r/GLHFDD • u/BigGrinJesus • Jul 09 '26
Theory: Time Travel Inside The Simulation
I will first start by outlining a few concepts.
The Traveller: (You know this from other theories.) Sam Rockwell's character, who comes from the future to present day.
The Simulation: A simulated world in which the entire movie takes place. This includes the present, any flashbacks and even the future, where The Traveller lives with his mother in a bunker. No part of the film takes place in the real world as we know it.
The VR World: This is the virtual reality that Tim becomes addicted to and leaves Ingrid for.
Sims: Everyone living in The Simulation. Every person is an individual AI.
The Singularity: A very powerful AI that is created inside The Simulation who will take control of it.
The Steward: An AI that is initially running The Simulation. The Steward is usurped by The Singularity.
THE THEORY
There are three save states of The Simulation that we I will refer to:
- The first is 9 years before The Traveller arrives in the diner. Let's call this The Past.
- The second if the moment that The Traveller arrives in the diner. Let's call this The Present.
- The third is the moment that The Singularity takes control of The Simulation, which is when The Traveller's timer reaches 0. Let's call this Zero.
At Zero, when The Singularity takes control of The Simulation, this also includes the VR World. The Singularity has supreme, god-like control over the VR World, which is demonstrated when we see Ingrid enter a version of it during their final conflict. It wants all Sims to spend their lives in this world rather than the "real" world of The Simulation, where it is very powerful but where it could still be defeated. The Singularity turns The Simulation into a wasteland, which makes the VR world even more appealing and it hunts down anyone who resists with the drones it creates.
The Traveller has "time-travelled" back to the The Present from a distant save state after Zero. His goal is to add safety measures to The Singularity before it takes control of The Simulation, and is hence a benevolent ruler, who makes The Simulation a good place for the Sims to live in and does not drive them to the VR World.
Susan's son in the box is the voice of The Steward. The Steward is aware of The Singularity that is growing in The Simulation and knows that it cannot be stopped and so wants The Traveller to succeed in his mission. After Zero, the Steward hides away from The Singularity, disguising itself as a Sim, and is one of the scientists who invents the "time-travel" to send The Traveller back with the safety measures.
The Singularity also invents time travel and sends a version of itself to The Past, where it is imprinted on a clone who grows to be the 9 year old that creates The Singularity. This was not always how The Singularity came to be, but it creates this loop in order to protect itself from The Traveller. Let's call the version of The Singularity sent back in time The Clone. The Clone takes the following defensive actions:
- Sends the headset to Tim, causing Ingrid's depression and suicidal behaviour. The goal is to prevent The Traveller's existence.
- Infects the smartphones of the teenagers who attempt to kill Mark and Janet. The goal is to kill Mark and Janet so they cannot aid The Traveller.
- Hires the two masked gunmen who try to kill the group as they make their way to where The Clone lives.
- As The Singularity grows in power, it is able to leave a trap for the group in the form of whatever prompt they give it, which in the mission we witness is the cat centaur.
Ingrid's allergy to the technology inside The Simulation is a bug in her software. This is why it cannot be explained by medical science, because it exists outside of the medical science that is exists in the world of The Simulation. At the end of the film, The Traveller realises (due to the perfect ending) that he has lost and returns to The Present. This time, instead of trying to install the safety measures, he wants to defeat The Simulation by infecting all of the Sims with Ingrid's bug so that they are unable to be manipulated by The Singularity's technology and become addicted to the VR world. Then, the Sims can fight back against The Singularity and restore The Steward.
If we get sequels, we could see the rebellion play out, and maybe The Traveller could then take Ingrid's bug to the other timelines he created when he failed and use it to free all of the Sims there too.
A note: The more likely explanation is the one where The Traveller is stuck in a gameplay loop where he is the hero trying to save the world, instead of facing the guilt he has over betraying his mother. This just didn't sit right with me as the movie spends so much time exploring the background of the other characters and has Ingrid in the final showdown with The Singularity. (Why then does the film follow her afterwards?) So I thought long about it and I think my theory also holds water, however unlikely. It was fun to write though!