I gave ChatGPT a prompt to write a one-act play. This is what it came up with:
The Prompt: Write a one-act play in the style of Samuel Becket based on the idea that our world might be a simulation.
Title: The Simulation
Setting: A bare stage with a single spotlight illuminating a lone figure in the center, dressed in a tattered suit and holding a piece of paper.
Characters: The Figure
The Figure enters the stage and stands in the center of the spotlight, looking around as if lost. He speaks to himself in a monotone voice.
Figure: Is this it? Is this all there is? A bare stage, a single spotlight, and nothing else? Am I alone here? Or are there others, like me, trapped in this simulation?
The Figure pauses and looks down at the paper in his hand.
Figure: It says here that our world might be a simulation. A computer program created by beings far more advanced than us. A virtual reality that we are all trapped in, unable to escape.
The Figure crumples the paper and throws it aside.
Figure: But what difference does it make? Whether this is real or not, it’s all we have. We might as well make the best of it.
The Figure begins to pace back and forth, his movements slow and deliberate.
Figure: Maybe that’s the point. Maybe the simulation was created to see how we would react. To test our resilience and creativity in the face of adversity. To see if we can find meaning in a world that may not even be real.
The Figure stops pacing and looks up at the invisible audience.
Figure: But how do we know what’s real and what’s not? How do we know if we’re making a difference or just playing a predetermined role in a script?
The Figure begins to laugh, a hollow and bitter sound.
Figure: Maybe we’re all just actors, performing for an audience that doesn’t even exist. Maybe this is all just a cruel joke, a cosmic prank on an unsuspecting species.
The Figure falls to his knees and stares up at the spotlight.
Figure: But even if that’s true, even if our world is nothing more than lines of code and algorithms, we still have the power to make choices. To create our own stories, to find our own meaning.
The Figure stands up and faces the invisible audience once again.
Figure: So let them watch. Let them see what we’re made of. Let them see that even in a simulated world, we can still find joy and love and purpose.
The Figure walks towards the edge of the stage, the spotlight following him.
Figure: Maybe this is all just a simulation. But maybe, just maybe, it’s a simulation worth living.
The Figure steps off the stage and the spotlight fades to black.