Janus Coordinates

Navigation between realities requires a comprehensive understanding of the 11-dimensional structure of the Bulk. All trans-dimensional travel through the Hermod Gate system is calculated using Janus Coordinates, a system developed by the Janus Project that maps the 10 spatial and causal dimensions relative to an origin point. Time (the 11th dimension) is the universal constant that drives all change and is not a navigable coordinate. All coordinates must be relative to a location, traditionally this is the location of the origin of motion or starting point. Any point in the multiverse can only be described relative to an agreed upon point of reference.

The dimensional hierarchy is grouped by the nature of travel they permit. Travel within Dimensions 1-5 occurs within a single Subspace Manifold—a universe with a consistent set of physical laws, defined by a specific Calabi-Yau model. Travel within Dimensions 6-10 involves navigating between different Subspace Manifolds entirely.

The Dimensional Hierarchy

Dimensional Level	Group	Name/Nature of Freedom	Function
D1 - D3	Material Plane	Standard Movement	Freedom in the 3 familiar spatial dimensions.
D4 - D5	Temporal Causality	Intra-Manifold Navigation	Travel between different causal streams (Events and Branches) within the same set of physical laws.
D6 - D10	Physical Law Causality	Inter-Manifold Navigation	Travel between different universes (Subspace Manifolds) with fundamentally different physical laws.
Dimension 11	The Foundation	Time	The universal constant that drives all change; not a navigable dimension.

The Coordinate System

The full address for any point in the multiverse is expressed as an ordered decuple, grouped into three distinct sets. The standard notation is:

{ μ, γ, α, σ, ω | β, ε | r, θ, φ }

These three groups represent a top-down hierarchy, moving from selecting a universe with different physical laws down to a specific physical location.

Inter-Manifold Coordinates (D6-D10)

This ordered quintuple targets a specific Subspace Manifold within the broader landscape of the Bulk. Travel using these coordinates means choosing a universe with a different fundamental rulebook.

• D10: μ (Mu) - Model Causality. Specifies the universe's fundamental architecture (its Calabi-Yau manifold).
• D9: γ (Gamma) - Gravitational Causality. Specifies the properties of spacetime geometry.
• D8: α (Alpha) - Electromagnetic Causality. Specifies the properties of electromagnetism and chemistry.
• D7: σ (Sigma) - Strong Causality. Specifies the properties of the Strong Nuclear Force.
• D6: ω (Omega) - Weak Causality. Specifies the properties of the Weak Nuclear Force.

Intra-Manifold Coordinates (D4-D5)

This ordered pair navigates the branching history within a single Subspace Manifold.

• D5: β (Beta) - Branch Causality. This value targets a major, divergent historical timeline that branched in the distant past.
• D4: ε (Epsilon) - Event Causality. This value targets the outcome of a specific, recent quantum event, allowing travel between infinitesimally different adjacent timelines.

Material Plane Coordinates (D1-D3)

This is the familiar ordered triple that specifies a physical location in 3D space, relative to the origin point.

• r (Radius): The radial distance.
• θ (Theta): The polar or inclination angle.
• φ (Phi): The azimuthal angle.

Modes of Travel

The complexity of a jump is determined by how many coordinate layers must be targeted.

Material Travel

For travel within one's own immediate timeline and universe, only the Material Plane coordinates are necessary. The address is written simply as: { r, θ, φ }

Intra-Manifold Travel

To travel to an alternate history within one's own universe (i.e., within the same Subspace Manifold), the Temporal Causality coordinates must be engaged. The address is written as an ordered quintuple: { β, ε | r, θ, φ }

Inter-Manifold Travel

Travel to a different universe with different physical laws requires targeting the full coordinate decuple. This is the most complex form of travel, as it involves shifting from one Subspace Manifold to another. A separate Temporal Factor (τ) must also be calculated to synchronize the local rate of time flow. The full address is always required: { μ, γ, α, σ, ω | β, ε | r, θ, φ }

Practical Application: The Perceptual Experience

The experience of trans-dimensional travel for a D3 individual is dictated by a fundamental biological limit: the brain can only process and construct a reality of three spatial dimensions at any given time. Movement along the higher dimensions (D4-D10) is not perceived as a clear, geometric shift, but is instead filtered through the brain's limited 3D lens, resulting in unique and often unpredictable sensory phenomena.

The Nature of a Temporal Branch

The multiverse does not create new timelines in response to a traveler's actions. Rather, all possible temporal outcomes for a given set of conditions already exist as distinct, parallel causal streams. These branches are arrayed along the D4 (Event) and D5 (Branch) dimensional hyperplanes. When a traveler acts to change the past, they are not rewriting history; they are shunting their own point of reference from their original branch to a pre-existing one that corresponds to the consequences of their actions.

Experiencing the Shift

As an individual's coordinates change along the D4-D10 axes, their brain struggles to interpret the influx of information from a reality it cannot geometrically comprehend. The mind attempts to translate this impossible data into familiar 3D sensory input, with the following effects:

• Intra-Manifold (D4/D5) Travel: Shifting between timelines with the same physical laws is the most stable form of higher-dimensional travel. The experience is often described as a disorienting "flicker" of reality, accompanied by intense déjà vu, vertigo, or a sudden flood of memories from the new timeline integrating with the traveler's own.
• Inter-Manifold (D6-D10) Travel: Moving between universes with different physical laws is far more violent and unpredictable. Because the fundamental constants are different, the brain's interpretation can be wildly chaotic. Travelers report experiencing intense synesthesia, vivid geometric hallucinations, auditory distortions, or the sensation of their own physical form dissolving and reforming. The experience is unique to each individual and each specific jump, as the brain creates a subjective sensory "story" to explain the incomprehensible shift in the underlying laws of reality.

The Law of Instantaneous Translation

The single greatest danger of traveling between Subspace Manifolds is the Law of Instantaneous Translation: any matter or energy that enters a new manifold is instantly and completely subject to its new set of physical laws. There is no grace period, no gradual acclimation. The rulebook of the destination reality is absolute upon arrival.

This presents a profound existential risk. The specific configuration of matter and energy that constitutes a traveler—their atoms, their chemical bonds, their quantum state—is a product of their origin manifold. If that configuration is fundamentally unstable under the new laws, the consequences are immediate.

There are two possible outcomes for a traveler arriving in an incompatible reality:

1. Forced State Transition: If a stable configuration for the traveler's constituent matter exists in the new manifold, their body and equipment may be forced into a violent and instantaneous transition to that new state. This could be survivable but traumatic, akin to being instantly transmuted from carbon to silicon or having one's entire molecular structure reconfigured.
2. Quantum Dissolution: If no stable configuration is possible—for example, in a reality where the Strong Force is too weak to permit atomic nuclei—the traveler simply ceases to exist. The laws of the new reality do not support their configuration, and their matter and energy will fall apart at a quantum level, dissolving into a chaotic spray of unbound fundamental particles.

Successful Inter-Manifold travel therefore requires not only the energy to make the jump, but also incredibly precise calculations to ensure the destination manifold is one in which the traveler can, at a minimum, continue to exist.