Megachrist.com

By Harry McGeough

Kate and her friends sit at a table discussing there failed internet business. It went boom in the bust.

Kate tells them she has a sure fire way they can make money... start an New Religion on the Internet.

The new name of God is IT. This time the spirit of Christ will come back as one million messiah's... the Megachrist.

I mean if you where God wouldn't you use the Internet for your message.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Harry McGeough
• Release date: Dec 3, 2010
• ISBN: 9781458144898

Harry McGeough

Harry lives in London. He is a computer programmer. He ran an Internet web hosting company and now writes books and movie scripts.His first movie is called Pub Crawl about drinking and gambling in Camden Town.He is working on making a movie of Megachrist.com, so if you like the book go see the movie... but the book has better special effects.

Book preview

CHAPTER ZERO

IT.1.0 A Book about IT...

13:11 - - music from Shania Twain – Come On Over

OK. Right at the start, lets set some parameters. This is a book about IT.

Q. What is IT?

A. IT is a Vast Interactive Living Intelligence Machine (VALIS P.K.Dick).

Q. How Vast? A. Infinite.

What is with all these questions? What kind of book is this anyway?

That’s part of IT, the problem is what kind of book is this?

Kate stares at the screen of her laptop. It’s late she’s sitting in bed wearing a short blue silk kimono drinking coffee and typing away here crazy thoughts into the digital void. A cigarette is burning itself out in the ashtray as the phone rings. She continues to stare at the screen.

And you watch as she types...

The answer is another question... Where are you the reader reading it? In a book shop on paper or on the Web on the Internet. If you are then its probably in sort of a section or search engine that may tell you more about it, than I can now.

At this moment in time I just don’t what kind of book this will turn out to be, but I do know its about something that I call IT. I can explain this in more detail later in the book.

This is a weird book, because it has knowledge of itself, I living entity that knows I book and is being written now.

Although that is now is moving into the past. This book also knows about a future now, when it is being read by another living intelligence system, you, the reader.

Anyway at the moment I bit like a science fiction book with only one character IT.

IT is an infinite data space that has been running for eternity. At some point, I’m not even sure if IT knows when it changed from running random noise to part of the program understanding that it was something lets call it a computer for now, running a program. That is IT became conscious of itself. IT knew it was running code.

Shortly after that or maybe it was a long time, but it doesn’t matter for this story. IT found that it was able to write new parts of its program. It worked out new rules and ran simulations. At first these programs may have been simple things like 1+1=2, but they gradually became more complex.

Lets put this into perspective this happened before there was any reality or time or space. But there was an imaginary data space that was being used to develop ideas and theories, at first about itself, then about other things...

At some point if you have rules or laws you get to other things. In fact I have a law and some theories, which I can add in at some point. Here is Kate’s law

The Law of Impossibility

Nothing is Impossible.

Kate is tired. It’s late and she knows tomorrow will be a long day. But she want to finish another chapter before she falls asleep. She continues to write.

If you have anything at any point in time, you can never have had a point where absolutely nothing existed. As it is impossible to cross from an absolute nothing, into something. The only time this event could happen would be in a data space where zero changes to one. But even this assumes you have a data space, so you can’t have absolute nothing you have a data space that has a value of zero.

So if IT is a computer, is this book like a really badly written computer manual?

Well it might be on both accounts, but I don’t think so. Lets get back to the story.

If you have an infinite computer running an eternal program, with an infinite number of threads at what point if any would you get time or reality. Why is the imaginary or non-real part of any interest to scientists? Isn’t science based on physical real things? Aren’t we starting to get into metaphysics or GOD or religion here? Are we starting to lose the plot?

Maybe... that’s the answer to all of the above questions, by the way. Maybe we need to lose the plot to find out the answers to questions. Who are we? Where are we? Why are we here? Where is here? When is now?

What is IT?

If IT is a computer, I use that in an abstract terms, that is running everything. IT would be running all reality’s and non- reality’s. If you could work out the rules for running real and non-real simulations on a computer, it is possible you would be working out the rules that underlie everything. Existence.

Theory of Reality – Real and Non-Real Systems.

To simplify things this theory breaks things down into 4 zones.

Reality + Existence

The real world or any number of other real worlds.

Non-Reality (Imaginary) + Existence

Examples here would include the imagination and imaginary worlds such cyberspace or computer generated simulations. If zone 1 (The Real World) is actually a simulation then it would be a sub-set of this section.

Reality + Non-Existence

Imaginary things that do exist.

Using these four zones we could create a reality existence graph with reality being the X axis and Existence being the Y axis. This graph would allow you to think about where things should go. For instance, is there a GOD? Where would you put GOD, I believe he would go into zone 2, Non-Real Existence, but if you don’t believe there is a GOD you might put GOD into zone 4, Non-Real Non-Existence. This is only an example, by the way.

In this system something could be said to exist in multiple realities at the same time. For example you could be in the real world, while your mind might be in an imaginary or non- real world.

A particle could also move from a non-real state to a real state, and vice-versa. This would appear to be a quantum event when a particle crosses over into reality.

Also an object in a Non-Real space would perceive it as Real space, unless it has a frame of reference.

Lets get back to the story... hang on first lets get that cat off the keyboard. Kate picks up her sleepy cat who’s favorite sleeping place her pillow and seems to be her keyboard and places the cat on carries on typing.

When money grows on trees happiness is free.

Is this what we have with the new Internet economy?

The real world is getting closer to the imaginary world. Its easier than ever for ideas to turn into reality and the speed that this is happening is increasing at a exploding rate, much like the Big Bang.

In the Big Bang matter was formed from nothing. What came before a Non-Real imaginary space that conceived the rules for reality. That is likely as matter was formed with many rules and laws already in place. Where or how did they come about? This is unknown and for all practical purposes unknowable.

If everything, reality as we know it, is running as simulation such as in the movie The Matrix how would we know? It would be difficult, but not impossible to work out ways of testing this. More later.

The amount data to produce a simulation of the real world to 6 Billion people would be huge, but it would not be infinite. So such a simulation could be run by a big enough computer. Although it is very unlikely that a civilization would do this because they where short of batteries. It is much more likely, that as civilization evolves at some point either it changes to a digital form or a digital form replaces it. The weirdest part of this is that the original world is possibly already a digital simulation.

The only difference is in the original digital simulation we either don’t know or have chosen to forget that we are running a simulation. In fact reality is digital. We have Digital Reality and we don’t recognize it.

Sorry that’s my belief system kicking in their. If it is the case, IT would certainly explain things. But is difficult to prove or disprove. How can you disprove that you are part of a digital system from the inside. I mean it would look digital to you in any case, you would be able to see the data in the way that Neo of Matrix can in the end of the movie.

Lets introduce a new character the author my name is Kate Campbell, you can call me Prophet One or K, as my friends do, and I’m 34 and live in London, near Camden Town. Its 3:40 PM on a Wednesday and I’m listening to some music by Shania Twain and I’ve just made myself another coffee.

As I’m the author I have complete control over what goes into this text I can go off in different directions when I get bored or just to make things more interesting, whereas you the reader can skip those bits if you find them boring or even put the book down, when you’re tired or you think I’ve lost the plot.

I started writing this book on my Macintosh PowerBook G3 that I bought in San Francisco, while I was at the Apple Developer conference in San Jose. I’m not really much of a writer. My job is a computer programmer or Internet CEO entrepreneur.

I’m CEO of a UK Web Hosting company. We host 2,000 web sites and I’ve been building the company, running it mostly on air. Like Dilbert I’m working from home sitting in my dressing gown and trying to fix my PC’s hard disk as its full of bad sectors, that’s why I started using the Mac portable. Why can’t this computer, just fix all the bad sectors, I have to tell it do each one I computer programmed by idiots. Who work for a company whose name begins with an M... Oh well maybe they’ll fix it in the next release...

Its just after Christmas and just 2 days until the new millennium and year 2000, when all the computers on the planet will crash, not, well most of the ones running Microsoft Windows or DOS...

My problem seems to be being in the wrong place at the right time. I should have been in Silicon Valley when, the computer revolution started in the 80’s. I was in London when the Internet started to take off in 95, but I knew I should have been in New York or San Francisco.

So now I am starting a new Internet company Impossibility, Inc. and its based in New York. Only I’m still its only employee, the CEO and I’m still in London. All I need is $10 Million and I can get it started.

I’m waiting to hear from the people with the money, the venture capitalists on whether they think I good idea and want to fund it for equity. I’ve got minus 500 pounds in the bank, but it surprising what you can do with the phone and E- mail. Anyway I think I may edit these bits outer later, that’s enough about me.

Lets get back to IT. Is IT the computer or the data?

My computer has found 130 bad sectors...

I think that IT is the computer, the VALIS, the Vast Interactive Living Intelligence Machine. Or is IT the System software that runs everything. The system software can change and be upgraded, but if you did change the hardware for the Universe would we know. Wouldn’t the hardware be shutdown, so we would be offline.

Bad sectors...

Why do I exist?

Was this the first program and is it still running, using ever more resources to come up with what? And for who? Could the first program have been really simple but spawned many other programs? A question that leads to answers that are

questions and start new programs that in turn have more answers that are questions ad infinitum.

EUREKA! I sorted out my hard disk problem in the real world by balancing a pack of cards on the enter key its now zooming through those bad sectors. Its up to 165, lets hope the cats don’t decide to sit on the keyboard... Hey that probably would have fixed it too...

Anyway I assume that some of the early programs dealt with working out mathematics, starting with binary 1’s and 0’s.

IT must also have some kind of symbolic language or logic.

IT must have inputs or sensors.

IT must have outputs or spaces and at least one space that forms a consciousness.

IT must be self aware or conscious in order to produce more programs and data changes.

IT is a living system.

What is Life? What makes something alive? Can a computer be a Living system?

Lets try and answer some of these questions.

Q. What is Life?

I don’t know, but apparently I am alive or so people tell me. I think therefore I am. If a computer is programmed in a certain way it may be termed to be alive. There is and always will be a lot of debate about this. As we don’t really know enough about life as yet, we will have to wait and answer this later.

Q. What makes something alive?

Let me see... why do I think I’m alive... I believe its something to do with my mind. I know stuff about myself, that is I am self aware. I know I am a human being on a Planet that revolves around a Star in a Galaxy that has been here for billions of years.

I am also told that it was here before me, that bit I don’t know about. I could have a belief system that says that the entire universe came into being as I became conscious and nothing existed before that. It would be a valid belief and hard to disprove the negative. Although it would be improbable, that is why most people accept that there is a real world that existed before the where born or created.

My pack of cards has got up to 303 bad sectors...

Anyway there is a real world and in it, most people believe other people are alive if they are moving and breathing, able to feel love and pain and communicate with others. We assume that everyone see’s the same world and it is outside of us.

We are told that we are human beings, carbon based life forms, and all of our thoughts takes place in the real world in something called a Brain. But what we actually see is a simulation that is generated by our brains, but the act seeing and the simulation are merged.

That is our conciseness is our simulated model of our world. What we perceive as outside is actually inside. The real outside data is feed to our sensors, our eyes, ears and skin. And this data is used to build our simulated model, this model is what most people think of when they think about reality, the outside world.

Pause too put on some more coffee...

Q. Can a computer be a living thing?

Yes, my answer to this is that most living things are very complex programs running in simulated worlds. The outside world data or real part for these programs is a common data store that can be shared. The experiences of these programs or entities is an internal data store, that can be communicated to other programs, using an agreed symbolic language.

Will computers that we build become able to think and act as living things?

Yes, given enough time, but only if we choose to make them so. As it is possible, it could also happen as accidental part of a complex program someone creates by accident.

OK, I’ve got my coffee now, plus some After Eight mints, well it is Christmas...

IT. The book.

This is a book about IT.

That is a book about the stuff that dreams are made of...

Kate closes her laptop and crawls under the sheets. She’s too tied to continue. The bedroom is lit by the light of a PC she has left on running some repair software on it’s hard drive and the light from a white candle.

The flame flickers as her eyes close and she starts to dream about a mountain near a Forrest covered in snow.

CHAPTER ONE

In a trendy gastro pub with a fire and comfy leather couches a conspiracy is about to happen. The secret prophets of the Megachrist are meeting for the first time. God is about to steer them on the path of the new messiah. Only one Kate, hears his voice and IT has told her to start something new on the Internet. A new idea that will work it’s way through the Internet like a virus.

Kate, a dark haired woman, sits at a table with three friends, Julie, Phil and Bob. She had an affair with Phil, but they are still friends. She lives alone, close to work in a loft, with her cat.

Julie is a red haired woman, who used to go to school and college with Kate. Julie had been the sexy boss of the now defunct Internet company.

Phil her ex-boyfriend, is into motorcycles and fast cars. He drives a red sports car. He has long blonde, slighty greasy hair and wears a jean jacket. He smokes almost constantly. He used to be a bass player in a grunge heavy metal band.

Bob is a family man, short dark hair, married with two children and a mortgage. He often can be found out drinking with Phil after work, they are both Chelsea supporters. Bob is a real ale bitter drinker.

There’s one other person who’s there. Watching it all unfold. Kate’s protector. GOD. It does not matter if you believe in GOD it only matter here that he believes in you. GOD has one simple message that he needs Kate to tell the world.

The new name