"So far, our model looks like this. We have a recursive algorithm represented by a Sierpiński triangle. Every Markov blanket is maximizing evidence for its own mathematical model of Self, which means the entire system is designed to minimize surprise. Because everything sits within God's Markov blanket, the universe will probably end in a state of nothingness. There will be nothing in particular within the universe, and therefore, space and time will cease to exist."
"But if space and time cease to exist, what happens next?" Zac asked. "Is God's little simulation game over? If there is a beginning and an end, doesn't that mean time is finite?"
"That's a great question," I replied. "Have you heard of Sir Roger Penrose?"
"No."
"He is an incredible physicist and mathematician who did a lot of work with Stephen Hawking. Super smart guy, and very prominent in his field. There are a bunch of things named after him, like Penrose tiling and Penrose diagrams and whatnot.
Anyway, he has a theory called Conformal Cyclic Cosmology. He basically says that the universe expands to the point where spacetime is entirely flat, and there is no matter. From our perspective, this is the infinite entropy God-like state. That state then starts a new Big Bang, so a new universe is born. In this way, the universe iterates through infinite cycles, with the future infinite state of each previous iteration being identified with the Big Bang of the next."
"In that diagram, I've represented the density of the universe with opacity. At the Big Bang, the universe is incredibly dense and, therefore, black. As the universe expands, its density decreases until space and time eventually cease to exist. What does that remind you of?" I asked.
"Recursion?" Zac guessed.
"Right. It's recursive. The beginning is the end, just like a Sierpiński triangle folding in on itself, or a snake eating its tail. I suspect Penrose is right — the universe is probably cycling through infinite versions of itself. It reminds me of that quote from The Kybalion..."
"The All creates in its Infinite Mind countless Universes, which exist for aeons of Time — and yet, to The All, the creation, development, decline, and death of a million Universes is as the time of the twinkling of an eye."
Three Initiates
