We’ve all thought of the idea of a fake world. It’s called The Matrix. While I have not watched it myself, I’ve consumed content that deals with the idea of a fake world, or a world within another. Some examples that come to mind are the Painted World of Ariandel within Dark Souls 3 or the world of Clair Obscur Expedition 33. These are both video games that deal with the idea of a world within a world.
Before I continue any further, an important note to this post is that it will spoil the ending of Clair Obscur Expedition 33. So, for anyone in the middle of experiencing the story, beware.
In the ending of COE33, we face the dilemma of staying within the painted world, or leaving to experience the real world. Two of the characters, Verso and Maelle, fight respectively to leave or stay. In the real world, the context behind this painting is that there are two groups: the painters and the writers. Concerning the painters, there is a family made up of 5 people. In particular, Verso and Maelle are siblings. One day, in the real world, the writers (for whatever purpose) attacked the painters. In the fight, Maelle lost one of her eyes and her face was permanently burnt, but Verso died. Part of Verso’s soul continued to live on in his painting, which in turn is the cause of the painted world’s existence. Verso’s mother entered the painting in a state of grief, and seeing a more perfect world within the painting, decided to stay. His father, however, attempted to get her out of the painting so that she could overcome her grief and no longer be stuck ignoring the past. Eventually, seeing both her mother and father stuck inside the painting attempting to come to a resolution, Maelle enters the painting, but loses all her memories. At the end of the game, she retains her memories from the real world and from her existence in the painting. Verso, who has been living for a long time, wants to give up and face reality, while Maelle, having made new “imaginary” friends and despising her life outside the painting, wishes to stay.
This dilemma on who’s right forms the two endings of the story. It also creates a very hard moment for the player, as they must choose between two particularly bad choices. If Maelle stays within the painting, she will spend her entire life there and abandon her family in the real world. It is also hinted at that she may become insane. If Verso wins, he may rest in peace; the rest of the family is left to settle their problems with the writers.
What would I choose? Personally, I would choose to side with Verso. The idea of an entire world dying may seem extremely sad but therein lies the issue. When a real person dies, they may feel sad for the last part of their life, but once they are dead, they cease to exist, and their struggles are over. Not to mention, the negative consequences of their death are eliminated because there is no world anymore. At least, if their family is together in the real world, they may overcome their grief together instead of clinging to Verso’s memory.
This is still a negative ending, of course, as Maelle (who’s name is actually Alicia in the real world) had many friends in the painted world that she will never see again. However, it is heavily implied that even though she maintains her desired world in the other ending, she still goes insane from the knowledge that she is stuck in a fake world in which she has absolute power.
The purpose for writing this is because of the simple notion of a fake world. The dilemma present in COE33 is not likely to be replicated within another story, but the simple dilemma of staying within a fake, more ideal world vs a real, less ideal world may appear in future stories.
But is a world within a world really a fake world? The idea that something like a simulation, or painting, or any created world, is not a “real” world. What if our own world which we experience is within another world? Does it make our universe fake?
No. I would argue that the painted world in Clair Obscur and Dark Souls and any other world within another world is not a fake world. Let’s see it for what it is, a world that is within (and likely controlled by) another world. Maelle does go insane, yes. This is likely because she controls the world and can bend it to her will. But suppose she wasn’t able to do such a thing. Suppose she was simply another person that would live within the painting. In this case, there is absolutely nothing wrong with her staying within the painting. My reasoning for this is simple–a world within a world is real, nonetheless. And even if it so happened to be fake, does it matter? We as beings have a limited perception of our reality, which is limited to our consciousness. Tell me, if a man lives a full life within a fake world, does it make his efforts and “existence” meaningless? No, I don’t think so. If we live our entire lives within a “fake” world, our memories and our feelings aren’t suddenly invalidated. The life one lives is proof of their existence, not the world around them. The world around me could be fake, but I know that my experience is real, and that realization should not have any effect on me because I know I can only bother with problems I can control. This is the issue with worlds within worlds. The characters within should not just be trying to get out because it is a fake world. If they have a life and meaning there, they should be attached to that world. They should not be brooding over the fakeness of their reality because it that does not matter. What makes a person real and meaningful is not the world around them; it is their memory.
Of course, it’s easy to say such a thing when you’ve never experienced it yourself. If I found out that my world was fake, I may go insane over time, even with my prior knowledge. Even if I don’t go insane, the realization will definitely have some profound effect on me. And in this case, I cannot blame any of the characters in Clair Obscur. But at least if such a catastrophe happens to me, I may know what I should choose.