Cosmologia Generalis

Welcome to the top of the mountain.

You have ~~clicked~~ climbed far, over a difficult path, to reach this point. Only through those trials would you learn enough to ask questions that gave justice to the gauntlet of your journey.

Now, *you have arrived*. Together, let us peel back the veil of the universe and peer at the secrets together.

## **The Greater Cosmology**

The *Cosmologia Generalis* represents the total cosmological understanding and assumptions of the universe, from the astronomical and the physical, to the philosophical and more esoteric interpretations of the nature of existence around us.

Under contemporary play, the precepts of this section will never be a consideration. Under Fantasy, Alt-Fantasy or certain Science Fiction campaigns, how metaphysics might physically manifest could become a question. For those campaigns, this is *Speculations'* default cosmology.

The system has arrived at this fusion by first accepting the physical world as it appears to human perception under normal conditions. This would be the "astronomical" and "physical" forms of cosmology linked just above. Even then, there are mysteries human understanding can't account for, from the general alien conditions of quantum mechanics to reconciling that quantum world with general relativity.

It is in the seams of reality that the philosophical and esoteric cosmologies begin to shine. Here there are questions that have no answer, and answers that elude ways of quantification and testing.

### **Your Mileage May Vary**

While the stock genre campaigns lean on this section as their general behind-the-scene framework, the referee is free to create or recreate any cosmology that is appropriate to their own campaign. If there is a particular religious or philosophical doctrine that would be more appropriate for a given set of players, Refs may modify this paradigm as necessary.

The rest of the audience can take comfort in the fact that somewhere in here, there will be a precept that they will find offensive if not wholly profane. While it is not our intention to alienate players, it is our job to find a playable compromise of mythology and metaphysics.

## **The Cosmic Paradigm**

It's difficult to overstate how much Speculation's cosmology meshes with the known universe. From our current perspective and understanding, though, genre play dips into the unknowables.

We had to postulate and theorize on the large-scale supernatural environments, then make best-guess estimates on how that would affect character-level systems (ARCSYS/PSISYS).

The following categories are currently under consideration and more will be added as campaigns ask operational questions that need deeper background to be answered or rules to be formulated.

The category titles are links to deeper explorations of the topic while the bullets are summaries of in-game implications and effects.

### **Categories**

#### **Astral Condition**

* A plane of existence postulated by classical (particularly neo-Platonic), medieval, oriental and esoteric philosophies and mystic religions. In the Speculation paradigm, this is an achievable state or condition.

#### **Ethereal Condition**

* Aether, an evolution of the classical element, the material that supposedly filled the region of the universe above the terrestrial sphere. In the Speculation Paradigm, this is similar to but distinct from the Astral Condition. The best way to think of it would be a phase change, not unlike how a neutrino has minimal interaction with normal matter.

#### **Soul (spirit)**

* The difficult-to-capture concept of a human soul is addressed in the PSISYS. The soul is technically a quantum-frequency influenced, manifest second-level consciousness (not unlike the "sprite" over a thundercloud). It is tied to the metabolic neurology of an individual but can exist independently under certain circumstances.

#### **Big-G God**

* Omnipotent and omniscient, *maybe*; ineffable, *definitely*. Like the observable universe, the relations with the Big-G God seem to happen all over, but rarely in any fashion outside of a deeply personal experience. While that experience may influence the person to influence the world, that ultimate supernatural hand has never been (hence others being called to do the Lord's Work). Speculation will remain officially agnostic on direct divine intervention, though individual campaigns may vary.

#### **Small-g gods**

* There could be a whole pantheon of gods, and Speculation assumes they could exist, but not necessarily with their mythology intact, especially not their origin mythos. These beings would likely be of exceptional magical or psionic power, probably with access to technology beyond contemporary limits, and possibly with specialized or focused abilities that early mortals would interpret as a "sphere of influence." In the words of one History Channel commentator: *Aliens*.

#### **Angels**

* Closely related to the gods, with the archangels at the small-g god level, angels could or would very likely be the same origin: *Aliens*. This does not necessarily preclude their ability to influence the human access to, perception or state of Heaven.

#### **Heaven**

* A conscious state of peace achieved after death of the mortal body. For Speculation's version, heaven is closely associated with fields generated by terrestrial biomes, and not necessarily a floating cumulonimbus fortress with pearly gates.

#### **Aliens**

* Speculation defaults earth and humanity to the mediocrity principle: the philosophical notion that "if an item is drawn at random from one of several sets or categories, it's likelier to come from the most numerous category than from any one of the less numerous categories". This would suggest that there have been, are, and will be many other intelligent species in the universe.

#### **Psychic Phenomena**

* The world of psychic phenomena, as well as the related psionic phenomena, has an entire character-level set of system mechanics defined by Speculation (PSISYS). At its most esoteric levels, would connect to astral conditions, as well as the human manifestation of soul and the experience of heaven.

#### **Magical Phenomena**

* The world of arcane energies, commonly known as "magic," has an entire character-level set of system mechanics defined by Speculation (ARCSYS). Magic is not inherently connected to the human soul, but given the connection between human neurological wavelengths and the manifestation and control of magic, they can and will influence each other.