Comprehensive Guide to the Origin Question in the Warhammer and
Warhammer 40K Universe
[Introduction] [Part 1 - Chaos] [Part 2 - The Old World] [Part 3 - Sigmar] [Part 4 - The Tyranid]
The Origin of Chaos
A recorded lecture by Dr. Aaron Tribblestrom of the Martian Research Institute
Emperor's Eyes Only
The following recording is kept in the deepest vaults of Terra - don't even ask how I managed to get a copy, I won't tell you. It is the last known copy in existence. Three other copies are known to have surfaced over the last 5,000 years. All have been destroyed, and every person who may have come into contact with them has been killed. In the last millenium, only 1 death may be attributed to this report, but that was the death of the Head of the Inquisition, whose reasons for viewing the recording are unknown, but who ordered his own execution within minutes of completing it.
In short, if you insist on reading further, don't tell anyone.
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Transcript of 'The Origin of Chaos and Warp Space' by Dr. Aaron Tribblestrom 23-3-24,267
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Good afternoon. I would like to go over some very interesting research I have been conducting over the last several years. Sadly, the hour allotted for this talk is not enough to do more than touch the surface of that work. So, in what I'm sure is a major disappointment to a few of you, and a great relief to the rest, I will forego the mathematics of the spacetime renormalization theories we have developed in the course of this work. For those who are interested I, can provide a list of references. Some of the work I will present near the end of the lecture veers into history and sociology, and has been accomplished with the help of Dr. Marsha Sills of the Xenosociology department at Mons Olympus University.
Well, in any story, deciding where to begin is always the hard part. Given the nature of the subject, the old adage, "Begin at the beginning," seems oddly appropriate.
Let there be light
The universe began as a quantum vibration against a background of nothingness. Yes, yes, I do mean that - "From nothing, something." A point singularity, a fluctuation in energy uncertainty, that's all that was required, and a universe started. The seminal work of Baskin & Ribbershem remains the best available work for describing the mathematics of a point origin for the universe. The only problem with it, of course, is that it's all wrong.
A point origin of the Baskin & Ribbershem type must expand isotropically about its beginning. It should be clear to anyone that this would result in an even spread of matter and energy that could never result in agglomerations such as planets and galaxies. The fact that we have such things indicates very clearly that there is a flaw in the BR theorem. Their answer, that the isotropic expansion was marred by quantum distortions, is unsatisfying in many regards. However, working within the Heisenberg limits for uncertainty in an istoropic expansion reveals very clearly that it is insufficient for the observed results. We would need a factor of at least 10^6 times longer for the universe to have become as anisotropic as we observe.
No, our answer does not lie at the origin. Instead, let's move forward from the origin by 10^-20 seconds. At this point, our universe, expanding at the speed of light, is roughly the same size as an atomic nucleus. The flat spacetime metric that had characterized the void has been bent by the introduction of mass. Now this is the important part - there is a sharp gradient in the metric where the expanding wavefront meets the pre-existing flat metric. This creates a massive instability that results in 'fragmenting' space. Space itself actually BREAKS before the encroaching universe.
This has 2 important effects, and explains a previously unanswered question.
1. Fragmenting space redirects the advancing metric, creating large anisotropies. These are more than sufficient to explain the formation of planet, galaxies, and even galactic clusters within the known time frame.
2. The fragmented spaces folded in upon themselves, creating what I will call 'folded space,' to distinguish from our own universe of 'flat space.' These folded spaces, for they are not continuous, come in 2 broad varieties, either timelike or spacelike. The properties of these spaces are endlessly fascinating, but I will leave that for future talks. One property that is vital to note, however, is that timelike metrics are more energetic by a factor of 10^3-10^6 than their corresponding spacelike metrics.
Finally, this also answers the question of why we no longer observe universes in the act of creation. For all that I refer to our universe as flat space, it is clearly no longer flat. Mass causes space to curve, and so point singularities can no longer generate the necessary gradient to fragment space. Instead, they cause space to curve back in on itself, effectively isolating themselves from our universe 10^-20 seconds after they come into creation. What their fate may be after that I cannot even speculate.
Now let us move forward again, to a point 10^-8 seconds after the universe was born. The universe has now cooled to the point that we can distinguish between matter and energy. Virtually no matter exists at this point, of course, the universe is still too hot for that, but it is now potentially possible for matter to exist.
But another important event happens at this point. The fragments of folded space begin to cease coexisting with flat space. There is still a very broad overlap, of course, but their eventual fate is now certain. They will become increasingly disconnected with flat space, until there is eventually no overlap at all. At that point - which has not happened yet - they will cease to be relevant, as there will be no way to pass from one space to the other.
For those who haven't yet figured it out, the spacelike metrics are today known as warp gates. Some gates exist naturally, where the metric intersects flat space. Constructed gates are formed by bending space to force an entrance into those metrics. Spacelike metrics naturally permit passage in zero time. And, for any one who is wondering, timelike metrics no longer intersect with flat space, but they remain vitally important, and I will explain why later in this lecture.
The birth of death
Now we make a large jump in time, all the way to 10^10 seconds, or about 300 years. Many interesting things happened in the intervening time, but they are not really relevant to the questions at hand. This is. Life started.
This was much earlier than any previous work has ever placed the beginning of life, by about 2-3 billion years. The universe was still several million degrees kelvin, much too hot for matter to condense easily. The life that formed was predominantly energy - probably light, but I won't commit on that count. We would not recognize such things today, but they could reproduce themselves, and were driven by evolutionary pressures. I don't think there is really any label we can put on them other than life.
Let's jump ahead again, this time to about 1 million years after the universe was created. Things are still hot, at a few hundred thousand kelvins, but cooling. Matter is beginning to become a significant factor. Our life forms have evolved over the years, and we now have intelligent life. It is unclear whether or not we can divide these forms into different species, so I will refer to all intelligent energy beings as E-forms. And for those who are paying attention, you may note that this species evolved intelligence in much less time than it takes today. That may be a result of the greater presence of radiation, or it may be an inherent advantage of the species. I don't know which, nor, again, is it a matter of great importance.
What is important is that, to our great disadvantage, these creatures were not stupid. They were able to measure that the universe was cooling, and that matter would dominate energy. They would perish before that happened, as the universe would be too cold for them to exist. They could see, as easily as we can prove it today, that they would die out by the time the universe was only 100 million years old, and they could not prevent this from happening.
But there was another option, and they took it. They would be able to continue existing in folded space beyond when they could in flat space. The timelike metrics, being more energetic, would be more comfortable, and they could exist in them for a longer period of time.
Even more, while they could not stop the universe from expanding and cooling, they could arrange for the process to reverse. They could bend space, both in flat space and the spacelike metrics, in order to create additional mass, or pseudo-mass in some cases, that would eventually recompress the universe. This recompression would generate heat, destroying matter and allowing energy to again be dominant. They needed this to happen before even the timelike metrics became too cold for them.
Building mass was easy enough. They had plenty of timelike metrics to use, so they could effectively travel in time to do this, making any linear description of the process impossible. The existence of stable black holes, wormholes, and pulsars today is a tribute to their work. There are also entire worlds, solar systems, and even greater masses in elements of flat space that are 'blocked' by spacelike metrics, and thus inaccessible except by passing through such a metric. It is unlikely that they were originally planned as worlds, they were likely pseudo-masses of bare Higgs' Bosons that have undergone their own agglomerations over time. Our theories indicate that such large accumulations of pseudo-mass may cause changes in underlying physical laws. This may be a mere side effect of the E-forms' plans, or it may be an integral part of it. Unlike many other such unanswered questions, this one is important.
But there is one more important part of their plan. They would not be able to exist in flat space for much of the time their plan needed. But they also knew other intelligent races, of matter, would come to exist. They had to prevent those future races from undoing their plan. They invented warp space to accomplish this.
Warp space is a metric-skein stretched between anchored spacelike metrics, and that resonates along energy bands particularly tuned to neutrons - i.e. matter. This would create, in warp space, reflections of thinking creatures' thoughts. The E-forms, while unable to exist in flat space, would be able to travel into warp space, at least for short times, and could destroy those reflections that would not accomplish their goals. This has given rise to what we now know as the Chaos Gods.
State of the Galaxy
I have introduced many new ideas in this lecture, and it is worth considering where things stand today.
1. No timelike metrics intersect flat space or warp space. Timelike metrics still intersect with spacelike metrics.
2. The universe is too cold for E-forms to exist in flat space at all. They can still only travel into spacelike metrics and warp space with considerable protection, and even then must limit their time in those environments.
3. In 1-1.5 billion years, there will be no more intersections between timelike and spacelike metrics. The E-forms will no longer be able to effect flat space in any way, shape, or form. It is likely that they will dissolve warp space before that happens, although it is possible they have other plans for that time.
4. In 4-5 billion years, the last of the timelike metrics will dissipate. With nowhere else to live, the E-forms will be extinct. If their plan has not succeeded in beginning universal recondensation by that time, they will be gone forever. That is, in effect, their time limit.
It is certainly worth considering the state of their plan also. I am, however, running low on time. Before I take questions, I'd like to add that we can see evidence of 2 major races that have battled the E-forms plans in the past.
The Slann appear to have done considerable work in spatial engineering with an eye to undoing the work of the E-forms. They seem to have had a degree of success in this endeavor, and had gone a long way towards pacifying the effects of warp space.
The Eldar, as best we can tell, saw themselves as inheritors of the Slann in the battle against the E-forms. They, however, lost. They have given new life to the Chaos Gods, and recreated turmoil in warp space at the same time. We should learn where they went wrong before attempting to take our own place in this battle.
Written by: Drew Garrett