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You wake up tomorrow, and it's Wednesday again. Everybody remembers it, but whatever was physically done today is undone. Your favorite mug, which the dog knocked over, is un-broken. The kid down the street who got hit by a car -- his leg is just fine, and the bike is okay, but he remembers the pain.

People are pretty freaked out, but no one does anything rash. (Mrs. Kendall keeps Johnny home, though, and he doesn't get hit.) Mostly we look for news on the subject, but nobody knows anything, or if they do, no one is talking. But then the next day, the same thing happens. Lilly has gone into work for the past three days as a dental assistant, but she has had to work on the same emergency root canal every day. The next day the patient doesn't show. Who wants to go in for dental surgery every day for the rest of their life?

With no reason to suspect tomorrow will be any different, her roommate buys a gun to commit suicide, just to see what it is like. The next day, he's alive again, but with the horrifying memory. But now there's proof that there are no consequences, so he robs a bank. The next day, he wakes up with no gun and no money, but the cops remember what happened, and they arrest him.

QUESTION: I could go on, but the local is easy. My question is about the global. What do societies do? What does the government do? Anything that anyone does that takes more than 24 hours to complete is a waste of time, unless the intended result is mental. Nothing can be stored on a computer or chalkboard or anywhere. Still, everyone can memorize what they can, and agree to collaborate again the next today.

How it happened is irrelevant. If it was caused by mankind, it isn't something they can just undo. But it just as easily may have happened somewhere across the galaxy, and there is no way for humanity to stop it.

This takes place today, in our world, with no technology we don't have today. (Of course, if 100 years of research and 12 hours of production can make an advance, we could build it every day.) How do we deal if this goes on for years, centuries, millennia?


EDIT:

Most of the above is simply setup so that everyone understands the scenario I propose. My question is both simple and specific: What can a government do to retain control and prevent lawlessness in this situation? One answer so far has suggested that it couldn't, and no others have addressed this question. If an individual's actions have no consequences beyond twenty-four hours, when locking them up and even killing them doesn't last, how can a government maintain order?

yeah22
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IchabodE
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  • Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat. – Tim B May 30 '15 at 10:28
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    I feel your bounty makes the question a tad too broad. I'll certainly try to include some more about that stuff in my answer when I get to it tomorrow, and there are definitely good relevant points there that should be addressed - but IMO there are just a few too many extra questions in that bounty. You can't edit the bounty text I don't think, but you can leave a comment if you want to de-scope a little. – ArtOfCode May 30 '15 at 22:14
  • Actually, it is just restating my original question, and you really don't need to answer everyone of my 'extra' questions. They are just to get people thinking along the lines of what I meant. Stick to what I originally wrote. – IchabodE May 30 '15 at 23:43
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    I read a short sci-fi story similar to this idea ages ago. Every 12 hours, one man is shunted to a new parralel universe where he doesn't exist, but everything else is the same - his girlfriend doesn't recognise him, his credit card no longer works, etc. once he realises his consequences have no actions, he goes on a massive crime spree. even if he is arrested, the police have to let him go in the morning because they have no idea how he got into the cell. while this is not what you are asking, I imagine people would respond in a similar way. if I remember the name of the book, I'll edit it in –  May 31 '15 at 12:16
  • @MBurke That do you? ;) – ArtOfCode May 31 '15 at 14:27
  • Yes sir, that is the sort of thing I'm looking for. You are a little low on the competition though. ;) – IchabodE May 31 '15 at 15:47
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    What happens with people who die, will they resurrect after each 24h cycle? Will they remember dying? – Mast Jun 01 '15 at 14:46
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    You might be interested in Timequake by Kurt Vonnegut, which deals with what happens when this sort of Groundhog Day stops after thousands of repetitions. – anomaly Jun 01 '15 at 17:57
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    @anomaly Thanks, I did read Timequake years ago, but I must be remembering it wrong. IIRC, everyone was forced to re-enact the previous cycle identically... – IchabodE Jun 01 '15 at 18:41
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    One thing about crime: the only persistent thing in this universe is human memory, so crime is going to be reoriented around things that have long-term mental effects. Killing is no longer murder, but it is still an assault that causes pain, possibly severe. Rape will still cause long-term mental scars. And so on. – Paul Johnson Jun 01 '15 at 19:48
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    @Mast interesting point about deaths: there are some that can't be avoided. Dying in accident in 1 second from reset, dying in hospital, of old age.. the experience of these would be awful. Another corner case is with other species who probably can develop self-consciousness with a long-term stimulation.. imagine an immortal cat. At some point everything having a nervous system will be technically self-aware, then what? – kagali-san Jun 02 '15 at 10:05
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    At what specific time does the reset occur? Is it the same for all time zones or is it done for each time zone separately? Because if the shift occurs when some people are awake somewhere, they can immediately exploit it, while others still sleep some hours. – M.Herzkamp Jun 02 '15 at 12:51
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    I so hope there will be a movie or book about this! – Kevin Jun 02 '15 at 15:30
  • There will be a book. @M.Herzkamp, you should read the chat (where this should probably be moved). It happens at the same instant whatever the timezone. Yes, half the worlds population will be awake, some preparing for bed after a long day. I don't think I should say much more or there will be no point reading it. – IchabodE Jun 02 '15 at 15:54
  • Thanks to everyone for your answers and interest(!). I've awarded the answer and the bounty, but I'm still interested in what people have to say on the subject, so feel free to answer and comment more. I won't be responding further to avoid spoilers, but don't interpret that as lack of engagement. – IchabodE Jun 02 '15 at 15:58
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    Me? So no matter how badly I screw up, tomorrow I get a do-over..? I go skydiving - I go Rocky Mountain climbing - I go 2.7 seconds on a bull named Fu Manchu..! – Bob Jarvis - Слава Україні Jun 02 '15 at 16:34
  • This is a fascinating subject and can make great many books/movies/series with regard to how this may play out. Its been really interesting to read the responses. People have so many ideas and considerations. Just to add my own - I think if this would be going on long enough, maybe for a decade or so, I would develop lethargy and end up simply waking up and staying in one place day in and out. In the end, nothing would seem to matter or make any different. I guess, it would be like giving up. – Daniil Jun 02 '15 at 18:41
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    @BobJarvis Stargate had an episode about a device creating a 24-hour cycle for two of the main characters. They agree with you. – Mast Jun 02 '15 at 20:57
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    One last question, as the comment-police must be in a frothy frenzy by now, I CANNOT miss this book when it comes out, how will you let us know? I propose you set up a mailing list and add it to the Question. I know this bends a few site guidelines, but in my opinion it is worth that to read the final document, whenever that may happen to be... – Marv Mills Jun 03 '15 at 11:20
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    I've toyed with this idea before too, glad to see it asked here! – Kristy Jun 03 '15 at 12:26
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    Just been watching the really old Family Guy episode where Death twists his ankle ... Déjà vu xD – Mac Cooper Jul 01 '15 at 23:48
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    I am not going to sleep anymore...I want to find out how these transformations are happening tomorrow... So 'You wake up tomorrow' will become irrelevant. – MoonMind Sep 24 '15 at 10:33
  • After reading through all the answers to these questions and thinking about them, I've gotten stuck thinking of everything in terms of this scenario. I imagine reading a book with this premise would have a similar effect... or maybe it's just me. – Peter Zach Dec 05 '15 at 06:13
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    I wrote a long and detailed answer for this question several days ago. I was shocked when it was gone the next day, and wrote another long and detailed answer. The day after that, my answer was gone again, much to my dismay. Since then, I've been content to simply watch other people's answers come and go while I've been teaching myself Attic Greek and juggling. – Howard Miller Dec 28 '15 at 12:38
  • I'm posting an answer for this mañana (Seinfeld S05E12: The Stall). #Procrastination +10 – nilon Oct 12 '16 at 22:43
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    That s an excellent premise for a movie that could be called groudhog day 2. – Fred May 01 '17 at 03:34
  • @RyanKrage Please, tell me the name of this book If you have remembered it. – SovereignSun Oct 14 '17 at 19:00
  • "If people don’t remember, then the same events repeat continuously." This is arguable depending on the nature of 'chance' events, the nature of the "reset" mechanics, and of course whether we can even posit an observation mechanism outside of the phenomenon. I realize all of those points are somewhat outside the scope of the core question, but then again, if you accept that memories are physical states of nerve-matter, technically not everything reverts after the reset. – N. Presley Nov 24 '17 at 23:06
  • @N.Presley To clarify, everybody does remember. But everything they did is reset. It would be futile to finish that jigsaw puzzle you've been working on for weeks, because tomorrow, all the pieces are out of place again. Worse still, if the reset occurs moments before an accident takes place, you have to spend the first few minutes of every day trying to save your own life, and possibly failing every time. – IchabodE Nov 25 '17 at 00:05
  • @IchabodE I get the distinction; I'm saying that there are consequences to How Your World Works especially if it accords with current science-of-mind theory in that memories are physical states of nerve cells - in which case:
    1. the reset affects {all of physical reality within 24 hours of Earth's influence EXCEPT for stuff stored in our brains}. This amounts to at least a bonus puzzle for the subset of humanity that works on questions inspired by the phenomenon.

    ...

    – N. Presley Nov 25 '17 at 02:58
  • @N.Presley Believe me, that key distinction is central to the story. – IchabodE Nov 25 '17 at 03:01
  • ... 2) [I just realized that I had only read a few of the Answers and then gotten distracted. My second point is exactly what PlasmaHH opens with in their Answer below, regarding storage limits.] – N. Presley Nov 25 '17 at 03:13
  • (If you posit that memory/consciousness has a fundamentally immaterial nature, both of these discrepancies are dismissed - but then you might need to clarify whether "uploading consciousness to The Net" can or cannot ever happen...) – N. Presley Nov 25 '17 at 03:13
  • Has anything I said indicated that the distinction ("everybody remembers" + "everything they did is reset") isn't, can't be or shouldn't be central to the story? What I'm trying to get at is that whether you treat memories as fundamentally-material or fundamentally-immaterial things, and whether you treat each brain as a limited or unlimited memory storage device, very much affects how I for one could even begin to speculate on long-term repercussions of the Reset phenomenon. – N. Presley Nov 25 '17 at 03:16
  • Okay, so now there is specific emphasis on what could be done to maintain order. So the long-term memory-maxing issues aren't relevant to that unless it takes even longer to [enduringly establish an agreeable solution to the maintenance of order (by whatever modified definition is reached)] than it takes to ['over-load' the majority of our memory storage capacity] ... and what kind of triage would 24-hour-repeat brains be utilizing to prioritize/discard memories? – N. Presley Nov 25 '17 at 03:46
  • This question has been nominated for reopening. Fascinating as it is, it is still too broad. All governments? All societies? All people? From the individual who robs a bank to the government who launches a nuke "just to see what it's like?" This is "The Purge," forever, and my gut reaction is that you can't make this question narrow enough to be reopened. Any reasonable answer would be a book (your book, actually) and writing your book for you is off-topic. – JBH Nov 25 '17 at 03:58
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    @JBH Please see my question in meta. I'm trying to avoid having discussions in comments. https://worldbuilding.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/5623/regarding-reopening-https-worldbuilding-stackexchange-com-q-18051-2052-tomorr – IchabodE Nov 25 '17 at 04:02
  • The cops picking up the robber reminds me of the time-travel madness in the ST Voyager episode Relativity: "I'm sorry, sir. I'm taking command of this vessel, and I'm relieving you of duty for crimes you're going to commit." – Mast Sep 03 '18 at 09:38
  • This is in the VTR queue. I cannot vote to reopen it. The question as posed in the edit is not neither simple nor specific. Which government? All of them? What type of government? Governing how many people? What technology level? But, to be honest, even those limitations may not be enough. "What would the U.S. government in 2019 do?" is still very broad for my tastes, but at least it's narrow enough that the vote to close might fail (or the VTR might succeed). Remember, even small governments are large, complex entities. Asking how they'd respond is always difficult. – JBH Feb 25 '19 at 15:36
  • This sounds too much like a story --- plot & actions of characters --- and not enough like the fundamental systems of a fictional world or setting. Query should remain closed on that account, even if it's edited for improved focus. – elemtilas Jan 18 '20 at 21:22

25 Answers25

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This is a really interesting scenario, and one I've had a hard time thinking up some responses to.

  1. Lack of information distribution
    You will find lots of people doing lots of the same stuff. Information in our world is mainly distributed electronically, through social media and email. However, it is highly likely that many people don't check all of those every day, so won't see information about the situation coming in.

    So, for example, I imagine you will have a lot of people experimenting with what they can do - the suicide and homicide rate will go through the roof, and if you want to imprison all these new murderers you'll need to build more prisons. You'll get an increased crime rate overall - it's horrible to think about, but people discovering this may be tempted to let the worse side of their nature out. Lots of murders - the victim will be alive again tomorrow. Lots of rapes - she won't be pregnant tomorrow, so there'll be no DNA testing of the baby. Lots of really nasty stuff - torturers, for example, can now maim their victims even more without fear - they'll come alive again if they do die.

  2. Children
    To expand a bit on Gorchester H's comment: children are going to be very weird. For as long as this continues, they're gaining knowledge and experience, and you will end up with mature adults in kids' bodies.

    Any baby who would have been born on that day will be born, and they'll develop, but any pregnant woman will remain so for eternity. Unborn babies will never be born. New babies, while they can be conceived, will simply disappear the following day.

  3. Science
    Scientists would be trying incredibly hard to figure out the reasons for and solutions to this - even if there are no solutions, they don't know that. New methods will be developed for memorising information quickly, and the neuroscientists will be much in demand for a while as they perfect a machine that allows us to implant things into a brain. Engineers, too, as they perfect the manufacturing techniques that allow us to manufacture this machine as quickly as possible.

    It will still be possible to distribute information electronically, so scientists across the world can communicate, and plans for machines like this can be sent - as long as they are received and memorised on the same day.

  4. Acceptance
    Gradually, people will get used to this world. People will get used to the fact that although they can commit crime without repercussions, law enforcement will still get them, if anyone reports it - people can still be sent to prison. (Trials, however, will necessarily become very short, and house arrest will become more common as transporting people to prison every day gets tiring.) New methods of doing old things faster will become popularised and normalised, and our society, although changed beyond recognition, will slowly sink back to a regular rhythm.

  5. Society
    Society, as a whole, is no longer a viable concept. Big cities break down into small communities: you will interact most with the people around you and that will be your community. Travelling anywhere will get strange, as different communities implement different policies to deal with the stuff that goes on in their neighborhood every day; perhaps a morning task for each community will quickly become posting a notice at the borders explaining the stuff happening there.

  6. Government
    Government as we know it, in simple terms, fails on the spot. A centralised government will not be equipped to deal with all the small communities and their policies that spring up - and they can't possibly go round inspecting every community, every day - they just don't have the people. Moreover, what could they do about it? Someone implemented a community policy they don't agree with but that doesn't break any laws? - well, there are plenty of people breaking laws they should deal with instead. Someone implemented a community policy that does break some laws? - well, are you going to arrest every member of that community for trying to help themselves, only to have them released in the morning?

  7. Law and Order
    Laws would get rather confusing. The law documents - the paper/electronic law documents - would reset at the start of every day. So, if you want to change a law, you have to remember which one you changed and then permanently disregard the old documents for that law. You also have to make sure every police officer in the country knows about the law change, at which point he loses his reference for arresting people under that law. His arrest can then be called into question - did he really follow the law to the letter? What if he remembered it wrongly?

    Arrests, as many here have mentioned, also change drastically. They'd stick around for a while, as you can at least detain someone for a day, while people figure out what to do, but expect them to be replaced in the long term. You either have to spend huge amounts of resources on keeping people in house arrest, or you need to implement quick punishments. You can no longer lock someone up for years on end, so to get the same level of punishment you inflict a worse punishment for a shorter time. Someone here suggested that torture might be taken up: for petty theft, 10 minutes of torture. For rape, maybe several hours.

    And, of course, you will find several crimes losing their definitions. Murder is now insignificant - kids are killing each other on the streets for fun now, and all it does is cause someone some minor inconvenience until the next day. It's now a bit like kidnapping someone and then releasing them a few hours later - annoying, but no damage has been done to the victim and they just lost a day.

  8. North Korea
    Since you mention North Korea specifically, I shall make a prediction. One of a few things could happen: either

    • The leadership denies that this is happening and directs everyone to go about their daily routines as normal. Everyone who can emigrates - who wants to do the same thing for years on end? Perhaps without end? Soldiers desert, border guards desert, everyone leaves Kim Jong-Un on his own.
    • The leadership blames America or some other Western country, and launches an all-out assault. Nukes go flying. On the first day they hit, everyone in the target city decides that tomorrow, they're going to get away from the city as fast as possible so they don't get hit tomorrow. A game of nuclear cat-and-mouse ensues, with North Korean spies racing to tell their bosses where everyone is today, so they can be nuked.
    • They're as confused as everyone else, and try to actually be friendly for once. Information is shared about causes and effects, and scientists work together to try to solve their problems. The entire North Korea issue is solved.

    (Essentially, I have no idea - they're just too unpredictable)

  9. Humanitarian Societies
    I predict a two-way split here, between two frames of mind as to what to do:

    • Number 1, the "it no longer matters" point of view - anyone who was going to die today will anyway, and anyone who wasn't, won't. Trying to get aid there won't help, and it won't last anyway so why bother?
    • Number 2, the "keep calm and carry on" approach - people who were going to get aid today still deserve and/or need it, so we should just try even harder to transport stuff there. We should also spend some time teaching them how to support themselves so we don't have to bend over backwards to get this done.

In conclusion - you'll have short-term anarchy, but as everyone realises there's no point to this, your society settles down into lots of small communities, and life continues. Until, of course, the sadistic entity that caused this releases it again, and we have to try to remember what life was like before...

ArtOfCode
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    I love the combination of different points gathering together:
    1. "people discovering this may be tempted to let the worse side of their nature out".
    2. "[People will get used to the fact that] law enforcement will still get them, [...] (Trials, however, will necessarily become very short, and house arrest will become more common as transporting people to prison every day gets tiring.) New methods of doing old things faster will become popularised and normalised".
    – nilon Oct 12 '16 at 22:55
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  • Gold for sociologists: "Society, as a whole, is no longer a viable concept. [...] you will interact most with the people around you and that will be your community".
  • "And, of course, you will find several crimes losing their definitions. Murder is now insignificant - kids are killing each other on the streets for fun now, and all it does is cause someone some minor inconvenience until the next day. It's now a bit like kidnapping someone and then releasing them a few hours later - annoying, but no damage has been done to the victim and they just lost a day."
  • – nilon Oct 12 '16 at 22:56
  • You would practically never be able to see people you know that live 24 hours away. You won't be able to arrange air travel and get there in a day. – Jammin4CO Aug 14 '17 at 19:19
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    Why would the police bother to put someone under house arrest? There's no point whatsoever. What do you do when EVERYONE has committed murder and they ALL need to be put under arrest? Even the police? – Wildcard Aug 15 '17 at 02:35
  • Intriguing point about communities - eventually, [just about] everyone can figure out a way to travel anywhere they can within a day to get a glimpse of the rest of the planet. Obviously not everyone relishes the idea, though; fanatically conservative communities may impose lethal lockdown on anyone doing anything resembling 'straying'. But ... since there is nothing permanent about corporal punishment, that strengthens curiosity and weakens suppression ... Those who didn't already live within a few hours of an airport are the quintessence of the small communities you mention, of course. – N. Presley Nov 24 '17 at 23:12
  • I would take issue with "just lost a day" - if memory itself has a new power and significance, the only way that killing someone one day is 'trivial' is if they are guaranteed a vast number of days not being killed, to keep up or catch up with the same potential for accumulating knowledge/skill/experience that all of the not-getting-killed people have. in terms of enduring law and order, "an eye for an eye" might make a resurgence - every time you kill someone, you surrender your life at the same time the 'next' day. – N. Presley Nov 25 '17 at 03:38
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    You can't leave North Korea, you'd wake up in the exact same spot as before the same morning, except now the government would know that you've tried to escape. – tox123 Apr 12 '18 at 01:56
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    It's strange to say repeatedly that crime would have no repercussions. Of course it would: People would remember it. If you robbed or injured or murdered someone, that person would remember it the next day. Crime would have no repercussions in terms of punishment, but vast repercussions in terms of relationships between people. Bill Murray's Phil in Groundhog Day got away with so many ridiculous activities only because no one but him remembered it the next day. – Kyralessa Jul 18 '18 at 19:51