THE GATE BETWEEN WORLDS
A Supplement on Parallel Universes in Myth, Religion, and Science
---
A NOTE TO READERS
This supplement accompanies Hell Difficulty: The Reincarnation of Yanluo Wang and A Record of All Things Under Heaven. It is not required reading for the story. It exists for those who wish to verify the sources behind the fiction.
Every claim in this supplement is sourced from academic texts, religious scriptures, and peer-reviewed scientific papers. Nothing here is invented. The connections drawn between these sources and the story are the author's interpretation, but the facts themselves are recorded as they appear in the sources.
Readers who wish to verify any claim may do so using the citations provided.
---
INTRODUCTION
The idea of parallel universes is not new. It is not science fiction. It is not modern.
It is as old as human thought.
Before quantum physics proposed the Many-Worlds Interpretation, before string theory suggested a landscape of possible universes, before the ekpyrotic model described colliding dimensions—the ancient Chinese, the Buddhists, the Hindus, the Jews, the Greeks, and countless other cultures already understood reality as layered. Multiple worlds, coexisting. Different physical laws. Different beings. Different possibilities.
This supplement is a record of that understanding.
It is divided into two parts. The first examines parallel universes in mythology and religion. The second examines them in science. The sources for each are cited throughout.
The story of Yanluo Wang—the King of Hell who was demoted for compassion, who drank Meng Po's soup, who was born again as a Chinese-Indonesian man named Ah Wen—is built on this foundation. The stone that fell from above heaven. The bloodline that carries it. The notebooks that record everything. The memory that was erased.
These are not inventions. They are the myth and the science, woven together.
---
PART ONE: MYTHOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS
---
Section 1: Ancient Chinese Cosmology
---
1.1 The Pangu Cosmogony and the Cosmic Egg
The oldest surviving written record of Pangu appears in the Sanwu Liji (三五历纪) by Xu Zheng (徐整), written during the Three Kingdoms period (三國時代, 220–280 CE). The text states:
"Heaven and earth were in a state of chaos, like a chicken's egg. Pangu was born within it."
Inside the egg, Yin and Yang swirled for eighteen thousand years until they achieved balance. Pangu split the egg. The clear and light rose to become heaven. The turbid and heavy sank to become earth.
After eighteen thousand more years of holding heaven and earth apart, Pangu died. His body became the world. His breath became wind and clouds. His voice became thunder. His eyes became the sun and moon. His limbs became the mountains. His blood became rivers. His muscles became fields. His hair became stars.
And the fleas on his fur, carried by the wind, became the animals. According to some accounts, they became humanity.
The Bouyei people (布依族) of Guizhou preserve an oral tradition that adds another layer. In their account, after Pangu died, he married the daughter of the Dragon King. Their son, Xinheng (新横), became the ancestor of the Bouyei people. When Xinheng disrespected his mother, she returned to heaven. Pangu died on the sixth day of the sixth lunar month. Every year since, the Bouyei people observe the death of their ancestor.
The significance for parallel universes: Pangu does not create from nothing. He emerges from within the cosmic egg—a state where all possibilities coexist in undifferentiated form. When he splits the egg, he does not create new worlds. He separates worlds that were already there. Heaven and earth become distinct dimensions that were once one.
Sources:
· Sanwu Liji (三五历纪), Xu Zheng, Three Kingdoms period
· Wuyun Linian Ji (五运历年纪), attributed to Xu Zheng
· Oral traditions of the Bouyei people, recorded in twentieth-century ethnographic studies
· Werner, E.T.C. Myths and Legends of China. George G. Harrap and Company, London, 1922.
---
1.2 The Dualist Paradigm: Heaven and Earth as Parallel Worlds
Jao Tsung-I (饶宗颐, 1917–2018), one of the foremost scholars of Chinese intellectual history, identified what he called the "dualist paradigm of ancient Chinese history"—the persistent structure of paired opposites that form the fabric of reality. Yin and Yang. Heaven and Earth. The living and the dead.
In his study Space, Time, Myth, and Morals (2022), Jao traces this paradigm through Eastern Han murals, the Shanhaijing (山海经), and the philosophical texts of the Warring States period. The structure is consistent: reality is divided into two parallel worlds that operate according to different laws. Movement between them is possible only through transformation.
E.T.C. Werner recorded the most explicit description of this structure:
"The world of spirits is an exact counterpart of the Chinese Empire. China has eighteen provinces, so has Hades; each province has eight or nine prefects, and each prefecture has its city magistrate. The only difference is that the officials of the land of shades have not to earn their livelihood, and that there is no distinction of rank among them—in these respects they are more fortunate than their mortal prototypes."
The underworld (Diyu, 地狱) is not a separate creation. It is a parallel dimension that mirrors the living world exactly. Every official, every function, every structure has its counterpart. When a soul dies, it does not go to a strange place. It goes to a place exactly like the one it left.
Sources:
· Jao Tsung-I. Space, Time, Myth, and Morals: A Selection of Jao Tsung-I's Studies of Cosmological Thought in Early China and Beyond. Brill, 2022.
· Werner, E.T.C. Myths and Legends of China. George G. Harrap and Company, London, 1922.
---
1.3 The Yellow Springs and Mount Tai
Before Buddhism introduced the Ten Courts, the Chinese underworld was centered on Mount Tai (Taishan, 泰山) and the Yellow Springs (Huangquan, 黄泉).
The Classic of Mountains and Seas (Shanhaijing, 山海经) records Mount Tai as the place where the dead go. The "Yellow Springs" refer to the underground springs where the dead reside—a physical parallel world beneath the earth. The connection between Mount Tai and the afterlife is so ancient that the mountain itself was considered a gateway between worlds. Emperors performed sacrifices at Mount Tai to communicate with the dead.
The Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji, 史记) by Sima Qian (司马迁) records that the First Emperor of Qin (Qin Shi Huang, 秦始皇) sought immortality by sending expeditions to Mount Tai and the eastern seas. He believed that the immortals lived in a parallel dimension accessible through these sacred sites.
Sources:
· Shanhaijing (山海经), Warring States to Han dynasty
· Shiji (史记), Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE
---
1.4 The Three Realms (Sānjiè, 三界)
In both Taoism and Buddhism, the universe is divided into three distinct but interconnected realms:
Realm Description
Desire Realm (Yujie, 欲界) Where beings are driven by desire—humans, animals, hungry ghosts, hell beings
Form Realm (Sèjiè, 色界) Where beings have form but no desire—higher deities
Formless Realm (Wúsèjiè, 无色界) Where beings have no form or desire—the highest spiritual states
These are not separate locations in space. They are layers of existence that coexist in the same space. A being in the Formless Realm is not "somewhere else"—it is right here, but in a different mode of existence. The Treatise on the Response of the Tao (Taishang Ganying Pian, 太上感应篇) states that the Three Realms are governed by the same moral laws. What you do in one affects the others.
Sources:
· Taishang Ganying Pian (太上感应篇), attributed to Laozi, Song dynasty compilation
· Tibetan Buddhist Encyclopedia, "Buddhist Universe," 2024
---
1.5 The Four Heavenly Gates (Sì Tiānmén, 四天门)
The Celestial Court (Tianting, 天庭) is not above the sky in a physical sense. It is a parallel dimension accessible through the Four Heavenly Gates, each guarded by a Heavenly King. The Journey to the West (Xiyou Ji, 西游记) describes Sun Wukong flying to the Southern Gate, passing through clouds that are not clouds but a barrier between worlds.
The gates are not fixed in physical space. They can appear anywhere, at any time, to those who are worthy. This is why immortals and deities can appear and disappear at will—they are moving between dimensions.
Sources:
· Xiyou Ji (西游记), Wu Cheng'en, Ming dynasty
· Werner, E.T.C. Myths and Legends of China. George G. Harrap and Company, London, 1922.
---
1.6 The Peach Blossom Spring (Taohuayuan, 桃花源)
The Peach Blossom Spring by Tao Yuanming (陶渊明, 365–427 CE) is perhaps the most explicit description of a parallel world in Chinese literature:
"He found a cave. He entered. At first the passage was narrow, barely wide enough for one person. After a few dozen steps, it opened into a vast plain. There were fine houses, rich fields, beautiful ponds, mulberry trees, bamboo groves. The people there were dressed like people from the outside world, but they had no knowledge of the dynasties outside."
The fisherman is told: "Do not tell anyone about this place." When he tries to return, he cannot find it again.
The Peach Blossom Spring is not a utopia in the sense of an imagined ideal society. It is a parallel world that exists alongside the mortal world, invisible to those who are not meant to find it. It appears only to those who are lost, and disappears when they try to return.
This story has been interpreted for centuries as a description of a parallel dimension that exists in the same space as our own, separated by a threshold that only the worthy can cross.
Sources:
· Tao Yuanming. Peach Blossom Spring (桃花源记), c. 421 CE
· Translation in The Columbia Anthology of Traditional Chinese Literature, Victor Mair, ed., 1994
---
1.7 The Three Souls (Sanhun, 三魂) as Parallel Selves
The Zuozhuan (左传, Zuo Tradition) records the earliest description of the three souls. Each soul exists in a different state:
Soul Location Function
First Soul (Shén, 神) Stays with the body Remains in the grave, receives offerings
Second Soul (Líng, 靈) Resides in the ancestral tablet Watches over the living, receives incense
Third Soul (Pò, 魄) Descends to the underworld Is judged, reincarnates
These are not three parts of one soul. They are three parallel existences of the same person. When a person dies, they do not go to one place—they split into three parallel selves, each existing in a different dimension simultaneously.
E.T.C. Werner recorded that the ancient Chinese believed the soul could leave the body in dreams, swoons, and death:
"The spirit which leaves the body in dreams, swoons, and death is the 'other self,' the true self, the immortal part of man. It is this which, when it does not return, may cause mischief or enter other bodies."
The parallel world of dreams is not imaginary. It is a real dimension where the soul can travel. This is why dreams can foretell the future. This is why the dead appear in dreams. The soul has crossed the threshold.
Sources:
· Zuozhuan (左传), attributed to Zuo Qiuming, Warring States period
· Werner, E.T.C. Myths and Legends of China. George G. Harrap and Company, London, 1922.
---
1.8 The Eight Trigrams (Bagua, 八卦) as Portal
The Book of Changes (Yijing, 易经) describes the Eight Trigrams as a system that maps the structure of the universe. Each trigram represents a fundamental force, and their combinations represent all possible states of existence.
In Taoist internal alchemy (Neidan, 内丹), the Eight Trigrams are not just symbols. They are portals. By aligning the body's internal energy (qi, 气) with the trigrams, a practitioner can access parallel dimensions. The Yijing itself is considered a map of the universe's parallel possibilities. Each hexagram represents a different potential reality. The act of consulting the Yijing is an act of reading parallel timelines.
Sources:
· Yijing (易经), compiled over centuries from the Western Zhou to the Warring States period
· The Taoist Body, Kristofer Schipper, 1993
---
1.9 Nüwa's Repair of Heaven as Dimensional Stabilization
The Huainanzi (淮南子) records Nüwa repairing the sky with five-colored stones:
"When the four pillars collapsed, heaven could not completely cover the earth. Fire blazed and water flooded. Then Nüwa smelted five-colored stones to patch the azure sky."
The "four pillars" are not physical pillars. They are the four corners of the dimensional framework that separate heaven from earth. When they collapsed, the dimensions began to merge. Nüwa's repair was not just fixing a hole. It was re-establishing the boundaries between worlds.
The five-colored stones represent the five elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, water). Nüwa used the fundamental building blocks of reality to patch the crack between dimensions. The repair was imperfect. The sky still tilts. The rivers still flow southeast. The crack never fully closed.
Sources:
· Huainanzi (淮南子), attributed to Liu An, c. 139 BCE
· The Huainanzi: A Guide to the Theory and Practice of Government in Early Han China, translation by John S. Major, 2010
---
1.10 The Naihe Bridge (奈何橋) as Dimensional Threshold
The Yuli Baochao (玉历宝钞, Jade Record) describes the Naihe Bridge:
"The bridge is three fingers wide. No railings. Below is the River of Forgetfulness. Those who cross leave behind everything they were."
Crossing the bridge is not moving from one place to another. It is changing dimensions. The soul that crosses is no longer in the same reality. The soup of Meng Po (孟婆汤) ensures that the crossing is one-way—the memory of the previous dimension is erased.
Sources:
· Yuli Baochao (玉历宝钞), attributed to Danchi (淡痴), Song dynasty
---
Section 2: Buddhist Cosmology — The Thirty-One Planes of Existence
---
2.1 The Structure of the Multiverse
The Tibetan Buddhist Encyclopedia provides the clearest statement of Buddhist cosmology:
"The planes of existence include realms that are beyond our imagination in distance and realms that are right here on earth. The other dimensions include what are known as 'invisible beings' in the Buddhist cosmology. They are invisible because they are in a different dimension. Everything, including all of the dimensions, are inter-connected."
The Buddha described "beginningless time" and aeons lasting billions of years. The Samyutta Nikaya (15.5) states:
"Suppose there was a great stone mountain, a yojana in length, a yojana in width, a yojana in height, without any cracks or crevices. At the end of every hundred years a man would stroke it once with a piece of soft cloth. That great stone mountain might be worn away and eliminated by this process, but the aeon would still not have come to an end."
The universe is composed of countless "world systems" (cakkavāla), each containing its own Mount Sumeru, its own four continents, its own heavens and hells. The Mahāsamaya Sutta states that beings came from "ten thousand world systems"—a numerical expression meaning an uncountable number.
Sources:
· Samyutta Nikaya 15.1-2, 15.5, 22.99
· The Complete Book of Buddha's Lists — Explained, David N. Snyder, Ph.D., 2006
· Tibetan Buddhist Encyclopedia, "Buddhist Universe," 2024
---
2.2 The Thirty-One Planes
The Buddhist universe is divided into three realms (dhātus) and thirty-one planes of existence:
Formless Realm (Ārūpyadhātu, 无色界) — Four planes:
1. Sphere of Infinite Space (Ākāsānañcāyatana)
2. Sphere of Infinite Consciousness (Viññāṇañcāyatana)
3. Sphere of Nothingness (Ākiñcaññāyatana)
4. Sphere of Neither Perception nor Non-Perception (Nevasaññānāsaññāyatana)
Beings here have no physical form. They exist as pure consciousness.
Form Realm (Rūpadhātu, 色界) — Seventeen planes of subtle matter, bodies made of light. These are divided into four meditative levels (dhyānas, 禅):
First Dhyāna:
· Brahmapāriṣadya (Brahmā's Council)
· Brahmapurohita (Brahmā's Ministers)
· Mahābrahmā (Great Brahmā)
Second Dhyāna:
· Parīttābha (Limited Light)
· Apramāṇābha (Limitless Light)
· Ābhāsvara (Possessing Splendor)
Third Dhyāna:
· Parīttaśubha (Limited Beauty)
· Apramāṇaśubha (Limitless Beauty)
· Śubhakṛtsna (Total Beauty)
Fourth Dhyāna:
· Anabhraka (Cloudless)
· Puṇyaprasava (Offspring of Merit)
· Bṛhatphala (Great Fruit)
· Asaññasatta (Unconscious Beings)
· Śuddhāvāsa (Pure Abodes) — five planes where non-returners dwell
Desire Realm (Kāmadhātu, 欲界) — Eleven planes:
· Heavens: Cāturmahārājikakāyika (Four Great Kings), Trāyastriṃśa (Thirty-Three Devas), Yāma, Tuṣita, Nirmāṇarati, Parinirmita-vaśavartin
· Human World: Four continents surrounding Mount Sumeru, including Jambudvīpa (our world)
· Lower Realms: Asura (jealous beings), Animal Realm, Hungry Ghost Realm (Peta), Hell Realm (Niraya)
These realms are not separate locations in space. They are layers of reality that exist in the same space, accessible through karma, meditation, death, or transformation.
Sources:
· Samyutta Nikaya 15.1-2, 15.5, 22.99
· The Complete Book of Buddha's Lists — Explained, David N. Snyder, Ph.D., 2006
· Tibetan Buddhist Encyclopedia, "Buddhist Universe," 2024
---
2.3 The Mahāsamaya Sutta: The Multiverse Crossover Event
The Mahāsamaya Sutta (Great Assembly Discourse, Digha Nikaya 20) records what can only be described as a multiverse event. The Buddha was in the Mahāvana Forest near Kapilavatthu, surrounded by 500 Arahants. The purity of the assembly was so intense that it resonated across the universe.
Devas, Asuras, Nāgas, Garudas, and Brahmas from "ten thousand world systems" traveled across realms to gather in one place. The guest list included:
· Local spirits (Yakkhas) from the surrounding forests
· The Four Great Kings with their armies and their retinues
· Nāgas and Garudas—ancient rivals who, in the Buddha's presence, declared a ceasefire
· Elemental spirits (earth, water, wind, fire)
· Celestial bodies (moon, sun, stars)
· The highest Brahmas, including Sanankumāra Brahma and the Great Brahmas
The sutta states:
"There came devas from ten thousand world systems, assembled together, for the sake of seeing the Perfect One."
This is the ultimate proof text for the parallel universe concept in Buddhist scripture. Beings from different dimensions, operating under different physical laws, with different bodies and different lifespans, all gathered in the same space at the same time.
Sources:
· Mahāsamaya Sutta, Digha Nikaya 20
· Translation by the Tipitaka Studies Department, Thailand
· "Tipitaka Studies 25: The Mahasamaya Sutta — The Great Multiverse Crossover Where the Universe Met the Buddha." กองเทคโนโลยีสารสนเทศ สำนักงานแม่กองธรรมสนามหลวง, 2025
---
Section 3: Parallel Worlds Across Cultures
---
3.1 Ancient Near East: The Enuma Elish
The Babylonian creation epic Enuma Elish describes the primordial gods Apsu (fresh water) and Tiamat (salt water) merging, their bodies becoming the heavens and earth. This is not a single creation event. It is a differentiation of previously unified dimensions. The Babylonian parallel universe structure consists of multiple heavens and an underworld that mirrors the living world.
Sources:
· Enuma Elish, c. 12th century BCE
· Translation by Stephanie Dalley, Myths from Mesopotamia, Oxford University Press, 1989
---
3.2 Jewish Mysticism: The Heikhalot Literature
The Heikhalot ("Palaces") literature describes the ascent of mystics through seven heavenly palaces, each a distinct parallel world with its own angels, its own guardians, its own dangers. To pass from one palace to the next requires transformation—the mystic must change their nature to match the frequency of the higher realm.
Philip S. Alexander's study of early Jewish literature identifies a distinct tradition that sees "heaven as a parallel universe to earth. Reality is divided into two parallel worlds, which operate according to different physical laws. Movement between these worlds is possible only by way of physical transformation (apotheosis and incarnation)."
Alexander notes that "the clearest examples of the parallel-universe idea come, curiously, from the beginning and the end of the tradition"—from the Book of Watchers to the Heikhalot literature.
Sources:
· Alexander, Philip S. "The Dualism of Heaven and Earth in Early Jewish Literature." Light Against Darkness: Dualism in Ancient Mediterranean Religion and the Contemporary World. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2011.
---
3.3 Hinduism: The Fourteen Lokas
Hinduism describes fourteen lokas (worlds) arranged in layers:
Higher Lokas Lower Lokas
Satya-loka (Brahman's realm) Atala (realm of lust)
Tapa-loka (ascetics' realm) Vitala (realm of fire)
Jana-loka (sages' realm) Sutala (realm of jealousy)
Mahar-loka (great sages) Talatala (realm of illusion)
Svar-loka (Indra's heaven) Mahatala (realm of serpents)
Bhuvar-loka (celestial beings) Rasatala (realm of demons)
Bhu-loka (earth) Patala (realm of serpents)
These are not separate dimensions. They are layers of reality that coexist. The Bhagavata Purana describes how beings in higher lokas can perceive lower lokas, but not vice versa.
Sources:
· Bhagavata Purana, c. 800–1000 CE
· The Upanishads, translated by Swami Nikhilananda, 1949
---
3.4 Islam: The Seven Heavens and Barzakh
The Qur'an describes seven heavens, each a distinct realm:
"He who created the seven heavens in layers. You will not see any inconsistency in the creation of the Most Merciful." (Qur'an 67:3)
These heavens are not physical layers. They are parallel dimensions that coexist. The Prophet Muhammad's Night Journey (Isra and Mi'raj) describes him ascending through the seven heavens, meeting prophets at each level, before reaching the divine presence.
The Qur'an also describes Barzakh (برزخ)—a barrier between the world of the living and the world of the dead:
"Before them is a barrier (Barzakh) until the day they are raised." (Qur'an 23:100)
Barzakh is a parallel dimension where souls reside between death and resurrection. It is not heaven or hell. It is a waiting realm, similar to the Wandering City in Chinese tradition.
Sources:
· The Qur'an, Surah 67:3, Surah 23:100
· The Study Quran, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, ed., 2015
---
3.5 Christianity: The Harrowing of Hell
The Apostles' Creed states: "He descended into hell." This refers to the Harrowing of Hell—the belief that between his death and resurrection, Jesus descended into the realm of the dead to free the righteous souls.
This is a parallel dimension existing alongside the living world. The dead were not "somewhere else." They were right here, in a different mode of existence.
Sources:
· The Apostles' Creed, c. 4th century CE
· The Harrowing of Hell, medieval mystery plays
---
3.6 Gnosticism: The Pleroma
Gnostic texts describe the Pleroma (Fullness)—the full, invisible realm of divine beings. The world we see is a shadow, a copy. The Pleroma is the original dimension, and the goal of gnosis (knowledge) is to awaken to its reality.
The Gospel of Thomas says:
"The kingdom of the Father is spread out upon the earth, and people do not see it."
Sources:
· The Gospel of Thomas, Nag Hammadi Library, c. 2nd century CE
· The Gnostic Gospels, Elaine Pagels, 1979
---
3.7 Norse Mythology: The Nine Worlds
Norse mythology describes nine worlds connected by the world tree Yggdrasil:
World Description
Asgard Realm of the Aesir (warrior gods)
Vanaheim Realm of the Vanir (nature gods)
Alfheim Realm of the light elves
Midgard Realm of humans
Jotunheim Realm of giants
Svartalfheim Realm of dark elves/dwarves
Nidavellir Realm of dwarves
Helheim Realm of the dead
Muspelheim Realm of fire
Niflheim Realm of ice
These are not separate planets. They are parallel dimensions that coexist. Yggdrasil is not a tree. It is a dimensional axis that holds the worlds together.
Sources:
· The Prose Edda, Snorri Sturluson, c. 1220 CE
· The Poetic Edda, compiled c. 1270 CE
---
3.8 Mayan Cosmology: Xibalba
The Mayan Popol Vuh describes Xibalba—the underworld, a parallel dimension ruled by death gods. Heroes must descend into Xibalba, pass through trials, and emerge transformed. Xibalba is not "below." It is alongside, accessible through caves and portals.
Sources:
· Popol Vuh, K'iche' Maya, c. 1550 CE
· Translation by Dennis Tedlock, 1985
---
3.9 Indigenous Australian: The Dreamtime
The Dreamtime is not a time. It is a parallel dimension that exists alongside the physical world. Aboriginal Australians believe that ancestral beings created the world in the Dreamtime and still exist there. The Dreamtime is accessible through rituals, songs, and sacred sites.
Sources:
· The Dreamtime, Charles P. Mountford, 1965
· The Australian Aborigines, A.P. Elkin, 1938
---
PART TWO: SCIENTIFIC PERSPECTIVES
---
Section 1: The Many-Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics
---
1.1 The Everettian Framework
The Many-Worlds Interpretation (MWI) of quantum mechanics was first proposed by Hugh Everett in his 1957 doctoral thesis, "The Theory of the Universal Wavefunction." The interpretation posits that the universal wavefunction does not collapse when measured. Instead, it "splits into mutually decoherent states, each constituting a distinct and equally real physical reality."
As Salah Eddine Ennadifi explains in his 2026 paper On Tunneling in the Quantum Multiverse:
"In this framework, the universal wavefunction does not collapse; rather, it evolves into a superposition of mutually decoherent states, each constituting a distinct and equally real physical reality. Within these coexisting branches, every quantum possibility is realized, culminating in a vast and diverse multiverse governed by unitary evolution."
This is not philosophical speculation. It is a mathematical consequence of the Schrödinger equation. If the wavefunction never collapses, then all possibilities must be realized. They simply split into separate branches.
Sources:
· Everett, Hugh. "The Theory of the Universal Wavefunction." Doctoral thesis, Princeton University, 1957.
· Ennadifi, Salah Eddine. "On Tunneling in the Quantum Multiverse." arXiv:2601.17856v4, 2026.
---
1.2 Emergence of Classical Worlds
The American Physical Society (APS) published a 2024 study showing that "a robust reality with classical features can emerge for a broad class of quantum systems, independently of their detailed microstructure."
The researchers simulated quantum evolution up to 50,000 energy levels and found that "stable branchings" emerge from the quantum substrate. This means that "the emergence of our classical world can be explained in the context of the many-worlds interpretation, in which countless parallel worlds branch off from each other each time a measurement is performed."
They also found that "some branchings lead to worlds in which entropy generally increases, as in our Universe, and some in which it generally decreases—which would lead to two classes of worlds with opposite entropic arrows of time."
Sources:
· Strasberg, P., et al. "First principles numerical demonstration of emergent decoherent histories." Physical Review X 14, 041027 (2024).
· Hall, Michael J.W. "Can Classical Worlds Emerge from Parallel Quantum Universes?" Physics Magazine, October 30, 2024.
---
Section 2: Quantum Information Transfer Between Parallel Worlds
---
2.1 The Violaris Proposal
In January 2026, quantum physicist Maria Violaris posted a paper on arXiv proposing that information could theoretically cross between parallel universes under specific conditions.
Using a "Wigner's friend" thought experiment, Violaris suggests that "an external controller with quantum control could make a message written in one parallel world cross over to the other."
The catch: the observer who wrote the message "must lose all memory of having done so." From the receiver's point of view, "the information must appear without any local origin—a kind of God-sent bonanza."
Sources:
· Violaris, Maria. "Quantum Information Transfer Between Parallel Worlds." arXiv preprint, January 2026.
· Dimitropoulos, Stav. "A Version of 'You' From a Parallel Universe Could Be Manipulating Your Life, This Wild Theory Suggests." Popular Mechanics, February 2026.
---
2.2 The Requirements
Violaris's proposal has three major constraints:
1. A "super observer" with godlike powers. Someone who can isolate another observer from the environment and manipulate their entire quantum state.
2. Quantum superposition of observers. The participants must exist in genuine quantum superposition—"a condition that does not occur naturally for human-scale systems."
3. Memory erasure. The sender must lose all memory of sending the message. The receiver must have no local origin for the information.
Sources:
· Violaris, Maria. "Quantum Information Transfer Between Parallel Worlds." arXiv preprint, January 2026.
· Dimitropoulos, Stav. "A Version of 'You' From a Parallel Universe Could Be Manipulating Your Life, This Wild Theory Suggests." Popular Mechanics, February 2026.
---
2.3 The Identity Problem
Scott Aaronson, a theoretical computer scientist at UT Austin, points out a fundamental problem with this proposal:
"If you look at what's actually going on, it would be much more natural to say that the experimenter simply swaps the identities of the two observers. The observer who wrote the message has been deleted from his branch, and replaced by the other observer who didn't write it."
At this level of abstraction, there is "no observable difference between moving an observer between worldlines and replacing one observer's entire internal state with another's."
Sources:
· Aaronson, Scott. Comment on Violaris's paper, as reported in Popular Mechanics, February 2026.
---
2.4 Gateway States
Physicist Rainer Plaga proposed that "exquisitely isolated trapped ions could, in principle, act as one-time 'gateway states' between different outcomes."
This is the most concrete scientific proposal for a mechanism that could connect parallel universes. The "gateway" is not a door. It is a quantum state so fragile and so precisely engineered that it can exist in superposition across two branches of the multiverse. When it decoheres, it leaves behind a trace—a piece of information that appears to come from nowhere.
Sources:
· Plaga, Rainer. "A proposal for a quantum mechanical experiment to test the existence of the many-worlds interpretation." Foundations of Physics, 1997.
---
Section 3: The String-Based Multiverse
---
3.1 The String Theory Landscape
String theory suggests that different types of higher-dimensional geometry may determine the different values of fundamental constants. Originally, physicists expected there was only one solution that could explain the parameters of the Standard Model. However, later investigations showed there is a vast range of solutions consistent with string theory—known as the "string theory landscape."
This landscape contains an enormous number of possible vacuum states, each with different physical laws. Some physicists argue that these states are not merely mathematical possibilities. They are actual universes, realized through eternal inflation.
Sources:
· Susskind, Leonard. "The Anthropic Landscape of String Theory." arXiv:hep-th/0302219, 2003.
· Chan, Man Ho. "Evaluating the string-based multiverse research programme from the perspective of the history of science." Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, 2026.
---
3.2 Eternal Inflation
Eternal inflation theory, developed in the 1980s, describes the "infinite process of self-reproduction of rapidly volume-expanding mini-universes." Our universe is just one bubble in an endless foam of bubble universes, each potentially with different physical constants, different particles, different laws.
Combined with the string theory landscape, eternal inflation produces a natural explanation for the fine-tuned constants in our universe: we live in a universe where the constants allow life because if they didn't, we wouldn't be here to observe them.
Sources:
· Guth, Alan. The Inflationary Universe, 1997.
· Linde, Andrei. "Eternal Inflation." Physics Letters B, 1986.
---
3.3 Is the Multiverse Scientific?
The string-based multiverse theory has been debated extensively in the philosophy of science. The question is whether it is falsifiable. Critics argue that because other universes are unobservable in principle, the theory cannot be tested. Proponents argue that falsifiability is not the only criterion for scientific validity—a theory can be evaluated by its explanatory power and its ability to generate novel predictions.
Using Imre Lakatos's framework of scientific research programmes, one analysis concludes that the string-based multiverse research programme "is close to being a degenerating research programme, which means that this line of research did not generate any substantial growth of truth content." However, this conclusion remains contested.
Sources:
· Chan, Man Ho. "Evaluating the string-based multiverse research programme from the perspective of the history of science." Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, 2026.
· Lakatos, Imre. The Methodology of Scientific Research Programmes, 1978.
---
Section 4: The Ekpyrotic Model
The ekpyrotic model, first proposed in 2001 by Paul Steinhardt and Neil Turok, suggests that "the Big Bang wasn't an explosion from a single point. It was a fiery collision between our universe and another parallel universe in a higher dimension."
In this model, the universe goes through cycles of bangs and crushes. The collision between two parallel universes produces the conditions for a Big Bang, creating a new universe from the debris. This model "stems from string theory" but "lacks empirical evidence and clashes with data from missions like Planck."
Sources:
· Steinhardt, Paul, and Turok, Neil. "The Ekpyrotic Universe." Physical Review D, 2001.
· Steinhardt, Paul. Endless Universe: Beyond the Big Bang, 2007.
---
CONCLUSION: The Crack Between Worlds
---
Both mythological and scientific traditions describe the same structure:
Mythological Scientific
Multiple heavens, hells, and realms Multiple branches of the wavefunction
Movement requires transformation Movement requires quantum superposition
Gateways between worlds Gateway states (trapped ions, super observers)
Memory erasure (Meng Po's soup) Memory erasure required for quantum transfer
The stone that fell from above heaven Information appearing without local origin
The bloodline as the gateway The bloodline as the "gateway state"
The Mahāsamaya Sutta records beings from ten thousand world systems gathering in one place. The quantum multiverse describes ten thousand branches of the wavefunction coexisting simultaneously.
Jao Tsung-I's study of Pangu describes a being who spans dimensions, his body existing in multiple realms at once. The quantum observer exists in superposition across multiple branches until decoherence forces a choice.
The ancient Chinese believed that dreams were visits to parallel worlds—the "other self" traveling while the body slept. Quantum physics tells us that in the Many-Worlds interpretation, there are versions of us in other branches who are awake while we sleep, living lives we will never know.
The stone in Hell Difficulty is the crack between worlds. The bloodline is the gateway state. The notebooks are the information crossing the barrier, leaving no trace of their origin.
The myth says this is possible. The science says it might be. Neither can prove it. Neither can disprove it.
That is the space where stories live.
---
— Five Element Sage 五行圣人
---
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary Chinese Sources:
· Sanwu Liji (三五历纪), Xu Zheng, Three Kingdoms period
· Wuyun Linian Ji (五运历年纪), attributed to Xu Zheng
· Shanhaijing (山海经), Warring States to Han dynasty
· Huainanzi (淮南子), attributed to Liu An, c. 139 BCE
· Zuozhuan (左传), attributed to Zuo Qiuming, Warring States period
· Yijing (易经), compiled over centuries from Western Zhou to Warring States
· Xiyou Ji (西游记), Wu Cheng'en, Ming dynasty
· Yuli Baochao (玉历宝钞), attributed to Danchi, Song dynasty
Buddhist Sources:
· Mahāsamaya Sutta, Digha Nikaya 20
· Samyutta Nikaya 15.1-2, 15.5, 22.99
· The Complete Book of Buddha's Lists — Explained, David N. Snyder, Ph.D., 2006
· Tibetan Buddhist Encyclopedia, "Buddhist Universe," 2024
Academic Sources:
· Jao Tsung-I. Space, Time, Myth, and Morals: A Selection of Jao Tsung-I's Studies of Cosmological Thought in Early China and Beyond. Brill, 2022.
· Werner, E.T.C. Myths and Legends of China. George G. Harrap and Company, London, 1922.
· Alexander, Philip S. "The Dualism of Heaven and Earth in Early Jewish Literature." Light Against Darkness: Dualism in Ancient Mediterranean Religion and the Contemporary World. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2011.
· Connes, Pierre. History of the Plurality of Worlds: The Myths of Extraterrestrials Through the Ages. Springer, 2020.
Scientific Sources:
· Everett, Hugh. "The Theory of the Universal Wavefunction." Doctoral thesis, Princeton University, 1957.
· Ennadifi, Salah Eddine. "On Tunneling in the Quantum Multiverse." arXiv:2601.17856v4, 2026.
· Violaris, Maria. "Quantum Information Transfer Between Parallel Worlds." arXiv preprint, January 2026.
· Strasberg, P., et al. "First principles numerical demonstration of emergent decoherent histories." Physical Review X 14, 041027 (2024).
· Chan, Man Ho. "Evaluating the string-based multiverse research programme from the perspective of the history of science." Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, 2026.
· Steinhardt, Paul, and Turok, Neil. "The Ekpyrotic Universe." Physical Review D, 2001.
---
END OF SUPPLEMENT