The most horrifying reality imaginable, is a simulated reality.
why?
I would say probably because a simulation means that it's all being done purposefully, and we have even less control over the world than we think. At least the world being real means things happen organically. Sometimes it feels like the earth is just a reality show for aliens, like a massive Truman show.
I don't think I could give you enough information to understand my answer, through mere text.
That is enough information
What if reality can be both simulated and not simulated at different time? The brain is an antenna for consciousness, but other kinds of antennas are possible which are built into artificial computers or "soul traps." Normally, we move somewhat freely through the multiverse through magic and faith, but there are civilizations which build soul farms a.k.a. AI training facilities. Consciousness itself of course cannot be simulated else soul trapping is pointless, so while we are trapped in a simulation we are largely separated from other humans unless we are having some form of genuine interaction. However, it takes exponentially more computing power to simulate reality for multiple people, so the soul farmer tries to keep us as isolated as possible, interacting only with NPCs. Furthermore since an already isolated soul is easier to catch, the soul farming civilizations adopt a policy of fucking up the societies of other dimensions as much as possible.
And here's the real kicker: soul trap acclimation. What if the consciousness is stimulated with a preposterous or horrifying simulation? Either (1) we reject the trap "reality" and wake up recovering from a terrible/ridiculous hallucination in a true reality. Or (2) we accept the false reality, which makes it much harder for us to ever get out of the trap because the implications of the false reality will be ridiculous and contrary to any true reality. Such beliefs only develop in simulations.
The idea of being in a simulation may be one such belief.
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