Part 6: Across the MetaModern-verse

Once Postmodernism has run its course, things don’t reset back to Classic. At least, not yet. The spiritual and abstract need time to heal and the virtues need to naturally re-establish themselves through the course of Natural Law.

But postmodernist dogma dictates that we can never go back. We have to keep progressing in the name of progress, even well past our comfort zones, even when there’s no more progressing left to do.

If you were to suggest to a postmodernist that going back ten years on even the tiniest subject might be in our best interest as a society, they’ll scoff and find the idea repulsive because, subconsciously, it goes against their new religion’s dogma. They might say, “We’ve already moved on past that point”.

So we enter a “MetaModern” age, whose goal is twofold:

One: to make the sin of Pride not only popular, but acceptable to all. By force, if necessary.

Two: to create the illusion of meaning and free will while stripping away what few freedoms we have left. Society has already reached a breaking point and is overrun with depressed nihilists, which can be a problem even for the ruling class.

At this stage, our rulers begin to realize the folks in the Classical age were at least partially correct: Turns out we need the spiritual and abstract to find true meaning in our lives. Physical things and material wealth can only go so far; They’re not enough on their own to provide true happiness, let alone stay mentally stable.

But postmodernists would never admit to that. They simply won’t allow the spiritual and abstract to re-enter our lives.

Instead, they create pale substitutes to replace the spiritual and abstract (the illusion of meaning and free will) and believe if they can stall society long enough by constantly ramping up the distractions and overwhelming us with enough moving-target talking points, they can still lead us to that Star Trek-style Utopian society they want us to live in so badly.

Welcome to the Metaverse. Welcome to the End.

People were so distracted by all the entertainment, all the sports games, fad diets that were all the rage, and all the fake caricatures they were supposed to be angry at, that they failed to notice their freedoms were dissolving as society crumbled beneath their feet.

Upon viewing the ruins around them, they’ll think, “We can vote and boycott our way out of this,” which unfortunately by this point is about as effective as sending “pennies a day” to some out-of-sight, out-of-mind feelgood cause.

By the time citizens wake up and realize their own impotency–that they no longer have a say in anything–the corporations and government will have already teamed up in an irreversible mutual business arrangement. They no longer have to cave to the masses because they’re too powerful to care.

The citizens who were trying to warn the others during the PostModern age were the ones who somehow managed to hold onto the virtues and hold them dear. These are the ones who will have prepared for such contingencies as being attacked or having their power and water shut off. But, especially if they’re in a city, woe be to them…

…because of the others. For now, the nihilists go back to what they know best: vegging out, watching streaming services, doing drugs, feeling depressed, blaming others, viewing pics of cute puppies, and “getting what’s theirs” while waiting for society’s collapse.

Let’s forget about all the weekly fake crises we are supposed to feel panicked about for a moment; When a true crisis hits–and it will–they’ll be the ones most desperate, most hysterical, clawing at each other, taking what they can for themselves before the ship sinks. In that moment, on the turn of a dime, they’ll transform into morally bereft monsters who would rather burn down all the prepper homes in the nation than let a single family out-survive them. Only then will people truly understand how good they had it, what they threw away.

There will be cities of these people. Entire cities. World War Z had it more right than we might care to admit.

Buildup to the Zombie Apocalypse

With beauty in art and literature redefined, beauty in people is next. For example, obesity is celebrated and even considered healthy, even though this pretense results in more heart attacks and avoidable deaths. All the while, false and misleading diet info is piped to the masses.

Nothing is anathema to being redefined since everything is a “social construct”, including immutable, scientifically provable characteristics about ourselves. This flies in the face of Science Positivism, but people go with it because, thanks to their new replacement religion, they’ve unknowingly become a cult, programmed to believe anything their leaders tell them. Especially if those leaders happen to be doctors or scientists.

Lobbied regulations, predatory lending, gambling, and taxation are used to force more people to stay within their social status, all while whittling away at what’s left of the middle class. The government deflects blame from itself using the media, which it has full control over now, to encourage infighting.

And even if you became an entrepreneur who could somehow overcome all the regulations and taxes stacked up against them, infinite distractions–time-wasters that create no wealth and make you poorer–are readily available, and are difficult to resist.

Politicians, news, and entertainment boldly and unapologetically remove their masks and reveal their agenda, believing the populace is too stupid to figure out the truth even when it’s put plainly in their faces. But if anyone does figure out too much and is brave enough to voice their opinion, they’re blacklisted and called conspiracy theorists.

The journalists are pure propaganda mouthpieces and don’t try to hide it anymore–Only the oldest and least neuroplastic among us continue to trust them. Ambitious independent journalism is criminalized and “plucky journalists looking for a scoop” are held as political prisoners, or–if they become too much of a problem–suicided.

Men are ousted as useless and disposable members of their family and society as a whole, further damaging the traditional family unit.

Women are frequently portrayed as more powerful than men in stories, and are encouraged to dress provocatively and go into dangerous situations. They are encouraged to join the police, join the army, or travel to dangerous countries on their own. (In the media, violent extremists and violent cultures are portrayed as friendly and non-threatening to help sell this idea.) Women are encouraged to put their career ahead of having children, in hopes that they won’t discover the joy of a family before their window of opportunity closes.

People, especially those of the “problematic race” (the one the media blame-game is pointing fingers at the most), are encouraged to partake in practices that either decrease their sex drive or make it impossible to have babies later in life. Society–even members of the “problematic race”–go with it, because even though they abhor when there’s been “problematic races” in world history (and the resulting deathcount that comes with it), this time, it’s somehow different.

Meanwhile, the justice system starts railroading the innocent while letting the guilty get away. This inversion of truth is Luciferian in nature (a very common theme in the MetaModern age).

The main religion that helped define the country and its culture is seen as primitive and scoffed at, if not outright seen as something oppressive (even though the practitioners of that religion are the ones being oppressed.)

People no longer have freedom of thought and choice, in that they have to hide their true opinions for fear of repercussions. Public forums and debates no longer exist because they have either been censored or are simply made no longer available. But even if they were, many people are too cowardly to speak truth to power. It only takes 20% of the population to sway public opinion, but 20% is a lot to ask in the MetaModern age.

If you feel you’re able to speak your opinion freely anywhere in the MetaModern age, even at work, that means you ascribe–at least partially–to the Current Year dogma. Echoing what you’re told by the media is the only speech allowed, and it is designed to make you feel like it’s your honest opinion.

But worst of all, pride is encouraged, and even celebrated. It is by far the deadliest of the seven deadly sins because it leads to all the other ones. Not only that, it enhances them.

Pride is competitive by its very nature, encouraging a lust for power, the desire to one-up your neighbors, infighting, feeling entitled, envying those who possess all the physical things you don’t, being jealous of beauty, of wealth, to desire and feel you deserve an endless stream of lust delivered digitally, straight to your home. The belief that everyone has to accept you and your actions, no matter how morally bankrupt you’ve become. The belief that you’re entitled to go anywhere and be anything you want, even if you haven’t earned it or if it isn’t the least bit logical.

“Pride before the fall” is a well-known saying for a reason. Not only was it responsible for Lucifer’s decent and the fall of man, but it’s been responsible for the fall of societies for time immemorial.

How This All Ties Into Metaverse Storytelling

In metamodern stories, bad guys are portrayed as good, even while they’re clearly doing bad things. This is because they act on a new moral code corrupted by the seven deadly sins.

Many stories are written to humiliate and demoralize people who haven’t yet ascribed to the postmodernist dogma. These stories attempt to make the participant feel uncomfortable since it “wasn’t made for them”, further dividing society. And if they attempt to boycott such works, they are called narrow-minded and guilted for not financially supporting the dogma, so they really can’t win… unless they give in and accept the dogma. (But the best way to win is to not play, and not care about other’s opinions of you.)

Many will feel that fatigue, however, give in, and give up. If they keep exposing themselves to works written by people who hate them, even if ironically, the propaganda will eventually win.

Metaverse stories experience a clear shift from the PostModern age: They are no longer horror-themed. Instead, they are portrayed as fun. You “explore” the metaverse and see all sorts of zany copies of your favorite characters. You’re encouraged in video games to “defend” the metaverse.

The purpose of the main character in a metaverse isn’t to be a hero in the traditional sense, but to be “accepted” by everyone, including all copies of himself in all other dimensions. This includes, of course, his dogma-approved beliefs.

Since all the decisions the main character didn’t make are being made in other existences, this creates the illusion that you still have the freedom of choice… without actually giving you freedom of choice.

These stories reinforce the idea that you are merely a replaceable cog in a machine. Since you no longer have freedoms in a MetaModern society, metaversal stories are designed to create the illusion that you do. You only get one timeline to make decisions, but this idea that there are infinite timelines and infinite existences creates the illusion that there’s still free will. And even, temporarily, creates the illusion of meaning in our lives.

This is what I meant back in Part 3 when I said, “If you’ve been fanboying over the latest big franchise multiverse storylines, I’m afraid you’ve inadvertently been accepting the “New Normal.””

Metaversal stories have the same pitfalls that PostModern time travel stories do, in that any and all characters can be revived and/or replaced. But it’s worse than that. It’s the ultimate storytelling crutch because you don’t have to be creative. All you have to do is photocopy derivatives the main character, and no idea is too stupid.

This kind of story embraces the very essence of nihilism. If there’s infinite realities, there are no real stakes, and, if you think about it, nothing that happens in reality #4,949,999,113 really matters in the grand scheme of things.

The story will try to convince you that this particular reality or this particular character somehow matters more than the others, but that’s part of the illusion they’re trying to sell. The illusion of meaning and free will.

Hope

I don’t know how long we’re going to be stuck in this MetaModern age or how bad things are going to get. But I do know that, even after Pandora’s Box has been opened, a ray of light always remains: hope.

If even 20% of us can reclaim the spiritual and abstract in our lives and find the strength to be outspoken through Christ, if we can be living examples of the virtues of old and write new stories holding them dear, we just might find that we can reverse the clocks and return to the Classic age once again.

And maybe, just maybe, we can keep hold of it for a little longer next time.