Gyro-Varse and the Libramenescence Theories

The Gyro-Varse and Libramenescence Theories are groundbreaking concepts that offer a comprehensive understanding of the multiverse and the intricate structures within it. Developed by leading minds in the fields of astronomy, astrophysics, and theoretical cosmology, these theories propose a universe composed of countless interconnected realities, or "Varses," each governed by its own distinct natural laws. The Gyro-Varse Theory presents the universe as a gyroscopic entity, with various rings of reality orbiting a central Prime, while the Libramenescence Theory delves into the deeper layers of existence, exploring the dimensions, planes, and realms that define each Varse. Together, these theories provide a rich framework for understanding the complex interactions and collisions between different realities, as well as the underlying forces that govern them.

Gyro-Varse Theory

The Gyro-Varse Theory, proposed by archaeologist and astronomer Dr. Sam Grant in 1989, presents a unique model of the universe. Rather than envisioning the universe as a collection of separate universes within a greater one, Grant theorized that the universe is a single, all-encompassing entity containing an uncountable number of distinct "Varses." These Varses, or variations, differ from each other in various degrees and are organized in a gyroscope-like structure, which gives the theory its name.

Structure of the Gyro-Varse

• The Prime: At the heart of the universe lies the Prime, a central core that represents the most stable and pure reality. Dr. Grant speculated that the Prime is too perfect to be the reality he knew and believed that his Varse was one of many surrounding the Prime.
• The Rings: Surrounding the Prime are three distinct sets of Rings, each rotating and spinning around it. These rings represent different levels of attachment to the Prime:
  • Inner Rings: The smallest and closest to the Prime, with 60-90% of their body attached. These rings contain Varses with slight differences from the Prime, often manifesting as divergent historical events or minor alterations in reality.
  • Mid Rings: Larger than the Inner Rings, with 30-60% attachment. Varses within these rings have notable differences from the Prime, ranging from major historical events to changes in natural laws.
    • 126; Miles K. Burst, a service driver in a massive city, finds himself and his sister pawns in a shadow game played by paramilitaries.
    • 642; A dystopian apocalyptic world where people develop super-powers. The Meathook and Shiver wonder the wastes of extreme climates, barely surviving encounters with psycho raiders and facing off against the gang leader Psychic Llama.
    • 897; The main universe in which all major stories take place.
  • Outer Rings: The largest and farthest from the Prime, with 0-30% attachment. Varses here are vastly different from the Prime, with few recognizable elements and often entirely different natural laws.

Simplified Explanation

For ease of understanding, Dr. Grant's assistant categorized the Rings into three groups:

• Parallel (Inner Rings): Similar settings with slight differences.
• Alternate (Mid Rings): Notably different settings with significant changes.
• Other (Outer Rings): Drastically different settings with little resemblance to the Prime.

The Bulwark

• The Bulwark: The Bulwark is a conceptual wall that separates Varses and the lower structures within them, such as Dimensions and Planes. It prevents these entities from constantly colliding, maintaining their distinctiveness and allowing them to slide past and through each other. When the Bulwark tears open, it can cause Rings to interact or even collide, leading to various events known as Prangs, Impacts, and Collisions.

Collisions and Their Levels

Different levels of tears in the Bulwark have been categorized, each with varying degrees of danger:

• Prang: Considered extremely dangerous, Prangs occur in two forms:
  • Quays: Similar to Anchors but specific to Gatherverse-level events.
  • Wharfs: Similar to Anchors but specific to multiverse-level events.
• Impact: These events are mildly dangerous and involve more significant interactions:
  • Moors: Similar to Anchors but for Universe-level events.
  • Berths: Similar to Anchors but for Gyro-Varse level events. They can be:
    • Wide Berths: Involving three or more Varses of the same type.
    • Broad Berths: Involving two or more Varses of different types.
• Collision: Considered low-danger events, Collisions occur in three forms:
  • Anchors: Interactions between Dimensions.
  • Grapnels: The mixing of two or more Planes.
  • Barbs: A term used for minor, low-impact Collisions.

Ring Fetters

• Ring Fetters: A rare and particularly significant event, a Ring Fettering occurs when two or more Rings within the Gyro-Varse permanently weld together. This fusion causes Prangs, Impacts, or Collisions to transition from temporary interactions to permanent states, drastically altering the dynamics of the affected Varses.

Libramenescence Theory (Universal Properties Theory)

In 1997, astrophysicist and fantasy writer Dr. Baldur Fleischhacker expanded on Grant's Gyro-Varse Theory with his Universal Properties Theory, later renamed the Libramenescence Theory. This theory delves deeper into the composition of a Varse, introducing the concept of Dimensions, Planes, and Realities.

Structure of a Varse

• Dimensions and Planes: Each Varse contains multiple layers, with Dimensions representing broad divisions within a Varse, and Planes as the finer subdivisions within those Dimensions. These layers hold the various laws and realities that define the Varse.
• Existences and Realms: A Varse is composed of an unknown number of Planes, each containing a multitude of Realms, or Realities. Fleischhacker proposed that a Reality is the collective consciousness of life within it, implying that Reality is created by the will of living entities.

Bulwark and Tears Expansion

• Grapnel: A minor tear in the Bulwark, allowing two or more Planes to mix.
  • Broad Grapnel: When more than two Planes mix.
• Anchor: A tear that causes the mixing of two Dimensions.
  • Broad Anchor: More than two Dimensions mix.
  • High Anchor: Two Dimensions mix along with a Grapnel.
  • High Broad Anchor: More than two Dimensions mix with a Broad Grapnel.
• Berth: A major tear that allows the mixing of two or more Varses.
  • Wide Berth: More than two Varses of the same Ring set mix.
  • Broad Berth: More than two Varses of different Ring sets mix.
  • Broad Wide Berth: Two Varses of the same set and one of another set mix.
• Ring Fettering: A significant event where two or more Rings permanently weld together, causing a normally temporary collision to become permanent.

In-lore book

Gyro-Varse Theory; Archeologist and astronomer Dr.Sam Grant published his theory of the Gyro-Varse in 1989, which theorized that the universe is broken into four distinct parts, something like a machine, and further explained these parts as similar to that of a Gyroscope, giving his theory it’s name. When explaining his theory, he stated that there is no greater or further universe which holds a collection of smaller universes, but instead a singular universe that held an uncountable number of what he’d call Varses, with each differing either slightly or greatly from one another. In the center of the universe, rests a ball, which he dubbed the Prime. It’s considered the heart of the Universe, which holds the most stable reality, which he believed was too pure to be the world he had grown up in, and felt it’d be too egotistical to consider his Varse the center of the universe, instead he believed that his Varse was one of the various rings that surround the Prime. This thought however was argued by many and was ultimately discarded when people wrote about his theory in the years to come, with several people even thinking that he believed the opposite due to the writings of adversaries and cynics.  

Past the Prime was three sets of Rings, ever rotating and spinning around the ball, these were dubbed the Inner, Mid and Outer rings, with each set holding a different level of attachment. The inner rings were so small that sixty to ninety percent of their body would be attached to the ball at all times, while the mid rings were slightly larger, holding an attachment of thirty to sixty percent of their body. The third and final set, the Outer Ringers, were by far the largest and would hold an attachment percentage of zero to thirty percent to the prime. These varying degrees of touch would affect the rings in significant ways, including changing their laws of nature, or in the case of the inner rings, the various divergent histories from the Prime.

For the sake of those less understanding, one of his assistants helped explain the rings as the ‘Parallel, Alternate, and Other’. The Inner Rings would represent the Parallel, containing similar, almost identical settings with slight differences, which could range from divergent historical events to not so notable changes in a single person’s actions. The Mid Rings, representing the Alternate, contain similar but notably different settings, with major differences ranging from major historical events to entire changes in the natural laws of the Varse. Finally, the Other, represented by the Outer Rings, was by far the most different, with nearly nothing recognizable to the Prime, and including mostly different natural laws of the Varse.

Grant would include one of his assistant’s theories of a wall that separated the various Varses, making sure they weren’t constantly colliding and allowing them to slide past and through each other, which he would, an avid fan of boating and the seas, name the Bulwark. He would later include in his theory that there were possible events that could occur, tears in the Bulwark that would allow the Rings to meet and interact. These events would be called Fetterings. Fetterings would be the collision of rings.

Universal Properties or Libramenescence Theory; In 1997, Astrophysicist and fantasy writer, Dr.Baldur Fleischhacker published an extension on Grant’s Gyro-Varse theory, which he titled the Universal Properties theory. This introduced that each Varse holds layers which make up it’s spine, Dimensions and Planes which hold numerous laws and realities. Apart from this, he proposed that a Varse was made up of an unknown amount of planes, which he dubbed existences, and that these planes were only created through the collection of realms, dubbed realities. A realm, or reality, was what he considered to be the collective consciousness of an entity, which he and his team generally agreed to be life, in other words stating that reality is the willed creation of life. This theory, as well as Grant’s Gyro-Varse theory, however didn’t gain any form of public attention until 2006, when it found a revival and cult-following. Fleischhacker scholars would later retitle his ideas the Libramenescense Theory as the term Universal Properties would more appropriately apply to other theories.

The notion of the Bulwark and it’s tears were further expanded upon in the mid 2010s, after an event known as ‘Prin-ess Rosim | BLACK’. It is now an accepted theory that the Bulwark not only separates the Varses, but the different Dimensions and Planes in each Varse as well. Sometimes the Bulwark can tear open, allowing rings to collide; these collisions have multiple names, with each being used to define a different level of tear. The various levels have been described as such: