What exactly is life? What does it truly mean to exist? Are we really ourselves, or are we nothing but a crowd of extras, ignorant, unaware, wandering blindly through a reality we barely understand?
Are the laws of our universe genuine, or do they exist only because we collectively insist they do? And can we at least be certain that the person beside us is real, and not some apparition crafted by a fractured mind?
What assures you that reality isn't simply you, trapped in a white room, bound from head to toe, while your entire life nothing more than the fevered hallucination of a patient drowning in madness?
What guarantees that you are not, in truth, the dream of an incomprehensible being, and that once it awakens, all of us will vanish without a trace?
What assures you that anything you "know" is real, and not a lie? And what if your entire life has been built on falsehoods that you, like the fool you are, accepted simply because it was easier to believe what others told you than to discover anything on your own?
These questions, and countless others, have haunted humanity for ages. Thousands before me have tried to unravel them, and unsurprisingly, not one has found an answer.
Is the universe infinite? We do not truly know. Theoretical speculation aside, we have never reached its edge.
In fact, the farthest humanity has truly ventured is the edge of the lower atmosphere. And no, I'm not saying the Moon landing was fake. I'm not that stupid. I say this because only a select few ever reach space.
Professionals dedicated to their craft, people who have given parts of their lives for the privilege, or the ones who gamble their existence in experiments doomed from the start, for the sake of ideologies fated to fail.
But I speak of society as a whole, of a world where men, women, and children could experience such things… or at least those who can afford it.
It's ironic, isn't it? There's a saying: "We learn from our mistakes", But the one who coined it clearly never met the modern human.
What do I mean? Simple: humanity has quietly slipped back into an ancient social state, aware of it, yet choosing to ignore it.
Don't believe me? Here's a small example: in the past, when slaves died, no one cared. No one mourned them. Their masters merely complained because now they had to buy another and that's all.
Today, the same thing happens, just on a massive scale. Every day, hundreds of people of low status die: some from illness, others from hunger, others murdered in secret projects no one will ever hear about, or simply for someone's entertainment.
And the best part? No one cares. Their deaths might earn a tiny mention in some corner of a news outlet, buried beneath the horoscope or behind the latest celebrity scandal. A number. A statistic. A nameless increment on a counter no one pays attention to.
They die without names, without graves, without memory. Then tell me, how is that any different from the slaves of old?
You might deny it, say it affects only a tiny corner of society, or offer some other pathetic excuse. But know this:
The simple fact that you are here, reading this on a computer, or a phone, or something else that have an internet connection, already places you above hundreds of people.
After your death, maybe your family will mourn you. Maybe you'll get a tombstone. Maybe you'll be remembered. Others will be forgotten as quickly as the ones mentioned before.
But that doesn't change the fact that, if you wished, you could hit an orphan, and they wouldn't be able to tell their parents. You could kick a homeless man and no one would listen. If the police heard him, they'd take a statement, file it away, and that would be it.
Or even better: if a poor person reported you, the police might investigate, until they saw that you have more money than the victim. Then they'd do nothing.
So what is the difference, really, between them and the slaves of the past, if even the most basic respect is denied to them?
But this isn't our only failure, not at all. It's merely a symptom. Our greatest mistake was believing that humanity could progress ideologically.
And those who deny it are simply choosing to look away.
You don't believe me? Fine. Let's begin with politics.
Let's start with democracy. Its flaw is self-evident: humans are foolish and are easily swayed by speeches from people who, let's be honest, don't care about civilians—only power.
And when they are not fooled, they are bought. They sell their chance at a better future for some immediate benefit. I'm not surprised, because humans will always take the easiest gain.
And corruption? It exists only because people allow it. Let's be honest: killing the corrupt is painfully simple if someone truly wanted to.
Yes, it would be mutual destruction, but think about it—one life sacrificed to free a city, a nation, a people. Everything could change if just one person were willing to die for a greater cause.
But humans aren't like that. They hide behind the lie that "someone else will do it." They will die, suffer, endure anything—but never seize their own destinies. They prefer to entrust them to those who couldn't care less about their lives.
Enough about democracy. And no—I'm not an anarchist. I'm not naive enough to think humans can protect themselves. That's the stupidest belief imaginable.
After all, we're talking about beings who expect everything for free yet offer nothing in return—beings who would never work for themselves but insist others do it for them.
Communism suffered the same fate. The only reason it lasted as long as it did was because they refused to admit they were wrong. The idea that "everyone deserves to be equal" would have collapsed much sooner had they accepted reality.
Do you really believe collective effort for the common good is possible? It is—just not with humans practicing it, after all the best example is your own body: a collective of organs, tissues, and bacteria working together to keep you alive.
They represent a true model of cooperation—and yet, even their model is not communism. After all, destroy the brain and everything ends instantly.
Does that mean I support absolute monarchy or dictatorship? Of course not—that's even worse. Concentrating power in one person is the easiest recipe for collapse. History doesn't lack examples.
And I could continue dissecting political systems, but if I do, I'd probably end up having a "suicide" with three shots in the back before falling from the 20th floor.
Instead, let's talk about why you're really here—the reason you opened this book. And though it disappoints me, I am obliged to satisfy your curiosity.
Clears his throat slightly.
Welcome, ladies, gentlemen, or whatever you may be. Today, we gather within these pages to witness a story that is not a story, a tale that was never told, a narrative never written, and an existence that never occurred.
Today, this humble writer comes to share a tale forgotten by space and preserved by time—a story hidden by the dead and ignored by the living.
Today you will hear the dream of someone awake, the life of someone who never lived, on a day that never happened.
Today… I come to write the story of "The Reader Of Dreams"
Welcome... to Existential Madness.
I hope you enjoy your stay in this book, and that it satisfies your morbid hunger for something to read.
You may remain as long as you wish. Do what you desire, kill how much you want.
But remember one thing: whatever happens here is not my responsibility.
Having said that, answer me this:
If you could live another life, which one would you choose?