In a world filled with simulated worlds, some have come to believe that we too are simulated-- and they worship something horrific as our programmer creator.

SYNOPSIS:

Nova (40s) and her science-minded husband Hugh (40s) live near the “vortexes” of the Arizona mountains near Sedona with their new baby boy, Newton. Nova is not bonding well with the baby, frustrated and resentful of the demanding child and her new motherly role. She and Hugh are sleeping in separate rooms and are barely speaking. Nova is controlling and nosy, obsessed with keeping tabs on everything around her property. She does not like to leave the property, as she prefers to stay within her own little world to watch and control it. Meanwhile, Hugh is wrapped up in himself, his ego, and his goal of becoming a big deal in the scientific community.

When wealthy young neighbors start moving in next door, Nova has something new over which she can obsess. She watches them like a hawk as they get moved in, determined to figure out what their deal is. They turn out to be Simulists: People who believe our universe is a computer simulation. These neighbors start digging on Nova’s property in the middle of the night, searching for something.

They dig up the Enigma, a 6’8” half-rotted corpse that breathes, walks, and seemingly performs miracles. The Simulists believe him to be one of our simulation’s programmers who is stuck here in his deceased avatar. They believe that if they help him execute “cheat codes” to revitalize him, they will then have the cheat codes for themselves to live forever and bring back the dead. Nova does not quite buy the Simulists’ story and becomes obsessed with finding the truth behind the Enigma. It is not clear if this is a miraculous discovery of which they have the privilege of being part, or a horrific event that puts Nova’s family in danger. What can she trust is real? Does it even matter when her baby might be at risk? This story is about a new mother’s struggle to connect with her baby while combating the horrors of an increasingly deceptive and chaotic reality.