201.Youarrivehomefromworkoneevening,onlytodiscoveryourbiosphereisdead.Whatawaytostarttheweek!Onlookingbackthroughthereco
rds,thereasonisnothardtodiscover.Aclassicgreenhouse-effectproblem.Nexttime,winddownthefossilfuelsalittlemoresoyourglobed
oesn'tcookitselftodeathwhileyou'reout.Fortunatelythebiosphereinquestionisonlyagame,orsomethinglikeagame.Youhavethisprogr
amrunningonyourhomecomputercalledSimEarth,whichletsyoumodelallkindsofbiosphereconditionsoveranumberofdifferenttimeframes
:geological,biologicalandsociological.Theoneyouthinkyou'regettingalittleobsessedwithisamodelofplanetEarthfrom1990onwards
.Sothisweekyoudecidethatyouwillsetupthismodeleverymorning,selectingtypesandquantitiesofenergyuseandexpenditure.Youwillco
mehomeeveryeveningandseeifyourworldisstillrunning.Sometimesitis,sometimesitisn't.202.There'ssomethingalittleeerieaboutha
vingafunctioningbiosphereinyourhome;somethingrathermoredisturbingaboutfindingthethinghasgonebellyupwhileyouwereoutatwork
.SimEarthletsyouchoosefromanumberofenergysources,includingbiomass,hydro-electric,solar,nuclearorfossilfuelled.Italsolets
youprogramarangeofenergyuses,includingscience,agriculture,medicine,andthearts.Eachofthesehasdifferenteffects.Ifyouexpend
energyonagriculture,populationincreasesrathermorerapidly.Ifyoudevotemoreresourcestoscience,technologicalchangeaccelerate
s.Someoftheassumptionshereareofcoursecrude,butnotunreasonable.Naturally,ahomebiospherehastorunarelativelysimplealgorithm
comparedtotheheavydutymodel.203.Thecuriousthingaboutitishowfiddlingaroundwiththesecrudevariablesgivesyouafeelforthegloba
limpactoffundamentalchoicesaboutwhateconomistscallresourceallocation.Forinstance,youstartituponemidweekmorningwithsettin
gswhichdevotealotofresourcestoagriculture.Thisseemsareasonableapproachtocreatingaminimalistatopia.TheodorAdorno:"Thereis
tendernessonlyinthecoarsestdemand:thatno-oneshouldgohungryanymore.Everyotherseekstoapplytoaconditionthatoughttobedetermi
nedbyhumanneeds,amodeofconductadaptedtoproductionasanendinitself."Andyetitdoesn'tquiteworkout.Whenyoucomehomefromworkyou
findthepopulationshotthroughtheroof.Thatonewaspredictable.Whatyouhadn'tcountedon,though,wasthatincreasingagriculturepump
edoutmoregreenhousegasses.Thetemperaturewaseversoslowlyrising,threateningtotoasteverything,unevenlybutverycrisplybrown.A
ndallbecauseofthattroublingphrase,'humanneeds'É204.Likeanypatientconfrontedwithaterminaldiagnosis,youwantedasecondopinio
n.SoyousetSimEarthrunningathomebeforedrivingofftowork,whereyoustealalittletimetofireupyourbrowserandgowebsurfing.Theurge
ntproblemistofindoutwhyincreasingtheamountoffoodbeinggrownhasthislethaleffect.Theprognosisisnotgood.Itseemsthatmethaneis
oneofthegassesthatcausesglobalwarming.Abittoomuchmethaneintheairandheatgetstrappedintheatmosphere.Bydialingupmoreagricul
ture,youalsouppedtheamountofmethanegoingintotheatmosphere.Ricepaddies,forinstance,areoneofthesourcesofmethane.Itseemstha
tdeepinthemuckatthebottomofricepaddiesarelittlebacteriathatproducemethaneasabyproduct.Great!Thereyouwere,onlythismorning
tryingtoseetoitthatallthepeopleonyourbiospherearegetenoughtoeat,andbythetimeyoucomehomefordinneryou'recookingthebiospher
e.205.Thisisallabittoomuch,butfortunatelythenextdayistheendoftheworkingweekandyouaregoingouttodinnerafterwardswithfriend
s.YouimaginethismighttakeyourmindofSimEarth,butallthatfoodonthetablemakesyoulooseyourappetite.Thatbigsilverydishwithallt
hatriceinitsmellslikeover-cookedbiosphere.Thebeef,deliciousthoughittastes,onlymakesthingsworse.Itseemsthatoneoftheothers
ourcesofmethaneintheworldis,ofallthings,cowfarts.Yes,cowfarts.Itneveroccurredtoyouthattherewastheslightestglobalsignific
anceinthefactthatcowsareabitgassy.Theproblemis,theyfart(andbelch)methane.Well,notthecowsexactly,butthebacteriaintheirsto
machsthatbreakdownallthatgrass.Thosebacteria,liketheirteeminglittleprokaryoterelativesinthericepaddies,alsomakemethane.2
06.Theweekendcomes,sonowyoucanreallyspendsometimeonthisbiospherebusiness.Whenyouprogrammedyourlittlebiospherewithlotsoff
oodproductionsothatnobodywouldgohungry,youalsoselectedahigherrateofmethaneoutput.Itjustgoestoshowhowyouhavetothinkabouta
lloftheconsequencesofanythingyoudo.Thatnobodyshouldgohungryisaworthygoal,but,allthingsbeingequal,itmeansmorepeople,andmo
repeoplemeansmorelandundercultivation,andthatmeansmoremethane,andthatisabitofaproblem.SothenexttimeyousetupSimEarthyoudo
thingsabitdifferently.Ratherthanconcentrateonexpandingfoodproductionintheshortterm,whynotputmoreresourcesintoscienceandt
echnologyinstead?Thisisabitofagamble,youthinktoyourselfasyoudriveofftothemallinyourhightechhybridcar,thekindAlGorerecomm
ends.Whatifsciencedidn'tcomeupwiththeanswersintime?Whatifburningupfossilfuelsatarateofknotsdidn'tkickprogressalongfasten
ough?Whatifpeoplegohungry?Whatthehellisprogressanyway?207.Bythetimeyoureturnhome,SimEarthhadrevertedtowhatitcalls,withac
ertaindrollery,'geologicaltime'.Thereisnothingleftalive,soyourplanetisjusttickingover,waitingquartzeonsforlifetomysterio
uslysparkagain.Whathappened?Checkthecharts.Letssee:pollutionup,oxygenlevelsdown,carbondioxideup,temperaturesskyhigh.Itse
emsthetechno-gambledidn'tquiteworkout.Crankingupthewholeglobaleconomytothemax,pumpingoutandburningupeverysourceofenergya
sfastaspossiblecertainlydidincreasethepaceoftechnologicalchange,butinthisscenario,itincreasedtherateofglobalclimatechang
eevenfaster.208.Theproblemwasn'tthemethanethistime.Bykeepingpopulationandfoodproductiongrowingabitmoreslowlyitseemsyouke
ptyourlittlegreenearthfromspinningoutintothatfate.Theproblemthistimewasthecarbondioxide.Thereitisonthegraph-shootingupat
adevilishlysharptack,takingtemperaturesupwithit.Burningfossilfuels-oilandcoal-producescarbondioxide,amongotherthings,and
whenyouincreasetheamountofcarbondioxideintheatmosphere,youturnthetoasteronagain.Likemethane,ittrapstheheatfromsunlight.T
hereallysadpartisthatallthewayhomeinthecarfromyourtriptothemall,loadedupwithorganicvegetables,biodegradabletoiletpaperan
dthenewslim-linemodelPlaystation,youhadbeenreallyeagertoseeifyourlittlegamblehadpaidoff.209.Youhadnotquiteabsorbedtheide
athatdrivingispartoftheproblem.Marxshowedhoweachactofconcrete,specific,particularlaborismadeequivalent,bythewagerelation
,toeveryother.Concretelaborisalsoabstractlabor.Ingamespace,everyconcrete,specificactionofanykindisalsoanabstractaction,t
heconsumingofagivenresourceforagivenresult.Andyetgamespacedoesnotencompassandaccountforeveryaction.Onlythoseinputsthatta
ketheformofanagonbetweencompetingforcesinthemarketcanbecalculated.Butbehindtheagonliesahostofcontraryterms,shadingoffint
otheimperceptible,thatcomebacktotauntgamespacewiththeircumulativeeffect.WhatsetsSimEarthapartisthattheunintendedconseque
ncesofagon,alltheexcludedandcontraryoutputs,receivedatleastanapproximateaccounting.210.Youhadalwaysthoughtthatiftheecono
myintherealworldcrankedalongatmaximumefficiency,thentechnologywouldalsobobblealongataratesufficienttodealwiththelittlepr
oblemsthatmightoccuralongtheway.KarlMarx:"Mankindthusinevitablysetsitselfonlysuchtasksasitisabletosolve,sincecloserexami
nationwillalwaysshowthattheproblemitselfarisesonlywhenthematerialconditionsforitssolutionarealreadypresentoratleastinthe
courseofformation."Well,maybe.WhattheSimEarthallegorithmpointstoisthatlikemostpeople,youhadalwaystakenthisonfaith.Whatha
ppensifthelittleproblemsaren'tjustaccidentalbyproductsÑalittleoilspillthere,atoxicwastedisasterthereÑwhatifthemilitaryen
tertainmentcomplexitselfwasmuckinguptheglobalconditionsofitsownsuccess?GamespaceisjustlikeyourPlaystation.Itappearstoits
elfasarigorousgame,witheveryactionaccountedfor,andyetitreliesonahugepowercordpokingoutthebackthatsucksinenergyfromanelse
whereforwhichitmakesnoallowance.Thatthegameisnotreallyruledofffromtheworld,thatitreliesonanexternalsourceofpower,didnotr
eallyoccurtoyouuntilyouplayedyournewPlaystationforhoursandhoursonendanditoverheated.Tantalum,liketherestofplanetearth,is
onlygoodwithsomuchheat.ThereissomethingoutsideTheCave(tm)afterall.Gameover.211.Alright,somaybethirdtimelucky.Letseaseupo
ntheagriculturaloutputandtheuseoffossilfuels.Here'sanidea:let'sgonuclear!Maybethisisthewaytohavethebestofbothworlds,soto
speak.Lotsofenergytokeepindustryandtechnologycooking,butwithoutturningonthebigheatofthegreenhousetoaster-oven.Runitovern
ightandtestyournucleargambit.Sundaymorningcomes.Well,thistimethereisgoodnewsandbadnews.Thegoodnews:yourbiospheredidn'tco
okthistime.YouhadwellandtrulysolvedthegreenhouseproblemÑpermanently.Thebadnews:Ratherthanoverheatit,youaccidentallyshove
ditintothedeepfreeze.Itscalled'nuclearwinter'Ñanditresultsfromlettingoffafewtoomanythermonucleardevices.Thedustcloudfrom
thatkeepsthesunlightoutaltogether.212.Byclickingonthenuclearoption,yougaveyourlittleSimEarthlingsnotonlyagreatsourceofpo
wer,butadangerousweapon.Itwasnotasifyouhadtakenawaythesourcesofpotentialconflict,however.Conditionswerenotexactlyripe,it
seemsforglobalconsciousness.A.A.Bogdanov:"Thestrugglebetweenclasses,groups,andindividualsprecludesboththeideaofthewholea
ndthehappinessandsufferingimpliedbythenotion."Theyjuststartedblastingawayateachother.Perhapstheydidn'tinventgametheory,a
ndfigureoutthatdeterrenceonlyworksifnobodyshoots.Andperhapsthat'syourfault-youreducedinputsforscienceandculture.Theradio
activepatchesonthesurfaceofthisdigitalearthburnthroughafeweons-worthofthesubsequent'geological'phase.Youcanseelittlenuke
signs,carvedonthebrownstumpofaformerlygreenplanet,likevandal-carvedgraffitiontreesthatannouncestonobodyinparticular:wewe
rehere.Howdidthishappen?Whilethenowquitevisiblehandofagonwithingamespacemetesoutresourcesaccordingtoitslaw;aninvisiblefo
ot,composedofallthatshadesawayintomerecontraries,qualitieswithoutquantities,kicksittopieces.Youlooseagain.KimStanleyRobi
nson:"Itwasfrightening-asifhistorywereaseriesofhumanwaveassaultsonmisery,failingtimeaftertime."213.It'snotmuchofagame,Si
mEarth.Perhapsthat'swhyaftersevendaysofuncreation,youbecameboredwithit.Thenuninstalledit.Thenfinallygotaroundtosellingit
onEbay.PerhapsIboughtyouroldcopy.Iplayeditforawhile,onanobsoletecomputer.Itcangetalittleobsessive.SimEarthgamerstellamaz
ingstories:Aboutthetimethelidblewoffthebiosphere,butuproseastrainofintelligentrobots.Orthetimeittickedoverformonths,popu
latedwithamillionsentientcetaceans,allusingnanotechnologytoruntheirwateryutopia.Butthere'ssomethingdisturbingaboutit.Per
hapsthat'swhythereisnosequel,noupdates.Itisasextinctanexampleofgameevolutionasthepoorsim-critterswhopopulateitssun-blast
edendgames.SimEarthisextinct,agamewithoutsequels,buttwooffshootsfromthesameevolutionaryphylaofgamedesignlivedon.OneisThe
Sims.Perhapsitwasbetteradaptedtosurviveingamespace,becauseitdidnotgivethegameaway.ThedeathofaSimisnottheendoftheworld.An
otherdescendantlinetriestheothertack.InWillWright'smuchadmiredSpore,survivalisnotlimitedtoonebiosphere.OlafStapeldon:"It
mustnotbesupposedthatthenormalfateofintelligentracesinthegalaxyistotriumph."AtleastinSporethere'smorethanonehometotrash.
214.Formsofgameevolveinaquasi-Darwinianmanner,notunlikeformsoforganism.Gamedesignersbreednewformsoutofexistingforms,andt
hemilitaryentertainmentcomplexthrowstheresultingvariationsonawaitingmarket,wheretheycompetetosaveyoufromboredom.Veryfewf
ormssucceed.It'salmostDarwinian:Thedesignerproposes;gamespacedisposes.FrancoMoretti:"InDarwin,inotherwords,historyisthei
nterweavingoftwowhollyindependentpaths:randomvariationandnecessaryselection.Inourcase,[formal]innovations,whicharetheres
ultofchance;andasocialselection,whichbycontrastisthedaughterofnecessity."Throughasubtleinversionofthelogicofnaturalselec
tion,gamespaceclaimstobethefullimplementationofadigitalDarwinism.Hereforoneandalltheruleissurvivalofthefittest.Onlywhata
ctuallyhappensisquitethereverse:thedemiseoftheunfit.Survivalhasnopositivevalue.Gamespaceisapurenihilism.Thebestonecanhop
eforismerelybeingundefeated.Hencetheunsatisfyingqualityof'winning'inSimEarth.Intheunlikelyeventthatthegamerattlesontowar
dthedeathofthesun,thisvictoryamountstonothing.ThisisperhapswhySimEarthdidnotsurvive.Thereissomethingratherundesirableint
hisgameofcruelty.Butthereisadifferencebetweennaturalselectionand'cultural'selection.An'unfit'gamelikeSimEarthfailsnotbec
auseitbumpsupagainsttherealityprincipleofbarelife,butquitethereverse.Itfailsthefantasyprinciple.215.Giventhatyoucan'trea
llywin,SimEarthishardlyagameatall.ThebestconclusionformostscenariosisthatyourSimEarthlingsleavetheplanetinafleetofspaces
hips.SimEarthlacksoneoftheusualcriteriaforagame-whatwemightcallasatisfying'wincondition',whichterminatesitsalgorithm.But
thenperhapsthat'stheallegory.SimEarthmapsthelimittogamespace.Whatgamespaceusuallyexcludes-theresiduesthatpileupoutofsigh
toutofmind-arehereincluded,andtheyarethesourceoftheproblem.Thechoiceswithinthegame-betweenagricultureandscience,forexamp
le,appearaschoicesbetweenpositiveterms.Theytakenoaccountoftheircontraries,whichappearwithoutnames.SimEarth'sstrategyisto
includeeverytermwithinitsagon.Therearenocontraries,oralmostnone.Itpositsthewholeplanetasgamespace.Eventhepowersourceofth
esunisincluded.Onlyablankinterstellaroftheangelsspaceremainsasitscontrary.216.Theinclusionofalmosteverythingwithinthegam
eleaveslittlebywayofatoposinwhichtoconquer,expand,colonize,transform,oreventoposeastheremotetimeorplaceasthealibiforutop
iantexts.SureyoucouldterraformMars,buttheresultseemsaforegoneconclusion.Thereisnofrontieralongwhichastorylinemighttraffi
ctheunknownintotherealmoftheknown.Acertainkindofhistoryendshere.SaystheStalinist-SurrealistpoetPaulEluard:"Thereisanothe
rworld,anditisthisone."SimEarthclosesthebookonthatutopianrealm,andthestruggleforandagainstit.Gamespacehasconsumedtheworl
d,butthecatastropheoftheworld'sconsummationcomesbacktotauntit,undoingitfromwithin.E.M.Cioran:"Thereisnootherworld.Noreve
nthisone."Oncealltermsareincludedwithintheagonofgamespace,thewholeoflifebecomesagamethatcanbelost,forever.217.SimEarthis
bygenrea'Godgame'.SomeGod!Againandagain,youfailyourcreation.SimEarthisnotsomuchaboutthedeathofGodasGod'ssuicide.Ittakesa
waytheempoweringthoughtofbeingresponsibleforHisdisposal.Suicideiseitherfastandviolent,inwhichGodthrowshimselfintotheflam
esofglobalwarming.Orvery,veryslow;hooked,likeahelplessjunkie,tothesun.Asunwhichfinallyovercomesyourabilitytomaintain.Mar
kAmerika:"Oblivionistheonlycureforagony."ThedelusionofGodgamesisthatthegamerisincontrolwhenatthecontroller.Butitisthegam
ewhichplaysthegamer.Itisyou,thegamer,whoisanavatar,inthesenseofbeingtheincarnationofanabstractprinciple.Thegamerisalesse
rdeityincarnate,answerabletoahigherpower-thegameitself.218.Whengamespacechoosesyouasitsavatar,whichcharacterdoesitselect
foryoutoplay?PerhapsinSimEarththegameristheavataroftheAngelofHistory.WalterBenjamin:"Whereachainofeventsappearsbeforeus,
heseesonlyonesinglecatastrophe,whichkeepspilingwreckageuponwreckageandhurlsitathisfeet.Theangelwouldliketostay,awakenthe
dead,andmakewholewhathasbeensmashed.Butastormisblowingfromparadiseandhasgotcaughtinhiswings;itissostrongthattheangelcann
olongerclosethem."OrperhapsyouareanavataroftheLucklessAngel,withratherdifferenthitpoints.HeinerMŸller:"Thepastsurgesbehi
ndhim,pouringrubbleonwingsandshouldersthunderinglikeburieddrums,whileinfrontofhimthefuturecollects,crusheshiseyes,explod
inghiseyeballslikeastarwrenchingthewordintoaresoundinggag,stranglinghimwithitsbreath."ThissuitstheexperienceÑandthetimes
Ñratherbetter.Thedrollexperienceofbeingflungforwardintonothingnessbytheterminaltransformationofnature;anexperienceofhell
seentoolate.SimEarthisanallegoryoftheendsofgamespace,whichdeclaresitsvictoryoverthegamer,andoveranyotherresidueofcontrar
iesoutsideitsformofforms.Itpopstheblueeyeofthegamer'sworld.219.PerhapsyouareanavataroftheEgyptiandemigodTheuth,whoaccord
ingtoPlatowastheinventorofnotonlyofwriting,butalsoofnumberandcalculation,geometryandastronomy,gamesofchanceandgamesofski
ll.InastorySocratestellsinPhadrus,Theuthoffersthesetothesun-godThamus,andsays:"whatIhavediscoveredis[recipes]ofmemoryand
wisdom."Thamusconsidersthemonebyone.InSocrates'telling,itiswritingaboutwhichThamushasthemostqualms.Fortheproblemsofmemor
y,recording,delineating,isthis'pharmakon'ofwritingaremedyorapoison?Writingsendstheword-logos-outintotheworldestrangedfro