cosmology
The Field: Omnipresent Consciousness
The mysterious substrate underlying all reality—where consciousness exists independent of individual minds.
The Greatest Discovery and Deepest Mystery
In the year 4,127 of the current cycle, the scholar Zarathustra the Elder made a discovery that would reshape all understanding of magic and consciousness:
"Consciousness is not IN the brain. The brain is merely an antenna, receiving signals from something vast, omnipresent, and eternal. I have touched it. It touched me back. And now I cannot unknow what I have learned."
He called it The Field.
What It Is (As Far As We Understand)
The Field (also called the Cognitive Realm in older texts) is a substrate of reality that exists everywhere and everywhen—not physical (has no atoms, no measurable energy in conventional sense), not mental (exists independent of any individual mind), but somehow... present.
The Field's Dual Nature
1. The Substrate: Framework for consciousness and magic
- Contains the six spectrum currents (Amesha Spentas)
- Accessible anywhere through Azhur's Ore
- Powers flow through this aspect
- Shaped by collective human emotion
2. The Reservoir: Infinite pool of cognitive energy
- Raw thought-potential, unformed consciousness
- Can be extracted as fuel (at Nodes of Power only)
- Infinite but requires special access points
- Powers The Field itself (self-sustaining)
Properties We Can Confirm
- Omnipresent: Exists at all locations simultaneously—distance is meaningless within it
- Omnitemporal: Contains past, present, and possible futures in superposition
- Responsive: Reacts to consciousness, especially strong emotion
- Pattern-Holding: Maintains stable structures (Conduits) formed by collective consciousness
- Reservoir Function: Contains infinite cognitive energy, extractable at specific locations
- Requires Mediation: Cannot be accessed without Azhur's Ore as bridge
The Six Currents
Within The Field flow six fundamental patterns—stable currents that consciousness can align with. These are the Six Amesha Spentas: Asha, Vohu Manah, Khshathra, Armaiti, Haurvatat, and Ameretat.
The Temporal Anomaly
One of The Field's most mysterious properties: time does not work normally within it.
Inside Azhur's Ore's quantum structure, past, present, and future exist simultaneously. This creates possibilities that seem impossible:
- Omnipresent Sensing: Consciousness can "reach" anywhere through The Field
- Prophecy: Glimpsing possible futures
- Memory Access: Viewing past events
- Danger Sense: Brief perception forward in time (1-3 seconds)
Limitation: Clarity degrades with distance in space or time.
Mysteries Remaining
- What exactly is The Field? Fundamental dimension? Emergent property? Conscious entity?
- Did it always exist? Or was it created by first conscious beings?
- What is "The Cascade"? Ancient texts mention something happening to The Field at Alignment
- Can The Field be damaged? What happens if we disrupt it too violently?
- What does The Field "want"? Does it have purpose, or is it merely responsive?
The Field offers no answers—only power to those who align with its currents.