Paradox rift

A test render of a paradox rift

Paradox rifts are manifestations of ora existing across the expanse, including in the multiverse. Paradox rifts are far more common within the axial barrier than in a complete reality, though due to the lack of protection from a conscious barolith, they can't be prevented.

## Physics

Paradox rifts appear through a method akin to tachyon condensation in quantum field theory. As reality is contained entirely within one marachol web, where processes occurring in the web drive reality - objective, baseline reality can be modelled as an underlying field which is lensed to produce all other fields. In essence, all other quantum fields arise as a direct result of this one unified field. At extremely high temperatures, however, these fields begin to undergo changes and will gradually merge back into acting as the baseline "ora field".

Ordinarily, an excitation in one field won't interfere with others, however a direct excitation of the ora field will result in all local fields rapidly merging into the baseline. This is impossible to achieve, however, without either influence from unreality directly, or through using techniques alien to modern physics. This field arises stably due to the axial barrier, without which it would randomly excite and de-excite through conceptual collisions. In other words, interference with the axial barrier causes interference with the baseline. As a result, this baseline field is often referred to as the "axial" field, alongside the ora field (the latter arising from the excitation particle manifested being known as ora).

Similar to the higgs field, the axial field has an imaginary mass, and thus any excitation would undergo tachyon condensation to avoid the creation of a tachyonic particle that violates causality. As all local quantum fields collapse in on themselves to become the base axial field, the condensate formed features exclusively ora particles - unstable particles exhibiting highly changeable properties arising from the fusion of all quantum fields. These particles only require a minor tip in a specific direction in order to cause them to behave in a specific way, though due to attempting to exhibit many different properties in flux, they tend to act fully neutrally in all regards. Some properties of the ora particle are known however, as they consistently override the "stored" properties, which appear to be somehow weaker in our multiverse, though they should act equally. These are as follows:

Ora particle properties
 Charge
 Spin

These values appear as the only "constants" that the particle possesses, as all other traits seem to be in perpetual flux. These values, however, are not the only states that these particles can embody. For example, exposure to a particle with a charge of 1/2 will over time bend the charge value to match. This is as a result of the Anlos decay principle, formulated by the Palusian Io Anlos, which states that ora particles will gradually decay as the excitations in the quantum fields dissipate into the surrounding area, becoming nothing more than a thermodynamic disturbance, however that nearby particles acting as their own excitations allow for the ora particle's own excitation to sustain itself slightly longer within the new field. For example, being near an electron will result in the Dirac component of the axial field decaying slower, causing the ora particle to mimic the properties of the electron.

Excitations in the axial field occur when a concept, alien to the expanse, attempts to merge with the marachol web.