I’ve always been a big believer in the theory that there is a metaverse. That there are an infinite number of universes that we humans will never find or even get any trace of. Infinite is a very easy word to use in a sentence, although completely impossible to imagine. If a metaverse is to be infinite, then there must also be infinite combinations. Technically, there is then a universe that is exactly identical to ours, except that I was not called “Matt” by my English teacher when my real name is Mats. But these are irrelevant events that have almost no significance on what my life will look like in the future. But if you turn it around and think of that small change being replaced by a much bigger one, you can really let your imagination run wild.
I have sat now for 5 hours straight on Reddit to be able to scroll away my problems, but also to look for some interesting things about parallel worlds. I innocently entered a large forum and clicked link after link after link until I got to a profile. There was nothing, no profile picture, no posts and no friends, except for one small thing. There was a link in the description of the profile, my curiosity took over as it usually does and I clicked on it, at first nothing appeared. But then I noticed something in the bottom corner of the black screen, there was something there although it was extremely small. I couldn’t make out any details but I saw there was something there, I tried to zoom in but it didn’t work. So I quickly came up with a simple and clever idea to get a magnifying glass to put an end to my curiosity. After about 10 minutes of walking around the room I found it.
As I held the magnifying glass to the screen and checked in, I was completely enveloped in a feeling of stupidity like never before. I hadn’t considered that the pixels don’t become clearer just because you have a magnifying glass. I lean back my an extreme disappointment and kick my desk with my thigh, my mouse flies straight up but after a millisecond in the air it is back in place. Then something appears on the screen, a small stretch at the bottom of the screen together with some symbols. I instantly recognize it, it’s an on and off button, this is one hell of a movie. I immediately jump forward almost hitting my head on the screen, I throw my hand on the mouse and drag it to the button and press. I can see right away that the movie is ten hours long, damn it. I decide to get some much needed sleep while the movie rolls on, hoping to get something when the movie is over. I guess the image will slowly grow over the course of the movie so I see no reason why I should sit around and watch. So I get up from the chair and jump into bed. I get back up to go and turn off the screen, I have no idea what I’ll wake up to.
I can see them, I can see them filling up my screen, I can see their wide smiles, I can see the nice background of a scale, and I can see that little hot chocolate mustache. But it’s not the mustache that bothers me, it’s what it’s on. It’s a snout, a bloody pig’s snout. It’s pigs, it looks like a picture of an ordinary family that went skiing, but has been AI generated to replace the humans with pigs. Suddenly I notice, I’m in that picture, I’m surrounded by fucking pigs. I’m there next to them with the biggest smile of them all. How the hell did someone get a picture of me. I don’t have a profile picture on any of my accounts and stay very clear of pictures my family and friends take. I look up in disappointment at my camera and notice it’s on. How the hell did someone come into contact with it and if so how did someone make a full body image of me from just seeing my face in a dark room. I felt very scared and wanted to be as far away from the picture as possible, so I shut down the program and started cleaning out my hard drive. I dont want a single trace of that damn picture left on my computer.
I need some sunlight I think and open my curtains to meet a light I’ve stayed away from for days. I check out the streets and don’t see a single person on the streets, strange I think but quickly dismiss it. I leave my room and am met by a completely dark living room, I haven’t had the time or energy to light it there, so without having the windows open it will be completely dark. I feel very uneasy about it and move quickly towards the TV so I can get some quick light. The whole living room is lit up and now I can open the curtains without stress. After I do that, I move to the kitchen and in the meantime I turn on some channel on the TV so I can have some kind of company while I cook. But I suddenly stop to be able to see more clearly what is playing on the TV. It only takes a tenth of a second for me to be able to react to what I see. I see my family, the joy of seeing them fills me up until I am suddenly drained of everything inside me. All four, my father Johan, my mother Kristina, my older sister Elin and my innocent little brother Sam, are completely naked and on all fours. They stand in that position behind a fence and cry, they scream and bark but no one bothers to notice them. Their feet and legs are completely covered in mud, all I can hear is their roar. Suddenly, something stands in front of the fence holding a microphone, it speaks into the camera. It’s the same fucking pig from the Christmas card. Everything has happened in a second and I fall backwards into the sofa screaming. I tear and tear at my face but the vision before me does not go away.
My father is a reporter.