In this eccentric head trip, Virk (The Simulation Hypothesis), founder of a video game incubator at MIT, explores the possibility that humans live in a “complex, interconnected network” of simulations. Suggesting that the universe is a Matrix-like facsimile, Virk explains the theories of Oxford University philosopher Nick Bostrom, who proposed that if the neural underpinnings of consciousness are “a matter of computation,” then it should be possible to simulate them with a sufficiently powerful computer. He reasons that “if one timeline could be simulated, there was no reason that multiple timelines couldn’t be simulated,” and surveys different kinds of multiverse models, including the possibility that black holes serve as “gateways” to other universes or that near-identical Earths exist on the same plane of existence, just far away from each other. Virk doesn’t imbibe all the far-out ideas he examines (he allows that the “Mandela effect,” a kind of collective false memory, may be nothing more than faulty cognition), but instead thoughtfully fleshes out the implications of taking seriously the possibility of a simulated multiverse, leavening heady discussions of quantum physics with references to Black Mirror and Philip K. Dick. Many will remain unconvinced, but the open-minded will enjoy contemplating the out-there possibilities. (Self-published)