The Book of Reality: A Hypothetical

[Thermodolia]

Looks like my revolution and ascendancy to General Secretary of the United Workers of America Party and creation of the same just happened.

Congratulations everyone you are now under my glorious rule

[Thermodolia]

Well, I don't see any downsides to using it, so, okay...

I would find a vaccine for the pandemic, and restore the financial security of those who lost it due to the pandemic and general governmental mismanagement, then I would go on a general programme of relief works to lift the poorest in society out of poverty, and improve education (including political education) internationally.

Then, it's party time.

Technically you could just remove the pandemic

[San Lumen]

Well, I don't see any downsides to using it, so, okay...

I would find a vaccine for the pandemic, and restore the financial security of those who lost it due to the pandemic and general governmental mismanagement, then I would go on a general programme of relief works to lift the poorest in society out of poverty, and improve education (including political education) internationally.

Then, it's party time.

Technically you could just remove the pandemic

That's the first thing i'd use it for.

[Thermodolia]

I’d also use it to make all of my NS nations real. Get ready world Thermodolia is about to be a reality

[Page]

Grocery stores now have extremely wide aisles so no one gets stuck behind a slow poke with no regard for other people's time.

Trump is haunted every night by hours of vivid nightmares of the kids he put in cages taking their vengeance upon him.

High quality weed rains down from the sky every few days.

Dogs never die in movies but John Wick finds a different reason to kill people.

When two people have sex they form a psychic connection that allows them to experience both their and their partner's sensations simultaneously.

[Resilient Acceleration]

Maybe I'll use the book to give myself the ability to add a maximum of an additional 6 hours a day, where everything freezes in time except me but I can still move around, eat, open the internet, run programs, exercise, etc. I can use that time to sleep, study, read, relax, or even mess with the frozen people. Note that giving myself the ability to freeze time anytime for an unlimited amount of time is a big no-no. The potentially disastrous effects is just too high.

I would also probably give myself $50 million and a super advanced AI legal-financial adviser to help me. More would potentially lead to problems.

On the topic of relax, maybe I would also want a carriable portal to an intradimensional tropical resort where time in the real world stops until I returned, but I can only be in it for a limited amount of time every month. The place is run by dilligent, fun, loyal, hot catgirl-maids with designable personalities, all of whom obey my command without exception and

[San Lumen]

in theory yes

What a wonderful book!

This is a great hypothetical.

Im glad you like it.

[Old Tyrannia]

If I were to find such a book, and didn't simply laugh it off and ignore it, I'd probably be wary of using it. I have seen enough cautionary tales about people acquiring amazing powers in some form or another, only to discover terrible consequences from using them. If something looks to good to be true, it usually is.

However, assuming for the purpose of the hypothetical that I both take the book seriously and am confident that using it will not in and of itself have negative ramifications, I think it would be somewhat irresponsible not to try to do some good with it. Either out of a lack of imagination on my part or because as I said above I've seen too many cautionary tales begin along these lines, my first thoughts were fairly humble ones by the standards of some of the other suggestions so far- creating a vaccine for COVID-19, resurrecting recently extinct species, manipulating political events like elections in favour of my preferred outcomes and so forth. I doubt I could resist the temptation to make myself rich, either. Perhaps it was my reading of the OP, but the idea that you could use the book to alter prior events or even to change fundamental facts about reality- for example, making magic real (although the very existence of the book surely proves that something we'd describe as magic already exists)- hadn't really occurred to me. I'd probably be wary of making changes that were likely to have significant consequences I couldn't predict, however.

[Zeritae]

I'd focus on the more frivolous things first, such as giving me RO in every region. Then, I'd move on to things that are more tangible, such as currency

[The New California Republic]

Many posters immediately think of sex. But does that pass the "must be legal" standard?

Course it does. Don't see any law against making fictional characters come to life.

[The Slayers Republic]

To be perfectly honest, colonization of outer space (basically the whole universe) would be the first thing I would write
Second? All the priests, bishop's and archbishop's involved in the Catholic sex scandal will not only be excommunicated, and be forbidden to enter ANY sacred site,from any religion.
The last thing would be to travel back in time to 1933 and warn poland of the eventual invasion by the Germans and the Soviets, and to begin assassinating every single official of both the CPSU and the NSDAP

[Geneviev]

I would never use something that dangerous.

[Travislavania]

id say i get hella rich

[San Lumen]

I would never use something that dangerous.

Why not?

[Geneviev]

I would never use something that dangerous.

Why not?

I don't want to risk ending the world.

[Rusozak]

"Bacon grass" will now be a thing.

Why not apple grass?

Unnatural powers to make fantasy into reality and you use it grow from the ground something that already grows from the ground?

[San Lumen]

Why not apple grass?

Unnatural powers to make fantasy into reality and you use it grow from the ground something that already grows from the ground?

It was a Doctor Who reference.

[MineLegotia and Equestria]

I was gonna ask if this is some sort of fetish brony thing

you had time to delete this man ffs

The "dirty dirty things" and the "turn everyone into ponies and have them worship me" is, if combined, a concerning mix.

Be happy for this book does not exist.

[North Cromch]

Make every fictional daikaiju real and put them all in Tokyo, because yes.

[Chan Island]

The big drawback I can see about having this kind of book is the risk of being discovered. Having a series of increasingly intelligent people on the hunt to acquire the power for themselves is... not fun to say the least.

Still, the potential to do good is too great to not use it. 'Arranging for a space age with faster than light travel and post scarcity civilisation to occur within, say, the next 10 years would be essential in my mind. Ending the pandemic, the wars and autocracy would be next. Then healing the sick, feeding the poor, empowering the powerless and other generally 'miracle' good works would follow.

After that, I'm not entirely sure what I'd do with it. The fact that it could be used to change fundamental laws of reality is, frankly, terrifying, as is the potential to alter the past. The temptation to dip into and observe alternative timelines is strong, as would be nabbing historical figures to the present day. But you wouldn't be able to predict the full range of outcomes such an action would achieve, so I like to think I would avoid them like the plague. Sorry, no catgirls, magic powers or Poland saved from Communism if I have it.

One instinct says to ensure my own enrichment- which I'd probably arrange to have happen in such a way that it will all still feel like an accomplishment, but then even after that, I can only see that power getting abused. I'd write that only I can use it and that nobody else will ever question it. And then, after I've created the peaceful, healthy, space age utopia with me successful in it, I'd see if I can destroy it. For my own sake as well as to prevent it falling into the hands of those who wish to do harm.

[The Free Joy State]

Well, I don't see any downsides to using it, so, okay...

I would find a vaccine for the pandemic, and restore the financial security of those who lost it due to the pandemic and general governmental mismanagement, then I would go on a general programme of relief works to lift the poorest in society out of poverty, and improve education (including political education) internationally.

Then, it's party time.

Technically you could just remove the pandemic

Good point.

So, *abracadabra*, the pandemic ceases to exist, then every country on earth becomes a transparent democracy with free and fair elections (I assume I can do this as long as I have no wishes to manoeuvre myself into any position of power, which I don't), healthcare that's free at the point of service and excellent education for all, then end poverty.

Then... party time.

EDIT: Then hide the book, because the implications of what it could be used for is rather frightening.

[Resilient Acceleration]

Technically you could just remove the pandemic

Good point.

So, *abracadabra*, the pandemic ceases to exist, then every country on earth becomes a transparent democracy with free and fair elections (I assume I can do this as long as I have no wishes to manoeuvre myself into any position of power, which I don't), healthcare that's free at the point of service and excellent education for all, then end poverty.

Then... party time.

EDIT: Then hide the book, because the implications of what it could be used for is rather frightening.

Alternatively, I'll write so that only I and I alone has the ability to 1) see 2) touch 3) use the book, and it'll just an empty space of air for anybody else. Also I'll also grant myself 150% of Kira's intelligence and avoid any bad thing in the future, which will obviously not end up with me abusing the power and try to become god

[Dominioan]

After I have achieved the perfect world, I will use the book to destroy the book

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

The premise makes little sense to me. Mostly because language is inherently ambiguous, so nothing could happen ‘exactly as written’. Besides, the book is bound by the laws of nations, which means I cannot use it as I want. As soon as I start feeding the world, people would make it illegal for me to do so. I cannot provide housing to people, because I need permits and I need to own land, and I cannot steal land. I cannot take power or violate a constitution, even to make it more democratic. I can literally only use the book in a way that serves myself or those closest to me. The book is nothing else than winning a large amount of money, although the money would allow me to have more power, since the money can buy me a home. The book cannot create money, since that is illegal.

Technically you could just remove the pandemic

Good point.

So, *abracadabra*, the pandemic ceases to exist, then every country on earth becomes a transparent democracy with free and fair elections (I assume I can do this as long as I have no wishes to manoeuvre myself into any position of power, which I don't), healthcare that's free at the point of service and excellent education for all, then end poverty.

Then... party time.

EDIT: Then hide the book, because the implications of what it could be used for is rather frightening.

You would be changing constitutions, which is illegal.

[The New California Republic]

The premise makes little sense to me. Mostly because language is inherently ambiguous, so nothing could happen ‘exactly as written’. Besides, the book is bound by the laws of nations, which means I cannot use it as I want. As soon as I start feeding the world, people would make it illegal for me to do so. I cannot provide housing to people, because I need permits and I need to own land, and I cannot steal land. I cannot take power or violate a constitution, even to make it more democratic. I can literally only use the book in a way that serves myself or those closest to me. The book is nothing else than winning a large amount of money, although the money would allow me to have more power, since the money can buy me a home. The book cannot create money, since that is illegal.

Just do what I did then.