Prologue: Gods may cry.

"What is the meaning of the universe? Is there a meaning to life?"

Humans have searched for something to believe, for a single answer, a unified theory that would resolve each and every one of their doubts in every field of knowledge and make them feel complete beings. This has been true since the beginning of their history.

Unable to find anything like this, they invented various concepts such as philosophy, religion, love, family or friendship in order to feel fulfilled.

This used to be the first and only escape route when trying to face the harsh reality of their insignificant existence.

The second way is through entertainment. By creating imaginary worlds and alternate realities in movies, television, books, comics, manga, video games...

Especially those things they call video games. The latter had a big boom in recent times.

After several technological breakthroughs, such as the emergence of increasingly advanced neural networks and finally, of graphics cards capable of using their own minds as the main processor.

This discovery allowed them to access to a matrix in which they could actively and freely develop with other humans, interconnected in a large global network they called the internet, as if in a collective lucid dream.

From the mid-21st century onwards, the use of these devices became widespread and the already thin lines between reality and fiction began to blur.

In these worlds, they can play at being gods and forget the emptiness that eats away at their souls. They can give meaning to their lives or simply stop wondering if there really is one. A world, no, whole universes of possibilities in which they can be themselves or choose to be whoever they want to be and let themselves go.

It's hard for me to imagine, but being such banal and ephemeral beings, I can understand it to a certain extent.

Most people just want to feel in control of their own lives. They want to be masters of their own destiny, shaping every rule of their own alternate reality, even if it is merely a three-dimensional illusion.

"Humans like to play god. Perhaps this is why they no longer believe in us."

"I wonder what they would do if they knew of Eden's existence. Surely such destructive apes could not contain themselves and would kill each other to get in."

"The truth is, they ceased to be apes long ago and became extremely complex beings."

"Yes, perhaps you're right. Perhaps they have evolved a little. Their technology mimics ours after all, but, to me, they've just gone from prioritising reproduction and survival of their species to questioning the meaning of their existence and suffering from anxiety. And some of them don't even bother to think about everything around them and prefer to shut themselves away in imaginary worlds. Why do you see this as progress, sir?"

"Because millions of years ago, we were the same."

"Because we gods could cry too."

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