“When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, could be the truth.”
How to determine if you are in a fantasy world
If you find yourself in an unfamiliar place and you don’t know how you got there, it is possible you have been transported to a fantasy world, but how can you be sure? Let us first eliminate some obvious explanations.
It could be that you have dissociative fugue, a disorder characterized by reversible amnesia for personal identity. However, if you remember your life up till this point, then you are not in a fugue state.
It could be that you are dreaming. If you don’t have a history of lucid dreaming though, it is unlikely that you suddenly are having a hyper realistic dream. Perform this simple test – try to remember what you were doing before you arrived in this new place and/or look at an object and try to describe every detail of it. This is not a foolproof method of determining your state of wakefulness, but it is a good start. If you can’t remember when you fell asleep or you are unable to focus and accurately describe every detail of an object in your vicinity, then you might be dreaming.
It could be that you are somewhere else on Earth at an indeterminate point in time. When it becomes night, look into the sky and see if you can recognize any of the constellations. If you can see the Big Dipper – seven bright stars that are part of Ursa Major – then you are in the northern hemisphere. If you can see the Southern Cross – which looks more like a kite – then you are in the southern hemisphere. Both of these circumpolar asterisms are visible throughout the year. Locating these constellations should give you good evidence that you are still on Earth, but given the vast distances of space, you could be on a new planet with a very similar view of the stars. Keep your wits about you.
Assuming you feel confident that you do not have dissociative fugue, you are not dreaming, and you are no longer on Earth, then you can move on to identifying things that would give you strong evidence that you are in a fantasy world.
Can you see a heads up display with some or all of the elements that would be visible if you were playing a video game – radar, health status, inventory, etc? First check to see if you are wearing any glasses or helmet of sorts. If you are not, and there is nothing in front of your face but you continue to see this information overlaid on you vision even as you turn around, then you might be in a game like fantasy world.
A welcoming committee of dangerous magical beasts that have strength, agility, and aggression towards humans inconsistent with animals on Earth is a dead giveaway that you have been transported. You might also find yourself being welcomed by a delegation of natives. If these natives are not human looking – horns atop the head, cat like eyes, scales instead of skin, large stuffed animal looking creatures, etc – then chances are you are in a fantasy world. Be careful, because you won’t know immediately if they pose a threat. Innocuous beings might be dangerous while dangerous looking beings could be devoid of harmful intent. You just won’t know until you get your bearings.
Look into the sky, do you see a single sun giving off white light? If it is night time, do you see a single moon shining silver? If you see a different type and/or number of suns, moons, or you notice other celestial bodies that you don’t recognize from elementary school science, then you are on a new world for sure.
It can be hard if not impossible to figure out if you have been transported to a fantasy world. Being mindful and aware of your surroundings in your daily life will increase your chances of recognizing the signs of being transported. That accumulated knowledge leveraged with calm composure will let you make quick decisions that will impact your survival when met with a potentially savage new world. Know your fantasy and you might live another day!
