I agree those are interesting questions not directly addressed by Surface Detail.

However, on a related topic the novella A Colder War by Charlie Stross has a particularly creepy ending if the idea of virtual hells bothers you - the idea that an intelligent entity actually enjoys running simulations of minds and exploring the ways they can end:

There is life eternal within the eater of souls. Nobody is ever forgotten or allowed to rest in peace. They populate the simulation spaces of its mind, exploring all the possible alternative endings to their life. There is a fate worse than death, you know.

http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/stories/colderwar.htm

Vernor Vinge hints that transcendent Powers can sometimes do similar things with the minds of lesser entities:

"This innocent's ego might end up smeared across a million death cubes, running a million million simulations of human nature."