a reply to:
Crumbles
Try reading 'The rise & fall of D.O.D.O.' by Neal Stephenson.. It's a fantasy novel about a government department which learns how to manipulate real
magic in the modern age, the most useful aspect of which is the ability of witches, under certain scientific circumstances, being able to send
operatives back in time to real historical times & places, in a multiverse of different historical 'strands'.. The idea is that the operatives
repeatedly travel back to the same time & place, with the same mission, each time arriving on a different 'strand', which may entail history being
ever so slightly different than the previous strand visited in the pursuit of the mission. The operative then must carry out some small, specific
activity which will spawn a beneficial 'butterfly effect' which propagates desirable changes in the historical timeline of your own strand, all the
way into the future. Various effects ensue, various adventures are conducted, and various changes are changed & counterchanged as the opposing
factions compete in their attempt to control the historical narrative.
To me, aside from being a great premise for an enjoyable novel, this felt like Neal Stephenson (a very intelligent, genius, polymath - a specialist in
the research of multiple complex subjects) - basically addressing the Mandela Effect 'conspiracy theory'.. I believe that he himself may in fact be a
Mandela Effect experiencer, though of course he does not name the theory or publicly acknowledge that he experiences the effect. Through the medium
of his novel, he sets out possible explanations for how these weird changes are coming into being, and the reason for very small, seemingly
inconsequential changes made by the operatives in the historical timeline on several strands, which in the long term on your own strand results in
much bigger changes, such as the relocation of a border, the relocation of an important historical battle, a change in ownership of certain valuable
items, shifts in political power structures, changes to the words of holy Scripture, changes in the dominance of the nation as compared to other
superpowers, and so on.
I have had a suspicion that black ops military activities have something to do with the Mandela Effect in our universe, 'on our strand', and so
although this novel is a somewhat quaint & playful treatment of the topic, it may very well be the case tht this genius polymath has come closer than
any of us to answering the 'how' of the Mandela Effect - deliberate tampering with the timeline by the use of advanced technology, done by black ops
teams by changing small events in the historical past on many strands, black budget operatives in covert military organisations with connections to
the highest levels of scientific research in the realm of physics & engineering - all with the intent of increasing the dominance of the US superpower
hegemony in our modern world.
If you review the Bible, there is a warning in the final book, in the final verses, the 'Book of the Revelation of St John', a specific instruction -
that nobody should attempt to change the words in the holy Scripture, that dire punishment would await any who did so. In fact, in one
specific translation - the King James Bible - there have been some remarkable, striking changes of the Mandela Effect type, which millions of people
can verify based on their very specific, lifelong memorisation of myriad Scriptural verses over the course of their religious studies over many years.
To suddenly see such changes is deeply troubling, but it seems that God specifically warned of the possibility that one day people would be able to
tamper with the timeline, and thus the words of the most important book in the world, in the final verse of that very book...
"For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall
add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of
the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book."
Revelation 22: 18-19
It is perhaps worth noting that in Neal Stephenson's novel (and the follow up 'Master of Revels' by his co-author) focus heavily on the period of
English history when King James was on the throne - the whole of the books is mostly focused around matters which ultimately pertain to the court of
King James. I don't think this is a coincidence - I think it is a sign of his truly held beliefs concerning the impact & nature of the Mandela
Effect. Changing the words of holy scripture is sure to have had huge effects on the world we live in - but because most people dn't remember the
original words, and because we have only the reality before us to review in trying to understand the matter, we shall never know what reality we
shared before on this strand, before the changes to scripture (combined with the butterfly effect of other random, small changes) - we shall never
know what has changed as compared to that former reality, because the moment something changes in the past, as we dream in the night te changes are
wrought on our strand, and we awaken to a world which potentially, has shifted in its nature quite radically while we dreamt in the land of Nod.
Serious stuff - existential paradoxes abound.