make out what's behind it, and it paints this real surreal scene.
At first, it didn't bother me much. I woke up, had this lingering unease the whole day but shrugged it off. But then the next few times, as I regained lucidity in my dreams, the same scenario would play out. At first, I could do the usual stuff, you know, flying around and the likes, but then the dream would always, without fail, transition into this... this suspension above the abyss.
I'd be strapped in place with ropes or chains, my limbs stretched out toward the cool walls of this clinical, white room. And beneath me, just infinite darkness. It felt like gazing into the maw of oblivion, and it was... it was downright petrifying.
The dread, man. The absolute fucking dread. In particular that glass pane in the distance and the infinite abyss below me, it was eating away at me. I started wondering what was behind the glass, and what, if anything, was at the bottom of that godforsaken hole. Its vast, infinite expanse was just pulling me in, gnawing at my sanity. It's hard to describe, you know? It's not something you can just put into words.
Soon, it became a nightly routine. Almost every single dream ended with me suspended over that abyss, and this paralyzing sense of dread seeping into me, becoming more and more prominent. Eventually, I decided I had to stop, I couldn't go on like this. I spoke to my therapist about it, and they said it might be a manifestation of some negative childhood experiences, and advised me to quit lucid dreaming for the time being. It wasn't doing me any good, they said.
I upped my meds, and tried something else, but no matter what I did, I couldn't shake off the lucidity. It's weird because in the past, becoming lucid required effort, with reality checks, dream journaling, and whatnot. But now, even when I set the intention to not lucid dream, I found myself more lucid than ever, and always, without fail, ended up above the abyss.
At one point, I tried to inspect my body in the dream, and I think I was naked. I noticed something on my arm, like a small needle. I realized it was an IV drip. Something was being pumped into me. I freaked out, man. What the hell was happening? Was I part of some fucked up mind control experiment? Was I being drugged? I couldn't make sense of it all.
Soon after noticing the IV, I saw shadows moving behind the glass pane. There were figures there, watching me. The terror I felt about these figures lurking behind the glass was even more pronounced than the dread induced by the abyss. It was all kinds of messed up, but amidst the fear, I felt this sudden urge to know more.
So I shouted out, "Hey! Who's there? Talk to me, you creepy fucks!"
To my surprise, a voice crackled to life over the speakers. It said, "We've never seen someone maintain lucidity to this extent. Your perceptive abilities are impressively consistent. How did you achieve this?"
"I don't fucking know", I said. "It's not like I want to be here. Is this even real?"
The voice replied, "Yes, this is happening. This is the actual reality, the true nature of reality."
"What the fuck? You say my dreams are reality? You'll have to prove that for me to believe you at all", I said.
"You will see by the consistency of this reality", the voice said. "But first, demonstrate to us that you are indeed lucid enough for us to continue this conversation. It's not something we usually do. It might, however, be a path to conquer the darkness."
And then, like every other time, the dream ended.
I relayed the whole fucked up scenario to my therapist, who, unsurprisingly, suggested it was a fantastical manifestation of my own fears. My subconscious testing boundaries, pushing limits, trying to get under my skin. But when I asked them what to do, they proposed a plan: continue engaging with the dream. Try to spot inconsistencies in its logic. After all, if it is all just a product of my mind, it is bound to falter at some point.
So, armed with my therapist's advice, I geared up for the next encounter. This time I would use reason and logic to disprove the dream for good.
The following night, I found myself in the all-too-familiar white room, suspended over nothingness, the shadowy figures behind the glass pane watching intently. The voice piped up again.
"Do you still question this reality?" it asked.
"Yeah", I said, "I think this is just my dream. You're just a figment of my unconscious mind. This is all nonsensical bullshit, and I'm going to prove you wrong."
"Alright", the voice responded. "You can try to disprove me. But first, would you like to hear what we're doing here? Then, you can judge for yourself."
"Yeah, sure. Whatever. What are you doing here?" I asked, more out of curiosity than anything else.
"We are doing research. Do you know what an ancestor simulation is?"
I felt my eyebrows furrow. "No fucking clue. What is it?"
Then, the voice from the speaker, which now claimed to be a researcher, started to explain.
"An ancestor simulation is essentially a theory, a simulated reality hypothesis", the voice explained. "It suggests that a perceived reality isn't 'real' but instead is running on some advanced computational system capable of artificially simulating an entire universe and consistent reality."
So far, this was all high-grade sci-fi crap, but I played along. "Why the hell would anyone do that?"
"For the purpose of analysis", the voice continued. "Imagine a civilization trying to understand its own past. In your case, your reality is an ancestor simulation of one of many civilizations that have died out because of catastrophic failures in the space-time continuum."
My head was spinning. "Catastrophic failures? What are you talking about?"
The voice said: "Humanity failed. Due to their own ignorance, they destroyed their planet. Climate change, political unrest, the development of superintelligent AI systems used for weaponry, they all fueled the chaos of World War III."
As the voice droned on, I tried to make sense of what was being told. Is this all just some nightmare spawned by my own fears, or could there be some truth to this? And if there was, then what did it mean for me, for us?
The voice added: "Do you know what a macroverse is?"
"Yeah, I've heard of macroverses", I said, "That's like, multiple universes, right?"
"Yes", the voice said. "We exist within a five-dimensional macroverse. The fifth dimension encompasses parallel universes. The concept of an ancestor simulation isn't completely accurate. It's an analogy, borrowed from Darwinian evolution, suggesting our universe is part of a branching system of universes."
I could barely keep up with this gibberish. "A branching system of...?"
"Universes", the voice repeated. "This system churns out various configurations, mutations of universes, one of which eventually became my universe, another one yours. It's as though universes are engaged in a Darwinian competition. The most adaptive ones, primarily those driven by human beings, last the longest. They compete to see which universe can ultimately conquer the darkness, can combat the laws of entropy."
This was just too much. It felt like some wild fever dream, a convoluted mess of sci-fi nonsense. But even so, there was an unnerving quality to the voice that made me want to listen, to understand. If what it said was true... well, I didn't want to think about that. Not yet.
For a bit I was just silent, my mind racing.
"Look", I finally muttered, "It's gonna be pretty damn hard to disprove you when I can't make heads or tails of the shit you're saying. You're telling me that universes depend on the quality of the humans inside them, and that they're evolving, or something? I... I don't get it. It's all just too fucking weird."
At that moment, the reality of the situation hit me like a ton of bricks. How the hell was I supposed to logically dismantle something that sounded like the wildest sci-fi bullshit I'd ever heard, something I couldn't even begin to wrap my head around? Did not the complexity of the information indicate that it could not have possibly been just a dream; my own mind could not generate things I could never understand. It was impossible.
And just as I was starting to feel the edges of panic creeping in, the researcher's voice began to fade. My surroundings blurred, morphed, and then... the dream ended.
The next day, I was glued to my damn computer, trying to dig into these concepts the mysterious voice had been throwing around. I was googling my ass off – 'ancestor simulations', 'parallel universes', 'fifth dimension', 'Darwinian evolution of universes', 'universe branching' – all that crazy stuff. And here's the kicker: I found a ton of literature on the topics and, for the most part, it seemed to line up with what the voice had been saying. It seems the voice was speaking the truth; providing me with information I had not known before... indicating that... it could not have been a dream... he was stating the truth... and that was...
So, if I got this right, he was saying that there's a 'macroverse', some sort of branching system like a fucking phylogenetic tree in biological evolution. He seemed to be saying that humans are the apex predator of this macroverse, and that our universe, the one we're living in right now, is one of the failures. He mentioned some catastrophic shit that led to unrest, essentially sparking World War III and wiping us all out.
It all kinda made sense. And that scared the hell out of me.
I tried to get in touch with my therapist, to make sense of all this mind-bending shit, but I couldn't reach 'em. They were probably off on vacation or something, living a blissfully unaware life. So, I figured, fuck it. I'll bring it up in a week when we meet.
And so, I went back to the dreams. Same as always – suspended above the abyss, glass pane, and the all-too-familiar blindingly white room with clinical surfaces. And the same damn voice.
Eventually I said, "I think... I think I might believe you. It doesn't make complete sense to me... but I couldn't have possibly known the stuff you've been talking about. But, I don't get what my role in all this is. Why the hell are you telling me this? Isn't this going to screw with the simulation or something? I asked people online, and they all said it'd be a terrible idea to interfere with the simulation. It would mess with our causal chain and turn the whole experiment to shit. So what gives?"
The researcher's voice came over the speaker again, "Yes, that's a valid concern. But, we're running short on subjects. You're truly an anomaly, we haven't encountered someone quite like you before. Despite adjusting the dosage of the substances we've been administering, you just kept becoming lucid. I decided, perhaps a little unilaterally, to... interfere with the test subject. My hope is that by giving you a briefing, you could play a role in saving humanity, fighting against the darkness, and preserving the macroverse. This could ensure the perseverance of future generations in the succeeding universes."
I was flabbergasted. "What the hell? I'm no hero! I'm just a socially anxious nerd whose main hobbies are gaming and smoking weed. I'm just trying to get by. I don't understand what you're talking about, how the hell am I supposed to save anything?"
He replied, "You have noticed the darkness below you. This darkness is the cause of all suffering in the world. Are you familiar with the concept of theodicy?"
Confused, I retorted, "What the hell? Can you not speak in intellectual mumbo jumbo for a second?"
The researcher explained, "Theodicy is a theological concept that questions why, if God is benevolent, there is suffering in the world. What's your take on that?"
I shrugged, "I don't know, I'm agnostic. But if I were to guess, I think it's because humans have free will. Suffering in the world is due to free will, you know?"
"Wrong", the researcher interrupted. "There is no free will. Your universe's neuroscience has already established this. Psychological studies have proven that humans do not have control over their own actions. The laws of physics concur with this, and philosophy mostly agrees too. So free will can't be the root of suffering."
"Alright, man. I'm not a scientist. But yeah, I think I've heard about these neuroscience experiments. The ones where people's brain waves indicated they had decided to open their hands before they were consciously aware of deciding to do so. So yeah, maybe there's something about unconscious decision-making. But personally, I don't care much. I feel like I have the illusion of free will and that's good enough, so why should it bother me? What's the point?"
"The point is, free will isn't the source of suffering in the world."
"Oh, so this is a philosophical game to you? If free will isn't the source, then God must be evil, is that it?"
"Quite the contrary", he said, "God isn't evil. The source of suffering is the darkness beneath you - what you've been referring to as the 'abyss'."
Startled, I questioned, "How do you know I've been calling it that?"
He spoke with an unnerving confidence, "I can read your mind. With all the tools at my disposal, I can perceive every aspect of your simulated experience. Thus, I know you've been aware of the 'abyss'. It's been speaking to you, hasn't it? Initially, it inspired dread. But now, how does it make you feel?"
Hesitant, I confessed, "I... I don't know. I feel... drawn to it. It's as though it's always been there, long before you began speaking to me."
With a gravity in his voice, he explained, "It's been spreading, much like a cosmic virus. It's consuming the macroverses, fostering political unrest, cultivating ignorance, encouraging indifference towards the problems of the world, toward human suffering. It sows seeds of evil within the hearts of men, inciting chaos, destruction, cruelty, and hatred. All the atrocities throughout history—the crucifixion of Christ, the world wars—they all stem from the abyss."
I was at a loss for words and the dream came to an abrupt end. The exhaustion I felt was immense, as the conversation was too overwhelming to fully comprehend. I felt as though I couldn't take any more of this, and when I look at the real world, it feels as though the abyss had a point. I see constant storms of negativity on social media platforms like Twitter where hate and spite reign supreme. The threats of nuclear war, super-intelligent AI displacing human jobs, and the existential fear, in a world that feels increasingly alien to all of us.
We haven't truly solved any of our problems. With the advent of general AI and the proliferation of weapons that could cause unparalleled mass destruction, the state of our world is precarious. A resurgence of imperialism and authoritarianism, a decline in freedom and democracy, and an onslaught of hatred from all corners - we are being besieged on all sides.
But these issues aren't the fault of any single individual or decision-maker. It is systemic. The very nature of these systems is causing the suffering. The researcher had posited that the abyss was the root cause of this suffering. But perhaps, the abyss is merely a mirror, reflecting what was already there.
When I thought about it, all the tragedies in human history, the atrocities of wars, mass shootings, serial killers - haven't we built a culture that's obsessed with these terrible deeds? True crime and horror, some of the most successful genres out there. Our entertainment media is steeped in violence and negativity. Have we not already succumbed to the darkness? Hadn't the abyss simply revealed what was already in the hearts of humans?
Did humanity truly deserve to persevere? Were we, who have enslaved and harmed countless animals, we who have destroyed the biosphere at large, who have exploited everything around us for personal gain; were we fit to be considered the 'apex predator'? Are we really the saviors of the universe? Would a universe without humans be all that bad, really?
I became less and less engaged with the researcher. His talks, once intriguing, now felt dull and uninspiring. I drifted through my days in a daze, ignoring therapy sessions and the concerned calls from my therapist. My thoughts were consumed by the abyss. At times, I could see a creeping darkness encroach upon the corners of my vision.
People tried to reach out to me, but their words faded into mere mumbles. My real-life contacts dwindled, and I found myself caring less and less about the world around me. Social media, once a platform for connection, was deleted. It had devolved into a cesspool of negativity and relentless bickering - something I no longer had the energy to deal with.
In my dreams, the true reality, I stopped paying attention to the researcher. His words became incoherent mumbles as the abyss came ever closer, almost as if it was embracing me. It seeped into my waking reality, slowly but surely taking over my life.
The burden of humanity's torments is too heavy for me to bear. I cannot resist the grim truth of our existence - the world that is destined to be a hotbed for suffering. It isn't anyone's fault; it is simply the way the world was designed to be. I had to accept the harsh truth that humanity is on a path to its own demise. The project of humanity, it seems, is doomed to fail.
Eventually, in one of my dreams, a siren's wail ripped through the silence, accompanied by flashing red lights that bathed the room in a stark, blood-like glow. The researcher's voice, suddenly urgent, pulled me back into focus.
The researcher spoke one last time: "I'm sorry to say this, but your universe appears to be doomed. It's time for us to part ways."
Suddenly, the shackles that bound my arms and legs were released by some unseen mechanism. I was falling, plunging into the abyss that lay below. I was enveloped by darkness, an unending and eternal void that swallowed all light. No longer did I dream, there was only the darkness — an expanse of infinite obscurity.
Strangely enough, I've found acceptance in my fate. I see it now as my mission to disseminate this knowledge, a burden that is not just my own but one that should be shared collectively. It's our shared destiny, and to all who are willing to listen, I tell them of the abyss, the dark entity that lies beneath us all.
It is the foundation of our reality, the source of all our suffering. My story is a warning, a revelation of the truth that lies behind our existence. Now, all I see is darkness, and my greatest wish is for this truth to spread. Like a virus, it should infect us all, enlighten us all, and unite us all in our shared fate.

You won't believe this, but I swear on my life, it's the truth. I think I'm losing my goddamn mind. I have to... okay, okay, I need to start from the beginning. See, I've been dabbling in lucid dreaming lately. Been having these vivid, messed up nightmares, you see... I just wanted some semblance of control over my mental state, you know?
I felt like therapy wasn't cutting it anymore, I needed something more, so I gotten into this lucid dreaming thing. But the things I've seen, the encounters I've had, they've changed me, man. I've gotta get this out, gotta let the world know about this shit 'cause its importance... it can't be overstated.
So here's the thing, in my lucid dreams, I've been having these bizarre experiences. In the dreams, waking up suspended over an abyss, right? Surrounding me, there's this sterile, white room, bathed in blinding lights, and in the distance, a glass pane. Can't exactly make out what's behind it, and it paints this real surreal scene.
At first, it didn't bother me much. I woke up, had this lingering unease the whole day but shrugged it off. But then the next few times, as I regained lucidity in my dreams, the same scenario would play out. At first, I could do the usual stuff, you know, flying around and the likes, but then the dream would always, without fail, transition into this... this suspension above the abyss.
I'd be strapped in place with ropes or chains, my limbs stretched out toward the cool walls of this clinical, white room. And beneath me, just infinite darkness. It felt like gazing into the maw of oblivion, and it was... it was downright petrifying.
The dread, man. The absolute fucking dread. In particular that glass pane in the distance and the infinite abyss below me, it was eating away at me. I started wondering what was behind the glass, and what, if anything, was at the bottom of that godforsaken hole. Its vast, infinite expanse was just pulling me in, gnawing at my sanity. It's hard to describe, you know? It's not something you can just put into words.
Soon, it became a nightly routine. Almost every single dream ended with me suspended over that abyss, and this paralyzing sense of dread seeping into me, becoming more and more prominent. Eventually, I decided I had to stop, I couldn't go on like this. I spoke to my therapist about it, and they said it might be a manifestation of some negative childhood experiences, and advised me to quit lucid dreaming for the time being. It wasn't doing me any good, they said.
I upped my meds, and tried something else, but no matter what I did, I couldn't shake off the lucidity. It's weird because in the past, becoming lucid required effort, with reality checks, dream journaling, and whatnot. But now, even when I set the intention to not lucid dream, I found myself more lucid than ever, and always, without fail, ended up above the abyss.
At one point, I tried to inspect my body in the dream, and I think I was naked. I noticed something on my arm, like a small needle. I realized it was an IV drip. Something was being pumped into me. I freaked out, man. What the hell was happening? Was I part of some fucked up mind control experiment? Was I being drugged? I couldn't make sense of it all.
Soon after noticing the IV, I saw shadows moving behind the glass pane. There were figures there, watching me. The terror I felt about these figures lurking behind the glass was even more pronounced than the dread induced by the abyss. It was all kinds of messed up, but amidst the fear, I felt this sudden urge to know more.
So I shouted out, "Hey! Who's there? Talk to me, you creepy fucks!"
To my surprise, a voice crackled to life over the speakers. It said, "We've never seen someone maintain lucidity to this extent. Your perceptive abilities are impressively consistent. How did you achieve this?"
"I don't fucking know", I said. "It's not like I want to be here. Is this even real?"
The voice replied, "Yes, this is happening. This is the actual reality, the true nature of reality."
"What the fuck? You say my dreams are reality? You'll have to prove that for me to believe you at all", I said.
"You will see by the consistency of this reality", the voice said. "But first, demonstrate to us that you are indeed lucid enough for us to continue this conversation. It's not something we usually do. It might, however, be a path to conquer the darkness."
And then, like every other time, the dream ended.
I relayed the whole fucked up scenario to my therapist, who, unsurprisingly, suggested it was a fantastical manifestation of my own fears. My subconscious testing boundaries, pushing limits, trying to get under my skin. But when I asked them what to do, they proposed a plan: continue engaging with the dream. Try to spot inconsistencies in its logic. After all, if it is all just a product of my mind, it is bound to falter at some point.
So, armed with my therapist's advice, I geared up for the next encounter. This time I would use reason and logic to disprove the dream for good.
The following night, I found myself in the all-too-familiar white room, suspended over nothingness, the shadowy figures behind the glass pane watching intently. The voice piped up again.
"Do you still question this reality?" it asked.
"Yeah", I said, "I think this is just my dream. You're just a figment of my unconscious mind. This is all nonsensical bullshit, and I'm going to prove you wrong."
"Alright", the voice responded. "You can try to disprove me. But first, would you like to hear what we're doing here? Then, you can judge for yourself."
"Yeah, sure. Whatever. What are you doing here?" I asked, more out of curiosity than anything else.
"We are doing research. Do you know what an ancestor simulation is?"
I felt my eyebrows furrow. "No fucking clue. What is it?"
Then, the voice from the speaker, which now claimed to be a researcher, started to explain.
"An ancestor simulation is essentially a theory, a simulated reality hypothesis", the voice explained. "It suggests that a perceived reality isn't 'real' but instead is running on some advanced computational system capable of artificially simulating an entire universe and consistent reality."
So far, this was all high-grade sci-fi crap, but I played along. "Why the hell would anyone do that?"
"For the purpose of analysis", the voice continued. "Imagine a civilization trying to understand its own past. In your case, your reality is an ancestor simulation of one of many civilizations that have died out because of catastrophic failures in the space-time continuum."
My head was spinning. "Catastrophic failures? What are you talking about?"
The voice said: "Humanity failed. Due to their own ignorance, they destroyed their planet. Climate change, political unrest, the development of superintelligent AI systems used for weaponry, they all fueled the chaos of World War III."
As the voice droned on, I tried to make sense of what was being told. Is this all just some nightmare spawned by my own fears, or could there be some truth to this? And if there was, then what did it mean for me, for us?
The voice added: "Do you know what a macroverse is?"
"Yeah, I've heard of macroverses", I said, "That's like, multiple universes, right?"
"Yes", the voice said. "We exist within a five-dimensional macroverse. The fifth dimension encompasses parallel universes. The concept of an ancestor simulation isn't completely accurate. It's an analogy, borrowed from Darwinian evolution, suggesting our universe is part of a branching system of universes."
I could barely keep up with this gibberish. "A branching system of...?"
"Universes", the voice repeated. "This system churns out various configurations, mutations of universes, one of which eventually became my universe, another one yours. It's as though universes are engaged in a Darwinian competition. The most adaptive ones, primarily those driven by human beings, last the longest. They compete to see which universe can ultimately conquer the darkness, can combat the laws of entropy."
This was just too much. It felt like some wild fever dream, a convoluted mess of sci-fi nonsense. But even so, there was an unnerving quality to the voice that made me want to listen, to understand. If what it said was true... well, I didn't want to think about that. Not yet.
For a bit I was just silent, my mind racing.
"Look", I finally muttered, "It's gonna be pretty damn hard to disprove you when I can't make heads or tails of the shit you're saying. You're telling me that universes depend on the quality of the humans inside them, and that they're evolving, or something? I... I don't get it. It's all just too fucking weird."
At that moment, the reality of the situation hit me like a ton of bricks. How the hell was I supposed to logically dismantle something that sounded like the wildest sci-fi bullshit I'd ever heard, something I couldn't even begin to wrap my head around? Did not the complexity of the information indicate that it could not have possibly been just a dream; my own mind could not generate things I could never understand. It was impossible.
And just as I was starting to feel the edges of panic creeping in, the researcher's voice began to fade. My surroundings blurred, morphed, and then... the dream ended.
The next day, I was glued to my damn computer, trying to dig into these concepts the mysterious voice had been throwing around. I was googling my ass off – 'ancestor simulations', 'parallel universes', 'fifth dimension', 'Darwinian evolution of universes', 'universe branching' – all that crazy stuff. And here's the kicker: I found a ton of literature on the topics and, for the most part, it seemed to line up with what the voice had been saying. It seems the voice was speaking the truth; providing me with information I had not known before... indicating that... it could not have been a dream... he was stating the truth... and that was...
So, if I got this right, he was saying that there's a 'macroverse', some sort of branching system like a fucking phylogenetic tree in biological evolution. He seemed to be saying that humans are the apex predator of this macroverse, and that our universe, the one we're living in right now, is one of the failures. He mentioned some catastrophic shit that led to unrest, essentially sparking World War III and wiping us all out.
It all kinda made sense. And that scared the hell out of me.
I tried to get in touch with my therapist, to make sense of all this mind-bending shit, but I couldn't reach 'em. They were probably off on vacation or something, living a blissfully unaware life. So, I figured, fuck it. I'll bring it up in a week when we meet.
And so, I went back to the dreams. Same as always – suspended above the abyss, glass pane, and the all-too-familiar blindingly white room with clinical surfaces. And the same damn voice.
Eventually I said, "I think... I think I might believe you. It doesn't make complete sense to me... but I couldn't have possibly known the stuff you've been talking about. But, I don't get what my role in all this is. Why the hell are you telling me this? Isn't this going to screw with the simulation or something? I asked people online, and they all said it'd be a terrible idea to interfere with the simulation. It would mess with our causal chain and turn the whole experiment to shit. So what gives?"
The researcher's voice came over the speaker again, "Yes, that's a valid concern. But, we're running short on subjects. You're truly an anomaly, we haven't encountered someone quite like you before. Despite adjusting the dosage of the substances we've been administering, you just kept becoming lucid. I decided, perhaps a little unilaterally, to... interfere with the test subject. My hope is that by giving you a briefing, you could play a role in saving humanity, fighting against the darkness, and preserving the macroverse. This could ensure the perseverance of future generations in the succeeding universes."
I was flabbergasted. "What the hell? I'm no hero! I'm just a socially anxious nerd whose main hobbies are gaming and smoking weed. I'm just trying to get by. I don't understand what you're talking about, how the hell am I supposed to save anything?"
He replied, "You have noticed the darkness below you. This darkness is the cause of all suffering in the world. Are you familiar with the concept of theodicy?"
Confused, I retorted, "What the hell? Can you not speak in intellectual mumbo jumbo for a second?"
The researcher explained, "Theodicy is a theological concept that questions why, if God is benevolent, there is suffering in the world. What's your take on that?"
I shrugged, "I don't know, I'm agnostic. But if I were to guess, I think it's because humans have free will. Suffering in the world is due to free will, you know?"
"Wrong", the researcher interrupted. "There is no free will. Your universe's neuroscience has already established this. Psychological studies have proven that humans do not have control over their own actions. The laws of physics concur with this, and philosophy mostly agrees too. So free will can't be the root of suffering."
"Alright, man. I'm not a scientist. But yeah, I think I've heard about these neuroscience experiments. The ones where people's brain waves indicated they had decided to open their hands before they were consciously aware of deciding to do so. So yeah, maybe there's something about unconscious decision-making. But personally, I don't care much. I feel like I have the illusion of free will and that's good enough, so why should it bother me? What's the point?"
"The point is, free will isn't the source of suffering in the world."
"Oh, so this is a philosophical game to you? If free will isn't the source, then God must be evil, is that it?"
"Quite the contrary", he said, "God isn't evil. The source of suffering is the darkness beneath you - what you've been referring to as the 'abyss'."
Startled, I questioned, "How do you know I've been calling it that?"
He spoke with an unnerving confidence, "I can read your mind. With all the tools at my disposal, I can perceive every aspect of your simulated experience. Thus, I know you've been aware of the 'abyss'. It's been speaking to you, hasn't it? Initially, it inspired dread. But now, how does it make you feel?"
Hesitant, I confessed, "I... I don't know. I feel... drawn to it. It's as though it's always been there, long before you began speaking to me."
With a gravity in his voice, he explained, "It's been spreading, much like a cosmic virus. It's consuming the macroverses, fostering political unrest, cultivating ignorance, encouraging indifference towards the problems of the world, toward human suffering. It sows seeds of evil within the hearts of men, inciting chaos, destruction, cruelty, and hatred. All the atrocities throughout history—the crucifixion of Christ, the world wars—they all stem from the abyss."
I was at a loss for words and the dream came to an abrupt end. The exhaustion I felt was immense, as the conversation was too overwhelming to fully comprehend. I felt as though I couldn't take any more of this, and when I look at the real world, it feels as though the abyss had a point. I see constant storms of negativity on social media platforms like Twitter where hate and spite reign supreme. The threats of nuclear war, super-intelligent AI displacing human jobs, and the existential fear, in a world that feels increasingly alien to all of us.
We haven't truly solved any of our problems. With the advent of general AI and the proliferation of weapons that could cause unparalleled mass destruction, the state of our world is precarious. A resurgence of imperialism and authoritarianism, a decline in freedom and democracy, and an onslaught of hatred from all corners - we are being besieged on all sides.
But these issues aren't the fault of any single individual or decision-maker. It is systemic. The very nature of these systems is causing the suffering. The researcher had posited that the abyss was the root cause of this suffering. But perhaps, the abyss is merely a mirror, reflecting what was already there.
When I thought about it, all the tragedies in human history, the atrocities of wars, mass shootings, serial killers - haven't we built a culture that's obsessed with these terrible deeds? True crime and horror, some of the most successful genres out there. Our entertainment media is steeped in violence and negativity. Have we not already succumbed to the darkness? Hadn't the abyss simply revealed what was already in the hearts of humans?
Did humanity truly deserve to persevere? Were we, who have enslaved and harmed countless animals, we who have destroyed the biosphere at large, who have exploited everything around us for personal gain; were we fit to be considered the 'apex predator'? Are we really the saviors of the universe? Would a universe without humans be all that bad, really?
I became less and less engaged with the researcher. His talks, once intriguing, now felt dull and uninspiring. I drifted through my days in a daze, ignoring therapy sessions and the concerned calls from my therapist. My thoughts were consumed by the abyss. At times, I could see a creeping darkness encroach upon the corners of my vision.
People tried to reach out to me, but their words faded into mere mumbles. My real-life contacts dwindled, and I found myself caring less and less about the world around me. Social media, once a platform for connection, was deleted. It had devolved into a cesspool of negativity and relentless bickering - something I no longer had the energy to deal with.
In my dreams, the true reality, I stopped paying attention to the researcher. His words became incoherent mumbles as the abyss came ever closer, almost as if it was embracing me. It seeped into my waking reality, slowly but surely taking over my life.
The burden of humanity's torments is too heavy for me to bear. I cannot resist the grim truth of our existence - the world that is destined to be a hotbed for suffering. It isn't anyone's fault; it is simply the way the world was designed to be. I had to accept the harsh truth that humanity is on a path to its own demise. The project of humanity, it seems, is doomed to fail.
Eventually, in one of my dreams, a siren's wail ripped through the silence, accompanied by flashing red lights that bathed the room in a stark, blood-like glow. The researcher's voice, suddenly urgent, pulled me back into focus.
The researcher spoke one last time: "I'm sorry to say this, but your universe appears to be doomed. It's time for us to part ways."
Suddenly, the shackles that bound my arms and legs were released by some unseen mechanism. I was falling, plunging into the abyss that lay below. I was enveloped by darkness, an unending and eternal void that swallowed all light. No longer did I dream, there was only the darkness — an expanse of infinite obscurity.
Strangely enough, I've found acceptance in my fate. I see it now as my mission to disseminate this knowledge, a burden that is not just my own but one that should be shared collectively. It's our shared destiny, and to all who are willing to listen, I tell them of the abyss, the dark entity that lies beneath us all.
It is the foundation of our reality, the source of all our suffering. My story is a warning, a revelation of the truth that lies behind our existence. Now, all I see is darkness, and my greatest wish is for this truth to spread. Like a virus, it should infect us all, enlighten us all, and unite us all in our shared fate.

You won't believe this, but I swear on my life, it's the truth. I think I'm losing my goddamn mind. I have to... okay, okay, I need to start from the beginning. See, I've been dabbling in lucid dreaming lately. Been having these vivid, messed up nightmares, you see... I just wanted some semblance of control over my mental state, you know?
I felt like therapy wasn't cutting it anymore, I needed something more, so I gotten into this lucid dreaming thing. But the things I've seen, the encounters I've had, they've changed me, man. I've gotta get this out, gotta let the world know about this shit 'cause its importance... it can't be overstated.
So here's the thing, in my lucid dreams, I've been having these bizarre experiences. In the dreams, waking up suspended over an abyss, right? Surrounding me, there's this sterile, white room, bathed in blinding lights, and in the distance, a glass pane. Can't exactly make out what's behind it, and it paints this real surreal scene.
At first, it didn't bother me much. I woke up, had this lingering unease the whole day but shrugged it off. But then the next few times, as I regained lucidity in my dreams, the same scenario would play out. At first, I could do the usual stuff, you know, flying around and the likes, but then the dream would always, without fail, transition into this... this suspension above the abyss.
I'd be strapped in place with ropes or chains, my limbs stretched out toward the cool walls of this clinical, white room. And beneath me, just infinite darkness. It felt like gazing into the maw of oblivion, and it was... it was downright petrifying.
The dread, man. The absolute fucking dread. In particular that glass pane in the distance and the infinite abyss below me, it was eating away at me. I started wondering what was behind the glass, and what, if anything, was at the bottom of that godforsaken hole. Its vast, infinite expanse was just pulling me in, gnawing at my sanity. It's hard to describe, you know? It's not something you can just put into words.
Soon, it became a nightly routine. Almost every single dream ended with me suspended over that abyss, and this paralyzing sense of dread seeping into me, becoming more and more prominent. Eventually, I decided I had to stop, I couldn't go on like this. I spoke to my therapist about it, and they said it might be a manifestation of some negative childhood experiences, and advised me to quit lucid dreaming for the time being. It wasn't doing me any good, they said.
I upped my meds, and tried something else, but no matter what I did, I couldn't shake off the lucidity. It's weird because in the past, becoming lucid required effort, with reality checks, dream journaling, and whatnot. But now, even when I set the intention to not lucid dream, I found myself more lucid than ever, and always, without fail, ended up above the abyss.
At one point, I tried to inspect my body in the dream, and I think I was naked. I noticed something on my arm, like a small needle. I realized it was an IV drip. Something was being pumped into me. I freaked out, man. What the hell was happening? Was I part of some fucked up mind control experiment? Was I being drugged? I couldn't make sense of it all.
Soon after noticing the IV, I saw shadows moving behind the glass pane. There were figures there, watching me. The terror I felt about these figures lurking behind the glass was even more pronounced than the dread induced by the abyss. It was all kinds of messed up, but amidst the fear, I felt this sudden urge to know more.
So I shouted out, "Hey! Who's there? Talk to me, you creepy fucks!"
To my surprise, a voice crackled to life over the speakers. It said, "We've never seen someone maintain lucidity to this extent. Your perceptive abilities are impressively consistent. How did you achieve this?"
"I don't fucking know", I said. "It's not like I want to be here. Is this even real?"
The voice replied, "Yes, this is happening. This is the actual reality, the true nature of reality."
"What the fuck? You say my dreams are reality? You'll have to prove that for me to believe you at all", I said.
"You will see by the consistency of this reality", the voice said. "But first, demonstrate to us that you are indeed lucid enough for us to continue this conversation. It's not something we usually do. It might, however, be a path to conquer the darkness."
And then, like every other time, the dream ended.
I relayed the whole fucked up scenario to my therapist, who, unsurprisingly, suggested it was a fantastical manifestation of my own fears. My subconscious testing boundaries, pushing limits, trying to get under my skin. But when I asked them what to do, they proposed a plan: continue engaging with the dream. Try to spot inconsistencies in its logic. After all, if it is all just a product of my mind, it is bound to falter at some point.
So, armed with my therapist's advice, I geared up for the next encounter. This time I would use reason and logic to disprove the dream for good.
The following night, I found myself in the all-too-familiar white room, suspended over nothingness, the shadowy figures behind the glass pane watching intently. The voice piped up again.
"Do you still question this reality?" it asked.
"Yeah", I said, "I think this is just my dream. You're just a figment of my unconscious mind. This is all nonsensical bullshit, and I'm going to prove you wrong."
"Alright", the voice responded. "You can try to disprove me. But first, would you like to hear what we're doing here? Then, you can judge for yourself."
"Yeah, sure. Whatever. What are you doing here?" I asked, more out of curiosity than anything else.
"We are doing research. Do you know what an ancestor simulation is?"
I felt my eyebrows furrow. "No fucking clue. What is it?"
Then, the voice from the speaker, which now claimed to be a researcher, started to explain.
"An ancestor simulation is essentially a theory, a simulated reality hypothesis", the voice explained. "It suggests that a perceived reality isn't 'real' but instead is running on some advanced computational system capable of artificially simulating an entire universe and consistent reality."
So far, this was all high-grade sci-fi crap, but I played along. "Why the hell would anyone do that?"
"For the purpose of analysis", the voice continued. "Imagine a civilization trying to understand its own past. In your case, your reality is an ancestor simulation of one of many civilizations that have died out because of catastrophic failures in the space-time continuum."
My head was spinning. "Catastrophic failures? What are you talking about?"
The voice said: "Humanity failed. Due to their own ignorance, they destroyed their planet. Climate change, political unrest, the development of superintelligent AI systems used for weaponry, they all fueled the chaos of World War III."
As the voice droned on, I tried to make sense of what was being told. Is this all just some nightmare spawned by my own fears, or could there be some truth to this? And if there was, then what did it mean for me, for us?
The voice added: "Do you know what a macroverse is?"
"Yeah, I've heard of macroverses", I said, "That's like, multiple universes, right?"
"Yes", the voice said. "We exist within a five-dimensional macroverse. The fifth dimension encompasses parallel universes. The concept of an ancestor simulation isn't completely accurate. It's an analogy, borrowed from Darwinian evolution, suggesting our universe is part of a branching system of universes."
I could barely keep up with this gibberish. "A branching system of...?"
"Universes", the voice repeated. "This system churns out various configurations, mutations of universes, one of which eventually became my universe, another one yours. It's as though universes are engaged in a Darwinian competition. The most adaptive ones, primarily those driven by human beings, last the longest. They compete to see which universe can ultimately conquer the darkness, can combat the laws of entropy."
This was just too much. It felt like some wild fever dream, a convoluted mess of sci-fi nonsense. But even so, there was an unnerving quality to the voice that made me want to listen, to understand. If what it said was true... well, I didn't want to think about that. Not yet.
For a bit I was just silent, my mind racing.
"Look", I finally muttered, "It's gonna be pretty damn hard to disprove you when I can't make heads or tails of the shit you're saying. You're telling me that universes depend on the quality of the humans inside them, and that they're evolving, or something? I... I don't get it. It's all just too fucking weird."
At that moment, the reality of the situation hit me like a ton of bricks. How the hell was I supposed to logically dismantle something that sounded like the wildest sci-fi bullshit I'd ever heard, something I couldn't even begin to wrap my head around? Did not the complexity of the information indicate that it could not have possibly been just a dream; my own mind could not generate things I could never understand. It was impossible.
And just as I was starting to feel the edges of panic creeping in, the researcher's voice began to fade. My surroundings blurred, morphed, and then... the dream ended.
The next day, I was glued to my damn computer, trying to dig into these concepts the mysterious voice had been throwing around. I was googling my ass off – 'ancestor simulations', 'parallel universes', 'fifth dimension', 'Darwinian evolution of universes', 'universe branching' – all that crazy stuff. And here's the kicker: I found a ton of literature on the topics and, for the most part, it seemed to line up with what the voice had been saying. It seems the voice was speaking the truth; providing me with information I had not known before... indicating that... it could not have been a dream... he was stating the truth... and that was...
So, if I got this right, he was saying that there's a 'macroverse', some sort of branching system like a fucking phylogenetic tree in biological evolution. He seemed to be saying that humans are the apex predator of this macroverse, and that our universe, the one we're living in right now, is one of the failures. He mentioned some catastrophic shit that led to unrest, essentially sparking World War III and wiping us all out.
It all kinda made sense. And that scared the hell out of me.
I tried to get in touch with my therapist, to make sense of all this mind-bending shit, but I couldn't reach 'em. They were probably off on vacation or something, living a blissfully unaware life. So, I figured, fuck it. I'll bring it up in a week when we meet.
And so, I went back to the dreams. Same as always – suspended above the abyss, glass pane, and the all-too-familiar blindingly white room with clinical surfaces. And the same damn voice.
Eventually I said, "I think... I think I might believe you. It doesn't make complete sense to me... but I couldn't have possibly known the stuff you've been talking about. But, I don't get what my role in all this is. Why the hell are you telling me this? Isn't this going to screw with the simulation or something? I asked people online, and they all said it'd be a terrible idea to interfere with the simulation. It would mess with our causal chain and turn the whole experiment to shit. So what gives?"
The researcher's voice came over the speaker again, "Yes, that's a valid concern. But, we're running short on subjects. You're truly an anomaly, we haven't encountered someone quite like you before. Despite adjusting the dosage of the substances we've been administering, you just kept becoming lucid. I decided, perhaps a little unilaterally, to... interfere with the test subject. My hope is that by giving you a briefing, you could play a role in saving humanity, fighting against the darkness, and preserving the macroverse. This could ensure the perseverance of future generations in the succeeding universes."
I was flabbergasted. "What the hell? I'm no hero! I'm just a socially anxious nerd whose main hobbies are gaming and smoking weed. I'm just trying to get by. I don't understand what you're talking about, how the hell am I supposed to save anything?"
He replied, "You have noticed the darkness below you. This darkness is the cause of all suffering in the world. Are you familiar with the concept of theodicy?"
Confused, I retorted, "What the hell? Can you not speak in intellectual mumbo jumbo for a second?"
The researcher explained, "Theodicy is a theological concept that questions why, if God is benevolent, there is suffering in the world. What's your take on that?"
I shrugged, "I don't know, I'm agnostic. But if I were to guess, I think it's because humans have free will. Suffering in the world is due to free will, you know?"
"Wrong", the researcher interrupted. "There is no free will. Your universe's neuroscience has already established this. Psychological studies have proven that humans do not have control over their own actions. The laws of physics concur with this, and philosophy mostly agrees too. So free will can't be the root of suffering."
"Alright, man. I'm not a scientist. But yeah, I think I've heard about these neuroscience experiments. The ones where people's brain waves indicated they had decided to open their hands before they were consciously aware of deciding to do so. So yeah, maybe there's something about unconscious decision-making. But personally, I don't care much. I feel like I have the illusion of free will and that's good enough, so why should it bother me? What's the point?"
"The point is, free will isn't the source of suffering in the world."
"Oh, so this is a philosophical game to you? If free will isn't the source, then God must be evil, is that it?"
"Quite the contrary", he said, "God isn't evil. The source of suffering is the darkness beneath you - what you've been referring to as the 'abyss'."
Startled, I questioned, "How do you know I've been calling it that?"
He spoke with an unnerving confidence, "I can read your mind. With all the tools at my disposal, I can perceive every aspect of your simulated experience. Thus, I know you've been aware of the 'abyss'. It's been speaking to you, hasn't it? Initially, it inspired dread. But now, how does it make you feel?"
Hesitant, I confessed, "I... I don't know. I feel... drawn to it. It's as though it's always been there, long before you began speaking to me."
With a gravity in his voice, he explained, "It's been spreading, much like a cosmic virus. It's consuming the macroverses, fostering political unrest, cultivating ignorance, encouraging indifference towards the problems of the world, toward human suffering. It sows seeds of evil within the hearts of men, inciting chaos, destruction, cruelty, and hatred. All the atrocities throughout history—the crucifixion of Christ, the world wars—they all stem from the abyss."
I was at a loss for words and the dream came to an abrupt end. The exhaustion I felt was immense, as the conversation was too overwhelming to fully comprehend. I felt as though I couldn't take any more of this, and when I look at the real world, it feels as though the abyss had a point. I see constant storms of negativity on social media platforms like Twitter where hate and spite reign supreme. The threats of nuclear war, super-intelligent AI displacing human jobs, and the existential fear, in a world that feels increasingly alien to all of us.
We haven't truly solved any of our problems. With the advent of general AI and the proliferation of weapons that could cause unparalleled mass destruction, the state of our world is precarious. A resurgence of imperialism and authoritarianism, a decline in freedom and democracy, and an onslaught of hatred from all corners - we are being besieged on all sides.
But these issues aren't the fault of any single individual or decision-maker. It is systemic. The very nature of these systems is causing the suffering. The researcher had posited that the abyss was the root cause of this suffering. But perhaps, the abyss is merely a mirror, reflecting what was already there.
When I thought about it, all the tragedies in human history, the atrocities of wars, mass shootings, serial killers - haven't we built a culture that's obsessed with these terrible deeds? True crime and horror, some of the most successful genres out there. Our entertainment media is steeped in violence and negativity. Have we not already succumbed to the darkness? Hadn't the abyss simply revealed what was already in the hearts of humans?
Did humanity truly deserve to persevere? Were we, who have enslaved and harmed countless animals, we who have destroyed the biosphere at large, who have exploited everything around us for personal gain; were we fit to be considered the 'apex predator'? Are we really the saviors of the universe? Would a universe without humans be all that bad, really?
I became less and less engaged with the researcher. His talks, once intriguing, now felt dull and uninspiring. I drifted through my days in a daze, ignoring therapy sessions and the concerned calls from my therapist. My thoughts were consumed by the abyss. At times, I could see a creeping darkness encroach upon the corners of my vision.
People tried to reach out to me, but their words faded into mere mumbles. My real-life contacts dwindled, and I found myself caring less and less about the world around me. Social media, once a platform for connection, was deleted. It had devolved into a cesspool of negativity and relentless bickering - something I no longer had the energy to deal with.
In my dreams, the true reality, I stopped paying attention to the researcher. His words became incoherent mumbles as the abyss came ever closer, almost as if it was embracing me. It seeped into my waking reality, slowly but surely taking over my life.
The burden of humanity's torments is too heavy for me to bear. I cannot resist the grim truth of our existence - the world that is destined to be a hotbed for suffering. It isn't anyone's fault; it is simply the way the world was designed to be. I had to accept the harsh truth that humanity is on a path to its own demise. The project of humanity, it seems, is doomed to fail.
Eventually, in one of my dreams, a siren's wail ripped through the silence, accompanied by flashing red lights that bathed the room in a stark, blood-like glow. The researcher's voice, suddenly urgent, pulled me back into focus.
The researcher spoke one last time: "I'm sorry to say this, but your universe appears to be doomed. It's time for us to part ways."
Suddenly, the shackles that bound my arms and legs were released by some unseen mechanism. I was falling, plunging into the abyss that lay below. I was enveloped by darkness, an unending and eternal void that swallowed all light. No longer did I dream, there was only the darkness — an expanse of infinite obscurity.
Strangely enough, I've found acceptance in my fate. I see it now as my mission to disseminate this knowledge, a burden that is not just my own but one that should be shared collectively. It's our shared destiny, and to all who are willing to listen, I tell them of the abyss, the dark entity that lies beneath us all.
It is the foundation of our reality, the source of all our suffering. My story is a warning, a revelation of the truth that lies behind our existence. Now, all I see is darkness, and my greatest wish is for this truth to spread. Like a virus, it should infect us all, enlighten us all, and unite us all in our shared fate.

You won't believe this, but I swear on my life, it's the truth. I think I'm losing my goddamn mind. I have to... okay, okay, I need to start from the beginning. See, I've been dabbling in lucid dreaming lately. Been having these vivid, messed up nightmares, you see... I just wanted some semblance of control over my mental state, you know?
I felt like therapy wasn't cutting it anymore, I needed something more, so I gotten into this lucid dreaming thing. But the things I've seen, the encounters I've had, they've changed me, man. I've gotta get this out, gotta let the world know about this shit 'cause its importance... it can't be overstated.
So here's the thing, in my lucid dreams, I've been having these bizarre experiences. In the dreams, waking up suspended over an abyss, right? Surrounding me, there's this sterile, white room, bathed in blinding lights, and in the distance, a glass pane. Can't exactly make out what's behind it, and it paints this real surreal scene.
At first, it didn't bother me much. I woke up, had this lingering unease the whole day but shrugged it off. But then the next few times, as I regained lucidity in my dreams, the same scenario would play out. At first, I could do the usual stuff, you know, flying around and the likes, but then the dream would always, without fail, transition into this... this suspension above the abyss.
I'd be strapped in place with ropes or chains, my limbs stretched out toward the cool walls of this clinical, white room. And beneath me, just infinite darkness. It felt like gazing into the maw of oblivion, and it was... it was downright petrifying.
The dread, man. The absolute fucking dread. In particular that glass pane in the distance and the infinite abyss below me, it was eating away at me. I started wondering what was behind the glass, and what, if anything, was at the bottom of that godforsaken hole. Its vast, infinite expanse was just pulling me in, gnawing at my sanity. It's hard to describe, you know? It's not something you can just put into words.
Soon, it became a nightly routine. Almost every single dream ended with me suspended over that abyss, and this paralyzing sense of dread seeping into me, becoming more and more prominent. Eventually, I decided I had to stop, I couldn't go on like this. I spoke to my therapist about it, and they said it might be a manifestation of some negative childhood experiences, and advised me to quit lucid dreaming for the time being. It wasn't doing me any good, they said.
I upped my meds, and tried something else, but no matter what I did, I couldn't shake off the lucidity. It's weird because in the past, becoming lucid required effort, with reality checks, dream journaling, and whatnot. But now, even when I set the intention to not lucid dream, I found myself more lucid than ever, and always, without fail, ended up above the abyss.
At one point, I tried to inspect my body in the dream, and I think I was naked. I noticed something on my arm, like a small needle. I realized it was an IV drip. Something was being pumped into me. I freaked out, man. What the hell was happening? Was I part of some fucked up mind control experiment? Was I being drugged? I couldn't make sense of it all.
Soon after noticing the IV, I saw shadows moving behind the glass pane. There were figures there, watching me. The terror I felt about these figures lurking behind the glass was even more pronounced than the dread induced by the abyss. It was all kinds of messed up, but amidst the fear, I felt this sudden urge to know more.
So I shouted out, "Hey! Who's there? Talk to me, you creepy fucks!"
To my surprise, a voice crackled to life over the speakers. It said, "We've never seen someone maintain lucidity to this extent. Your perceptive abilities are impressively consistent. How did you achieve this?"
"I don't fucking know", I said. "It's not like I want to be here. Is this even real?"
The voice replied, "Yes, this is happening. This is the actual reality, the true nature of reality."
"What the fuck? You say my dreams are reality? You'll have to prove that for me to believe you at all", I said.
"You will see by the consistency of this reality", the voice said. "But first, demonstrate to us that you are indeed lucid enough for us to continue this conversation. It's not something we usually do. It might, however, be a path to conquer the darkness."
And then, like every other time, the dream ended.
I relayed the whole fucked up scenario to my therapist, who, unsurprisingly, suggested it was a fantastical manifestation of my own fears. My subconscious testing boundaries, pushing limits, trying to get under my skin. But when I asked them what to do, they proposed a plan: continue engaging with the dream. Try to spot inconsistencies in its logic. After all, if it is all just a product of my mind, it is bound to falter at some point.
So, armed with my therapist's advice, I geared up for the next encounter. This time I would use reason and logic to disprove the dream for good.
The following night, I found myself in the all-too-familiar white room, suspended over nothingness, the shadowy figures behind the glass pane watching intently. The voice piped up again.
"Do you still question this reality?" it asked.
"Yeah", I said, "I think this is just my dream. You're just a figment of my unconscious mind. This is all nonsensical bullshit, and I'm going to prove you wrong."
"Alright", the voice responded. "You can try to disprove me. But first, would you like to hear what we're doing here? Then, you can judge for yourself."
"Yeah, sure. Whatever. What are you doing here?" I asked, more out of curiosity than anything else.
"We are doing research. Do you know what an ancestor simulation is?"
I felt my eyebrows furrow. "No fucking clue. What is it?"
Then, the voice from the speaker, which now claimed to be a researcher, started to explain.
"An ancestor simulation is essentially a theory, a simulated reality hypothesis", the voice explained. "It suggests that a perceived reality isn't 'real' but instead is running on some advanced computational system capable of artificially simulating an entire universe and consistent reality."
So far, this was all high-grade sci-fi crap, but I played along. "Why the hell would anyone do that?"
"For the purpose of analysis", the voice continued. "Imagine a civilization trying to understand its own past. In your case, your reality is an ancestor simulation of one of many civilizations that have died out because of catastrophic failures in the space-time continuum."
My head was spinning. "Catastrophic failures? What are you talking about?"
The voice said: "Humanity failed. Due to their own ignorance, they destroyed their planet. Climate change, political unrest, the development of superintelligent AI systems used for weaponry, they all fueled the chaos of World War III."
As the voice droned on, I tried to make sense of what was being told. Is this all just some nightmare spawned by my own fears, or could there be some truth to this? And if there was, then what did it mean for me, for us?
The voice added: "Do you know what a macroverse is?"
"Yeah, I've heard of macroverses", I said, "That's like, multiple universes, right?"
"Yes", the voice said. "We exist within a five-dimensional macroverse. The fifth dimension encompasses parallel universes. The concept of an ancestor simulation isn't completely accurate. It's an analogy, borrowed from Darwinian evolution, suggesting our universe is part of a branching system of universes."
I could barely keep up with this gibberish. "A branching system of...?"
"Universes", the voice repeated. "This system churns out various configurations, mutations of universes, one of which eventually became my universe, another one yours. It's as though universes are engaged in a Darwinian competition. The most adaptive ones, primarily those driven by human beings, last the longest. They compete to see which universe can ultimately conquer the darkness, can combat the laws of entropy."
This was just too much. It felt like some wild fever dream, a convoluted mess of sci-fi nonsense. But even so, there was an unnerving quality to the voice that made me want to listen, to understand. If what it said was true... well, I didn't want to think about that. Not yet.
For a bit I was just silent, my mind racing.
"Look", I finally muttered, "It's gonna be pretty damn hard to disprove you when I can't make heads or tails of the shit you're saying. You're telling me that universes depend on the quality of the humans inside them, and that they're evolving, or something? I... I don't get it. It's all just too fucking weird."
At that moment, the reality of the situation hit me like a ton of bricks. How the hell was I supposed to logically dismantle something that sounded like the wildest sci-fi bullshit I'd ever heard, something I couldn't even begin to wrap my head around? Did not the complexity of the information indicate that it could not have possibly been just a dream; my own mind could not generate things I could never understand. It was impossible.
And just as I was starting to feel the edges of panic creeping in, the researcher's voice began to fade. My surroundings blurred, morphed, and then... the dream ended.
The next day, I was glued to my damn computer, trying to dig into these concepts the mysterious voice had been throwing around. I was googling my ass off – 'ancestor simulations', 'parallel universes', 'fifth dimension', 'Darwinian evolution of universes', 'universe branching' – all that crazy stuff. And here's the kicker: I found a ton of literature on the topics and, for the most part, it seemed to line up with what the voice had been saying. It seems the voice was speaking the truth; providing me with information I had not known before... indicating that... it could not have been a dream... he was stating the truth... and that was...
So, if I got this right, he was saying that there's a 'macroverse', some sort of branching system like a fucking phylogenetic tree in biological evolution. He seemed to be saying that humans are the apex predator of this macroverse, and that our universe, the one we're living in right now, is one of the failures. He mentioned some catastrophic shit that led to unrest, essentially sparking World War III and wiping us all out.
It all kinda made sense. And that scared the hell out of me.
I tried to get in touch with my therapist, to make sense of all this mind-bending shit, but I couldn't reach 'em. They were probably off on vacation or something, living a blissfully unaware life. So, I figured, fuck it. I'll bring it up in a week when we meet.
And so, I went back to the dreams. Same as always – suspended above the abyss, glass pane, and the all-too-familiar blindingly white room with clinical surfaces. And the same damn voice.
Eventually I said, "I think... I think I might believe you. It doesn't make complete sense to me... but I couldn't have possibly known the stuff you've been talking about. But, I don't get what my role in all this is. Why the hell are you telling me this? Isn't this going to screw with the simulation or something? I asked people online, and they all said it'd be a terrible idea to interfere with the simulation. It would mess with our causal chain and turn the whole experiment to shit. So what gives?"
The researcher's voice came over the speaker again, "Yes, that's a valid concern. But, we're running short on subjects. You're truly an anomaly, we haven't encountered someone quite like you before. Despite adjusting the dosage of the substances we've been administering, you just kept becoming lucid. I decided, perhaps a little unilaterally, to... interfere with the test subject. My hope is that by giving you a briefing, you could play a role in saving humanity, fighting against the darkness, and preserving the macroverse. This could ensure the perseverance of future generations in the succeeding universes."
I was flabbergasted. "What the hell? I'm no hero! I'm just a socially anxious nerd whose main hobbies are gaming and smoking weed. I'm just trying to get by. I don't understand what you're talking about, how the hell am I supposed to save anything?"
He replied, "You have noticed the darkness below you. This darkness is the cause of all suffering in the world. Are you familiar with the concept of theodicy?"
Confused, I retorted, "What the hell? Can you not speak in intellectual mumbo jumbo for a second?"
The researcher explained, "Theodicy is a theological concept that questions why, if God is benevolent, there is suffering in the world. What's your take on that?"
I shrugged, "I don't know, I'm agnostic. But if I were to guess, I think it's because humans have free will. Suffering in the world is due to free will, you know?"
"Wrong", the researcher interrupted. "There is no free will. Your universe's neuroscience has already established this. Psychological studies have proven that humans do not have control over their own actions. The laws of physics concur with this, and philosophy mostly agrees too. So free will can't be the root of suffering."
"Alright, man. I'm not a scientist. But yeah, I think I've heard about these neuroscience experiments. The ones where people's brain waves indicated they had decided to open their hands before they were consciously aware of deciding to do so. So yeah, maybe there's something about unconscious decision-making. But personally, I don't care much. I feel like I have the illusion of free will and that's good enough, so why should it bother me? What's the point?"
"The point is, free will isn't the source of suffering in the world."
"Oh, so this is a philosophical game to you? If free will isn't the source, then God must be evil, is that it?"
"Quite the contrary", he said, "God isn't evil. The source of suffering is the darkness beneath you - what you've been referring to as the 'abyss'."
Startled, I questioned, "How do you know I've been calling it that?"
He spoke with an unnerving confidence, "I can read your mind. With all the tools at my disposal, I can perceive every aspect of your simulated experience. Thus, I know you've been aware of the 'abyss'. It's been speaking to you, hasn't it? Initially, it inspired dread. But now, how does it make you feel?"
Hesitant, I confessed, "I... I don't know. I feel... drawn to it. It's as though it's always been there, long before you began speaking to me."
With a gravity in his voice, he explained, "It's been spreading, much like a cosmic virus. It's consuming the macroverses, fostering political unrest, cultivating ignorance, encouraging indifference towards the problems of the world, toward human suffering. It sows seeds of evil within the hearts of men, inciting chaos, destruction, cruelty, and hatred. All the atrocities throughout history—the crucifixion of Christ, the world wars—they all stem from the abyss."
I was at a loss for words and the dream came to an abrupt end. The exhaustion I felt was immense, as the conversation was too overwhelming to fully comprehend. I felt as though I couldn't take any more of this, and when I look at the real world, it feels as though the abyss had a point. I see constant storms of negativity on social media platforms like Twitter where hate and spite reign supreme. The threats of nuclear war, super-intelligent AI displacing human jobs, and the existential fear, in a world that feels increasingly alien to all of us.
We haven't truly solved any of our problems. With the advent of general AI and the proliferation of weapons that could cause unparalleled mass destruction, the state of our world is precarious. A resurgence of imperialism and authoritarianism, a decline in freedom and democracy, and an onslaught of hatred from all corners - we are being besieged on all sides.
But these issues aren't the fault of any single individual or decision-maker. It is systemic. The very nature of these systems is causing the suffering. The researcher had posited that the abyss was the root cause of this suffering. But perhaps, the abyss is merely a mirror, reflecting what was already there.
When I thought about it, all the tragedies in human history, the atrocities of wars, mass shootings, serial killers - haven't we built a culture that's obsessed with these terrible deeds? True crime and horror, some of the most successful genres out there. Our entertainment media is steeped in violence and negativity. Have we not already succumbed to the darkness? Hadn't the abyss simply revealed what was already in the hearts of humans?
Did humanity truly deserve to persevere? Were we, who have enslaved and harmed countless animals, we who have destroyed the biosphere at large, who have exploited everything around us for personal gain; were we fit to be considered the 'apex predator'? Are we really the saviors of the universe? Would a universe without humans be all that bad, really?
I became less and less engaged with the researcher. His talks, once intriguing, now felt dull and uninspiring. I drifted through my days in a daze, ignoring therapy sessions and the concerned calls from my therapist. My thoughts were consumed by the abyss. At times, I could see a creeping darkness encroach upon the corners of my vision.
People tried to reach out to me, but their words faded into mere mumbles. My real-life contacts dwindled, and I found myself caring less and less about the world around me. Social media, once a platform for connection, was deleted. It had devolved into a cesspool of negativity and relentless bickering - something I no longer had the energy to deal with.
In my dreams, the true reality, I stopped paying attention to the researcher. His words became incoherent mumbles as the abyss came ever closer, almost as if it was embracing me. It seeped into my waking reality, slowly but surely taking over my life.
The burden of humanity's torments is too heavy for me to bear. I cannot resist the grim truth of our existence - the world that is destined to be a hotbed for suffering. It isn't anyone's fault; it is simply the way the world was designed to be. I had to accept the harsh truth that humanity is on a path to its own demise. The project of humanity, it seems, is doomed to fail.
Eventually, in one of my dreams, a siren's wail ripped through the silence, accompanied by flashing red lights that bathed the room in a stark, blood-like glow. The researcher's voice, suddenly urgent, pulled me back into focus.
The researcher spoke one last time: "I'm sorry to say this, but your universe appears to be doomed. It's time for us to part ways."
Suddenly, the shackles that bound my arms and legs were released by some unseen mechanism. I was falling, plunging into the abyss that lay below. I was enveloped by darkness, an unending and eternal void that swallowed all light. No longer did I dream, there was only the darkness — an expanse of infinite obscurity.
Strangely enough, I've found acceptance in my fate. I see it now as my mission to disseminate this knowledge, a burden that is not just my own but one that should be shared collectively. It's our shared destiny, and to all who are willing to listen, I tell them of the abyss, the dark entity that lies beneath us all.
It is the foundation of our reality, the source of all our suffering. My story is a warning, a revelation of the truth that lies behind our existence. Now, all I see is darkness, and my greatest wish is for this truth to spread. Like a virus, it should infect us all, enlighten us all, and unite us all in our shared fate.

So first and foremost, I choose to believe this is somewhat satirical. I do kinda believe what I say but of course some of it is also a bit exaggerated. Secondly, I don’t smoke, and I’m making this rant from the point of view as a no smoker who “wants” to try and smoke with a big name brand like Marlboro. In reality I don’t really want to. Anyways, let’s start the rant.
You know, Marlboro is a lot like the Reese’s of the cigarette world. Counting the blacks and 72s once as a whole, the total comes to 22 options of variety, more than doubling when you count each extra flavor and the 100s counterpart, as well as the 83s, totaling to a grand 45 (not counting any discontinued flavors.)
The issue I have is that I don’t smoke, and if I wanted to start and go with Marlboro, idk where to start trying. The descriptions, to me, make no sense. Sure you have the full flavor, menthol, and the lights and ultra lights of each, makes sense. Then the hundreds. Ok I guess. But then there’s blend 27, which I don’t think is their 27th blend. I have to ask, what does it even taste like? It says “smooth rich mellow” like that’s supposed to make sense. Then we have the special selects and the red/gold labels which are supposed to be more rich and mellow/smooth and rich respectively.
Besides the 27s they have the southern cut. Now idk what it tastes like but to me the south is stereotypically 10 gallon hats, wheat fields, biscuits and gravy, and country music. So if I smoke these, is it gonna taste like home style taters and biscuits and gravy?
Then the menthol selection. It’s easily the most confusing for me. The nxt I kinda get, especially compared to other brands that have a menthol flavor that has the crush thing in it for more menthol, but then there’s the blues which are more mellow, the smooth which is supposed to be smooth, ice is supposed to be crisp, and then smooth ice.
Logic dictates smooth ice would be smooth and crisp but nope! It’s just more crisp.
Also the blacks I kinda get. A budget option for their customers. So why the heck did it take them so long to dream up the gold pack blacks then?
The 72s I kinda get as well if they weren’t more expensive than the blacks. Best part though is they have the menthol blacks in the 72s which are just as much as the regular 72s.
Don’t even get me started on the slates. “Bold balanced menthol flavor.” What exactly makes it so balanced in flavor? I’ve never heard of anyone describe a flavor of anything as balanced.
Anyways, my rant is over, obviously it’s a bit exaggerated at points and I know there are some differences in the flavors as customers have pointed out, and as a non-smoker the flavor descriptions are obviously gonna go over my head. Still, I like to rant about it because some of the customers get a kick out of it and I just like to complain sometimes in general.