  We construct approximately local observables, or "overlapping qubits", using
non-isometric maps and show that processes in local effective theories can be
spoofed with a quantum system with fewer degrees of freedom, similar to our
expectation in holography. Furthermore, the spoofed system naturally deviates
from an actual local theory in ways that can be identified with features in
quantum gravity. For a concrete example, we construct two MERA toy models of de
Sitter space-time and explain how the exponential expansion in global de Sitter
can be spoofed with many fewer quantum degrees of freedom and that local
physics may be approximately preserved for an exceedingly long time before
breaking down. We highlight how approximate overlapping qubits are conceptually
connected to Hilbert space dimension verification, degree-of-freedom counting
in black holes and holography, and approximate locality in quantum gravity.
