Basics of Boundary Theory

 

Takato wrote a wonderful piece on the conceptual principles of Boundaries for the XANADU database. This wonderful piece is about 120 pages long, which is a little beyond the scope of this website. We shall rely on excerpts of that document to craft a diluted, friendly introduction to Boundaries in the GOSPEL setting.

 

 

What is a Boundary?

 

“Expanding on the dictionary definition, a Boundary is a construct which acts as a limit or separation between two concepts, usually but not necessarily antagonistic.

 

There are three keywords in that definition. ‘Separation’ is pretty much straightforward. The boundary as a ‘construct’ implies that it is not necessarily a physical phenomenon. While most defensive boundaries are completely defined within the realm of perception, not all boundaries have to be obvious. This is because of the final keyword: ‘Concept’. Not all concepts have physical manifestations in reality, therefore it makes sense to conclude that not all boundaries are perceptible by human, or even Supernal, awareness.”

 

A boundary is the border between two concepts. Any two opposite concepts (and most related concepts) are separated by a boundary. It could be said, then, that the separation of the concepts is also the separation between their definitions. A boundary defines where a concept ends and the other begins.

 

All this sounds very straightforward, but it has important implications which will be now discussed.

 

 

What are the properties of a Boundary?

 

According to Takato’s Theory of Boundaries, they have three fundamental properties.

 

a.      Persistence: the boundary will exist for as long as BOTH the concepts it demarcates exist. Should one of the concepts made distinct by the boundary disappear from Reality, the boundary would also go with it, allowing the remaining concept to pour over all that exists.

b.      Oscillation: boundaries are not fixed. That is, the demarcation between concepts is not rigid. It changes constantly, according to emotions, physical behavior and history itself.  Boundaries fluctuate endlessly from one concept to the other. This is because concepts are dynamic entities, and the boundary also changes accordingly. It is this property that allows the effects produced by Takato’s Manipulation of Boundaries.

c.       Dimensionality: Just like you only need a point-gap to split a line into two, a line to split a plane and a plane to split a volume, the dimension of a boundary is always one lower than the dimension of the concepts it separates. This means, of course, that uni-dimensional concepts such as “Time” have non-dimensional boundaries. Such boundaries are called pseudo-boundaries, since they collide with the Principle of Invariability of Time.

 

 

How are new Boundaries created?

 

“Creating a boundary is surprisingly easy. Humans do it all the time, when they build their cities and residences. Streets exist not only for transportation, but act as the boundary for the areas where construction is allowed. Walls separate the different rooms of a house, allowing the creation of personal spaces for the different inhabitants. Like everything else that happens in this Reality, whenever humans set up a physical boundary, its creation is established by means of a sequence of Reality Code in the Thread of Destiny.”

 

The establishment of a boundary in the Thread of Destiny database uses the following syntax:

 

SET SESMA en (Realm) << (Server), MOV 0xx,

            {(Conceptual code)},

            {(Oscillatory code)},

            {(Dimensionality code)},

EXEC;

 

·         Realm is obviously the Realm in which the boundary is created. Boundaries exist in place other than the Lower Realms, of course.

·         Server is the ID of the server via which the boundary is established. Physical boundaries are established via the Omnidirectional Matrix. Boundaries built in Paradise and Inferno are established via the Orrery of Eternity. Non-physical boundaries created with Innate Format Algorithms are established directly by the Thread of Destiny. Boundaries set up by Seder Hishtalshelus are special and should be discussed separately, at the proper time.

·         Therefore, the first line can be read as: Set a boundary in (Realm), via (Server), and store it in the first available address, with the following parameters.

·         Conceptual code defines what the boundary separates. It usually consists of calls to the respective addresses where the separated entities are stored.

·         Oscillatory code defines the initial oscillation function of the boundary. In the case of physical boundaries, it refers to the statistical function to describe the oscillation of the atoms in the boundary, as well as the flow of mechanical waves through the boundary.

·         Dimensionality code defines the “size” of the boundary. While this is obvious when we think of physical boundaries, it is also important to keep it in mind for more esoteric boundaries.

 

All boundaries, from walls raised by construction workers to Takato’s powerful defensive barriers, are set up in the same way.

 

 

What is a Bounded Field?

 

“A bounded field is the multi-dimensional space in which the effects of an artificial boundary take precedence over the natural workings of Reality. We shall define ‘artificial boundary’ as a boundary which has been inputted into the Thread of Destiny and accepted even if it blatantly breaks the natural workings of Reality, under a condition of short-term temporality. Therefore, the terms ‘artificial boundary’ and ‘temporary boundary’ can be deemed to be equivalent.”

 

We can understand this a little bit better with an example. In the Battle of Armageddon, when the forces of Hell attempted to surprise the Army of Heaven by initiating the attack in the dead of night, when they are stronger, Takato used the Boundary of Day and Night to bring daylight into the battlefield and remove the enemy army’s advantage.

 

This was a blatant violation of the rules of Reality, of course. It was tolerated because it was restricted to the four-dimensional space of the battlefield (the Bounded Field, in this example), instead of, let’s say, the whole Digital World, and because it was assumed the unnatural switch would not last long (not even Takato can keep such a technique up forever).

 

Bounded Fields are defined in the Dimensionality parameters of the Boundary they are enclosed by.

 

 

What exactly, then, are the barriers Takato creates to defend himself?

 

They are not barriers or shields in the strict sense of the word; they are boundaries. When Takato is targeted by an offensive technique, he creates a boundary between his self and the incoming attack to prevent it from reaching his body. Basically, Takato’s barriers don’t just “block”, they “reject”.

 

Because of the oscillatory property of boundaries, however, part of the incoming attack will always leak through the defense. Takato can minimize this amount by dropping the boundary’s oscillatory frequency as much as possible, so that the leaking can be neutralized by his natural endurance and his extremely high Reality Reversal score. Takato uses these defensive techniques instead of the standard, non-leaking “energy barrier” types simply because Takato likes boundaries, finds them more versatile, and far less power-consuming.

 

 

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