An Introduction to EVERYTHING
Another chapter of the weird joy that is my fictional worldbuilding project.
Dear readers,
This is my ongoing fiction project. I’m still in the worldbuilding phase, but eventually there will be storylines and character development. The entire process is transparent and I hope you will stick around as it unfolds.
The plan is to establish the nature and Lore of the universe in which the stories and character arcs will take place first. I already have ideas for characters, some fleshed out more than others. I promise we will get there in a few more chapters.
You might be wondering, why build the world first?
There are many paths of creation and expression, and I have no affinity for a particular route. I will try as many as I can as long as my writer’s flame stays lit, but the simple answer is worldbuilding is fun! It’s the nuts and bolts of why things are the way they are. It’s the fundamentals for a character’s existence, their motivations, their plights, their dreams, their outcomes.
It’s the stage. Once it’s set, you know what CAN happen. Then you can explore what DOES happen.
A rule that we often forget in this mechanized, optimized, by-rote world is that there’s no one right way to do or enjoy or explore or experience anything. Existence is vast, why narrow our vision?
ps—I usually include links for deeper dives into the inspirations of my embraced madness. Please check them out, if you’re curious.
Now come on, let’s have fun and make some weird art!
—C
Yes, the working title to my worldbuilding is EVERYTHING. I’ve made some minor adjustments to the map since the last post. Here’s the new version:
The first chapter of this “story about writing a story while writing the story” explained the disruptive catalysts and weird synchronicities that were the origin and leading inspirations of what is developing.
In this chapter, I’m breaking down the elements (qualities? realms? zones? dimensions?) that currently comprise the hyperverse of EVERYTHING. There’s a lot of mathness going on here, and I’m not sure why because I hate math. But maybe I don’t? Maybe what I hate about math is the way it was taught to me.
Future chapters will describe each element (represented as a face or vertex of the hypermap) and its relation to the whole.
If we split the octahedron in half, we have two aspects of the unified force of the hyperverse:
The upper half is governed by ORDER. The lower half by CHAOS. The four edged vertex-tip of each “half” is the highest concentration of the respective aspect. Their relationship and nature is reflected in the Chinese philosophical concept of yinyang. Yin corresponds to CHAOS and yang to ORDER.
ORDER is the aspect of pattern and cycle, rule and law, organization and system. It is the path of creation, of intention, and becoming. It is the womb of consciousness, imagination, desire, and moral perception. It is the illuminated, the known, and the predictable. It is bound by the arrow of time, cause and effect, form and function, location and direction.
CHAOS is the aspect of the improbable, the liminal, the random, of luck and chance. It is the path of discord and decay, disruption and destruction, divergence and diffusion. It is the womb of the unconscious, of madness and blindness. It is stygian: the mysterious, the hidden, the secret, and the unknowable. It is abyssal: boundless, formless, incorporeal.
The Faces of ORDER
The four faces of ORDER are individual universes/realms of both material and abstract fabric. They are where the fundamental essence of the hyperverse manifest as organized forms that persist…and thanks to Chaos, change (evolve/transform/mutate), regardless of will or design.
They are currently imagined as:
THE REALM COSMIC
SPACETIME
MUNDUS IMAGINALIS
STASIS
The Realm Cosmic and Spacetime have an integrated relationship, as does Mundus Imaginalis and Stasis. This is reflected in their positions relative to each other on Order’s half of the hyperverse (octahedron). Their opposed faces indicate the shared symmetry.
The Faces of CHAOS
The four faces of CHAOS are individual subverses/under-realms of etherial reflection and refraction. They are were the fundamental essence of the hyperverse churn and froth, where the indeterminate and unacknowledged lurk…and thanks to Order, able to maintain its realms despite its lack of cohesion or persistence.
They are currently imagined as:
THE REALM QUANTUM
HYPERSPACE
ENTROPY
THE SHADOW LANDS
The Realm Quantum and Hyperspace have an integrated relationship, as does Entropy and the Shadow Lands. This is reflected in their positions relative to each other on Chaos’ half of the hyperverse (octahedron). Their opposed faces indicate the shared symmetry.
Inverse Symmetries
If we imagine the hyperverse as a whole octahedron again, inverse symmetries can be seen. Opposing faces between ORDER and CHAOS are dualities.
Currently these are:
The Realm Cosmic/The Realm Quantum
Spacetime/Hyperspace
Mundus Imaginalis/The Shadow Lands
Stasis/Entropy
Edge of Chaos
The Edge of Chaos (highlighted in yellow) is a liminal border of the hyperverse. “This transition zone is a region of bounded instability that engenders a constant dynamic interplay between order and disorder.”
At each vertex of the edge is a hyper-Earth, manifesting a particular mix of faces/aspects and outcomes of the hyperverse.
Their current manifestations (I’m pretty solid on these):
ENCHANTED EARTH
DEAD EARTH
WILD EARTH
UTOPIAN EARTH
Lastly, Convergent Earth
This Earth sits at the center of the hyperverse. It is the confluence of all aspects and faces of the whole. It’s the earthly reality we claim as ours.
That’s all for now. Next chapter will center on a particular facet in detail, as will following chapters until all have been described. Characters and themes that exist in each will be detailed as well. I’ll start with the ones I’ve fleshed out the most.
I welcome questions and comments and suggestions! Please do.
And as always, if you enjoy what you read, please, please, share far and wide.
Thank you.