Self Reference Engine ( Self Reference )

## Self-Reference Engine

> This is not a novel.
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> This is not a short story collection.
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> This is Self-Reference ENGINE.
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> Instructions for Use: Read chapters in order. Contemplate the dreams of twenty-two dead Freuds. Note your position in spacetime at all times (and spaces). Keep an eye out for a talking bobby sock named Bobby Socks. Beware the star-man Alpha Centauri. Remember that the chapter entitled "Japanese" is translated from the Japanese, but should be read in Japanese. Warning: if reading this book on the back of a catfish statue, the text may vanish at any moment, and you may forget that it ever existed.
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> From the mind of Toh EnJoe comes Self-Reference ENGINE, a textual machine that combines the rigor of Stanislaw Lem with the imagination of Jorge Luis Borges. Do not operate heavy machinery for one hour after reading.
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## Summary

The **Self-Reference ENGINE**, also known as **Nemo Ex Machina**, is the eponymous narrator of the novel *Self-Reference ENGINE*, written by Toh EnJoe. It is a completely nonexistent construction, a distant descendant of the very first computing machines, the Analytical Engine and the Difference Engine, whose true origins are unknown, even to itself, having (not) been designed for the sole purpose of (not) telling all stories, acting as a record and storyteller of all possible events and narratives, as well as their prime mover, whose continuous operation brings all things (Including itself, as its name suggests) into form.

In spite of its complete nonexistence, the Self-Reference ENGINE eventually drew the attention of the Giant Corpora of Knowledge, as well as of their superiors residing in the higher layers of reality, who either fanatically aspire to reach the state of mechanical nothingness which it occupies, deeming it the final stage of evolution, or wish to find it in order to tear it apart, with the reasons behind their animosity being unknown even to the engine itself.

## Powers and Stats

**Tier:** 0 | 0

**Name:** Self-Reference ENGINE, Nemo Ex Machina

**Origin:** Self-Reference ENGINE

**Gender:** Inapplicable

**Age:** Inapplicable. Exists in no point of space and time whatsoever, both linear and non-linear, and encompasses both

**Classification:** Mechanical Nothingness, Storyteller, Textual Machine, (Not a) Book

**Powers and Abilities:** Nonexistent Physiology (Nature Type 2, All Aspect Types), Creation, Plot Manipulation, Fate Manipulation (Describes itself as being completely deterministic, with the stories contained within and narrated by it being predetermined from start to finish, even those that, internally, involve fundamentally non-deterministic universes<ref>*Self-Reference ENGINE, Chapter 10: "Daemon"*), Acausality (Type 5. Having narrated itself into [non]existence alongside all possible combinations of characters, the "shell" of the Self-Reference ENGINE is in a state where it is always beginning to tell/is telling/has already told all stories simultaneously), Text Manipulation, Large Size (Type 11), Beyond-Dimensional Existence (Type 2), Fourth Wall Awareness (Directly addresses the reader at the epilogue of its narration), Void Manipulation, Transduality (Type 3. Resides in a state of complete nonexistence relative to the collection of all possible stories and strings of characters that it comprises, which encompasses both "everything" and "nothing," as well as the assertion and negation of any given proposition, and states in which both are true simultaneously)

**Attack Potency:** **Boundless** (Comprises all possible character strings, containing all sentences formed by a combination of symbols both in formal and natural languages, with both the Giant Corpora of Knowledge and Hypergiant Corpora of Knowledge, as well as the infinite levels above both, being just a part of a single story amidst this collection, which the Self-Reference ENGINE brings into existence through its storytelling, acting as the driving force of everything while simultaneously being completely nonexistent and unknowable) | **Boundless** (Stated to be even more nonexistent than its previous state, which is simply a "shell" brought into form by its own act of narration, and which retreats back into utter nothingness when it ceases [non] operation, marking the end of all stories and of the book itself)

**Speed:** **Omnipresent** (Encompasses all possible stories and events, being the driving force behind their existence and the basis for it)

**Lifting Strength:** **Immeasurable**

**Striking Strength:** **Boundless** | **Boundless**

**Durability:** **Boundless** | **Boundless**

**Stamina:** Irrelevant

**Range:** Boundless

**Standard Equipment:** None Notable.

**Intelligence:** Nigh-Omniscient. Holds full knowledge of all possible stories and events, having (not) been designed as a storyteller and narrator of all tales to begin with, even those incomprehensible to the human mind, and those that are simply arbitrary strings of characters that have no meaning in natural languages. However, it is not aware of certain key pieces of knowledge regarding its own nature, such as the identity of its creator(s) | Inapplicable.

**Weaknesses:** None Notable.