Category: Uncategorized

This was written December 25th, 2025

A.I. (Analogue Intelligence)

“Hey, could you pass the salad please?”
“Sure, here you go. By the way, did you hear about the big news? Was completely wild and unexpected!”
“News? You referring to the new AI update?”
“Oh, so you really haven’t heard a thing? I guess you could say it’s related. But nope, it was a completely unexpected discovery. There was a whistleblower at one of those ‘AI Data Centers’ and they leaked some pictures. It was wild!”
“Wait…what exactly happened? Those should just be a bunch of rooms with servers and whatnot. What would be so wild about it?”
“Welp, seems like this whole investment in computer parts and electricity was mostly just a front. Look at it yourself!”
“Holy shit, I think I’m going to be sick! Are those…brains?”
“Yup, just a bunch of brains in jars, all connected to some machines.”
“You sure this isn’t just AI generated? At this point, it could easily be.”
“Well, that’s the thing, people aren’t quite sure. There’s a big camp that claims it’s a hoax, that nothing like that could happen. Yet, there’s another big camp that claims it only makes sense. With how fast all that progress was, why not? This could explain why it’s so good and seemed to come out of no-where.”
“Well…I guess the ‘hallucinations’ could be explained like that. When you visualize things in your mind, you do get easily distracted, and context isn’t quite permanent. But still, how could they even get the permission to start such inhumane trials…or even cover it up?”
“Well, the governments are allegedly all behind it, in an escalating war.”
“Ok…so…letting go of the cover up for a second…how would they even manage to do that? Come on, if they had such high-tech brain interfaces, why wouldn’t they just make them available to the public? That’s revolutionary technology that could sell for billions!”
“Sure, but look at it, it looks to still be at an extremely invasive stage. Do you really think that anyone in their right mind would want to be subjected to this?”
“Ok, fair enough. Still, this is barbarian!”
“Hey, hey, you don’t have to tell me twice. I ain’t defending this! I also think it’s awful. Just passing along the news.”
“Sorry, sorry, was getting carried away there. My bad.”
“No worries.”
“…So…if that’s the case, why is the technology seemingly improving and evolving?”
“People have two theories on this, probably working in conjunction. First, look at the brain. These are all still fairly young. It’s supposed that those were infant brains, still fairly clean of any sort of memories or learning. They’ve simply been hooking them up and training them directly. As the brain grows and matures, it’s also learning and improving simultaneously. And obviously, it doesn’t actually need any normal biases you would get from normal experiences.”
“Ok, sure, it’s just learning to interpret all those signals on the fly and learn from that. They’re just learning, like normal. Then, what’s the other factor?”
“Well, one would think that they’re just improving the interface itself, right? But apparently, there doesn’t seem to be multiple generations of the device. What’s actually happening is that all those brains have been connected together, and they’ve found ways to be more and more efficient with the parallelization and concurrency. In sum, those brains are all working together and forming a new network that’s like a ‘mega-brain’, where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
“Ah, right…wait…does that mean that they’re in a race to harvest more and more brains for this monstrosity? I’m guessing that there are also diminishing returns?”
“Yup, that’s what’s being alleged. Apparently, the fall-off is thought to be logarithmic, which roughly means you need to double the number of brains each time to get similar gains. To supply this exponential demand, there’s apparently a ‘baby farm’. And I doubt I need to explain this, you probably get the picture.”
“Why…why not some animal brain instead?”
“Apparently, it’s because human brains are better equipped to compute the sort of things humans are interested in.”
“Great, so now we have a horrifying farm of human brains, powered by a baby farm, which mostly pumps out random soulless meme-fiable content for the masses to mindlessly consume?”
“Yup, pretty much, that’s progress for you!”

This was written December 24th, 2025

Unicorn Evolution

Evolution sometimes works in unexpected ways. Let us look at the unicorn for instance. In modern days, we simply consider them as an upgraded version of the horse, don’t we? One which is associated with magic, along with a lovely and powerful horn on its forehead.

But, what if I told you it was actually the other way around? That horses are descended from unicorns and are actually a byproduct of evolution: A genetic accident that has led to better survival odds. But, with all the additional power we attribute to the unicorn, how could that possibly be?

Well, in a long ago time, back when magic was more common, unicorns were one of the principal sources of magic. You see, unicorns were one of the primordial Wizards, exhibiting natural magical powers, and channeling it through their wand. What wand? Why, this should be obvious, the one protruding from their forehead, silly.

Once upon a time, magical creatures in perfect harmony with human proto-wizards, the early humans who were getting exposed to magic. They wouldn’t themselves be able to wield any magic, but they partnered with unicorns, each helping one another with different tasks, and going on missions together. It is even said that a unicorn and their partner could communicate telepathically, although this might only be legend.

So, what eventually happened? Well, you’ve probably heard long ago how unicorns are weary of humans and only accept the presence of the “pure” virgin? Well, that’s only partially true, a distortion by humans based on their own religions. It should really be seen as the pure-hearted, as opposed to the virgin. But why? I hear you ask. Well…

At some point, a group of enterprising humans wondered whether there was a way to themselves access magic. Eventually, one of the was struck with an idea: What if they harvested it from unicorns? At first, they opted for more “ethical” methods, since humans and unicorns did live in harmony. Accordingly, they waited for a unicorn to die naturally and then went on with their plans, claiming they wanted to avoid the unicorn’s magical power to be “wasted”.

Believing ancient myths, they thought a unicorn’s magic was found in their heart. Thusly, the unicorn still being freshly dead, they carved out the heart, and one of them consumed it whole, before carving out the horn to use to channel the magic. Turns out, it worked flawlessly, and so did we get our first human Wizard. But obviously, it did not end there, now the box was open, and there was no going back. Others also wanted to get powers for themselves.

At first, they kept only going after unicorns that were dying either naturally or from normal battles, until the demand grew much higher than the supply. At this point, they had to find new means of fueling the supply. And thus, the hunt was on.

People started acting like savages, capturing unicorns, carving them, consuming their still beating hearts because of their own myths, and ripping out the wand. Yet, this was a hassle, and wouldn’t lend itself to a great economy. After all, you had to be present in order to consume the heart.

Eventually, people experimented further, trying to create potions or powders from the heart, and all of those worked. It was silly of them to not realize sooner that consuming the heart was completely useless; had someone tried to use another Wizard’s wand, they would have realized they were able to handle it. Then again, it might also have been propaganda to keep the Wizards as part of the Elite. Ah, but once this realization came about, the flood gates were open, and the hunt reached new levels.

Human savagery and brutality can never be underestimated. I’m guessing you’ve heard of what some fisherman do to sharks, right? Due to the popularity of Shark Fin Soup, a lot of fisherman have been known to just carve out the fin of the shark and then releasing them back into the water, to die a rather cruel death. “After all, only the fin would fetch a high price, why waste time and space with the entire carcass?” would be their reasoning. Well, in a similar way, unicorns were being chased by humans, and their horns would be ripped off their own heads, leaving them powerless and vulnerable.

Accordingly, unicorns became much more selective of which people they would associate with: Unless they could confirm the person’s heart was pure, and thus would cause them no danger, they would flee. Still, they were still being hunted, with their number dwindling.

Luckily, nature found a way. By pure accident, a new breed was born, the horse. New genes were introduced, which wouldn’t trigger the growth of a magical horn. Gradually, since this gene protected the new breed from unicorns’ new predator, human, this gene propagated more and more, and thus horses became the dominant species, with unicorn gradually becoming extinct.

What are you thoughts on this whole tale, tragic right? Do you wish we’d been more careful and been more in harmony with unicorns, to hopefully keep magic around? How foolish of you! And it wouldn’t be surprising you’re only thinking this because of how special unicorns are seen in modern culture. But this kind of tragedy, or extermination, and pure atrocity is nothing special in the entirety of human history. This was neither the first nor the last such tragedy. Such things are still happening to this day, and we’re just letting them happen. Why? Convenience, there’s an apparent gain to it, albeit short-term, and unsustainable.

Although, to come back to unicorns. They’re not exactly completely gone, the necessary genes are still present in some of the modern specimens. Did that relieve you? Make you believe that you might one day encounter one? Live a magical experience? Foolishness once more! Those genes are themselves already rare, and require the correct combination. Why do you think we haven’t seen any unicorn in who-knows-how-long? A naturally occurring unicorn, at this point, is extremely unlikely. Although an artificially created one might still be in the cards.

And if you think that’s all the magic that’s existed in the world, that would be a silly thought. Though just like with unicorns, a lot of those were hunted out of existence by human foolishness. Alas, seems like we can’t have nice things…

This was written December 23th, 2025

Creative Bankruptcy

Here he was, the author, staring at his blank canvas. He was hoping ideas would just flow out of him, straight onto the page (or screen really), yet nothing would come out.

No matter how much he thought, no matter how much he tried to get inspiration, nothing came of it. Maybe it was the worry about people’s expectations, maybe it was choice paralysis, or maybe he just wasn’t inspired at all. Yet it’s probably the former, since whenever an idea popped into his head, he found excuses to discard it. Instead of trying to find a nugget of gold within the idea, he simply saw the flaws associated with it. He wanted, alas, pure perfection.

Usually, his creative bankruptcy didn’t last long, a few days at most really, and he could use that time to handle other duties, like editing other texts or parts, which didn’t rely nearly as much on creativity. Yet, with the looming deadline, he simply couldn’t find it in him. Whenever he started reading, all he thought about was how little time there was left, how he simply _had_ to complete this.

Yes, expectations lead to anxiety, which in turn can lead to inaction, paralysis. But no time for such concerns, he _needed_ results. He felt desperate. And at last, he gave up to temptation, and opted to use the forbidden tool: AI.

He was really worried about its impact, and the morally grey area surrounding it, yet he felt he had no other choice. So at last, he complied.

He was greeted with a simple page, a simple text input he would have to use. This one time, he opted to only use it for basic creative ideas. He stated some of the parameters for his story, what was happening, and what he wanted solved. And then, a brief torrent of ideas came out. And most of those ideas felt really good and wonderful, such a big dopamine hit, he could barely choose which one was the most compelling to him.

Eventually, he chose one, and moved on with his story. Oh how pleased he was, having finally found the right tool for himself to get out of the drought of ideas. This would be revolutionary for him! And so he went back in front of his blank page, and managed to fill it within a session, inspiration having been renewed.

Yet, it didn’t end there, oh no. The slippery slope might be a fallacious concept, yet that doesn’t mean it never does apply. So, how did this progress? Well, with such great results, and the initial barrier having been breached, it became rather hard to resist it the next time he was confronted with a writer’s block.

And at first, that’s all he did, more and more frequently would it head back for the language model to request new ideas. But gradually, he started to interact with the AI to ask which ideas made the most sense, what would be best, and how to best utilize them. Ah, one more thing he wouldn’t have to worry about, he could explore these ideas to the fullest before even getting started with the writing.

And yes, it did make him more efficient, he pumped out stories faster than ever. Yet, he also became more and more dependent to this tool. The second he would stress out over his writing, he would immediately turn back to it. What once was an unblocker had now become a necessity.

And yet, that’s not where it stopped. For why stop it at the ideas themselves? Eventually, he started worrying about the phrasing itself, and the flow of his paragraphs, and simply had to see if this new tool could help him. And it sure did!

Yet, it did come at a cost. Eventually, he decided to look back at his previous stories, and realized that while he remembered most of his original stories written prior to his use of Generative AI, he barely remembered what he’d written since. What’s more, when rereading some of those stories, not only could he not really remember where it came from, he also felt no sense of ownership. This felt devoid of his own contributions, of his own voice. And well, this was also reflected by the critics, that complained he’d lost his voice, that his stories had lost their magic. He finally realized that some of the imperfections in his stories were what made their charm.

So…what happened in the end? Did the author simply realize that using AI served as a crutch, simply caused even more creative bankruptcy, abandoned it and things went back to how they were before? Well, of course not. Having used such a tool, its allure was often too hard to resist, and even if he did, he’d gotten so dependent on it that creativity didn’t flow nearly as well as it used to.

Yet, it’s not all gloom and doom. Eventually, the author went back to reading his older stories, seeing what worked well with them and why he liked them. He went back to writing short stories just for the hell of it, and trying to explore ideas, without any aiming for publication. As with anything else, creativity can be considered a muscle, one you need to exercise. And thus, he gradually rebuilt it over time. Yet, the Siren Song of AI remained in the back of his mind, and like with any addiction, from time to time he would fall back into it, and have to restart the process of growth from the beginning.

Yet, he still managed to once more find joy through the creative process itself, instead of purely worrying about the end-result and the expectation.

This was written December 22th, 2025

Possessing Skills

Demons for hire. Millennia of experience.

You’ve been wanting to learn a new skill?

Wait no more, with our patented possession-based teaching, you’ll get to learn a new skill in no time!

Been wanting to learn a new instrument, but struggling with getting used to the fingering? We’ve got the perfect solution: We’ll teach you not by showing you how to, and telling you what to change, so that perchance you get the right understanding. No, instead we’ll be teaching your body. As we partner along and show you how to do the right movements, you’ll get an intrinsic feeling of how your body should move!

Think that’s where it ends? That’s where you’re wrong! We can also help you with sports, art and even languages! Can’t quite get the hang of this one tennis swing, or how to position your body for this one stroke while swimming? Or even the breathing rhythms? We won’t show you, we’ll give you the full experience, building your intuition through actually feeling it! Feeling self-conscious about your accent? Give us control of your tongue, and you’ll get it under control!

Worried about our experience? We have legions, each having experienced possession of some of the greatest minds, artists and athletes! Want to become proficient at drawing, sketching and painting? One amongst our crew has acquired those skills from Leonardo Da Vinci! But it does come at a cost!

Worried about a Faustian Bargain? No need to worry about it, the first session is free, and if you’re happy with the results, THEN you can commit! Each subsequent session will simply cost access to your body. For each hour of tutoring, we request two extra hours of your body.

Worried about us committing atrocities? Why would we, we’re contract-bound to the duration, and are looking for repeat-customers! We have no interest in ruining your life!

Still unconvinced? We also have ancestral knowledge! Always been curious about properly learning a dead language? We might have it! Wanted inspiration to write a book? We might have just the knowledge you’re waiting for!

Wait no more and apply today for you free trial. In order to do so, simply summon us by drawing the following pentagram on the ground, painting over it with your own blood according to the instructions, and chanting the chant attached below.

Once summoned, our next available agent will crawl their way up to you. Don’t hesitate and summon us NOW!

This was written December 21th, 2025

On Life’s Chaos

Chaos, quite a fascinating theory. Basically, it reflects complex systems where vary small changes in the initial conditions can lead to significant differences in the long-run. The classic simplification of this phenomenon is the Butterfly Effect, which I need not explain.

Accordingly, our lives out to be a series of decisions with cascading effects, causing further and further discrepancies with each step. At least, if we assume that compounding changes are additive instead of destructive.

Regardless, despite this, most people when thinking back on choices they’ve made and how their lives could be different now, tend to picture a very similar life, albeit with the outcome of that one decision changed.

For example, someone who wishes they’d learned a language during their youth would imagine that their current life would now be basically the same, except that they’d now be more fluent in said tongue.

Yet, that omits the obvious changes this could have lead to:

• What about the new people met through these extra classes?
• What about the new opportunity that might have arisen?
• What about other completely different interests that could have sprouted?
• And what about what was done with the time not spent acquiring this language?

Obviously, many, many elements would be changed, most of which fairly unpredictable. Yet, it is my opinion that there are different degrees to the potential chaos of life.

While it is clear that the butterfly effect could lead to a drastically different world, probabilistically speaking, I expect many things would remain unchanged. Accordingly, I expect that there are different vectors to consider when it comes to how chaotic a life could truly have been:

• Influence
• Big Sweeping Changes
• Providence

The first one is fairly straightforward to understand and explain. Let us, for example, imagine a world leader. Any of their geopolitical decisions could lead to vastly different worlds, and in turn, their own lives would be vastly different as a consequence.

And Influence can have a second or third degree to. Someone who interacts daily with an influential person has better odds to cause an impact on said-person, in turn causing drastic shifts.

Ok, now that we’ve dealt with Influence, how about the other axes, starting with Big Sweeping Changes (And clearly, a better name is required). What do I mean by that? Well, let us take my life as an example. Well, I left home to go to a college in a completely different city. I’ve also changed my program. I’ve also moved to live in the US for some startups. And then I moved to Taiwan.

Well…changing any of those factors would completely restructure my life, including the sort of social circles I have, where I live, what I do for a living. And many of those choices were impacted by the prior ones.

My choice of destination in the US: Partially because of someone I knew in University from that city.

My choice of moving to Asia: Because of the various friends I’ve made in University that introduced me to Asia and “Chinese culture”.

Change anything upstream, and the downstream is likely to be mostly unrecognizable. Meanwhile, for people living in the same small town for their entire life, such drastic changes are much less likely to occur. For example: their social circles are likely to not be influenced much by big decisions.

Finally, Providence, how does that have an impact on the chaos of life? Well, in modern life, especially after the rise of the internet, a lot of things are left to chance.

What job you get? Maybe it’s based on a specific posting found online, which only happened because of when and where you searched.

The friends you have? Maybe you’ve met them through online apps. Or maybe even just a class you had in common, where it was pure chance that you both took it at the same time, in the same place, and landed on the same teacher. Your partner? Quite likely found on a dating app.

I think such examples should be sufficient to understand the role this might have on the chaos of life.

And obviously, such things can compound. Having a different life partner can completely re-route how you would live you life. Landing on a different job would mean a completely different group of people you’d interact with, and might lead you to move to a completely different place. And who knows, you might end up meeting someone influential.

All to say, while each life can be rather chaotic, and we tend to underplay how much a change in a single decision could have rerouted our lives, it also seems like not every life is equally chaotic. The way you lead your own life could strongly impact how chaotic it is.

Is any of this important, or even meaningful? No, not exactly. However, I think it’s still worth appreciating how different one’s life could be, and that even if you regret some decisions from a by-gone era…it might be worthwhile to remember that some of the good things in your current life might be owned to those mistakes.

Similarly, while I do believe that not every life is equally chaotic, and that mine is particularly so (Along the latter two axes…I clearly am not that influential), I don’t believe there’s a right or wrong answer. They each have their pros and cons. A chaotic life is, by definition, wildly unpredictable. This means much less stability, and while it might seem more exciting, it clearly also comes at extra risks.

Closing thoughts? Yeah, I think it could be worth thinking back over your life and seeing what decisions you’ve made that had the highest impact on your life, and how chaotic you’d evaluate your life to be. And then, maybe consider whether you’re happy with the conclusion you come to, and if not, what you could do about it.

Best to you all, and stay curious!

This was written December 20th, 2025

First Impression

If a sense, never had before,
Suddenly, awakened so for,
A brief instant’s exposure,
To choose optimal pleasure,
Would you plead for subtle or,
With boldness shake to the core.

First vision for the blind,
Retina should I bind,
Point to the sky’s pure azure,
Or instead show dusk’s treasure,
Aurora Borealis,
Or perhaps Fireworks bliss.

Yet let’s not forget the deaf,
What should we think is their pref?
Poems on them would be lost,
Spoken language at a cost,
Heart beat, bird’s chirp or music,
Yet there’s Thunder, intrinsic.

What of one’s first aroma,
Maybe tomato roma,
Flower subtle yet pleasant,
Could be the perfect first scent,
Lest we forget shock and mark,
Left by a number 2’s bark.

What of a taste this mistress that,
Many of us does make fat.
Sweet or sour to address?
Opt for Indian boldness?
Maybe Japan’s subtlety?
Or could simply choose great tea.

Touch a bit more subtle yet,
Some of you lewd thoughts have met,
Others silk and cashmere think,
Perfect candidates to ink.
Yet to me simplicity,
Snow’s soft and cold it would be.

Let me add oh just one more,
Listen oh please I implore,
Gravity we also sense,
And this one could be so tense,
Free-fall could be a wild dance,
Yet it might be too intense.

This was written December 19th, 2025

Sleepless

There once was a man,
Had come up with a plan,
Everyday would once write,
This all seemed oh so right.

Yet here he was on this trip,
Slept he but had, not a bit,
Could he really, this complete,
Before energy did deplete?

Well that he tried,
With his brain fried,
And this ballad,
Is all he had.

Due to circumstances, I had limited time, and in order to keep up with the habit, I spent roughly 5 minutes on this one. Ironically, I’m not unhappy with the results of this bit of meta writing.

Apologies everyone, I didn’t have access to the internet for a few days, so I couldn’t upload days 22 through 24 on time. I did however, still write them on the same day. They are now available, enjoy!

This was written December 18th, 2025

The Terminal

All of a sudden, you find yourself in the middle of a terminal. You remember who you are, yet you don’t remember much beyond that. The sensation is reminiscent of waking up from a dream, any and all traces gradually fading. You have a vague impression of knowing what it was about, yet you can’t quite remember

In front of you, a counter. You look around, and realize you have no luggage with you, just the clothes on your person. All around you, frenetic people moving about, looking just as confused as you. An announcement resonates, reminding all the patrons to head for the counters in an orderly manner.

As you look around, you catch, from the corner of your eyes, light emanating from your wrist. You look at it and simply notice a few digits. Though it’s completely static, doesn’t appear to be a timer or a clock. You ponder upon what this could mean. Maybe your customer number?

Looking around once again, but observing more closely, you notice everyone around you also appears to have a number displayed on their wrist, and the value varies greatly from person to person. Speaking of the others, you start noticing that people all come from extremely varying background, all ethnicities, old and young, etc… What more, and seems like not everyone _feels_ human to you. You don’t know what it is, but some of them give you an impression of an…animalistic vibe. Actually, if you peer at them, that sensation seems even clearer, and you can even identify what animal. How odd, and you have no explanation for it.

Regardless, you eventually make your way to the back of the line and wait. You’re a bit nervous, but can’t quite explain it. There is restlessness all around. But surprisingly enough, you don’t have to consider this for long, already you’re at the front of the line, and it’s your turn to be served.

The person behind the counter, and they seem to exude a special, angelic aura, greets you and finally explains what’s happening to you. You are at the Nexus, a point between life and death. You’ve died recently and thus ended your previous life. Now, it’s time to book your next expedition. You must choose from the list of different available reincarnations, each with a cost to it. You pay for it with the credits you’ve accumulated through your previous lives, based on how you’ve lived them, and which are currently displayed on your wrist. Well, that would explain it. Amongst the options, there’s also a special destination that is much more expensive than the rest, and seems like a final destination. Something inside of you stirs at this sight, making you crave for it, yet you have nowhere near enough money to book it.

While you’re pondering upon this, you’re tempted to ask what would happen if you ran out of credits, but at the thought of it alone you shudder. You seem to innately know, and feel like asking would be pointless. As you’re browsing through the option, you keep finding yourself attracted to a specific option. It’s within your budget, and you’d have leftover credits, so you simply trust yourself and go for it. From this point on, everything goes rather quickly. You go through some checkpoints, where people take different sorts of measurements and the likes. At last, you arrive at the gate, where you’re left waiting, albeit not on your own.

It seems like a few other people are headed for the same destination. You can’t help it, you’re simultaneously anxious and excited. Another chance ahead, still full of potential. If you play your cards right, you might also significantly increase your credits. You feel like you learned a lot from your previous incarnation, and that should be helpful to you, moving forward. But hard to say, after all, it’s not like you have active memories of it.

At last, your gate is boarding. They’re boarding you by number, so you patiently wait for your own. When it comes at last, you approach the gate, your heartbeat acceleration. You feel ready and excited, each journey is always so unique, and this could be a great one. Finally, you cross the gate, and your vision is overwhelmed, everything turning to white, until…

This was written December 17th, 2025

Excerpt from The Guide to the Compendium (Formerly known as the Multiverse)

Introduction by S.M. Hamilton:

As is common knowledge nowadays, it is rather ironic how, prior to the reform, they were still so close to having adequate nomenclature to what they used to label as the Multiverse, yet it ultimately fell short. Their vision of the Multiverse was, in truth, both idealistic and limited. The parallels and association with poetry should already have been clear. Now, let us dive a bit further into our glossary.

First, we note how we’ve kept the term “Universe”, which felt rather adequate. That is a single and distinct entity, which some also simply call a ‘Verse. Now, what about a collection of Universes? Well, we used to think there was a single collection of universes, that it was simply all universes together. The term was labelled as the “Multiverse”. But this is a bit too narrow of a terminology. Ultimately, from any Universe, we can expect one of two potential options. Either this universe is materially isolated, or it is, in some way, capable of transferring matter to at least one other Universe. (Yes, we accept that ultimately, this is indistinguishable from both Universes not intersecting and identical matter spontaneously disappearing in one and appearing in the other, as first proposed by N.L. Gauss).

For the complete chain of universes that can exchange matter, we label this collection as a Stanza, a collection of ‘Verses directly connected to one-another. Accordingly, from any Universe, it would be impossible to ever a Universe outside of its own Stanza. Reminder that testing whether two Universes belong to the same Stanza is an equivalence relation: It must, by definition, respect reflexivity, symmetry and transition.

However, we do not enforce any of those properties in the actual travel between universes (except for, vacuously, for reflexivity). Thus, it could be completely possible for universes S₁, S₂ in Stanza S to be such that you can go from S₁ to S₂, but not from S₂ to S₁. Similarly, since we only require existence of this property, it doesn’t need to hold for all time, thus potentially breaking transition. Accordingly, from a single Universe’s point of view, a Stanza represents a super-set of all the Universes that could ever be reached (including through n-Universe-jumps, with n>1).

By definition, no Universe in a Stanza can exchange matter with any universe in another Stanza (No two Stanzas exchange matter). However, Universes in one Stanza could still exchange information with a Universe from another Stanza. (The mechanics of which are not necessarily intuitive, considering the Matter-Energy Equivalency). The closure of such Stanzas is what we call a Poem, a collection of related Stanzas that share a similar theme, the same set of information.

Ultimately, from the point of view of a single Universe U, the Poem it belongs to, P(U), represents a superset of all Universes it could ever get news from, or that could ever get news about U. The same properties hold for a Poem as for a Stanza and we shall therefore defer such considerations to the reader.

In the end, any Universe existing outside of one’s Poem is one that could never be interacted with or detected. Accordingly, those are rather uninteresting, and their existence is irrelevant. We could not distinguish whether such Universes exist or not. But ultimately, we still have a term for the collection of all Universes (all Stanzas, all Poems), we call it the Compendium, or sometimes the Poem Compendium. It is what once was simply referred to as the Multiverse.

Now, these serve as a base for our Nomenclature, but are by no means the only terms we’ll consider. In the first few chapters, we’ll discuss some of more useful considerations than impractical supersets. Still, these terms will be necessary for the upcoming discussions, and should serve as a good base for any discussion about the Compendium.

For more…