15. THE MOTION UNIVERSE

In the Motions Universe, we have the beginning of real sensation as we know it now. These things were suggested in the penalty universes, but they didn't really have a kick until this period. It was probably due, initially, to the spinning sensation that you get from the treadmill (which is very slight the first time you go through it). It was not particularly unpleasant at first and it seemed very interesting, so the games in the Motions Universe tended more towards experiencing sensations and having lots of complex motions.

It was a bit like being in a gigantic three dimensional video arcade. Of course we are talking about a near infinite universe which lasted a long time, so of course you could find just about anything somewhere in it. But the predominant factor was big games of motion and sensation.

There was also more group activity than existed before. The individual was weaker and so he did better playing as part of a team, and group effort was generally needed to build the more elaborate mockups and game playing areas.

And as people became more attached to sensation, it became possible to control and confuse them by hitting them with waves of sensations. And so we have the individual much more at effect than he was previously.

This was the first large universe that was built specifically as a prison to eliminate undesirables. This was the beginning of a pattern that we have followed for the entire series of universes. Since there is no way to kill an immortal spirit, the best way to get rid of him is to exile him to some sort of lower universe built as a prison. Everybody works on building these things and then the game becomes one of tossing people into it and, if you have been tossed in, it becomes a game of escaping.

Usually the implanted conditioning used to force one into the prison universe and keep him there is not very effective at first. One of the key ingredients is making the person forget that there is a higher universe to escape to. Another is to make him forget that he is in prison and distract him with all sorts of interesting things within the prison universe itself. But the individual is pretty tough and shrugs this stuff off after awhile and pops back up to the higher universe.

But as he keeps escaping and getting thrown back in and throwing others in, the conditioning gradual begins to have a stronger effect on him. Also, as the centuries pass, gradually more and more people are in the prison universe at any given time and the game there evolves and becomes more complex and interesting.

And so we have the individual being tossed into the motions universe and playing there for awhile and developing some interest in motion and sensation. And then he remembers that he is in jail and goes back up to the games universe and reestablishes himself there. And then maybe he tosses some other people into the motions universe, either to punish them (because he has reformed and is now an upstanding citizen) or for vengeance (because they threw him in) or just as a joke. Sooner or later, he gets tossed in again himself and gets a bit more attached to motion and sensation and this time when he gets out, he feels something is lacking in the games universe. So he is more willing to go back to jail again and eventually might stay in the Motions Universe by choice.

There are always a few people who remain at the top, and who stay in power and remain out of jail. These are the winners of the game in the higher universe, so to speak. Gradually the Games Universe empties out and all but these last few wind up down in the Motions Universe. But without enough people, the Games Universe becomes uninteresting. Furthermore, it is difficult to keep a large and elaborate universe properly created and cleaned up without a lot of people. So the Games Universe begins to shrink and decay.

The last group sitting up in the Games Universe then sees that they have no choice but to descend down into the Motions Universe along with everybody else. But they have been avoiding going through the treadmill and getting hit with the various conditions used on the prisoners and they have knowledge of higher realities beyond what the convicts sitting down below are aware of. So they chose to invade in style.

This again is a commonly repeated patter. The last crew in the higher universe comes down into the prison bypassing the implanted conditioning and using the technology of a higher universe to conquer and gain power and establish themselves as rulers or gods over the inhabitants of the lower universe.

In this case, where the Motions Universe is invaded by the "gods" coming down from the Games Universe, the primary invader trick was a "False Jewel of Knowledge" which conditioned the inhabitants to be good and willing slaves by teaching them that they had been created to serve the gods. These false jewels were constructed based on an inmate knowledge of the treadmill (since the people in the Games Universe had the plans for it and the people in the Motions Universe had been kicked around by it and then made to forget) and the far better recollection of the original Jewel of Knowledge that was available in the Games Universe. A trip through a false jewel was promoted as a wonderful holy experience. The entire invasion was fought as a holy war and prisoners of war were given the "enlightenment" of the jewel to make them into fanatics who would join the cause. These false jewels were also given out as prizes in competitions and pushed down peoples throats in every other manner that could be imagined.

And the "gods" grabbed power, but they never did manage to thoroughly control the population. Everyone was still too free and powerful and tended to shrug off even the most powerful conditioning fairly quickly and go into revolt.

In the end, these "gods" were defeated and their kingdoms crumbled. But what was to be done with these horrible people and their most enthusiastic henchmen? The entire Motions Universe had been devastated with endless waves of fighting back and forth and the population was half crazy with strange religious ideas and rebellious counter reactions. True organized warfare had come into existence for the first time and the crime of its creation was deemed to be unpardonable.

Instead of simply settling down to rebuild, the population of the Motions Universe made the fatal choice which has led us ever downward. Instead of simply treating the losers roughly for awhile or even forgiving them, it was decided that the only thing to do was to build yet a lower prison universe to hold these evil characters. And so the Symbols Universe was built and they were tossed into it.

And in the fullness of time, it came to pass that others were exiled to the Symbols Universe as well. And so the cycle repeats itself as we take turns being good guys and bad guys and throwing each other lower and lower down.