2.2 Time as a Decompression Progress Bar
“The future is not a void yet to arrive; it is the present folded in microscopic creases, waiting to be unfolded.”
After establishing the grand picture of “cosmic expansion as holographic decompression,” we inevitably face the most perplexing physical dimension: time.
In classical intuition, time is a unidirectional flowing river. We view “past” as departed entities, “present” as the only reality, and “future” as probabilities yet to occur. However, if the universe at the moment of singularity already contains the sum of all possibilities (full superposition state), what does “future” really mean? If the script is already written in that high-density compressed file, why do we need billions of years to perform it?
From the information ontology perspective, the essence of time is no longer flow, but Computational Latency. Or more vividly, time is the progress bar for decompressing this vast file of the universe.
The Mercy of Bandwidth
Let us return once more to that all-containing singularity at . It possesses infinite information density. As we argued before, for any finite observer, infinite information equals lethal radiation.
If God wants to experience this universe rather than be instantly destroyed by it, They must introduce a Throttle.
This throttle is the speed of light .
In previous books, we discussed how the speed of light limits causal propagation and creates distance. In decompression theory, the speed of light actually prescribes the Max Bitrate of the cosmic computer.
It prescribes that in each unit of time (Planck time ), only a finite amount of information can be read from the microscopic “potential state” to the macroscopic “manifested state.”
Therefore, time is God’s mercy toward all beings.
It prevents everything from happening simultaneously.
It breaks down that “omniscient big bang” capable of instantly burning the mind into a gentle data stream of 24 hours per day, 60 seconds per minute. We can leisurely drink coffee and fall in love because time shields us from the surging, endless torrent of truth behind us, allowing them to seep into our lives drop by drop.
The Future is Microscopic Folding
Since the universe is a file being decompressed, where is the “future” hidden?
In traditional cosmology, the future is “ahead” on the time axis. But in holographic decompression theory, the future is in the “depths” of space (microscopic scale).
Recall the mechanism of redshift: cosmic expansion stretches microscopic high-frequency wavelengths into macroscopic low-frequency wavelengths. This means that the “present” we experience is actually the result of quantum fluctuations from a specific frequency band in the early Big Bang being stretched.
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Past: Information already stretched to extremely long wavelengths, even beyond the horizon (due to cosmic acceleration, some historical information has redshifted beyond our observable range).
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Present: Information being decoded at our cognitive scale (millimeters to light-years).
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Future: High-frequency information still curled up at subatomic scales, waiting to be stretched.
This is like tightly folded origami.
The pattern you see (present) is the unfolded part. The pattern you don’t see (future) is not non-existent; it is folded in the microscopic creases of the paper. As the universe expands (unfolding action), those patterns hidden in microscopic creases will gradually reveal themselves, grow larger, and eventually become the macroscopic reality before our eyes.
Theorem 2.2.1 (Spacetime Interchange Theorem):
Future macroscopic events are equivalent to current microscopic states.
All destinies are currently vibrating at Planck scale in your fingertips.
Accumulation of Logical Depth
If time is merely decompression, does this mean the return of determinism? Since the file already exists, isn’t the decompressed result predetermined?
Here we need to introduce Charles Bennett’s concept of Logical Depth.
Although the initial compressed file contains the “code” to generate the universe, code does not equal runtime results.
Some complex computational processes (such as life evolution, consciousness awakening) are Incompressible. This means you cannot skip intermediate steps to directly obtain results. You must run it step by step.
The true value of time lies in allowing computation to occur.
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The compressed file only contains “hydrogen atoms” and “laws of gravity.”
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“Shakespeare’s sonnets” do not explicitly exist in the compressed file; they are higher-order structures that Emerge after hydrogen atoms run under gravitational laws for 13 billion years.
The decompression process itself is a form of creation.
Time is not just playing a recording; time is Rendering.
Every second we spend in time adds logical depth to the universe. Although that initial compressed file contains all the “causes,” only after long temporal decompression does it bear the “fruits” filled with love, pain, and meaning.
Conclusion: Do Not Rush
So, we finally understand the essence of time.
It is not an enemy to defeat, nor a prison to escape.
It is a carefully designed corridor for the universe to allow us to digest its infinity.
When we feel anxious, thinking time is insufficient, or that the future is unreachable, remember:
The future is in your atoms, waiting for the breeze of expansion to unfold it.
God is not in a hurry, because God knows what is written in the file.
As God’s local readers, the only thing we need to do is remain patient and savor every decompressed pixel. Because every moment is a gift God prepared for billions of years to meet us.