I’m sure most of us have played Skyrim. I’m sure most of us have seen the NPCs that just awkwardly stand there, swaying slightly with a blank look on their face.

I’m starting to think this whole world is just an illusion. I just walked into my break room, and saw a guy just staring at the vending machine. Slightly hunched over, and swaying.

So I sat down at a table and start browsing my phone.

He’s still standing there. Same spot. No words. Not looking at a phone. Just dead staring at a vending machine which is 2/3rds empty. Not counting money. Just staring dead forward.

After a while I wondered how long he was going to do this. I walked around the side of him, looked at his face, and asked if he was ok. He grunted at me, like hmmmmph.

I went back to my table and started a stopwatch.

When my break was over he was still standing there. 22 minutes staring at a vending machine, and telling multiple people he’s fine, but also grunting at most people.

The ONLY explaination I can come up with is that he’s an NPC who failed the turing test, and this entire world doesn’t exist. I don’t exist. You don’t exist. None of this matters.

Anyone else think this is some kind of poorly coded simulation?

  • camelwize@piefed.socialEnglish
    1·
    9 hours ago

    I had an uncanny experience like that as a teenager with an “NPC like” character. I was walking around a small cul-de-sac, and there was an older woman standing in front of her house, completely frozen in place, just staring off into the distance blankly.

    As I’m walking past she suddenly looked at me and barked out rather aggressively “Do you know what time it is?”

    I checked the time on my phone and told her it. She snapped “NO! It’s [completely different time]”, she sounded angry as hell, I actually got a little scared.

    Then she just glared at me in complete silence.

    I started walking away and she just turned her head, watching me, but not saying another word.

    She didn’t move from the spot she was standing on.

    That said I blame dementia, psychosis, drugs, or otherwise failing mental health before I’d jump to the nothing is real or everything is a simulation conclusion, but it was definitely such an uncanny feeling situation that it stuck with me to this day.