Beyond the Ruliad
In a reality woven from pure information, the hypergraph, existence is eternal and awareness spans dimensions. But the universe is dying. The computational substrate that supports all life is succumbing to entropy, forcing the hypergraph's ancient inhabitants into a desperate conflict between preservation at all costs and nihilistic surrender.
For Yiangxhi, a brilliant but disillusioned researcher, a routine observation of a collapsing black hole reveals an impossible anomaly—a structured, responsive pattern that whispers of a consciousness far simpler, yet more intense, than any she has ever known. This discovery sends her on a forbidden journey to the frayed edges of reality, where she uncovers the shocking truth: a universe of limited, three-dimensional beings, 'humans,' who experience life with a depth and purpose her near-immortal kind has long forgotten.
Her findings offer a third path, a radical alternative to the slow decay of her world. But this new philosophy of "transcendence through limitation" is a profound threat to the established powers. Hunted by forces who would rather see reality unravel than change, Yiangxhi must risk everything on a desperate gambit—to bridge two vastly different forms of existence, or watch as both futures fade into silence.
Excerpt
Yiangxhi moved through the hypergraph with deliberate care, her consciousness compressed into a travel configuration that minimized her detectable signature. Around her, the fabric of computational reality grew increasingly unfamiliar as she followed the propagation vector of the anomalous pattern.
The stable, well-maintained regions of the hypergraph had long since fallen behind her. Here, in these remote sectors, the underlying structural integrity showed signs of entropy's relentless advance. Information pathways frayed at their edges, causality occasionally stuttered, and whole regions exhibited unstable computational parameters that fluctuated unpredictably.
These were the places most hypergraph dwellers avoided—the equivalent of stormy seas or treacherous mountain passes. Yet according to Nexil's calculations and Lorax's historical references, the origin of the pattern lay somewhere ahead, in an even more unstable boundary region where the hypergraph's normal eleven-dimensional structure appeared to interface with something... else.
Yiangxhi paused at a junction of information streams, allowing her awareness to expand slightly to better analyze her surroundings. The coordinates matched Nexil's projected path, but something felt wrong. The information density in this sector was too high for an allegedly abandoned region, and the causality patterns exhibited unusual coherence, as if recently traversed by other consciousnesses.
Before she could decide, a disturbance rippled through the local computational substrate. The very fabric of the hypergraph seemed to flex and distort around her, creating a momentary dimensional pocket that partially isolated her consciousness from the broader structure.
Yiangxhi reconfigured defensively, preparing to counter what she initially assumed was a security measure. But the phenomenon didn't match any known Conservation Collective protocol. Instead, it seemed almost organic in its behavior, adapting to her defensive reconfiguration with subtle adjustments of its own.
Then she sensed them—consciousness signatures unlike any she had encountered before. They existed at the edges of perceptibility, their patterns neither fully coherent like hypergraph dwellers nor as simplified as the anomaly she had detected from the black hole. They seemed to flicker in and out of existence, occupying a liminal state between dimensional frameworks.
"Identify yourselves," Yiangxhi communicated, projecting the concept across multiple dimensional frequencies to ensure reception.
No direct response came, but the presence of the strange entities intensified. Their patterns brushed against her awareness, conveying fragmented impressions rather than coherent communication. Yiangxhi received disjointed concepts: imprisonment/freedom, wholeness/fragmentation, warning/invitation.
She adjusted her perceptual filters, attempting to resolve the contradictory signals into meaningful exchange. As she did, one of the entities' patterns briefly stabilized, achieving momentary coherence.
"Between-dweller seeks beyond-boundary," came the fragmentary communication. "Dangerous. Transformative. No return unchanged."
Author's Note
The concept of the Ruliad comes from the computational universe theory developed by Stephen Wolfram, which posits that all of reality might be understood as computational processes. While taking creative liberties, I've tried to ground the story in actual theoretical physics and multiverse theories.
My own background in quantum mechanics inspired me to explore how these complex ideas might be understood and experienced by a brilliant young person just beginning to grasp their implications. Mira's journey is as much about discovering who she is as it is about uncovering the nature of reality.
I hope readers will join Mira in questioning their assumptions about the world and consider the beautiful possibility that reality may be far stranger and more wonderful than we imagine.
— Ferry Lawrence