The Witness: Difference between revisions

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[[File:Witness Species.png|thumb|330px|The Witness' Species]]
[[File:Witness Species.png|thumb|330px|The Witness' Species]]


According to the creature known as [[Ahsa]], the Witness' origins lie with an ancient humanoid species that lived billions of years ago on a desolate world. This species discovered the [[The Traveler|Traveler]] on their home world half-buried in the ground, which activated and began to transform their planet into a paradise. They worshipped the Traveler as a deity, calling it "the Gardener". Overtime, they formed a massive spacefaring civilization that lasted for eons and even create whole worlds with the Traveler's gifts; complete with a "Consensus" as their main governing or philosophical body.<ref>'''[[Entelechy]]''', ''12''</ref>  
According to the creature known as [[Ahsa]], the Witness' origins lie with an ancient humanoid species that lived billions of years ago on a desolate world. This species discovered the [[The Traveler|Traveler]] on their home world half-buried in the ground, which activated and began to transform their planet into a paradise. The species worshipped the Traveler as a deity, calling it "the Gardener". With the aid of the Traveler, they developed a massive spacefaring civilization, and in the process they learned to harness the Traveler's gifts, even using them to create entire worlds.<ref>'''[[Entelechy]]''', ''12''</ref>  


Although the Traveler's gifts brought about a golden age for them, it never communicated with its patrons or offered them any hint of guidance. In fact, the Gardener had blessed two other races with its Light that used it in nefarious means: the [[Swarm]], whom erroneously used their gifts to destroy themselves, and the [[Sovereign]], who used their gifts for subjugation. As a result, the Consensus began to crave meaning, and sought to find something that would bring order and purpose to an otherwise open-ended existence. In their studies of the Traveler, they also came to view the [[Light]] as a fundamentally capricious and chaotic force, equally capable of bringing life or death with no ultimate justification for either. So they desired a "Winnower"; a being that was capable of carving an even greater meaning and purpose out of the chaos of existence.
Although the Traveler's gifts brought about a golden age for the civilization, it never communicated with its patrons or offered them any hint of guidance. As a result, the society began to crave meaning, and sought to find something that would bring order and purpose to an otherwise open-ended existence. In their studies of the Traveler, they also came to view the [[Light]] as a fundamentally capricious and chaotic force, equally capable of bringing life or death with no ultimate justification for either. They also noted that two other races had been blessed by the Traveler, but had used its gifts for nefarious purposes: the [[Swarm]], who erroneously used their gifts to destroy themselves, and the [[Sovereign]], who used their gifts for subjugation.  


Over time, the Consensus was plagued by tensions between different ideological parties struggling with their own interpretations of the final shape; being the [[Solipsists]] (whom by definition of their name maintained that the self is the only existing final shape in this reality and that of all other realities), the [[Nihilists]] (whom were labeled as "self-flagellating pessimists" that believed the final shape is caused by their own destruction), and the [[Pentient]] (the most radical group that favored intervention by ridding the universe of all suffering by any means necessary and that any that do nothing are complicit in its perpetual cycle).<ref>'''[[Entelechy]]''', ''8-12''</ref>
Faced with a lack of purpose and finding none in the Traveler and its Light, the civilization came to desire a "Winnower", something that would be capable of carving meaning and purpose out of the chaos of existence. They began to conceptualize the idea of a "final shape" toward which to strive, which would encompass the perfection of their society and the universe into an ideal end-state.
 
Over time, the civilization's governing body, the Consensus, was plagued by tensions between different ideological parties struggling with their own interpretations of the Final Shape. The main parties were the [[Solipsists]], who maintained that the self is the only existing "final shape" in this reality and that of all other realities; the [[Nihilists]], who were labeled as "self-flagellating pessimists" that believed the Final Shape would be brought about by their own destruction; and the [[Penitent]], the most radical group, which sought to rid the universe of all suffering by any means necessary, and who believed that any who did not act to do so were complicit in its perpetual cycle.<ref>'''[[Entelechy]]''', ''8-12''</ref>


At some point, the species discovered that the Traveler had a counterpart entity, located in a distant star system. They named this entity the [[the Veil|Veil]], and through studying it, they understood it was the source of a new power, one linked to the mind and consciousness rather than the physical world: the [[Darkness]]. In studying the Darkness, they discovered that the power it granted gave them the means to guide the universe into a perfected, eternal form, a "[[Final Shape]]" that would last to the end of time and beyond. In this, they found the purpose they had sought for so long.
At some point, the species discovered that the Traveler had a counterpart entity, located in a distant star system. They named this entity the [[the Veil|Veil]], and through studying it, they understood it was the source of a new power, one linked to the mind and consciousness rather than the physical world: the [[Darkness]]. In studying the Darkness, they discovered that the power it granted gave them the means to guide the universe into a perfected, eternal form, a "[[Final Shape]]" that would last to the end of time and beyond. In this, they found the purpose they had sought for so long.
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In order to achieve their goal, the civilization determined that they needed to bring the Traveler and the Veil into close proximity, strengthening their connection and in so doing granting them the ability to alter reality itself. And so, they brought it back to their homeworld so that they could form a link between it and the Traveler.  
In order to achieve their goal, the civilization determined that they needed to bring the Traveler and the Veil into close proximity, strengthening their connection and in so doing granting them the ability to alter reality itself. And so, they brought it back to their homeworld so that they could form a link between it and the Traveler.  


However, the Traveler was apparently unwilling to allow this outcome, and responded by leaving the planet and fleeing into the distant reaches of space. Unwilling to abandon their quest, the Consensus had put to a vote to use the Veil to bind their race's collective consciousnesses together, which the Pentient had voted in favor of by majority after eliminating the Solipsists and the Nihilists respectively. Billions of minds merged themselves in Darkness as their civilization were reborn into a single, unfathomably paracuasal entity known only as the Witness; its own collective being was effectively erased of all doubt or dissent from within.<ref>'''[[Entelechy]]''', ''32-35''</ref> According to a vision imparted by Ahsa to the Guardian, this process involved what resembled a ritualistic mass sacrifice, in which the participants dismembered themselves and piled their bodies and body parts on an altar.
However, the Traveler was apparently unwilling to allow this outcome, and responded by leaving the planet and fleeing into the distant reaches of space. Unwilling to abandon their quest, the Consensus (now dominated by the Penitent faction, having eliminated the Solipsists and Nihilists) voted to use the Veil and its Darkness to bind their consciousnesses together, resulting in the creation of an unfathomably powerful paracausal entity: The Witness.<ref>'''[[Entelechy]]''', ''32-35''</ref> According to a vision imparted by Ahsa to the Guardian, this process involved what resembled a ritualistic mass sacrifice, in which the participants dismembered themselves and piled their bodies and body parts on an altar.


Having become one with the Darkness and commanding a paracausal armada of pyramidal ships, the Witness left its world behind and began a crusade to locate the Traveler and link it with the Veil, and in doing so bring about the Final Shape.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GN7QkdWMV18&t=626s</ref>
Having become one with the Darkness and commanding a paracausal armada of pyramidal ships, the Witness left its world behind and began a crusade to locate the Traveler and link it with the Veil, and in doing so bring about the Final Shape.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GN7QkdWMV18&t=626s</ref>
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