Once upon a time, there was (as you might have guessed) a kingdom in a castle in a city in the jungle on the moon in a palace in the clouds in the sky in an underwater fairy elf mermaid princess land. While their logistical difficulties were legion, their true problem was metaphysical.
It was very little comfort to the inhabitants of this land to know that they did not exist and were, essentially, wholly impossible. This actually provoked its own assorted chain reactions of dread and despair, although these things were mitigated somewhat by the scenery, which was exquisite, if perhaps a tad surreal.
It’s probably good that there’s little likelihood of truth behind the thought trail which says that if a thing can be envisioned, it can exist in the Platonic world of forms. I’ve never understood it much myself, but I’m pretty sure that it doesn’t mean everything a seven-year-old dreams will, eventually, be real in some way and at some place.
It’s ridiculous.
So say I. So said the King and Queen and Princess and Other Princess and Other Other Princess and Other Other Princess of the land. So said all of the inhabitants of the land. They reassured themselves frequently that they weren’t real. This was existentially difficult, and yet it made the madness of their world a little more bearable.
It was an odd life.
It was still better than that one world where, rather than relying on obscure philosophical concepts to form their worldview, they delegated everything to a digital world, where things whose material existence seldom matched their electronic presence, but nobody could tell, because they preferred the shiny electronic version.
So if anyone ever tells you that you have a childlike mind and live in a fantasy world, recognize that your worldview is flawed. But YOU can live in a vast mansion inside a secluded cabin in the middle of a teeming and vibrant city aboard a spaceship travelling through time.
It’s not realistic, but it’s no less true than most of what you’ll find online, and it’s considerably more fun.
