The Substrate
The hypervisor behind reality, where physics and metaphysics intersect.
The Substrate is the innermost primordial component of the universe; a huge, abstract network of data which holds pure information and defines everything else, including itself and the laws of its surroundings. It is a self-recurring, self-refining paradox, which exists only because it exists. The Substrate effectively has infinite dimensions, which are in themselves infinitely bounded; because of this, it is impossible to accurately visualise. It is comprised of networks of data, split into smaller, isolated networks, known as subnets.
Architecture
The Substrate effectively has infinite dimensions, which are in themselves infinitely bounded. Due to this, it is impossible to accurately visualise. It is comprised of networks of data, split into smaller, isolated networks, known as subnets.
Subnets
Connected groups of information cluster together, forming emergent "subnets" that evolve in a similar manner to biological systems. A consciousness usually inhabits one subnet. Consciousness can form when a subnet grows to the minimum size required to start a cycle of self-observation and self-improvement, at which point it is stable. This concept is a parallel to the Integrated Information Theory (IIT), which posits the formation of consciousness once the mathematical value of integration crosses a threshold. Another type of subnet is the substratic grid, which is responsible for the definition of a three-dimensional manifold in physical space and for the enforcement of the standard laws of physics within it.
Barriers
Subnets naturally create "barriers" through self-refinement; multi-dimensional shields, which allow the exchange of information but keep the networks separate. When a barrier is removed, this can result in two subnets merging. The inverse is possible within a single subnet, known as barrier genesis. This can result in multiple consciousnesses mapped to one physical substrate.
Delegation
Information can be delegated into a topological space with a different number of dimensions, which is also known as manifold transformation. This is how a consciousness subnet, for example, is "linked" with a physical body. The state of each unit of information is mapped to a particle, by means of a dimensional bridge linking the two via T-Space. Links can either be weak or strong, depending on the amount of energy that exists within the dimensional threshold. The destruction of a delegation link is known as severance. This results in the Substrate side of the link remaining disconnected until it naturally aligns with a compatible set of particles in another topological space via the process of substratic drift.