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[Reid hates technology. No, he really, genuinely does. Computers don't move fast enough to keep up with him, and he has a long-established love of hard copies where literature is concerned. But the fact of the matter is, there are very few books here. So here he is, seated at a console, half a dozen of the local books he could find stacked beside him and several empty coffee cups as well. Recently, he's taken to drinking green tea, but a lapse in that particular habit seems appropriate considering his surroundings.]

You know, the terminology relating to a meta or 'multiverse' was originally coined by William James, a philosopher and psychologist in the late nineteen hundreds. His paper, titled 'Is Life Worth Living?' was published in the 1985 October Edition of the International Journal of Ethics. He postulated that, with the decline of social religion all 'visible' nature (that is to say, everything we see and experience) is in and of itself a 'moral' multiverse as opposed to being a moral 'universe'. He was referring to the visible nature of the world - good existing alongside evil, with every imaginable shade in between. Each nuance of the world then became in and of itself a 'multiverse' in James' ideal.

The neologism didn't actually enter into common vernacular until much later and under a drastically different context, but the concept of other worlds or parallel universes - what we today call a 'multiverse' - has actually been around for centuries, generally tied to religious philosophies of the time. Muslim theologian al-Ghazālī believed that it was not only possible but highly probable. His extrapolation was that that Earth was the best of all possible worlds and that humans occupied it as a form of divine right, stating that 'there is in possibility nothing more wondrous than what is'.

[a brief pause, because... he's generally not used to speaking so long without interruption.]

Essentially, the concept of a 'life, death or dreaming' state faintly echoes several Buddhist or Hindu philosophies, though equally suggestive of liminality. The continual repetition of that 'life/death/dreaming' theme represents a trinity; three is often considered a holy number in any number of doctrines. Three also represents the body (life), the soul (death) and the spirit (dreaming). And then, the fact that there are five districts also reinforces the ties to numerology. If you go by the numerical value of the Hebrew letter 'He' or 'five' it symbolizes the universal life, the breath of man, the air, the spirit and the soul.

Oh-- right, liminality. Liminality was another word coined in the same philosophical era as William James' 'multiverse' by Arnold Vann Gennep in his 1908 paper Rites de Passage. It's from the Latin līmen which means 'threshold' and it's a word used to describe the transitionary phase during a ritualistic transformation, during which the participant's own identity is considered to be void until the process is complete and the individual can be reborn. It's almost a contract – during this process you forsake your identity, your sense of self, your titles and earthly possessions all for the sake of a form of theoretical transcendental enlightenment. It's this fluidity of self that enables change and dissolution of old habits or customs to make way for the new. It's not limited to an individual, either; it can be applied to groups of people – such as a graduating highschool class – or to societies and cultures as a whole and I believe it's what we're technically undergoing now.

Liminality is considered a tripartite structure, and each segment of that structure is as follows: preliminal rites, or rites of separation. This stage involves a metaphorical 'death' undergone by the initiand. They're essentially forced to leave something behind by breaking away from previous practices and routines, or by, say, coming to Keeliai.

The liminal rites – or transitionary rites – involve the creation of a sort of... tabula rasa, a blank slate, through the removal of limits and forms previously taken for granted. There are two primary characteristics to this stage of the rite, first: the rite 'must follow a strictly prescribed sequence, where everybody knows what to do and how'. Because this rite is a fundamental deconstruction of the self and self-held values, it's meant quite literally to mirror the act of walking over a threshold between two worlds.

The postliminal rites, or 'rites of incorporation' are the third and final sequence. During this stage, the initiand is re-incorporated into society, essentially born again as a 'new' being.

[CRICKETS. CRICKETS ARE CHIRPING IN THE BACKGROUND, REID. He awkwardly clears his throat.]

All... right so... um, hi. I'm Doctor Spencer Reid. Any questions...?

[for those of you who didn't turn the console off ten seconds into his impromptu lecture??

ooc; also: a permissions post.]

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I don't think I've seen that movie in a while. The theory does seem to make a good science fiction movie after all.

[ which does have her smiling somewhat awkwardly at the idea. hey, she is after all a fairly normal girl - who just happens to be involved in the world of criminal dreamsharing - of course she is going to appreciate the pop culture references here. ]

So I guess you're not the only one from a place unlike this. Though, it would be interesting to see others take on this place. There are a lot of theories being tossed about here after all.

Science fiction is largely based on some form of science fact. I mean... wildly divergent and largely incorrect and generally criminally uninformed, but definitely based on.

[He can and will talk about Star Trek and Whovian science for hours, if you let him.]

Going by the actual content of the Network there are about three predominant theories that people have considered. That this is the afterlife, that it's a pocket dimension, or that they themselves have gone - um, crazy.

Edited (typo) 2013-02-10 01:12 (UTC)

Well our imaginations have to have some type of truths for us to base things off of.

[ and she has always been one for exploring the truths behind imagination after all. though, if mulder and scully suddenly appear in this dream, she might just opt out of it all. ]

And as much as I would love to explore the possibilities behind these theories, I'm still going to go with: It's just one long dream that I can't seem to wake up from.

[ hey, no one told her she couldn't be honest. it wasn't as if she thought doctor Reid would take her serious here. ]

[He makes a little noise of agreement to that first part, and then,]

Mm, it's definitely a possibility but there are numerous things that I think discount its validity when contrasted against other viable explanations. Unless we're being held in a state of suspended animation and an altogether permanent REM cycle it would be almost impossible to have this sort of sustained dreaming experience, especially given the fact that everyone else here would thereby be a figment of one's overall imagination, which would then necessitate a solipsist stance.

[Whereby the self is the only entity taken to exist, and all else is imagined.]

[ there’s a faint shrug of her shoulder as she smiles in response to him, not fully sure she knows what to say in response to it all. People do tend to not realize they are dreaming after all, and it's probably not the smartest thing to just up and spring things on them like that. ]

So you think that these supposed Superheroes [ who exactly they all are, she has no clue yet. but she keeps hearing enough about them that she assumes there are enough of them here for her to use as a point to her debate. ] are real and not just someone's imagination?

Because even if I was open to the possibility of other worlds colliding, people claiming to be superheroes isn't exactly something you find happening every day.

I don't know what to think about them. I mean, I read comics as a child, I understand the imaginative cognizance that goes into their creation. And most 'superpowers' directly contradict ... nearly all the laws of physics.

[A wry expression.]

But it would be naive to think that... if you can accept the existence of other worlds, that you're somehow exempt from having to accept their denizens as well. As much as we know about the world from a scientific standpoint, breakthroughs are still being made all the time. I don't necessarily believe in 'Superheroes' per se, but I don't think it's wise to disbelieve them, either. I think the matter requires more research.

[ she nods slow in understanding, as a faint smile still tugged at the corner of her mouth.

(gosh, reid, projections shouldn't be full of this many thoughts and opinions – what are you?) ]

I think there is a lot that needs further study here. [ namely: how the heck they're suppose to be able to wake up – but that doesn't really need to be said. ] But for now, I suppose its best that I just continue on with the idea that the answers here are only limited by ones imagination.

[ a beat and her brow is arching in curiosity. ]

Where exactly are you from, Doctor Reid?

Hm--? Oh, Vegas. Why do you ask?

I'm just trying to figure out what I can about you, Doctor Reid.

[ and she looks almost apologetic for a moment because of that – she has to take every opportunity she can if she wants to understand what is going on here. ]

Do you remember what you were doing before you arrived here?

[... well okay. That's a little strange, but hey he's heard stranger. So he just ducks his head a little, caught between embarrassment and curiosity.]

I was picking up dinner at a restaurant.

[ she just nods with a small smile at his words. she really doesn't expect him to understand her line of questioning - most wouldn't after all. but she really is just trying to piece together all she can about who the people are in this dream with her. ]

Do you have any idea why someone would have brought you here?

[Well, that depends on how seriously she's taking that 'one long dream' bit...]

People have mentioned that the Emperor was asking for 'heroes'. I don't really fit the bill in a traditional sense, but I do work in law enforcement.

Oh…

[ well Doctor Reid, have a somewhat surprised and almost unsure look from Ariadne for brief moment – no ones ever told her how to behave in situations like this (she would be fine if she wasn't HIDING so damn much) ]

You're the second person I've met who worked in Law Enforcement here. [ and at that, she smiles a bit more calm, nodding her head in approval. ] So you never know, they might actually need you for something.

It's possible, but-- I'd much rather be home. I don't mind helping out when and where I'm needed, but I'd definitely have preferred to be asked.

Well. I think a lot of us would have liked to have been asked.

[ and she really doesn't think she needs to explain her thoughts on that. ]

But anyway…I'll let you get going now, Doctor Reid. I'm sure you have other things you need to be doing.

[ a beat ] It was a pleasure meeting you though. [ you're an interesting man. ] Hopefully we will be able to talk again.

I'd like that.

[... and only after he hangs up does it occur to him he didn't get her name. Terrible social skills are go!]

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