Image by Sora.
The concept of an alien-crafted simulation has long fascinated both scientists and storytellers. In J.N. Frye’s A Flash in Time, a light sci-fi book for adults, readers are taken into a world where government experiments with energy and time produce results that defy logic. The result challenges a reader’s understanding of reality and how it is perceived.
This can easily lead to the question of whether the universe is really a highly advanced experiment of some sort. Are we, in fact, part of an alien-crafted simulation unfolding moment by moment?
Questioning the Nature of Reality in an Alien-Crafted Simulation
In Frye’s story, characters struggle to understand sudden disappearances, warped timelines, and memories that fade as if the universe itself has rewritten them.
These are often excellent setups for tropes related to the simulation theory. It’s an idea that dates all the way back to 2003.
Since then, many sci-fi works, big and small, have been fueled by this speculation that what we perceive as reality could actually be a highly advanced program run by beings with superior intelligence and technology. If Frye’s characters are forced to grapple with realities bending and reshaping before their eyes, might we also be living inside an alien-crafted simulation without knowing it?
The strange phenomena in Frye’s book serve as an allegory for how fragile our sense of “real” is. For centuries, humans believed Earth was the center of the universe. Then we learned we orbit the sun, and that our galaxy is one among billions. Now, some thinkers argue that the next revelation could be that reality itself is not fundamental but programmed. If that is true, then the rules of physics we study are simply codes written into this extraterrestrial simulation that governs our existence.
Signs of a Simulated World
One of the most discussed ideas in the simulated reality debate is whether glitches or anomalies can reveal the underlying structure of a simulation. There is a reason why, when people ask, “Are we in a simulated reality?” they also begin tying it to a number of paranormal phenomena.
Some works treat this as a reason to depict mystical experiences or supernatural events as exploits. Others use the revelation to explain some esoteric truth about higher powers. Some go even further. They suggest that hidden laws of the universe may be so advanced that the failsafes could literally rewrite every level of perception, including thought and memory. All of it was done seemingly against the will of the inhabitants. The world could have experienced a radical, reality-altering event, yet those same forces then rewind things back (much like how words accidentally deleted could still be restored just as quickly).
In Frye’s narrative, energy bursts erase people, timelines fold in on themselves, and events replay in strange loops. These experiences resemble what we might expect if our universe’s operating system hiccupped. Are déjà vu, quantum uncertainty, and inexplicable coincidences real-world hints that our lives are written lines of code?
The concept of an alien-created universe raises another question: why would an advanced intelligence bother simulating us at all? Some argue it could be for research, testing how civilizations rise or collapse. Others think it could be for entertainment, the way we watch movies or play video games.
If beings capable of running such vast simulations exist, their reasons may be beyond human understanding. There are even other works that cross into other genres that suggest the underlying purpose is more mythical. Perhaps the universe was created in the aftermath of a conflict between the creators and destroyers (as it often is in many creation myths). Others take a darker tone, suggesting that the intellect is so vast that to tap into its workings could overload a smaller human mind.
What is clear is that the idea of an alien-crafted simulation has taken root in both science fiction and serious scientific circles.
Human Agency in the Simulation
Suppose we are living in an alien-crafted simulation. What does it mean for our senses? What of our thoughts and emotions? Does living in a virtual reality created by aliens render us completely incapable of sensing them until glitches start happening in the system?
Frye’s characters, despite being caught in events beyond their comprehension, fight to preserve their humanity. They make determined choices and find love in the midst of chaos. This mirrors our own condition. Even if we are inside a virtual reality existence, the experiences we have are no less real to us.
Believing in an alien-crafted simulation does not mean giving up hope. It could mean our lives carry a deeper significance. If someone—or something—built this reality, then it also comprehends a deeper meaning. It knows our struggles, joys, and triumphs matter enough to be written into the program. Frye’s story closes with survivors embracing resilience, love, and meaning despite unanswered questions. That lesson translates into our own lives: regardless of whether the universe is natural or simulated, the way we live and connect with each other is what gives reality its value.
Continuing the Conversation on Reality
When J.N. Frye crafted A Flash in Time, he gave readers a story of vanishing people, distorted time, and government secrecy. Beyond its thrilling surface, it sparks a larger conversation: what is reality, and who controls it? Without a doubt, the questions will continue to be a popular thought experiment. Scientists debating simulation theory or philosophers pondering an alien-created universe,
Could everything we know be the construct of a simulated reality debate we can never fully resolve? Or are we free beings in a universe that simply seems strange because we do not fully comprehend the system? How much shock could the system really take before even the failsafes start showing cracks? And when they do, what happens to the universe, or at least the pockets of the universe that have been compromised?
The truth may never be clear. But the value of these discussions lies not in finding definitive proof, but in expanding how we think about existence. Whether or not we live in an alien-crafted simulation, the human experience—our choices, our resilience, and our ability to imagine—is undeniably real to us. And as Frye’s novel shows, it is in times of uncertainty that we discover the most about ourselves.
Want to learn more about the simulated universe idea is explored in A Flash in Time? Find it at Barnes & Noble, Amazon and ReadersMagnet.
