Bit Flip Barry

The world – well, let’s say it’s full of strange things. But the fun part about those strange things is that all of them, one way or another, have some explanation, no matter how it may sound. Some answers may seem obvious to some while appearing entirely unclear to others. But in the end, it’s all just a matter of seeing and understanding. For example, let’s take the phenomenon of our famous crocodile of the Earth 3.4.1. You look at it and start pondering: what happened here? A mutation? But why? Why now, after such a long time of idleness? Why did the change occur precisely like this? Why only him and him alone? And, after all, what could even cause something so unexpected and sudden? It seems like there’s no logical explanation. But do you know what? Like always, there is.

The cosmos surrounding us is full of these high-energy particles that blaze almost as quickly as the light itself. Mainly consisting of protons and alpha particles, they’re believed to originate from the supernovas around us. They tend to rain down on planets, and the ones that do travel far enough can cause various electronic problems in whatever machinery that can be affected on the piece of rock they hit. These things are what we’re used to calling cosmic rays. But their existence is not the most interesting and relevant part of this story. No, it’s that if one of them happens to strike some computer’s memory at just the right moment it can unexpectedly switch 0 with 1 or 1 with 0 somewhere in the code. This is known as cosmic ray bit flip. Wherever that bit flips, at least some kind of change is almost inevitable. And this is exactly what happened in the case of Bit Flip Barry.

One of the cosmic rays diving from the far depths of space happened to go all the way through, straight to Earth 3.4.1 simulation. It reached the very center of the unsuspecting crocodile’s code and touched just the right number in its core. But the thing is, the change was near impossible to catch when it occurred. Barry, that’s how we got used to calling him over time, at first seemed just like a regular croc, growing up with his brothers and sisters on an island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. In fact, it took quite a few years in the simulation before anyone observing it had even the slightest suspicion that something might be out of order.

Crocodiles are some of the few species on Earth that exhibit negligible senescence. In other words – they do not age. Not biologically, anyway. And even though, in some instances, a full-grown croc can stunningly grow close to 7 meters in length and over 1000 kilos in weight, eventually, they reach their limit and practically stop, adding on no more than a centimeter a year. Of course, now, thanks to the cosmic bit flip, Barry was no longer a regular specimen. At the age of 14, our croc of interest was nearing 6 meters, sporting a nice and round number of 900 kilos. A little above average, but absolutely nothing concerning. All the signs indicated that the predator has reached his limits and is now fully matured. But for Barry, these limits just didn’t seem to apply. As the following years passed, all his siblings remained more or less the same. But our croc simply refused to stop developing. And the pace – it’s like he was still a juvenile, growing a good meter each year. It didn’t take long for Barry to become the largest and strongest reptile around. This made it easy for him to overpower anyone who might stand in his way, quickly earning him the alpha spot atop the hierarchy he lived in. And now, with the best feeding and basking sites available, his growth has accelerated even more. But as the crocodile grew – so did his hunger. It took quite some time, but by age 150, Barry was eating over 500 tonnes of meat a year. And even though the island appeared to be quite big, hosting more than enough space for all the species around, the food supply eventually became more and more scarce. The rising feeding needs of all the crocs combined soon led to the full extinction of every other species on the island. All but one – saltwater crocodiles.

Faced with these circumstances, it wasn’t long before cruel predatory survival instincts kicked in. Now I won’t get into many details here because not many like the topic of cannibalism. But the truth was harsh. Starting with the smallest and the weakest, the crocodiles began to feed on each other. Though their numbers were quite big, they started going down fast. And so, it wasn’t long before the island’s population dropped to the loneliest number in our numeral system – 1. It was Barry, and he was all alone. The few fish still swimming around the island could not even amount to a snack, and all the bigger prey was miles away or too fast to outswim in order to catch. The only viable option left was for him to leave his birthplace and set out to the wide-open world, looking for more.

The stunning 141-meter long and almost 21-tonne reptile was last seen slowly heading towards the South American region. The opinions on whether we should keep the simulation going were heavily divided between the people responsible. The curiosity was immense, and so was the moral dilemma. But whichever side you were on, the phenomenon became too public, and we soon were unable to keep ignoring the guidelines and demands of the executives any longer. Orders were clear: terminate the simulation - analyze what happened. And so we did.

Still, sometimes, it does keep me up at night. What if we’re in a simulation just like this one? What if some cosmic ray causes another similar bit flip? It might have already happened. And it might be that the guidelines on the simulation are a lot different this time around...