You would find yourself in a “new world“ that offered more freedom of thought and a greater potential for societal change.

The ending of the Glass Bead Game was surprising and shocking, but I don’t view it as Knecht’s attempt to escape reality. I read it as an accident due to his age and under-estimation of the risk of following his young protege into the frigid lake. Perhaps Hesse was implying metaphorically that the New World can arise only when the Old World falters and dies.