Omnimorphs Origins: Prologue

The primordial universe was a realm of chaos. A storm of matter whose laws of governance twisted and changed, rendering stability impossible. It moved, inert and volatile through the exoverse without purpose. Through this realm of oblivion, many strange things travel, and from the darkness, a light emerged. A being of fathomless complexity, known only as the Great Mind, reached out and cradled our universe within the structure of its vast consciousness, bringing order to chaos. An infinite cycle of life and death was created.

It was in this formative period that the earliest beings emerged. As physical law consolidated, matter drew together, the first black holes formed, perforating space and time, becoming a gateway to the Great Mind.

On the razor’s edge of an event horizon, a strange primeval dark matter was split into permanent superposition, part of it fusing with some element of the great consciousness, the other was propelled back into our universe. These were the earliest predecessors of the omnimorphs, who existed simultaneously within the Great Mind and our material universe, shapeless and without thought.

Aimlessly the ethereal black substance floated through the void taking the form of anything it encountered. Intuitively retaining and cataloging all things, becoming a living record of the universe’s development.

As the eons stretched on, solar systems formed and fostered the formation of life. This too was mimicked by the omnimorphs, and as they copied life, they began to take on its qualities. Each new evolutionary form would add to the repertoire of the omnimorphs, developing their intuitive understanding of the world. As the first sentient beings evolved, the omnimorphs mimicked these as well, unintentionally triggering the emergence of their own self-awareness. Questions of purpose and wonder began to fill their being. Connections began to be drawn in their minds through the vast reservoirs of experiences they had collected, and they began to change. Their behavior now deviated from the mimicry they had known for so long.

They moved maskless and bare through our realm. Their minds had been opened by the mimicry of sentient life, and they progressed rapidly, fueled by millennia worth of memories, etched into their very being. They were unhindered by the primal urges that restrained biological life. For the first time they were learning, not merely cataloging, and curiosity motivated their every action. As they experimented with their environment, they began to create, combining new elements from the worlds they found. Wherever sentience emerged among the omnimorphs, strange new cultures developed.

As time went on, many more worlds became populated by omnimorphs, watching other life evolve like an uncanny shadow. In each star system, they discovered, population centers emerged, places of culture, and congregation for the local omnimorphs. They developed towering structures, and intricate cities inspired by the worlds they developed on. But as is the nature of the physical world, these rose and fell. In a large enough timeframe, natural cataclysms are a rule rather than an exception.

Though the omnimorphs do not share a mind, they have a nearly unbreakable connection with one another, one that can be felt even across the vacuum of space. So, long before they had developed the means to bridge these divides, they knew their brethren speckled the universe, each with their own story to tell and knowledge to impart. It was only a matter of time before this gap was closed.

As omnimorph technology progressed, they naturally began to look to the stars. Wondering about their birthplace and recalling their drift through the void, like a strange dream. They wondered what had changed, what new cosmic structures had emerged and, most of all, they longed to reunite with their kin. This leap, however, was not a brief process, even the first of the omnimorph civilizations that set to task took many centuries to develop rudimentary interstellar travel and many more decades traversing star systems.

This first distance closed between omnimorph civilizations triggered exponential technological growth as ideas and inventions were shared. Entirely novel concepts and materials were used to expedite the rate of travel. Each new connection established between omnimorph colonies generated new technological advancements. It was only when interdimensional travel was discovered, when lightyears could be compressed into miles, that the omnimorphs truly became a unified, universal civilization. It was when this milestone was reached, that they decided they needed a home.

Although they could now move effortlessly between worlds, they needed a single point to gather. A place to consolidate their knowledge and creations. A place beyond decay. They searched the multiverse, traversing layers of existence, seeking ones with laws that were conducive to longevity, but to little avail. Although there was variance, deterioration was a constant in the physical world.

Undeterred, the omnimorphs began pursuing something that was entirely theoretical, as amongst them they had sensed a background noise. A constant that seemed to connect to every level of the multiverse they moved through. It seemed to be a generative force, one that each world seemed to flow from, and the omnimorphs suspected it could be accessed. The task, however, seemed impossible, for how do you locate the physical space of a psychological phenomenon? This question played on the minds of many as the years moved on.

The answer, it turns out, was both conceptually obvious and exceedingly difficult to execute. Since their form was hewn from the primordial dark matter of this universe, they shared a connection with its origins, and it appeared their mind was connected to it through this. If the right technology was developed, then perhaps consciousness itself could act as an access point. Without proper amplification, however, the mind could merely sense its existence, nothing more.

The omnimorphs collectively came together, utilizing all of their accumulated knowledge in an attempt to stabilize a material to act as an interface between their consciousness and the physical world. They created Majorana Neutronium. A stabilized compound of neutrons and anti-neutrons, compressed into a crystal-like solid. A clear glassy substance, it appeared innocuous and inert, but when connected with an individual’s mind the material came to life. It seemed to take on the intangible qualities of the mind it was in contact with. It responded by resonating with the same cognitive frequency, morphing its shape and color to match and amplify the user’s consciousness.

From the first piece of Majorana Neutronium, a mask was forged. Crystal clear, it was inlaid with technology designed to facilitate dimensional leaps. Gently the mask was laid in the hands of the first of the sentient omnimorph. Although it was a great honor, it was also a great risk. To travel beyond physical dimensions could mean annihilation, the step from theory to practice was a black box. There was no guarantee this would work. The omnimorph donned the mask and the material began to shift and change. A ring formed over the head and tones of deep purple filled the mask. It was the face of Wisdom manifested. It was the face of an Ancient.

The omnimorph focused deeply on the pervasive and intangible world they all felt and the mask began to glow. Ripples of color vibrated through the space in front of it, and a strange portal opened. Pausing for a moment, uncertain whether brilliance or oblivion awaited, the Ancient of wisdom stepped through.

What lay on the other side was hard to comprehend. It was an infinite expanse of emptiness, like the echoes of nothingness. The mind struggled with it, seeming to take in more than it was meant to, simultaneously seeing the space as both light and dark, both empty and full. This was the place all things emerged from, free of time and decay; it was the wellspring of creation. It was home.

The experiment was a success, the omnimorphs now ventured in without hesitation. This empty realm they discovered had some unique properties. The wellspring seemed to respond to the mind by manifesting the focused thoughts of those within. An entire world could be constructed in this realm, away from damage and degradation, conceptual perfection could be realized. For a creator, this was a dream. Wasting no time, the omnimorphs built a world from those they were familiar with. Endless rolling sand dunes filled the space, the physics shifting and changing to accommodate strange and beautiful formations rising from the sands. A city was built in the blink of an eye. Its strange geometric structures towered into the sky, each one perfectly designed to suit the omnimorphs’ needs. In this new world, perhaps the most unusual occurrence was the strange creatures that began to appear and populate the ecosystem. Even for the omnimorphs, this was unexpected. Were they stray thoughts? A byproduct of this world’s creation? Perhaps something else entirely… maybe they had been here all along beyond the limits of perception. Whatever the case, they seemed drawn to this place. It was a place of wonder, a safe haven for knowledge, for beauty, for creation.

It was called Nul Chronos and was the center of omnimorph culture and civilization. A vast ecosystem fabricated from the collective effort and focus, It was the place from which the omnimorphs could help to guide the other sentient beings towards a higher purpose and being. It was in this sanctuary that the ancients first detected an ominous perturbance in the natural order…