Universal Nomenclature

What to call a universe? Realistically speaking, the inhabitants of a universe would simply refer to it as "The Universe", and stop there. This isn't going to be very useful for readers or an author, and so a decent name is required. This is what most authors have done with their universes, hence the names Arda, Narnia, Oz, Flatland and Wonderland. It makes the fictional universe much easier to refer to. Other series have no names per se, instead relying on their series titles : The Wheel of Time Universe, The Foundation Universe, The Revelation Space Universe and so on. With science fiction it's a little more acceptable to rely on series titles, since the stories are usually set in the future of the universe we live in. However in a fantasy universe, which is meant to be distinct, it does, to my own sentiment, warrant a unique name; its inhabitants would hardly refer to their universe via title of a book in our reality.

The only reasonable excuse for concocting a name for an alternate universe would be to say that it is the word which its inhabitants use to refer to "the universe" in their language. I am, unfortunately, not a linguist, and while I am working on a language for my sub-reality, it'll be years before I devise anything as polished as Quenya.

Moving on to the name itself. In English and its related languages at least, places have a tendency to end their names with an "A". Australia, America, Asia, Africa, China and India to name a few. Perhaps this is simply a remnant of Latin, with Brittainia, Hispania, Gallia and Italia. And in turn characteristic of PIE languages, with Persia, Lydia, Assyria and Phoenicia.  This tendency carried over to the Inklings, and Tolkien chose Arda while Lewis chose Narnia. I feel inclined to break this trend and end with a sound other than an 'A', not in the least because I hail from a different cultural background.

Then it occurred to me that if a the universe was named by Eleyon, its initial name might not even be something you might express in speech. Our vocalised names are only manifest in a physical reality of sound. Then again, for the purposes of communication with humanity, Eleyon would have selected a name that would accomodate physical speech and his own experience of the universe. With all these criteria in mind... I am really rather at a loss to pin a name onto my sub-creation.

The thing that I've found with names, with the characters and locations I've established, is that they tend to sound strange when you first contrive them, but after iterated use, they seem to adopt a euphonic quality that they did not possess before. So I suspect that if I do think of a temporary name, with intentions to amend it in time, it will mostly likely establish itself as a permanent one.

Syllable-wise, I would be most comfortable with two. Referring to the universe should be simple. I would think a single syllable would be the most appropriate, such as how the names of other natural objects are monosyllabic, the sun, moon, world, sky and sea. But that leaves me with a dearth of sounds to select from. Somehow a disyllabic seems to strike a balance between flexibility and simplicity in this respect.

Ergo, two syllables; the question now progresses to "Which two?" I would say no voiceless plosives, no fricatives, no sibilants and no affricates. They don't seem to sound full enough for the name of a universe that is supposed to contain everything in reality. I've also thought that anything bilabial wouldn't sound primeval enough. The universe is related to the idea of origins to me, so the lips seem too far removed from the vocal chords to suggest a relation to a source. An 'R' also strikes me as a tad complex, since I will likely decide that 'R's should be trilled in the language is devise, so that's out as well. 'G' reminds me of guttural, garish, gun; well it seems a little too harsh. So what am I left with in the English alphabet after the culling...

'L' 'N' 'D' 'W' 

Of course I should technically move beyond English sounds, but very well, I'm writing this in English, so I want English speakers to pronounce the name with the quality that I'm after naturally, not some garbled refraction of it. Perhaps I will change this as time goes on, or as I suspect, maybe not. Alright then, five consonants and two vowels to pick from. An open 'A' definitely has to go in there, it's the most open sound. And an 'E' since it represents the next relatively open sound, and the mouth seems relaxed and natural to me, somehow. 'O' is still fairly open, but seems to stately and formal somehow, as in 'O come, O come Emmanuel'. 'I' and 'U' are too closed for consideration. 'E' should be first and 'A' second. 'E' opening up into an 'A' represents the broadening of experience for me. The thing about 'A' in English is that it can be pronounced like the 'A' in hand, which isn't what I'm going for. I suppose that's may have been part of why Tolkien appended an 'R' to the 'A' in Arda. 

Well after considering various combinations, the one that appeals to me the most is Eldawn. When that came up I felt it fit perfectly in terms of the word 'dawn', although the 'A' should sound a little more open than the 'A' in dawn, and 'El' is a syllable that makes thematic sense with some of the other names I have determined for the rest of the story. 

Well that took a long time to figure out. I honestly didn't filter sounds out with a preconceived idea for the name, the process moved along just as it did in this post. But yes, I admire Tolkien's respect for names, and in that sense, I cannot accept a casually selected word to refer to the entirety of my sub-creation. Naming things can be rather a hindrance to authors who want to get going with the story, but there is satisfaction in a carefully crafted sound that adds greater meaning to the fantasy as a whole.

Scientific Philosophising

So often, it is submitted that science and religion are incompatible, religion holds back the progress of science, choking visionaries with arbitrary beliefs, impeding a logical interpretation of observations from a moral high ground. Science is the way forward, out of an age of ignorance and irrationality. It may not have all the answers now, but it will, and when it does, God will be dead. Such a view arrogantly holds that science is without its limitations. I'm not talking about academic limitations, such as uncertainties in experiments, but limitations to what science can explain. I for one believe that science does a fantastic job of showing how things work, but it reveals nothing with regards to a higher existential purpose.

One of the weaknesses of the scientific approach to understanding is extrapolation. Primarily in the assumption that if nature functioned one way in the past, it will continue to do so. That the constants of the universe are indeed immutable. Extrapolation is essential to science, and ties intimately with the tenet of replicability. If hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide have reacted to neutralise each other in the past, they will do so again. If every patient I have operated on in the past has had two lungs, so will the next patient. Without a faith in the discoveries and principles of the previous generation, no one would be able to stand on the shoulders of giants. We would be lying on the ground. But relying on this too far doesn't sit too well with me.

Shortly after I heard about radiocarbon dating, I wondered to myself, well no one's actually lived that long right? And of course, not one conscious person was actually around in the time of the dinosaurs, at the time when our atmosphere was devoid of oxygen, at the time when the sun formed. Yet we pin dates on these events. It's one thing to say that most people have two hands, since we've seen that for ourselves. It's quite another to say the earth is 4.54 billion years old, when no one has actually observed carbon radioactivity for that long.

And so within my narrative, along with the structure of the system of magic, I'd like to suggest a serious consideration of what would be possible if the forces were not constant, the extrapolation invalid. This connects with the notion that what we discover through science could be manipulated. I admit this is a stretch, but I feel there is merit in a healthy dose of doubt. If there really is a God, and a Satan, as I do believe there are, then there are beings who are older than us, more powerful than us and capable of influencing our conclusions.

None of us can really say with absolute certainty that dinosaurs existed, I've carried around the notion in my mind that when we get to heaven and ask the Creator about them, he'll say they were put there for decorative purposes. To walk along this road a little more, what if there really was a counterintelligence, who wanted humanity to reject the belief in a God? Could this malignant intelligence not set up their own false signals, half bird half reptile fossils, fake evidence that would misdirect scientific understanding?

We tend to believe that whatever we learn for ourselves has to be the truth. We take the evidence, look at it with fresh eyes, then assemble the jigsaw into a coherent whole. But what if there is a superior being, dancing just outside of our awareness, constantly altering the evidence, pointing us subtly, but dangerously, in the wrong direction? We will never be able to say what is truth and what is falsehood. But in our assurance, the lies that we construct for ourselves are more convincing and deceitful than the lies we are told by another. What better way to convince someone that you are right then by having them do it for you?

The scientific paradigm of using models that work until we create a better one is wonderfully open-minded and has served humanity well. However I feel that we need to keep our minds more receptive yet, to the possibility that we can never really know anything at all with absolute certainty, not even with the most rigorous scientific tests, for the ways that man obtains evidence are ultimately limited.

The Four Magical Disciplines : Strong and Weak Nuclear Interactions

I'm combining the last two forces because, I must admit, I haven't yet thought of convincing and interesting ways to use these forces meaningfully. I've been trying to expand my understanding of the possibilities afforded to mages of these final two disciplines, but I can't reach the same extent as what is enabled by my comprehension of electromagnetism and gravity. Well there it is, knowledge limits ability.

Regardless, I will attempt to convey what I believe would be possible. These uses are subject to change as I learn more about these two forces.

The strong nuclear force comes under the dominion of Unavo. The strong nuclear force is responsible for holding quarks together in baryons and mesons. Protons and neutrons are both baryons since they are made of three quarks, and the residual strong nuclear force holds these two types of particles together in a nucleus. If the strong nuclear force could be enhanced or suppressed, it could be possible to induce nuclear fusion and fission quite controllably. Elements could be transmuted from one to another, somewhat like alchemy. It does fit in with my idea that Unavo should be aligned with the changeable and yet tightly bonded within metamorphoses.

I suppose that influencing the residual strong nuclear force would be easier than the gluons between the quarks directly, based on the energy levels involved. Supposing it is possible however, I still can't get very far as to describing potential results, since isolated quarks are not exactly familiar to anybody.

Oleris is in charge of the weak nuclear force, the force that mediates radioactivity and quark flavour changes. Changing quark flavours opens up a door to a host of exotic particles for a weak interaction mage to use, which I am once again, at a loss to describe. Radioactivity would also allow elemental transmutation to some extent, though perhaps not as rapidly as that by the strong nuclear force. To me, Oleris's introversion resonates with radioactive decay, an alpha particle whizzing away from a crowded nucleus, but yes that is highly simplistic. Since Oleris is also aligned with mathematical beauty, perhaps I'd better identify patterns in the weak interaction before I fully establish such an identity for him.

I hope to be able to find more interesting uses for these two forces in future. For now, Unavo and Oleris exist primarily as the concepts they embody, rather than their forces. Perhaps this is for the best anyway, a mage of the nuclear forces could wreak destruction if the natural constants are tampered too far.

On a final note, I would like to say that in order to fit the cultures of the little world, I will no longer refer to the four magical disciplines by their ideological heritage as the four fundamental forces. Rather electromagnetism will be Älloran magic, gravity Yevanian, strong interaction, Unaven, and weak interaction as Olerist magic.

The Four Magical Disciplines : Gravity

The other familiar fundamental force is gravity, and this belongs to Yevassë. She took charge of it simply because it is the force that pulls matter together, acts over long distances, and proceeds steadily most of the time. Rather more suited to her temperament, steady, and conceptually aligned with her aims, to keep things together. Although of course, gravity can also be used as a great force of propulsion. Ällora went with electromagnetism because it was the easiest to explore new possibilities with, and the most dynamic, in his conception of its uses.

To begin with, a simple application of gravitational magic would be to lift objects, which would strike mages as very similar to the magnetic use of the electromagnetic force. True, but I would suppose that gravitational negation would allow simple lifting of all objects, but magnetic levitation would work best with paramagnetic materials. Diamagnetic materials should require quite a lot more power to work with.

While a user of electromagnetic magics would be able to sense distortions in electromagnetic fields, a user of gravity would be able to sense the movement of mass of any sort. A gravity mage would sense a moving projectile, the location of the sun and so on.

As a whole, gravity is not a force that I would say acts very variably on human scales, but I have been able to think of interesting possibilities that may require a sizable magnitude of power. I'm not really sure how much I should limit these magics but here goes :

Increased agility by reducing the effect of gravity on the body. This would allow jumps and acrobatic feats which are not normally possible. Since water is diamagnetic, this effect would remain largely exclusive to mages aligned with gravity. Conversely, an opponent's freedom of movement could be greatly suppressed.

Gravity could also be used to accelerate objects easily, and presumably, an extremely fine degree of control would result. The patterns that result from simple gravitational laws are intricately complex. In combination with a mage's sensitivity to moving objects, this may allow for precisely orchestrated manoeuvers. Gravitational fields of objects in the environment, or even the air, could be used to pull other objects around, by strengthening or weakening local gravity. The ability of a mage to channel gravitational field strength should be related to the mass of the original object. It would take a lot more to increase the gravity around a bubble of soap compared to a lead sphere.

Another interesting application of gravity would be how it interacts with spacetime. Or in rather more confusing synonymous view, matter stretches spacetime which causes gravitational effects. Or I might want to wait for the graviton. Anyway, this could be exploited to manipulate light. Rather ironically, this would lead to a lot of confusion about the nature of magic as a whole, to those unaware of the underlying systems. Cloaking devices are therefore, possible with both gravity and electromagnetism. Light cannot, however, be generated directly via gravity. Then again, a gravity mage would not require such optical aid for illumination, their sensitivity to mass and movement would suffice.

Pushed to an extreme, gravity is responsible for black holes, though such a massive, no pun intended, undertaking would have to be fatal for a few gravity mages in concert. The amount of energy required to form such a dense object would be beyond human manipulation. Not to mention the disastrous aftereffects.

Well that's about it for gravity for now, a general feel of this discipline of magic. Some of its effects overlap with the electromagnetic expression of magic, but other effects do distinguish its basis on a separate interaction.

Vignette : Reassess

It's tiring, trying to keep up with everyone else. Feeling that everyone's moving ahead of you, exuberant, motivated; while you glide on social inertia. The track you're on is well lit, crowded, competitive. The glances from people nearby betray their expectations. They all think you're one of them, intrinsically propelled. But you're not, you're weary.

So... Stop running. Walk. Wait. Think.

What inspires you? Saturates you with wonder, keeps you engaged? What would really keep you going if all the luxury of the world were to fall into ruin? Why aren't you there? The crowd continues to move, some people walk besides you to ask you if you need aid. They're polite, but they can't really help, they need to keep on running.

There's a flash in the dusk off to the side of the track; brief, intense, mysterious. Your gaze turns, it calls.

Look again at those rushing past you now that you've slowed. Do they all really know where they're going? Or have they just walked in the safety of the lamps all their lives? A last few faltering steps in that exhausted direction. Curious stares and suspicious gazes from the rest of them. Stand still and wait for an opening, an exit, to get off the track to a bleak future. Then turn and sprint away, into the darkness, away from the path. You don't know where you're going, but at least you've found yourself.

The Four Magical Disciplines : Electromagnetism

Well, now that I've given a bit more of a background to the Deols in charge of my little world in the "Mind of the Deols" posts, I'll explain the magic system in relation to the Deols as well. Each of the four created Deols has an affiliation for one of the four fundamental forces. This isn't established when they are created, but rather, when the laws for the ways the material plane operates are devised. When it is decided that four forms of energy out of all the numerous classes of energy will be used to design the physical universe, each of the Deols adopts a force as their own personal domain. Electromagnetism belongs to Ällora.

This force is the easiest to conceive uses for, since we already employ it so prevalently. I believe that it's most basic uses will be heating, lifting and illumination. They're the most straightforward ways to use EM, like splashes of paint on a canvas by a 5 year old.

As a user's understanding of electromagnetism improves, the possibilities broaden. From the electric side of the force, any device runs on electricity is theoretically possible. Cameras, calculators, laptops, phones, clocks, and so on. Since I've said that magic would be something like exercise for the soul, I would imagine that a culture using electromagnetism would also try and automate as many functions as possible. Otherwise using a computer could possibly be unduly tiring. So perhaps they have batteries to charge so they can take their minds off keeping a device running. Similar to a crank that you would wind up and then release to run a clock. But of course they wouldn't really require an electric grid, the potential difference could be established directly within the device.

On the magnetic facet of the force, access to levitation would easily lead to the development of maglev based transport systems. Once again, I suspect these would eventually be automated rather than tediously controlled by micromanagement. In my understanding of things, there is no reason why magic has to remain a manual, unpredictable thing. If people had reliable access to magic, as they do within my fantasy, they would develop suitably advanced technologies to exploit such magic. Magnetism could also be used to build navigational devices, using the magnetic field of the planet.

A final expression of the electromagnetic force is that of electromagnetic waves, a fusion of electricity and magnetism, light. From the radio to the gamma, uses for electromagnetic waves could be as varied as they are today. I do want to impose a limiter that x-rays and gamma rays, being of higher energies and frequencies, necessarily require more energy on the mage's part to generate. Internal heating or cooling would be a simple exercise, as with lighting.

Additionally, based on optics, a direct manipulation of light would also allow for magnification. Directly, without the aid of lenses. Mages with the electromagnetic force under their command would discover tissues, cells, organelles and microorganisms. They could possibly observe them while they were alive, allowing functional elucidation much more easily as well.

Based on all this, it is certainly possible that a group of mages using the electromagnetic force could create a technological system comparable to what we have today, or even move beyond it. The internet, wireless communication, maglev trains, automated climate control and computing for example.

More traditionally magical uses exist for a mental command of electromagnetism of course, that may not be easily achievable with today's standards of technology. Cloaking devices, flight, precise nano-engineering, phasing objects through barriers, seeing through walls, just to name a few uses.

To end off, given what we can already achieve with just one of the four fundamental forces, electromagnetism, it's rather interesting to consider what humanity would be able to achieve if we could somehow control gravity, the strong interaction and weak interaction to a simliar degree. Of course, it's also rather interesting to note that electromagnetism has such a dominant role in our lives, I'm tying this into my story, but I won't reveal how or why just yet, but there have been hints at it all the same.