Thanks. :) This story simply made me wonder if it was possible to create a "fair" scheduled version of the program-of-all-possible-programs, and this was the first one I came up with. Not sure if there are any more elegant ways of doing that.
Though, of course, this wouldn't change the whole issue of programs being embedded in other ones... And, actually, my instinct is that, given that all programs are actually run with an unbounded number of cycles, I'm not sure that the RATE at which they're run relative to each other would affect the amount of reality-fluid each one got, but there's much here that I'm confused about on that matter...
(EDIT: to clarify, I don't think the relative rate they're run at would make any difference.)
Oh, just for clarification: With the bit about Maria distributing the computing time exponentially according to complexity, did you mean each higher (starting?) complexity program got exponentially less time or exponentially more time? And what was Maria's motivation there for that scheduling rule?
Simpler programs got exponentially more time. Mostly she's just trying to match the "natural" distribution of programs, if there is such a thing. Allocating more time to simpler programs may help because it means that, e.g., simple programs which also simulate all programs in order, will get a lot of computing power, so it helps equalize the flow in a way that doesn't depend as much on your initial choice of universal machine. Another way of looking at it would be that allocating equal time to all the programs would tend to make life less simp...
So I'd intended this story as a bit of utterly deranged fun, but it got out of control and ended up as a deep philosophical exploration, and now those of you who care will have to wade through the insanity. I'm sorry. I just can't seem to help myself.
I know that writing crossover fanfiction is considered one of the lower levels to which an author can sink. Alas, I've always been a sucker for audacity, and I am the sort of person who couldn't resist trying to top the entire... but never mind, you can see for yourself.
Click on to read my latest story and first fanfiction, a Vernor Vinge x Greg Egan crackfic.