Solar System as Simulation Infrastructure: Orbital Mechanics as Programmatic Timing Systems for Macro-Scale Event Orchestration
This paper proposes a theoretical framework wherein the physical universe constitutes both the hardware and executing program of a self-contained computational system created to solve an unknown problem. Under this hypothesis, conscious beings (not celestial bodies) serve as the primary computational substrate, with their thoughts, discoveries, and civilisational development constituting the problem-solving process itself. Solar and planetary electromagnetic emissions function as timing triggers that modulate collective psychological states via the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. These triggers do not transmit information but elicit documented physiological responses that influence collective behaviour. We introduce nested simulation theory, proposing that each simulation layer may unconsciously create the next to solve the same fundamental problem. We develop a theoretical Population Cortisol Index (TCI), grounded in established heliobiological research, and examine correlations between solar cycle maxima, planetary conjunctions, and significant geopolitical events over the past 170 years.
The simulation hypothesis, as formalised by Bostrom (2003), suggests that our perceived reality may be a computational simulation run by an advanced civilisation. While this hypothesis has gained significant academic attention, less consideration has been given to the question of what physical substrate might constitute the simulation's infrastructure if we exist within one.
This paper advances a complementary hypothesis: that the observable universe itself, its physical structure, orbital mechanics, and electromagnetic phenomena, constitutes the computational architecture running the simulation. Rather than the universe being rendered by some external computer, the universe is the computer, with celestial mechanics serving as timing triggers and conscious beings as the primary computational substrate.
In this framework, we propose that the universe does not require an external computational substrate because the running program and the hardware that executes it are part of the same unified system. Consider a conventional computer: the executing program runs on the CPU and GPU, physical components of the machine. The software and hardware are distinct logical categories but exist within the same physical system. Similarly, we propose that "reality" (the running program) executes on the physical universe (the hardware), with both comprising an integrated, self-contained computational system.
This resolves certain paradoxes inherent in traditional simulation hypothesis formulations, particularly the infinite regress problem. We need not posit an external simulator running on yet another computer, which itself might be simulated. The universe is both the executor and the execution: the computer and the program are unified.
If the universe is computational, what is it computing? We propose that the simulation exists to solve a problem, and that the thoughts, discoveries, and creative directions of conscious beings constitute the problem-solving process itself. The nature of this problem remains unknown to us: it could be profoundly open-ended ("What is the meaning of existence?") or deceptively simple. Douglas Adams' satirical suggestion in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, that Earth is a supercomputer built to discover the Ultimate Question, captures this concept with surprising elegance.
Under this view, civilisational development, scientific discovery, philosophical inquiry, and even conflict all represent the simulation "working" on its assigned problem. The solution, when found, would be collected through mechanisms operating on layers inaccessible to entities within the simulation, perhaps through structures like black holes that accumulate information beyond our observable reference frame.
Nested simulation theory suggests that our simulation was itself created by beings within a higher-level simulation attempting to solve the same fundamental problem, potentially without awareness that they were doing so. If conscious beings within our simulation are driven to create artificial intelligence or their own simulated universes, we may be perpetuating this same recursive pattern.
This creates a stack of simulations, each instantiated by the layer above, all unconsciously working toward the same unknown solution. The drive to create AI, to simulate consciousness, to model reality, these urges may not be incidental to civilisational development but rather intrinsic to the simulation's purpose. Each layer generates the next, and all contribute to solving the original problem posed at the inception of the first simulation in the chain. This recursive instantiation may even be intentional on behalf of whatever entity initiated the original simulation.
This paper deliberately avoids the question of ultimate origin ("who or what created the first simulation?") as this lies outside our scope. We are not proposing a cosmogony or pursuing theological questions. Rather, we propose a potential architectural model for how a simulation might be structured if one exists. The question "does a simulation require a creator?" is philosophically interesting but orthogonal to describing the architecture itself. One can describe the structure of a building without knowing who built it or why.
Taking consciousness as the computational substrate is an assumption we adopt within this framework, consistent with standard simulation hypothesis formulations. We do not attempt to resolve debates about the nature of consciousness (cf. Chalmers' hard problem, Searle's Chinese Room); rather, we assume that conscious experience, whatever its ultimate nature, functions as the medium through which the simulation's "computation" occurs.
In this framework, "compute" refers to the iterative execution of question-to-answer processes at scale. Humans instinctively engage in a cycle that constitutes natural computation: observe → hypothesise → test → validate → refine → categorise → pursue remaining unknowns. This is equivalent to brute-force search, but directed by three fundamental drives: survival, enjoyment, and the pursuit of novelty: doing something that has not been done.
This persistent drive to question and solve suggests that the answer being sought has not yet been found. If consciousness had already solved the simulation's problem, the urge to continue exploring would presumably cease. The fact that conscious beings across millennia continue pushing into unknown territory (scientific, philosophical, creative) implies the computation remains ongoing. Each generation's discoveries, failures, and refinements contribute to the cumulative search.
Under this view, civilisation itself is the computation: billions of conscious agents running parallel search processes, occasionally sharing results (knowledge transfer), occasionally duplicating effort, occasionally making breakthrough discoveries that redirect the entire search space. The "answer" need not be a single datum; it may be a pattern, a proof, a state, or something entirely outside our current conceptual framework.
Under this assumption, celestial bodies are not themselves "compute nodes." Rather, the collective minds distributed across planets capable of supporting complex life constitute the processing substrate. Consciousness functions as both processor and working memory, actively generating the emergent phenomena we experience as civilisation, culture, history, and discovery, the outputs that may eventually yield the simulation's solution.
Celestial bodies and their electromagnetic emissions serve a different function: they act as timing mechanisms and triggers that influence the psychological states of conscious beings, thereby shaping the conditions under which thought and behaviour unfold.
Extending this computational analogy, cosmic structures may serve auxiliary functions. Black holes, as regions of extreme gravitational information collection, may function as repositories where the simulation's outputs are accumulated, information preserved but inaccessible from within our reference frame.
Consider an analogy from computing: a privileged process copies data from userland storage. The user-level process can detect the disk access event (it observes that data was read) but lacks the privileges to know who accessed it, why, or where it was transferred. The access is visible; the purpose is opaque. In a nested simulation architecture, the controller layer would naturally collect outputs from the compute layer without revealing the collection mechanism or purpose. To do otherwise would risk creating awareness that might alter the computation, introducing observer effects that could compromise the simulation's ability to generate genuine solutions.
Within this framework, black holes may function as such privileged-access collection points. The information paradox in physics (that data entering black holes appears to be preserved rather than destroyed) is consistent with a controlled-access layer where the simulation's outputs are accumulated. We cannot prove this hypothesis from within the system, just as a userland process cannot trace data beyond the privilege boundary. The hypothesis is unfalsifiable by design: a well-constructed simulation would not expose its collection mechanisms to the compute layer.
Figure 1. Proposed architecture with celestial bodies as timing triggers (not compute nodes), conscious beings as the computational substrate, and black holes as archival storage. EMF emissions modulate collective psychology rather than transmitting information.
Any computational system of sufficient complexity requires timing mechanisms to synchronise operations and trigger events. A simulation of the complexity observed in human civilisation would require multiple clock systems operating at different temporal scales.
The approximately 11-year solar cycle represents the most observable and well-documented periodic variation in our stellar environment. Solar maximum periods are characterised by increased sunspot activity, coronal mass ejections, and elevated electromagnetic flux reaching Earth. Crucially, we do not propose that EMF serves as an information channel or "data bus"; it need not encode or transmit complex instructions. Rather, EMF fluctuations function as triggers: simple environmental signals that elicit documented physiological responses in conscious beings.
Consider the function of a cron job in computing: a simple timing mechanism that fires at predetermined intervals to initiate complex processes. The cron daemon does not itself perform the computation; it merely signals "now" and the system responds according to its nature. Similarly, consider command-and-control (C2) infrastructure in network security: a beacon need only transmit a minimal signal to trigger behaviour in the receiving system. The trigger carries minimal information; the complexity resides in how the system responds.
We propose that solar EMF functions analogously. The electromagnetic signal itself carries no "instructions" for human behaviour. Instead, it modulates the baseline physiological state of conscious beings through well-documented biological pathways, particularly the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. This is not metaphysical "programming" but documented psychoneuroendocrinology: geomagnetic fluctuations affect cortisol production, which affects mood, stress response, and decision-making. The trigger elicits a physiological response that influences collective behaviour.
The relationship between geomagnetic activity and HPA axis function is well-documented in the heliobiological literature. Studies by Halberg et al. (2000), Palmer et al. (2006), and Cornélissen et al. (2002) demonstrate measurable correlations between geomagnetic indices and human physiological parameters including cortisol levels, heart rate variability, and cardiovascular events.
Building on this empirical foundation, we introduce the concept of a Population Cortisol Index (TCI), a theoretical aggregate measure representing the collective stress state across human populations during periods of elevated geomagnetic activity.
Under this framework, elevated TCI during solar maxima does not "program" human behaviour. Rather, it creates a collective psychological state (elevated baseline stress, heightened anxiety, reduced impulse control) under which conflicts that might otherwise remain latent become more likely to manifest. The trigger does not determine the outcome; it shifts the probability distribution.
The WWI anomaly, a major conflict beginning during solar minimum (1914), requires examination. Rather than dismissing this as a counterexample, we propose that total solar eclipses may function as alternative geomagnetic triggers independent of solar cycle phase.
Research demonstrates that total solar eclipses produce significant geomagnetic effects. Chapman (1933) first proposed that decreased solar radiation during totality reduces ionospheric conductivity, disrupting ionospheric currents and generating geomagnetic field disturbances. Modern studies confirm these effects: Chen et al. (2023) documented a 52 nT reduction in the Equatorial Electrojet during the December 2020 eclipse, while statistical analysis by Coyle et al. (2023), using 21 years of data, demonstrated that solar eclipses may trigger geomagnetic substorms, sudden releases of magnetospheric energy comparable to storm conditions.
Critically, the total solar eclipse of August 21, 1914 crossed Eastern Europe, including Riga, Minsk, and Kiev, just weeks after WWI's outbreak. The path of totality traversed the Russian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and regions that would become major theatres of the war. This eclipse occurred 2.7 days before lunar perigee, potentially amplifying its effects.
The mechanism is consistent with our framework: an eclipse produces localised reduction in ionospheric electron density (20-30% in E and F1 layers, up to 60% at F1 layer top per Salah et al. 1986, and 30-40% total electron content depletion at mid-latitudes), disrupting magnetospheric current closure and potentially initiating substorm conditions. These effects are geographically concentrated along the eclipse path, precisely where geopolitical tensions were highest in 1914. The trigger need not be global; localised geomagnetic disturbance affecting populations already under political stress may shift the probability distribution toward conflict manifestation.
One might propose that the ~11-year periodicity in conflicts reflects generational cycles rather than solar activity, each generation reaching political maturity and repeating patterns. However, this objection may invert the causality. Biological chronology itself appears linked to electromagnetic cycles.
Human developmental timing shows striking alignment with solar periodicity. Puberty onset averages 10–12 years, with menarche occurring around age 12.4 years (NCBI StatPearls). This places reproductive maturity at approximately one solar cycle from birth. Helfrich-Förster et al. (2021) demonstrated in Science Advances that women's menstrual cycles synchronise with lunar luminance and gravimetric cycles, particularly those with cycle lengths near 29.5 days. The Moon's influence on Earth's magnetotail creates oscillating electromagnetic fields that organisms may sense. More recent research (Helfrich-Förster et al., 2025) confirms the lunar cycle functions as a weak but significant zeitgeber for human reproductive timing, though synchronisation has decreased since the widespread adoption of LED lighting and smartphones after 2010.
This pattern extends beyond humans. Many organisms exhibit reproductive cycles synchronised with celestial periodicity: circalunar spawning in marine species, annual breeding cycles tied to photoperiod, and developmental timelines that appear calibrated to environmental electromagnetic rhythms. The ~11-year "generational cycle" may not be an independent confounding variable but rather another manifestation of the same underlying phenomenon: biological systems entrained to solar and lunar electromagnetic periodicity.
If developmental milestones, reproductive timing, and generational turnover are themselves functions of EMF entrainment, then citing "generational cycles" as an alternative explanation merely redescribes the correlation rather than explaining it. The question becomes: why are human developmental timelines calibrated to solar cycle duration? This framework proposes an answer: the timing mechanisms are part of the same system.
Examination of solar cycles over the past 170 years reveals notable correlations between solar maxima/minima and major geopolitical events. While correlation does not imply causation, the pattern density warrants examination.
| Year | Solar Cycle | Phase | Historical Event | Type | TCI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1848 | Cycle 9 | Maximum | European Revolutions ("Spring of Nations") | Negative | Extreme |
| 1853–1856 | Cycle 10 | Rising | Crimean War | Negative | High |
| 1859 | Cycle 10 | Maximum | Carrington Event (largest recorded geomagnetic storm) | Solar | Extreme |
| 1861–1865 | Cycle 10 | Declining | American Civil War | Negative | High |
| 1865 | Cycle 10 | Declining | 13th Amendment: Abolition of slavery (USA) | Positive | Moderate |
| 1866 | Cycle 11 | Rising | Austro-Prussian War | Negative | Moderate |
| 1869 | Cycle 11 | Rising | Transcontinental Railroad completed; Suez Canal opens | Positive | Moderate |
| 1870–1871 | Cycle 11 | Maximum | Franco-Prussian War; Paris Commune | Negative | High |
| 1877–1878 | Cycle 11 | Declining | Russo-Turkish War | Negative | Moderate |
| 1879 | Cycle 12 | Minimum | Edison demonstrates incandescent light bulb | Positive | Low |
| 1894–1895 | Cycle 13 | Maximum | First Sino-Japanese War | Negative | High |
| 1898 | Cycle 13 | Declining | Spanish-American War | Negative | Moderate |
| 1899–1902 | Cycle 14 | Rising | Second Boer War | Negative | Moderate |
| 1903 | Cycle 14 | Rising | Wright Brothers first powered flight | Positive | Moderate |
| 1904–1905 | Cycle 14 | Maximum | Russo-Japanese War | Negative | High |
| 1914 | Cycle 15 | Minimum* | World War I begins | Negative | Extreme |
| 1917 | Cycle 15 | Maximum | Russian Revolution; US enters WWI | Negative | Extreme |
| 1918 | Cycle 15 | Maximum | Spanish Flu pandemic begins | Negative | Extreme |
| 1920 | Cycle 15 | Declining | 19th Amendment: Women's suffrage (USA) | Positive | Moderate |
| 1929 | Cycle 16 | Maximum | Stock Market Crash; Great Depression begins | Negative | High |
| 1936–1939 | Cycle 17 | Rising/Max | Spanish Civil War | Negative | High |
| 1939 | Cycle 17 | Maximum | World War II begins | Negative | Extreme |
| 1945 | Cycle 18 | Rising | United Nations founded | Positive | Moderate |
| 1948 | Cycle 18 | Maximum | Universal Declaration of Human Rights | Positive | Extreme |
| 1948 | Cycle 18 | Maximum | Arab-Israeli War | Negative | Extreme |
| 1950–1953 | Cycle 18/19 | Dec/Min | Korean War | Negative | High |
| 1953 | Cycle 19 | Minimum | DNA structure discovered (Watson & Crick) | Positive | Low |
| 1957 | Cycle 19 | Maximum | Sputnik launched; Space Age begins | Positive | High |
| 1955–1975 | Cycles 19–20 | Multiple | Vietnam War (entire duration) | Negative | Sustained |
| 1961 | Cycle 19 | Declining | Gagarin first human in space | Positive | Moderate |
| 1961 | Cycle 19 | Declining | Berlin Wall constructed | Negative | Moderate |
| 1962 | Cycle 19 | Declining | Cuban Missile Crisis | Negative | Extreme |
| 1963 | Cycle 20 | Minimum | Nuclear Test Ban Treaty | Positive | Low |
| 1963 | Cycle 20 | Minimum | JFK assassination | Negative | Moderate |
| 1967 | Cycle 20 | Rising | Six-Day War | Negative | High |
| 1968 | Cycle 20 | Maximum | Global unrest (Prague Spring, Paris, US); MLK/RFK assassinations | Negative | Extreme |
| 1969 | Cycle 20 | Maximum | Apollo 11 Moon landing | Positive | High |
| 1973 | Cycle 20 | Declining | Yom Kippur War; Oil Crisis | Negative | High |
| 1979 | Cycle 21 | Maximum | Soviet-Afghan War begins; Iranian Revolution | Negative | Extreme |
| 1982 | Cycle 21 | Declining | Falklands War | Negative | Moderate |
| 1989 | Cycle 22 | Maximum | Tiananmen Square massacre | Negative | Extreme |
| 1989 | Cycle 22 | Maximum | Fall of Berlin Wall | Positive | Extreme |
| 1990–1991 | Cycle 22 | Maximum | Gulf War | Negative | Extreme |
| 1990 | Cycle 22 | Maximum | German reunification | Positive | Extreme |
| 1994 | Cycle 22 | Declining | Rwanda genocide | Negative | High |
| 1994 | Cycle 22 | Declining | End of Apartheid; Mandela elected | Positive | High |
| 1996 | Cycle 23 | Minimum | Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty | Positive | Low |
| 2001 | Cycle 23 | Maximum | September 11 attacks; War on Terror begins | Negative | Extreme |
| 2003 | Cycle 23 | Declining | Iraq War begins | Negative | High |
| 2003 | Cycle 23 | Declining | Human Genome Project completed | Positive | High |
| 2008 | Cycle 24 | Minimum | Global Financial Crisis | Negative | High |
| 2011 | Cycle 24 | Rising | Arab Spring uprisings; Syrian Civil War begins | Negative | High |
| 2014 | Cycle 24 | Maximum | Crimea annexation; ISIS rise; Ebola outbreak | Negative | High |
| 2015 | Cycle 24 | Declining | Paris Climate Agreement | Positive | Moderate |
| 2020–2022 | Cycle 25 | Rising | COVID-19 pandemic; Russia-Ukraine War begins | Negative | High |
| 2023–2024 | Cycle 25 | Rising/Max | Israel-Hamas War; Global tensions escalate | Negative | Extreme |
| 2025–2026 | Cycle 25 | Maximum | Projected peak activity window | Projected | Projected |
Table 1. Comprehensive historical events (1848–2026) correlated with solar cycle phases. Events are classified as Negative (conflicts, crises, disasters) or Positive (scientific achievements, rights expansions, peace treaties). *WWI began at solar minimum but Cycle 15 maximum (1917) saw Russian Revolution and US entry.
To address selection bias concerns, we performed chi-square (χ²) goodness-of-fit tests comparing observed event distributions against a null hypothesis of random distribution across solar cycle phases.
| Solar Phase | Duration | Negative (O) | Negative (E) | Positive (O) | Positive (E) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum | ~2 years (18%) | 18 | 6.7 | 5 | 3.2 |
| Rising | ~4 years (36%) | 6 | 13.3 | 3 | 6.5 |
| Declining | ~3 years (27%) | 9 | 10.0 | 6 | 4.9 |
| Minimum | ~2 years (18%) | 4 | 6.7 | 4 | 3.2 |
| Total | ~11 years | 37 | 36.7 | 18 | 17.8 |
Table 2. Observed (O) vs Expected (E) event counts by solar cycle phase. Expected values calculated using typical phase durations from SILSO data.
Negative Events: χ² = 24.55, df = 3, p < 0.001
The observed clustering of negative events at solar maximum is highly statistically significant (p < 0.001). We reject the null hypothesis that negative events are randomly distributed across solar cycle phases. Maximum phase contains 49% of negative events despite comprising only 18% of cycle duration.
Positive Events: χ² = 3.28, df = 3, p = 0.35
Positive events show no statistically significant phase preference (p > 0.05). We cannot reject the null hypothesis: positive events appear randomly distributed across solar cycle phases.
Interpretation: This asymmetry is notable. If solar activity merely increased "eventfulness," we would expect both negative and positive events to cluster at maximum. Instead, only negative events show significant clustering. This is consistent with the TCI hypothesis: elevated collective cortisol creates conditions favouring conflict escalation and crisis while not similarly amplifying cooperative achievements.
Major conflicts serve dual purposes within the proposed simulation architecture: (1) forcing technological development through resource competition and necessity-driven innovation, and (2) maintaining population parameters within optimal computational load ranges while applying selective pressure to genetic code distribution across the primary compute node.
While solar cycles provide the primary timing mechanism in this framework, additional celestial phenomena appear to function as secondary triggers or amplification factors.
Total solar eclipses, particularly those visible over densely populated regions, represent moments of precise celestial alignment. The sudden interruption and restoration of solar radiation during totality may theoretically function as a "synchronisation pulse" or "interrupt signal" in the proposed computational framework.
Notable examples include the August 1914 eclipse visible across Eastern Europe one month after WWI began, and the April 2024 North American eclipse during escalating global tensions.
The conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn (the two most massive planets) occurs approximately every 20 years. The December 21, 2020 Great Conjunction, the closest since 1623, coincided with the global pandemic response and the beginning of the current period of heightened geopolitical instability.
If this framework has any validity, several implications follow for understanding historical patterns and anticipating future developments.
Major conflicts consistently accelerate technological development by orders of magnitude. This may represent intentional system optimisation, using conflict as a mechanism to advance the simulation's complexity and capability.
Solar Cycle 25 reached its maximum phase in October 2024, with a smoothed sunspot number of 161, significantly exceeding NOAA's original 2019 prediction of 115. NASA and NOAA announced in October 2024 that the maximum phase could continue through 2025. Combined with ongoing geopolitical tensions and the pattern established over 170 years, this period represents elevated probability for significant civilisational events within this theoretical framework.
While this framework is inherently speculative, it generates several potentially testable hypotheses:
Geomagnetic storm indices (Kp, Dst) should correlate with aggregate measures of social tension and conflict initiation at statistically significant levels. Total eclipse paths should show non-random overlap with subsequent conflict zones. Major civilisational transitions should cluster around solar cycle maxima with greater-than-chance frequency.
Rigorous statistical analysis of these predictions would either support or challenge the framework's validity.
This paper has presented a theoretical framework in which the solar system's physical architecture constitutes the computational substrate for a self-simulating reality, with celestial mechanics providing timing systems for macro-scale event orchestration.
The correlations between solar cycles and major historical events, while requiring rigorous statistical validation, suggest patterns worthy of serious inquiry. Whether or not we exist within a simulation, the electromagnetic environment created by solar activity demonstrably influences biological and neurological systems, and understanding these influences represents a legitimate domain of scientific investigation.
If this hypothesis holds any validity, awareness of the timing mechanisms would itself become a parameter within the system, potentially introducing observer effects that alter the very patterns being studied. The act of understanding the clock may change how the clock functions.