Architects of The Unreal
I’ve noticed people talking about how life seems kind of weird now. They often point to a specific year. For some, it was 2019/2020. This marked the beginnings of COVID-19 and lockdowns. The year often relates to a big event. I’ve seen others talk about 9/11 as being that point, or Columbine.
For me, it was Sandy Hook. I was a freshman or sophomore. I remember it incredibly clearly. I was in my computer class when my teacher turned the TV on. The news played and it talked about the event. My teacher was quite angry and disappointed, as if he couldn’t believe what was happening. I remember vividly walking home and how the air was so cold.
It was one of the most surreal moments of my life. I think it was the first time I realized just how awful things can be. I was too young to remember 9/11. I wasn’t born when Columbine happened. Sandy Hook was the first event that truly shocked me and was cognizant about.
Everyone has a different year and different event. Regardless, the common factor I find is the feelings of uncertainty and unreality.
I’ve felt feelings of unreality since about 2012.
Unreality is kind of hard to describe to me. At first, the word just meant these weird feelings I’d get every now and again. Reality just didn’t feel real, hence the -un prefix. I ended up looking the term up and was surprised that others felt the same and that there was an actual term for it.
Later, as I began learning more and more about world events, I felt the term carried a broader meaning. A secondary meaning soon came up. This included the sort of confluence between conspiracy, mis-and-disinformation, and propaganda (state or otherwise). A sort of information warfare being waged on the internet to influence public opinion. There were others who realized the same thing, such as Peter Pomerantsev whom has written extensively on this topic.
I’ve noticed a heavy propagation of both all around, especially towards different events. COVID-19 is a great example. There was (and still is) so many false realities being created. Some people still believe that it never even happened. Some believe that it was/is a bioweapon. Some believe that vaccines have 5G in them and will track their every move. The amount of grifters and propagandists that materialized was insane. Some of these people were even high-up in terms of their influence and reach.
Essentially, the term “unreality” has a dual meaning for me. On the one hand, I use it to describe these weird and eerie feelings I occasionally get where reality doesn't feel wholly real. And on the other hand, I use it to describe the confluence of conspiracy, mis-and-disinformation, and propaganda.
The two are often mixed and these days rarely exist without the other.
My interest in this has led me to writing about it. I'm currently in the process of worldbuilding for a fiction project.
The project follows groups of individuals as they struggle to navigate an increasingly hostile and crumbling reality. Some of these groups are responsible for this crumbling.
Something I'd like to explore in this project are these feelings of unreality. To that end, I've created a group that has discovered a method to weaponize language into a self-replicating, self-sustaining, and self-referential parasite. This group utilizes this method for political and geo-political purposes. They succeed in creating this sort of quasi-reality where everything and nothing is real. They're the architects of The Unreal, which is the constellation of mis-and-disinformation, state-and-corporate media, and conspiracy exacerbated by paranoia.
I think it'd be interesting to explore these feelings from the point of view of an architect.