Dimensional Theory

Dimensional Theory is the study of the Web and the way it's laid out. It grew out of more traditional Gatian high-sciences after the incorporation of Gate into the Web of Worlds, mainly those sciences that studied temporal phenomena and the space-time continuum. While many of the leaders in the field today are Guardians, virtually all spacefaring nations have intellectuals devoted to this discipline.

To sum up very briefly: Dimensional Theory is basically advanced Physics, slanted toward studying how magic and the physical laws of the universe interact with each other. (especially in terms of space and time travel)

Key Principles

Dimensional Theory is founded on the idea that the "Dimensions" of the Web are not parallel worlds (as was once thought), but rather are orbital systems of planets spread out by several "light-years," and interconnected by way of "strands" of flowing mana energy. It is from this concept of strands strung across the universe between worlds that the very term "Web of Worlds" is derived.

These ideas were revolutionary at their time, but are presently accepted as a physical truth of the universe.

Also central to Dimensional Theory, however, is that instantaneous travel across all four dimensions (the three physical dimensions, and the fourth temporal dimension) is possible with the proper use of mana energy.

Strands, Gates and Portals

Travel by space through the strands, travel among the planets by land, sea and air portals, and even theoretical time travel by way of the mythical time gates that gave their name to the Gate Dimension: all of these are examples of instantaneous (or near-instantaneous, in the case of space-strands) travel, powered by mana, across dimensions. Even the Reverse X-Zone drive's ability to tear holes in reality and pass between the physical world and the X-Zone is an example of Dimensional Theory at work.

Mana, as posited by Dimensional Theory, begins in our Web at a single Source point. Guardian research has concluded -- and this conclusion has thus far been accepted as fact -- that the Source is in Aryth. From Aryth, the Strands flow outward in great, snaking currents of mana.

The Strands themselves are a bit of a mystery. They are entirely invisible except at their endpoints, where they appear as swirling blue confluences of dust particles and gas that seem to glow with their own radiance. These endpoints appear after the weakest (typically the ninth) orbital of a star.

Are Strands naturally drawn to stars and their orbitals? Do gravity or other physical forces have something to do with where the Strands go, and where they open up? Or barring that, are the appearances of Strands in the Web's Dimensions guided by an intelligent power (i.e. "the gods") rather than natural laws? This is where the Theory is less solid; several schools of thought within the discipline offer competing viewpoints on the whys of Strand migration.

The Strands are known to bring Portals to the surfaces of inhabited worlds in the Core. As with the Strands themselves, these smaller capillaries are completely invisible, save at their endpoints, which open into glowing, swirling circular passageways.

Of special note is the difference in travel times through the space-borne Strands and planetside Portals. Planetside Portals have always been known to provide instantaneous travel between two points in the Core; in fact, you can even sort of see the environs on the other side of a Portal if you're standing up close, looking into the swirling light. The space Strands, however, take time to travel through: anywhere from several minutes to several hours, depending on the Strand and where it goes. Nobody is sure as to the reason for this discrepancy: Dimensional Theorists have been tripping over themselves and bitterly debating the topic trying to resolve it ever since the first inter-dimensional spaceflight.

Aryth: The Source

Is Aryth really the Source of all the Web's mana? While this has been popularly accepted as truth, the justification for it on the part of Dimensional Theorists has been somewhat lacking. As a matter of scientific fact, several Theorists have conceded that it's something that is utterly impossible to prove.

It was once posited that the difficulty in reaching Aryth by conventional travel (space strands and land portals) was proof of Aryth as the Source, the theory there being that since all Mana flows out from Aryth, there was no way to use the Strands to travel in. But if that is the case, why do the Strands and Portals connecting other worlds not seem to obey laws of mana flow? All Strands and Portals that have been discovered thus far, after all, are two-way.

Those in support of Aryth as the Source also point to the profusion of magic-capable sentients in Aryth, suggesting that this was as a result of closeness to the Source of all mana flow. Others point out, however, that the Merge Dimension has as high, if not higher, degrees of magic potential among its inhabitants as Aryth, existing even as it does on "the Fringe." There are other dimensions, as well, which exhibit strong magical traits like Aryth and Merge, and yet there are other dimensions where the inhabitants do not exhibit anywhere near as high a talent with the arcane, without any apparent rhyme, reason or pattern.

Finally, there is a location on Aryth itself that is called "Source," which appears to be nothing more than an immense, churning, natural and land-bound fountain of raw, coursing magical energy. This is posited by several high-ranking Tane Cenrum (as well as the majority of Dimensional Theorists) as the physical point in the Web where the strands of Mana touch the universe and then branch out to form the larger Strands that flow out to the other Dimensions. Yet it must be said that no hard evidence exists to support this theory, nor do any experiments on Source itself seem possible outside of the theoretical realm due to Source's potentially volatile nature.

For now, the larger part of the school of Dimensional Theory accepts the hypothesis of Aryth as the Source, despite the ability to prove this scientifically.

The Mana Cycle

A newer expansion of Dimensional Theory attempts to tackle the problems with the "Mana flows out from Source" model of the universe. That being: according to the known and commonly accepted physical laws of the universe, neither matter nor energy can be created or destroyed. Yet, seemingly, to accept the "Source-mana-Strand" hypothesis was once to entirely disregard the need for any concept of conservation of matter and energy: mana, it seems, didn't have to abide either category, and to accept the working philosophical foundations of Dimensional Theory, one had to simply believe that mana could spontaneously "appear" at the Source, flow out through the Strands, and then maybe dissipate out in the wider universe.

It was Narshean theorist August Markess, in 45 WR, who provided a hypothesis that made the whole thing work: namely, that there was a "re-uptake" mechanism, part of a previously unobserved half of a "Mana Cycle," that allowed for mana energy (or its byproduct) to flow back to the Source. Markess theorized that this mechanism was the Sills: large underground portals inaccessible to anyone who doesn't get around by way of burrowing.

Until Markess published his theories, the Sills had been one of the Web's best-kept secrets. Trianglers had claimed for years to have used them to travel across the whole Web (even to the Fringe), but these claims were largely ignored by Dimensional Theory at large. It was not until Markess had given the Sills scholarly attention, and had in fact proposed that they served some purpose that, if true, buttressed one of the weakest points in the modern understanding of Dimensional Theory, that this phenomenon gained a certain amount of recognition and even scientific interest outside the largely-expatriate population of Trianglers.

Since the publication of Markess' hypothesis, deep-mantle penetration and sonar readings have provided a glimpse into the Sills and how they work, but to date nothing has been proven about what purpose the Sills have in the supposed "Mana Cycle." Even so, Markess' work is currently accepted by Dimensional Theory, simply because nobody has come up with a better explanation.

"Living Worlds"

One noteworthy feature common to every Dimension, is that there are no portals or sills that connect with lifeless planets (the "colony worlds," where the Great Powers establish domed artificial environments for their colonists). Very early on in Dimensional Theory, this lead to theorizing that the flow of mana through the strands (and, post-Markess, the Mana Cycle) was part of the Web's respiratory/circulatory mechanism. In this model, mana flows through the Strands, arrives in a Dimension, and touches the "Living Worlds" -- providing them with mana energy that somehow keeps living worlds living.

This borders one of the major controversies within Dimensional Theory, as most theorists are incredibly uncomfortable with putting forward the suggestion that mana is the source of all life (and, by extension, perhaps the cause of all life). Where ever one stands on this issue, the plain fact remains: to date, no portals of any kind have been discovered on the surface (or beneath the surface) of a lifeless, naturally uninhabited planet.

Dimensional Continuum

An obscure and seldom trod quadrant of Dimensional Theory deals with the nature of the larger universe as it lies along the fourth dimension, known popularly within Theory jargon as the Timeline -- or, Timelines, as it were.

In this vein, Dimensional Theory holds that time travel and travel between parallel worlds is possible, through similar applications of mana energy as are employed in travel between the Dimensions and through space. The only difference is that proper gates and portals between different times and universes don't exist naturally -- or do they?

Popular legend in the Gate Dimension seems to suggest that they do. Indeed, mythology surrounding ancient Kings of Guardia contains several fanciful tales of time travel by way of stationary time gates. It had been suggested, following the incorporation of Gate into the larger Web, that these tales were exaggerated references to ancient appearances of portals to the rest of the Web of Worlds, and that the persons involved (if the tales were in any way true) were actually travelling between worlds and not time travelling.

Still, tales from around the same time period in El Nido hint at stationary portals connecting parallel worlds that were completely identical, save for one or two mundane details.

Some Dimensional Theorists take these folkloric references seriously. They support their beliefs through the work of noted Guardian scientist Lucca Ashtear, who in the early 1000's is said to have done extensive field research on time gates, and even invented devices designed to locate and open said gates. (it should be noted that it is these gates from which the Gate Dimension takes its name) A whole popular mythology has been built up in the intervening years around these legends, but adherents strongly believe that there is truth behind the tales, and take her writings and schematics as essential to the underpinnings of this branch of Dimensional Theory.