In the beginning were the words

[Manxome]

You've probably heard this when approaching the outer edge of a level in The Talos Principle:

In the beginning were the words and the words made the world. I am the words. The words are everything. Where the words end the world ends. You cannot go forward in the absence of space.

Today I wanted to refresh my memory on how this went, and when I searched for it I saw some people explaining it, but I felt those explanations were missing something, so I felt compelled to write another explanation (to no one in particular).



Most people seem to figure that this describes the computerized nature of the world where the game takes place. The "world" is created and defined by computer instructions ("words"), and so everything you see is, in a sense, made of words.

If you go beyond the area described by the words, then you can't continue--not because there's any sort of wall or barrier, but because there's nothing to move into ("an absence of space"). The open area in front of you is an illusion.


However, fewer people seem to notice that this also ties directly into the game's extended religious metaphor.

The quote above is strikingly similar to the beginning of the gospel of John:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

The book of Genesis also describes the world being created by words:

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light...

And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so...

Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so...

In the bible, God's words have creative force; he brings the world into existence by speaking it.


The Talos Principle gives us its own spin on this story by taking these descriptions from thousands of years ago and applying them to a modern science fiction--one that humans didn't really have the tools to imagine even a hundred years ago. In this case, the game draws a parallel between God's creation of the world in the bible and the simulated worlds that humans are creating on computers right now.

[Misa]

I think this game shows that God may not exist and that we might be in a computer similation.

[Manxome]

It certainly raises the idea of simulated realities; I don't feel that it's attempting to argue that we are or aren't in one.

But if we ARE in a computer simulation, wouldn't that mean that God DOES exist? That would imply that an intelligent being deliberately created and sustains our world and has something approximating absolute power over it.

(Whether that being performed the specific historical interventions traditionally attributed to him would, of course, be a separate question.)

[Misa]

If in the not so distant future you created a concious machine( it's not impossible based on current computer advancement), wouldn't suddenly you become God? If by that definition, you would still be mortal and imperfect and that you being a GOd had to come from somewhere in order to create that AI.

[Manxome]

No, God is the guy who created this particular world. If Steve goes and creates a new world, that doesn't suddenly mean Steve and God are now the same person, or that Steve acquires all of the attributes of God, it just means there's one specific thing that both of them have done.

Just like if you said "Let there be light", you wouldn't suddenly become God. Doing one thing the same as someone else doesn't make you that person.

[Calabeza]

It's nice how even after four years there are still discussions going on.

It's my own interpretation and shouldn't be taken for granted, but...

Originally posted by Tigress:

I think this game shows that God may not exist and that we might be in a computer similation.

I don't think the game is taking an atheistic point of view and arguing against God. After all, rebuttal againt some Divine Creator is based purely on belief, just like some specific religions base their faith on belief alone. Atheism and theism are largely the same.

Anyhow, I think the game is arguing against Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) and their God. And I tend to agree. Why does their God Yahweh(Elohim)/Jehovah/Allah tend to 1) impose a moral code? (compliance = good, rebellion = evil); 2) Impose rules? Not rules of the Universe, but rules people ought to comply with should they gain salvation 3) Punish non-Covenant behaviour? I've heard people compare that to some authoritarian regime, and one can see the similarity.

I personally don't see God as that. I keep an open mind about the possability of God, but the Abrahamic religions seem to have developed into yet another means of mass control. Wouldn't The Creator, the one who created everything there is, allow its Creation to just happen? Wouldn't He allow his Creation to grow, evolve and grow in Consciousness and Awareness? Instead, this God imposes rules and demands he be worshiped and revered. People in this sense are sheeple, which the Bible doesn't hide. Not in the way that people are stupid - but without a conscious will of their own. Even some of the aware androids in the game still entered Heaven and believed in Elohim's promised rewards and punishments. There was a will imposed on them.

Belief in some Divine Power that is controlling and imposing arbitrary laws doesn't let us grow in Consciousness. And I don't mean the Consciousness that perhaps separates Man from Robot, but also the absolute awareness. Few people have anything close to that. Many still live in illusions, with only a shadow of consciousness. In the end I'd say the game has a little Buddhist/Hindu message. So perhaps to climb the Tower doesn't just mean to be self aware and to have free will - maybe it's to have a somewhat spiritual journey of Enlightment?

But again, there's more to the game's philosophy than that. A.I., reinkarnation, the base of reality..

[Mp3. Mp4]

uh oh thinking time

[󠀡󠀡]

The game was hardly as sophisticated as it is.