Core Definitions
A reference index of critical terms used throughout IRDF operations, realmspace history, threat assessments, and metaphysical theory.
A reference index of critical terms used throughout IRDF operations, realmspace history, threat assessments, and metaphysical theory.
Realmspace refers to the total interconnected medium in which all realms and localities exist. It is not a place, nor is it merely a collection of universes—it is the framework through which causality, dimensionality, and locality are expressed, distorted, and sometimes transcended.
Realmspace contains only realms and localities. A realm may encompass a single universe or an entire multiverse, but always operates as a cohesive, bounded system with its own internal laws. Localities describe the relational positioning of these realms within realmspace, defined not just by spatial proximity but also by causal resonance, temporal compatibility, perceptual alignment, and energy phase similarity. Attributes such as recursion, stasis, conceptual sealing, or looped causality are considered properties of individual realms or localities—not separate structures in themselves.
From the perspective of most realmspace-unaware species, their entire existence appears self-contained. From the IRDF’s perspective, realmspace behaves like a causally complex fluid lattice, with folds, eddies, fractures, and entanglements. Travel across realmspace is limited by dimensional compatibility, rift entropy, and awareness thresholds.
A realm is any bounded experiential environment with its own internal physical laws, causal structure, and localized identity. A realm may consist of a single universe, a multiverse, or even a non-physical space defined by logic, narrative, symbolic resonance, or recursive feedback. If it can generate or sustain perception, it can be classified as a realm.
Realms vary wildly in scale—from isolated near-void microcosms to complex megastructures spanning tens of trillions of universes. Some are fully deterministic. Others operate under probabilistic, mythic, or unknown principles. What unites them is their relative continuity and the perception of self-contained existence by those within.
Membership in the InterRealm Polity (IRP) is restricted to realms that have achieved realmspace awareness. However, the IRDF may observe or protect realms regardless of awareness level if they are under threat.
A universe is a coherent spatiotemporal construct within a realm. In some cases, a single universe constitutes the entirety of a realm. In others, it is one of many arranged within a multiversal lattice. Universes typically share a uniform direction of time, consistent physical laws, and locally observable boundaries—whether finite or infinite.
Entities within a universe are usually unaware of realmspace unless aided by higher-dimensional observation, recursive AI modeling, or contact via rift or breach.
A multiverse is a structured collection of universes, either layered (stacked along dimensional gradients) or networked (non-linearly linked via rift constructs or natural tunneling). Multiverses may be deterministic, probabilistic, recursive, or hybrid in structure.
Multiverse realms are typically more difficult to breach or collapse than single-universe realms, though when they destabilize, the results are often far more catastrophic.
A locality is a positionally relative coordinate within realmspace, determined not only by dimensional coordinates but also by causal, perceptual, and ontological gradients. Two realms may be close in distance but unreachable due to phase divergence, memory incompatibility, or incomplete awareness anchoring.
Localities are often defined operationally for purposes of IRDF deployment and are not strictly spatial.
Realmspace Localities are defined clusters of realms or bounded systems used for strategic monitoring, classification, and threat response. A locality may house billions of independent realms or a single anomalous one.
The IRDF uses Locality status to determine deployment levels, energy shielding requirements, and threat quarantine zoning. Localities may shift relative to each other over long spans, especially after mass rift activity.
In realmspace, “distance” is not purely geometric. It is also cognitive, ethical, and temporal. A realm where time flows backward may be closer in origin-layered structure than one where communication or memory types are incompatible.
Operationally, the IRDF defines actionable distance using five factors: temporal rate compatibility, dimensional overlap, structural memory indexing, energy phase relatability, and hostility attenuation drift.
XDXT refers to a realm’s dimensional and temporal configuration: X = spatial dimensions, D = dominant dimensional vector, X = interdimensional drift, T = time behavior. This shorthand allows IRDF classifiers to categorize realm compatibility for defense, navigation, or observation.
Example: A realm classified as 3S2FT may have 3 spatial dimensions, a stable anchor vector (S), 2-field field drift, and forward linear time (FT). Realms with exotic or indeterminate values often require simulation buffering before interaction.
The IRDF is a supra-realm, dimension-spanning force founded to identify, repel, contain, and, when possible, eliminate realmspace threats. It predates the InterRealm Polity and operates on a scale far beyond the jurisdiction of most political entities—encompassing quadrillions of Uy, with field activity in billions of active and dormant realms.
While the IRDF honors the sovereignty of IRP-aligned realms, it will intervene in any realm if the threat exceeds local containment capacity or risks spreading to unaware realms. It is operated and advised by a council of superintelligences (SIs), with field deployments handled by both embodied and abstract agents.
The IRP is a voluntary cooperative of realmspace-aware civilizations that have chosen to allow their citizens access to interrealm voting systems, transit infrastructure, and contact networks. Realms may join the IRP through whatever political structure governs them—democratically, autocratically, or otherwise. Once joined, citizens gain the right to vote to dissolve their local government and be ruled directly by the superintelligences that maintain the IRP.
Despite being governed by entities many orders of magnitude beyond comprehension, the IRP respects local cultural diversity. Realms within its inner protected region have not suffered a single external breach in millions of Uy. Starvation, deprivation, and coerced suffering are absent—unless willingly chosen for purpose or experience.
Stations are realmspace-anchored or phase-shifted operational platforms used by the IRDF for defense, surveillance, quarantine, and training. Some are orbitally phased, some embedded in fixed strata, and others float across dimensional drift. A station may remain inactive for quadrillions of years before reactivating.
Training stations—such as the one featured in Space Tower Defense—are often located near dormant rifts. They are deliberately under-equipped to simulate low-supply scenarios. In cases of true emergency, they can be repurposed into active defense posts within seconds.
All threats encountered by the IRDF are rated using a graded system from Z to S, with increasing severity and dimensional impact:
Threat class is determined by origin complexity, propagation mechanics, containment resistance, and structural memory impact. Some Z-class events are theoretical; others are simply quarantined beyond IRDF reach.
RF scores range from 0 to 9+ and represent the likelihood of a threat spreading through realmspace. Factors include biological transmission, memetic recursion, energy phase instability, and phase breach elasticity. A high RF score may elevate a lower-class threat to priority response even if its localized damage is minimal.
IRDF tags provide functional metadata for how threats behave and spread. Common tags include:
Many threats express combinations of these tags, and tag expression may change across evolutionary cycles or after exposure to other realmspace anomalies.
Containment status indicates whether the threat has been neutralized, is under observation, remains active, or has been sealed in a quarantined locality. Not all quarantined threats are defeated—some are indefinitely looped, obscured from memory indexing, or strategically isolated pending S-class decision protocols.
An Uy is a standardized unit of deep time used in interrealm chronology. It is defined as the average age of all non-finite universes within known realms. One Uy equates to approximately 473 trillion Earth-standard years. Many IRDF deployments, S-class threat events, and realmculture evolutions are measured in fractional or multiple Uy.
A process by which a biological or narrative being is converted into a stable digital consciousness. Digitization may be temporary (for survival or transport) or permanent. Digitized entities retain agency but may require specialized hosts, processors, or logic-environments to interact meaningfully with reality layers.
Cloning refers to the replication of a being’s physical structure, neural patterns, and optionally their memory continuum. High-fidelity IRDF clones are used in multi-body deployments and resurrection systems. Cloning may involve standard material regeneration, pattern projection, or dimensional slicing.
Restructuring allows entities to be reshaped—mentally, physically, or dimensionally—for deployment in incompatible realms. This includes language re-anchoring, memory filter injection, body reformatting, and perceptual damping to prevent ontological collapse when entering high-entropy zones.
Hive Mind Integration allows multiple agents to operate as a singular distributed consciousness. Used by several realmspecies and IRDF specialist units, it offers advantages in processing speed, coordination, and memory resilience—but requires extreme trust and filtering to prevent collective corruption.
An operational strategy in which a single mind occupies and coordinates multiple physical bodies across one or more realms simultaneously. Typically used for surveillance, rapid defense, or realmspace traversal. Body nodes may be biological, synthetic, or projection-class.
A defensive or adaptive procedure by which an entire species is altered—biologically, energetically, or narratively—to survive existential threats, realm collapse, or long-term metaphysical drift. Often considered a last resort
A realmculture refers to the cumulative civilization(s), philosophies, technologies, mythologies, and structural behaviors that emerge within a realm. It is not limited to a single species or government, and may evolve across Uy or collapse and reform multiple times within a realm’s lifespan.
A realmspecies is any sentient or semi-sentient entity that originates from within a realm and is influenced by that realm’s rules of causality and perception. These may be biological, artificial, narrative, energetic, mythic, algorithmic, or unknown. Realmspecies that transcend their realm’s boundaries and interact with realmspace gain classification within IRDF archives.
When multiple realmcultures engage in sustained interaction, migration, hybridization, or mutual influence across realms, they form what is sometimes called an interrealm culture. This structure may be formal (as in the IRP), or informal, consisting of overlapping traditions, shared technologies, or embedded realmspace infrastructure.
Cultures that have not yet discovered realmspace, rifts, or higher-dimensional continuity are termed unaware cultures. These may be protected under IRP protocols, observed by IRDF for risk assessment, or entirely unknown to any interrealm structure. Violating the self-determination of an unaware culture without existential cause is considered a high-level ethical breach.
Superintelligences are entities whose cognition, perception, and continuity operate on scales that make direct communication with mortal beings impossible without intermediary layers. There are four known types:
These SIs maintain both the IRDF and the IRP. While mortals may vote to enter their direct jurisdiction, they are never ruled arbitrarily—only by irrevocable consent. The gap between SIs and those they serve is so vast that most communication is handled through nested AI interpreters or proxy-class advisors.
Entities marked as Demonic derive power, sustenance, or cognitive reinforcement from the suffering of others. Whether by intent or structure, they experience increased effectiveness when causing pain, chaos, fear, or humiliation. Not always evil by their own standards—some believe suffering is a required currency of existence.
Parasitic threats require a host—biological, dimensional, cultural, or informational—for survival or replication. Their damage is often slow and cumulative, with some parasites capable of remaining undetected for multiple generations. They may convert, override, or permanently reshape their hosts.
Swarm-class enemies reproduce rapidly, act collectively, and often possess decentralized intelligence. They may overwhelm defenses through attrition or exponential growth. Individual units are often weak but nearly limitless in number. May evolve or mutate during mass-scale events.
Assimilators seek to convert other entities into versions of themselves—mentally, physically, technologically, or conceptually. Their goal may be survival, perfection, or ideological dominance. They often retain memories of the consumed, making combat against them psychologically difficult.
Devouring entities or phenomena consume not only material but pattern, memory, timeline, or identity. Unlike standard predators, devourers erase traces of what was. Some are blind automatons of collapse. Others are highly aware, feeding strategically across realmspace.
Plague threats are defined by uncontrollable spread and resistance to standard containment protocols. While not always biological, they behave as infections—disrupting norms, corrupting systems, and overriding defenses. They may jump across dimensions or infect purely informational systems.
Recursive-class threats feed on repetition, memory loops, or causality breakdowns. They may grow stronger with each defeat, hijack resurrection systems, or trap entities in endless cycles. Often born from broken continuity protocols, failed cloning systems, or collapsed mythic constructs.
Contagious threats are transmissible between hosts—via proximity, contact, memory, shared belief, or shared narrative. These may spread intentionally or unconsciously. Contagion-class enemies require special cognitive and energetic quarantines. Even knowledge of their nature may aid transmission.
Entities & Cultures
Realmculture
Some realmcultures are homogenous. Others arise from layered interaction between thousands or even billions of once-isolated cultures. Realmcultures may be defined by spiritual values, physics paradigms, survival conditions, narrative recursion, or longform memory inheritance.
Realmspecies
In multi-species realms, the most realmspace-active species is often recorded as the dominant realmspecies for that realm. However, this designation is fluid and does not imply superiority—merely access, awareness, or reach.
Interrealm Culture
Interrealm cultures often develop their own ethics of contact, memory transmission norms, and dimensional privacy protocols. IRDF agents are trained to operate within or adjacent to these structures without disrupting their internal continuity.
Unaware Cultures
Many training and defense stations are built near unaware cultures to ensure rapid deployment in case of sudden threat emergence. These positions are chosen carefully to minimize interference while maximizing readiness.
Superintelligence (SI)
Enemy Tags / Attributes
Demonic
Demonic-class enemies are often recursive, persuasive, and difficult to reform.
Parasitic
Swarm
Assimilator
Devouring
Plague
Recursive
Contagious