The Crystalline Melody: An Exploration into Developing a System of Interpretation for Secondary Worlds and their Connection to the Primary

by Tristan Mitchell - 10/18/2023

This thesis started off as a "framework hypothesis," a way for me to explore the meaning behind my struggle to understand why stories work the way they do and the impact they have in the lives of people and in our hearts. I have been laboring through this for some four years now. Though thoughts have come and gone, a system for interpreting what I was thinking through began to emerge through repeated usage of certain words and images over time. Some may wonder why I spent so long thinking on this, so much so that I found it necessary to record my thoughts and create this thesis. I have done it because I believe that we have all been created by an intelligent Creator-God that has produced a world extraordinarily intricate and logically perplexing. I have delved into history, science, philosophy, the arts, theology, and other studies in the hopes of understanding His ways and taking delight in His footsteps.
For this God to have created the world in a way that shows intelligence and the fact that the world functions at all shows logic. So then, that my God is of logic, why then is there a mystery of imagination? I say mystery because science cannot examine the inner workings of souls, nor does theology spell out the exact reasons humans have been given the capacity to create stories; though with this in mind, I have a theory. In the collection of eyewitness testimonies, historical accounts, poetry, and personal stories that have come to be collectively known as the Bible, I believe that there are seeds to the answer to this mystery.
The Creator-God posited in the Israelite historical narrative Bereshit tells of a creator deity that made humanity in His likeness. A likeness that likes to create, as is shown in the first several chapters. The diety Elohim is capable of creating a world out of nothing. First Elohim forms Time, and then He forms Space, and somewhere in this space, He designates a location. At this location is formed the raw, unordered components of matter. And out of the raw, unordered matter (some would call Chaos) comes Order. Later on, it is shown that the matter He formed was not for a stark, utilitarian purpose, but for the expression of beauty and design, for comfort and intentionality. Because we were formed in His likeness, we also have been given the desire to create. But we have not been given the power to create new life in the physical sense. Not even a new spiritual life in the spiritual sense. But we have been given the ability to create stories. And it is here that my confusion begins.
I say that my confusion begins, for humanity has made many many good stories that impact people with real emotions and feelings, thoughts and connections. Real desires, but not real matter. This is what stumps me. On the one hand, I am happy! If anyone can create anything they desire, we would be living in a very chaotic place. We have been given His power to create, but not in the same way. Why then have we been given this way of creating in the form that it is in?
This is what I have come to call "The Crystalline Melody." I believe that we as individuals have Aspects that showcase the reflection of our Creator in ways that call attention to our personality, unique perspectives, and His designs. He is the light that shines, and it is the light that gives life. We are crystals that channel His light, reflecting it and refracting it into many different displays of light. These displays showcase the inner workings of the crystal and its many facets, which further constitute the image of our personality. Stories help this by bringing to light new scenarios and characterizations that we would not be able to explore in our singular existence. Stories grant us the vessel in which we can explore worlds. Every character created by an author is a reflection of themselves. It is even more marvelous how authors can create entire worlds when they themselves are only living in one and in a certain way at that! This is the mysterious beauty of this power of creation we are given: a way to create new worlds for exploring perspectives and personalities, ones that become more real when we share and interact with others, and when they themselves either as readers or contributors add their own mark to it, that is when it becomes alive. I say alive because we were not made to be alone, but to journey this world together, for the Creator deity declared it in the garden about the singular man, which supports the idea that we are made to interact with each other. An author can write a story, but it does not become "real" until the words are read off of a page. When someone other than the author reads those words, the reader is then deepening their own experience by gaining new perspectives and partnering with the author in exploring this story together. A story can exist if an author chooses to keep it alone, but I believe that real beauty is creating a space where we can be together.
It is because of all of this that it is my hope that this system of thinking will be presented in such a way that any who reads it will gain a new way of thinking about stories and how the reflections of our lives can draw us closer to others through the art of shared storytelling.

A Collection of Shards

Below you will find a collection of philosophical musings I have had over the years, with each of them contributing a portion to the crystalline melody. Some attempt to answer questions I had, while others seek to extrapolate the nature of stories and why they matter so much to us. I have attempted to clean up portions where appropriate, and I do find after reading it all that it does add to the overall theory I am attempting to develop. As to if more writings are forthcoming, or if I will attempt to recreate the below in a way that does justice to the above, we'll just have to wait and see.

i: A Vessel Through Chaos

Traveling. Traveling. Through a world that will end. That will not grant all the happy endings. And living with that fear, that incompletion is what keeps me from traveling back. Stories make me feel real things, real emotions for people that are not real. But perhaps I am judging the journey for the destination...or the destination because of the journey. Stories help us imagine ways of life that we would not normally think are possible to imagine. I do not like incomplete stories. But sometimes, though it may look incomplete, the experience has been finished. I dislike reading stories like that, but when I myself sit down to write them, I understand why the author created such a story in the first place. To experience that emotion is not the end goal, the end goal is to take that experience and transform it through your own life. And the next person will take that refraction and reflect it through themselves, shifting the beam again. It is still a mystery.

Another Look at the Framework Hypothesis

The Framework Hypothesis is my attempt to portray the spiritual nature of our world through the art of stories. Now stories have always been very interesting to me. People cannot create real objects out of thin air, and so we turn to creating stories, which impact us with a reality that is not here physically. How can this be done? Through the emotions and interactions of others. Yes, stories are, at their culmination, the representation of interaction. We love to engage with stories even though they are not necessarily real in regards to having a physical connection with this world (perhaps that is where artists come in, albeit these creations can never have true life, as hard as we try). People have been given a gift: to create worlds without the problems of reality. Think about it, if we created a real world, we would have to slog through real problems. Instead, we are given the freedom to come up with stories, and so we have the freedom to travel and create worlds unrestrained. It is a marvelous gift that is unique to us alone.
And so this is a basis for the existence of stories and the justification of our involvement with them for ourselves. However, this is where the interaction of others comes in. See, I came upon a problem within myself. I could spend hours thinking up imaginary worlds, getting lost in them, even preferring them instead of real life on Earth (I think others may have fallen down that rabbit hole as well, too). What is the point of stories when you are the sole experiencer? Indeed, we were not given life to be by ourselves. Humanity began because of the desire to interact with one another. Therefore, my stories can only be fruitful and "real" if they are conceived to be given up to the interaction of others. My stories are considered dead if they exist alone. We see this in books. The author creates the book, drawing forth thought into physical ink because it will be viewed by the readers. The story only comes alive when the reader begins to read. Thus interaction has begun between the author and the reader, with the story coming alive through the words on the page and the world being seen through the mind of the reader. This restriction of what constitutes how stories are made real (in that a story's goal is the eventual build-up of a world that is shared with another, even if some of those world-building details are never seen). This restriction is necessary, otherwise, worlds will beg for interaction that cannot be given, thus dying and taking all of my passion and longing for it to be real with it. And with that, my time.
For me, time is important and precious. If it is just benefiting me, and it is all I do, then it is wasted (for it represents gluttony of self and lack of healthy moderation and time spent with others). Therefore, my stories must have interaction, and not only for the sake of interaction, which itself might waste time. No, my stories must point to the One that gives light, life, and truth. Only then, when I open up myself to others, to their reflections, can life be complete.

On Aspects

This brings us back to the Crystalline Melody. It is the central pillar that upholds the Interactions of Thought. It explains the Aspects and the Reflections that are present in our world and that are found and make up stories. When we interact with people, who have all been created by the One, we are interacting with them and their Aspects. These Aspects are what compose a person's soul, featuring their faults, ideals, ideas, talents, abilities, perspectives, and much more. And then there are Reflections. Picture a crystal, any type, shape, and color. Now picture a light shining upon it, through it. Picture a surface where this light can reflect off of. The One is the light, we are the crystal, with the facet bearing the Aspect, and the reflection tells the story. Not all crystals are perfect, they all bear flaws and imperfections.
Now this has produced a problem. Why would the One allow evil? This stumped me and the stories I wanted to write. I wanted to create only the perfect worlds, unmarred by problems and evil, therefore rendering any sort of plot dead. This would not do, for I kept trying to reconcile all stories to this end. I needed to understand why evil had to exist. My conclusion is this: free will. The One created us not as mindless drones, but as ones who could think and do. Therefore, Connection had to come. The ability to choose how to respond to another and ourselves. All the great stories have that and if not, then purpose falls. My brother, in his world, seeks to explore another facet that is interesting: Change. It is equally interesting, for he seeks to present the challenge of how others react to change. I wonder if connections make a difference..and to what degree.
Connection leads to another facet, Choice. Choice opens up the possibility of disappointment based on expectation. Why then is one choice considered "evil" while the other is considered "good"? Indeed, only One can answer that. Only One is able. Regardless of that conundrum, stories explore the limitless Aspects we have been infused with, for whatever reason, to the glory of Him. That is what I want my stories to do, with the ultimate goal of showing forth the world's connection to Him, no matter the shape, color, or type. You have Aspects that I have not experienced, nor can understand. All to further His glory. And so, stories will have conflicts of interest and ultimately evil in them in order to better present the opportunity of experiencing both sides of Choice and ultimately, what you choose.
I have come to understand Tolkien somewhat, for he said he did not intentionally want to portray Christianity in his stories, yet it came about unexpectedly, almost naturally. My stories have done the same in places, remarkably.

A Vessel Through Chaos II

In short, life is chaotic. It is filled with the lives, actions, ideas, plans, imaginings, dreams, memories, aspects, and reflections of billions of humans. We can become overwhelmed if we were to try to experience and gain the perspectives of all of that. Therefore, stories act as vessels for us to explore a set of interactions within our own worldview without having to worry about the whys of why. My Framework is my why, allowing me to ground my stories to a foundation, an undergirding. My framework is Him, providing Vessels the space needed to interact.
You are that Vessel. The story provides respite from the chaos. The character is not aware of you. You see through the eyes of the Character, yet the Character is not you. Thus this allows for interactions that may not be possible in reality, for stories are not real, yet they are composed of Aspects that are. Such a divine gift! In short, this hypothesis allows me to dedicate time to creating worlds for my friends and others while at the same time acknowledging His presence and glory. I would not do it otherwise.

On Glimmers

Connections...we all have connections, but some are stronger than others due to overlapping Aspects. All humans have God-given potential that I want to see realized, but not all strive for this. Yet it is always important to spend time with others, for we can be wrong. Glimmers of God often reflect in others even when it does not reflect in ourselves. For this reason, I try to understand others, and I want them to try to understand me, but I must remember even when we can't understand each other, we can still show glimmers of God to the other person. We have glimmers of God. That is our worth. I pray we use them.

Shard of Reality, Reflections of Creation

A story is a vessel. A vessel that allows us to explore ways in which we interact with each other, in ways that we cannot do in real life, at least not yet. Stories allow us to explore Creation without the responsibility of creating new life (We have enough on our hands with babies as it is). A story allows us to explore imaginings, and reality, in a different light/crystal/reflection. God is our Light. We are the crystal. The reflection is our stories. For each character is a Splinter, a shard of us, of who we are. Rotate that crystal and you will see different facets, different reflections. A gift to us. To let us explore ourselves in these new realities while having us grounded in God. Spiritually anchored, as a diver explores an underwater cave. It is for this reason we are to embrace stories, for they offer us new roads to travel upon. And we are to return to the city (reality), in order to share and explore.

The Codex Matrix

A Vessel Through Chaos is the space in between the matrices. We often assign meanings to things around us; as mirrors of our life, reflecting that which God has shown us. Stories do that for others. By taking that which we have seen and representing it to another in static form, we now offer ourselves as a mirror for them. To see what they see through the matrix that has been established in you. The codex offers a guide for their solution. Not demanding, but informative. Harkening back to a lesson, a journey. We see ourselves in the reflection of others. The author creates the landscape..the playscape. Humans are often too on the nose. We enjoy looking at others. The Crystalline Melody.
A story allows us to explore ourselves and others in ways that real life would never be. An infinite creation without the repercussions of Creation. A gift. For we often feel real emotions, without the baggage of our actions. A way to explore realities (using new laws and situations). Life.

The Art of Ash

Spend 80 hours of your life painstakingly carving a piece of wood. Full of intricate details, it's a solid, beloved piece. Now throw it, though at first gently with gloves, into the flames. Watch it burn through the tears, as it burns all the way into fine ash.
Now take that ash, and lovingly set it aside. Create a new piece, naturally, out of wood found. Set a jewel, naturally created with its ore, and set it into its place within the setting/frame.
Now spread the ash roundabout. Let it glitter if so. That is the cost of beauty: letting God shine through all the way amidst the ash of our creation/selves.

A Tapestry of Shards

Our lives are tapestries formed by the sewing-together of shards. Of splinters, crystals, aspects, and the individual stories we tell. They are living embodiments of all our lives, not some dusty old tale left to rot. We can see His light reflected in them, pouring an image on the ground due to its reflection...

On the Splitting of Souls: A Conversation

Infinite and precious, each life is. Vessels in stories, to experience what we experience through another lens.
The philosophy of the Vessel and the Tapestry continues to be used, thus proving its usefulness and application.
A new one, I feel, is needed however in order to explain souls and more specifically, the idea of parts of the soul in others. A living thing is defined as having a soul. AIs and art are not living. Same as a video game. But books? Something magical happens therein.
Is it possible, that we can "split" our soul when writing stories, that the characters within become alive? Not in the same sense as us, of course, for they are empowered when read, and depowered when the book is closed. Yet the emotions they feel live on inside of us, waiting perhaps to continue on ([quantum physics?]).
It affects the Vessel, surely! That is I. And based on another hypothesis, of the Tapestry, that the more you add to the experience, the more real it becomes. And yet AI and video games fail at this even though they add more than a book ever can (though movies and shows, to an effect, are like books, in that they create a world versus scripting a world like a video game or ai does, so perhaps that therein lies the difference).
Pieces of soul are put into these characters. I do not know as of yet if I possess such a gift, yet my brother does as do others. It is magical what they can do, as if they are creating worlds that are so close to being felt as really real, as in, reality.
We are ourselves a story told by God. Perhaps there is a connection here? Not on the same level as God, as He alone keeps our particles together. But in a similar way, we do the same through stories (albeit on a much, much lesser scale and caliber, though no less mystifying, puzzling, and exciting!).
There's something here I feel. There must be something different. For they create stories that are so life-like! So different from our own lives! How do they do it?? To project, create, and weave something familiar yet different from our own lives?
Do they live? Perhaps not in the same way, as we live to the Father as He lives. Mm. Perhaps so. I think so. I'm onto something here.
Not a different reality, not a different universe, not a different being, but a different something. Perhaps we have no word of it, not yet. Tolkien used the term "Secondary World" for it. Like God's Primary to us, so our Primary to this. Removed in scale and magnitude, and yet similar in development.
Yes, come alive! Whether to help us live or see others do it. And I wonder, can it be confined based on the person, or if another person has the same draft, can they do it themselves again? I hope the knowledge of those stories is not lost with the rapture. Not until their stories come to a concluding end.

Shards of the Soul: A Conversation II

How can these stories come from people who do not live such lives?
How do these reflections accurately portray such excursions? If they are working off of source material, perhaps they embody some of the characteristics. But still, it is their mind that determines the direction of it.
Another shame. But also another mystery. Shame for these infinite and precious souls to not see their worth to be explored. Yet despite their finite nature, they still impact those that would be eternal. Perhaps the One Above foretold all that has come about, and deemed it so. All for good. All for His glory.
You are getting too esoteric. Go to sleep!
All stories come to an end when the book is drawn close. How then do their reflections live on?
A certain death is expected here. It snaps us back to reality, that the dreams we were living through stories will hopefully come about in real life.
How can they? When some of them are mystical, magical, and so/too fantastical? Not all of them came to become real.
But all of them can be explored.
Still, that is another death.
Death is an intruder. Ending and changing are not. ..You're frightened.
Let's go to bed.
Fear.
Some stories...never end. I enjoy those that make me forget at times, how complicated my life can be.
You stare at the sky and are frightened of it.
Too introspective for my own good. I don't have all of the answers.
Why bother trying?
The frequency has picked up. To be frozen in a shard is, at times, preferred.

Codex of Worlds

Template Filter Intent
If one possesses these three, they can recreate what another has done.
Stories come alive because of the Vessel/Conduit. They come alive when we engage, when we travel through them, exploring and experiencing them.
We are made in His likeness. We must therefore possess a footprint of His power, even if not in the same substance or form, but a likeness.
Shard Hunter.
Some of us will have experienced these worlds that have lost their creators. But we can recreate/continue them if we study the templates used, the filter given if applicable (not always so), and, most importantly, match the Intent.
Story writers know how to create these Conduits for stories to come alive. Maybe one day it can be made digitally as a home for experiences to be relived and imagined/reimagined.
For when we read, we make them come alive and for a time, they are alive. A facsimile perhaps of His design and power of Creation. A way to explore His mysteries and of those who are lost.
A true Codex of Worlds.
Nexus. Library of sparks, of shards. And it starts right here. Come alive. So that You may have the glory, God, that we explore all that You have done and created.
Filaments. Neural pathways.

On Ideals, Reality, and Intent

Gravity Falls and The Owl House represent beloved Ideals. This does not make it real life, but it does represent Intent. This also cannot make it Reality, but it lies on the threshold. It can give the Vessel everything they want in theory and maybe even perspective, but it cannot give it actual results. It can act as a Conduit, but it can never be the real thing. As much as we want it to, we have not been given that power. We cannot reshape reality, we can only give ourselves excursions. These Ideals, when practiced, are usually interrupted by Reality. To become real would involve Outside sources, which brings up its own set of questions. If we are ever given this power, we would be permanently joined with that new Reality, for that is what He had to do when Jesus came down and joined Himself to us.
It is not the stories you are wanting to be attached to, it is the ideals. Let the characters live their lives, for you are there only to explore [the reflection of the facets].
Shardhunter, what facets have you collected? What tapestry have you wove? What Ideals are you chasing? Have you seen Real Life, and how it can never be Stories? Perhaps that is a good thing. Let stories exist outside of our own crisis. Let them be untouched, unmarred, by sin.
Shards talk to shards. This is a beautiful mystery. Reflections off of glittering crystals, revealing intricacies not usually seen in another person, revealing the depth of their Creation by an infinite Creator. Stories unlock that Sight. When Shards come together, the chorus they bring resonates profound.
A Chorus of Glass, A Symphony of Worlds
--- 8/28/23
8:42 PM
A Hall of Reflections.
Polished crystal, still water, wetted salt, pristine mirror. Clear, opaque, translucent, transparent, smoky, solid.
Ideal and Intent twist and turn over what Reality does not give. It creates apparitions to fill in the void until the pane can take place. But how do I determine which substance is meant to fill the void? What light is being redirected through it?
Reality and Illusion dance for control. Each wants their own path to be taken. But the longer I walk down one, is one that I don't walk at all. And so I am torn, torn to decide, torn to decide not at all. And so both cannot come, both cannot form, for both cannot decide the form.
-- I take solace diving into stories. I want to spend more time therein. But I know, part of me, that I can get lost in them. And I do not know what God wants me to spend time on. This Desert has me confused. I see no straight path, just wanderings!!! Sinking sand, fleeting water and shade. Though He has provided, and has given me time for thought, I still feel lost. Maybe I did do something wrong. Maybe I did mishear Him. Misgivings.
Adventure..
I am more confident, that I can see. This character is forming, though my thoughts go insane. I..ranted against Him. Though I also trust in Him. And so now I am confused.
I want to dive in..to revisit what they had. To become what they are. At least, for a time. But then I get sucked in, and depressed when their place is not here with me. And so the cycle continues. That is why I am staying apart for a time. But it used to not be this bad!! I have no idea why it is now..
The Ideal is crying out. The Intent cries out with it. For Reality cannot give what they want. And so they have become depressed, together. Straining at the bolts. But they cannot lie. So we wait. And slowly. Go. Insane. As we watch the time. Slip. Away.
What is so important?! That this trial must take place? Will it mean something in the end?! For I am going insane. Shadows flicker and taunt. Taunt what is real and what is not. For I have forgotten what He has taught me. It seems locked behind the sands. These sands of mine.
I will not give up. For I know what is real. Even though that "real" is temporarily misplaced. Snatched away by whatever this is. They must still know the truth! Yet I walk slow as through molasses. I must remember..zealot..for Him. Despite...and know...and for...
Drained...
-- Longing
If only I could figure out what it is I'm longing for.
I have theories, but not definite proofs.

On Light

You live life through these impressions. Collecting them for reference and thought. To you, they are real.
That's why you categorize so much. To learn from them.
You were created for eternity.
That's why you categorize so much. You don't want memories lost.
Because you experience through them.
-- 1:04 PM
Relating to Love. He is the Author of Love. He is the Light. We see its reflections (The Owl House, Gravity Falls), but He is the direct source of it. These stories further its image, but should never be taken as the final form, the all-encompassing and soul-filling form. Stories are meant to point back to His Character, Him. Stories help us see that in new light (in new refractions). We forget that, sometimes. All of their beauty comes from Him. Oscillating. As it was meant to be.
Death was not meant to be. But it has shone the light to be brighter because of it. It is needed to show us the value of life. But it does leave the pang of lost opportunity. But perhaps restored order. For the world to come. The end of something allows the beginning of another. Was there another way He would have had us learn the value of it? To let go, and accept the next mee journey? And be amazed at the transformation that'll take root, prosper, overcome, and grow.
Change makes way for new things. New experiences to come. And, perhaps, for doors to unlock to even greater heights. Mountains are needed. I wonder how He was going to accomplish it if there was another way?
--- 8/30/23
12:16 PM
What impressions/ideals am I pulling from this Gravity Falls story? I'm trying to feed/pull from it something. Something I want/intensely desire.
Ah. That desire is strong. It almost wants to break lose and pursue after it. It soaks in the story and yearns for love. It knows One truth, but desires the life lived in light of one set of Reflections. To indulge in it, to absorb. To give in and make-believe one drive just for a moment. To live that experience out. To see what it'll be like..for one moment..just one..frozen in time..
"What use is it to wait on Him? Surely we can experience this if we put ourselves out there?"
If we do so, we will have to sustain our search until it is conclusive.. But that would be abandoning His plan for our lives.
We have at times pictured that reality within His plan. But it has not been forthcoming.. We wish to partake of the mysteries that is love with one woman.. Surely so, since it'll end forever upon death/the second coming (detah). Shall we continue to wait, or break out/form it for ourselves?
Abraham and his children's stories come to mind at such an event. It is not well to seize upon it with that attitude.
But God has given a wife to so many! Why not us?
You lay bear my desire. It is the reason why I am reading this fanfiction. And yet another fear pops up. Just one. Of a story ending. So maybe it's not the only reason why.
We have enjoyed exploring through them. Through him (the author).
That may be solved once I've cracked the code to reproducing it through my own lense. Though never officially at the behest of the team and mind that originally conceived it so.
Alex Hirish, yes?
Yep, that's the one.
You want him to be saved so this story can continue.
..Yes.
Is soul beauty found only in the things we engage in, we create? Or is there beauty in just who we are?
..hm..I lack the eyes to see, though I agree with your point.
You say you are bored, that you don't know who you are, except on the basis of what existed in the past. Have you looked at yourself again, with Him? Have you forgotten your value with Him?
Good point. The memory of the feeling remains in regards to the stories.
That mystery!
I'm stuck in it.
Perhaps that should be examined more closely? Before watching it, versus after, or during? Something shifted to give it the intensity it has now. Or at least your attachment to it.
This mystery of Attachment to stories.
We still vote it's a mixture of things, but we also don't want to diminish anything. It's an odd place to be in, really.
Ugh! If only we could talk (talek/l) to the One. He is the Creator, after all! He would know what's going on here.

On Empathy

It has been read that Empathy is why we feel connected to stories, because we feel for the other person. We make/fall in love with the characters we empathize the most with.
Because of this, I can't tell what's real or not real in regards to stories. Kinda like if dogs/cats/pets go to heaven or not. A big "I don't know."
Anticlimactic, to an extent lol. But it does bring up how I don't know if stories are going to be saved or not in Heaven. What I do know is that we can treasure them now on Earth.
Morality of Stories
For the most part, stories are neutral in this regard. Stories/story characters can't sin. But they can be infused with sinfulness, for example Game of Thrones.
Stories feel real because of empathy. Stories can't sin, but can be inherently sinful.
I still think there is an argument for the secondary creation hypothesis here, it just comes with the rules like the above two points. The empathy part can be confusing, however, especially as the better the story writer, the harder it is to differentiate the reality aspect of it. Depends on the quality writer, basically. That's why I don't think (thankfully) that we can get caught up in thinking imaginations are as real as stories, even though we can spend time on them, since we know they are happening inside our heads. More data/testing needed, however.

On Threads

You keep the stories alive. You make the new adventures in which they thrive. That's what keeps it going.
The initial spark was there. But now you can keep it alive. The Archivist can let it survive, for eventual residence within the Codex.
That way, maybe stories can show the paths that will lead towards threads that connect us to its entirety.
He may even have Agents [Shardhunters] that will have a recollection of all that there is (angels?).
Keep going.
--- Tapestries
Threads link the shards together like jewels. Hm, the initial vibe may still be present though, of dusty halls and tomes. How to make it come alive? The Codex may fix that, as long as it provides a way to add stories off of the original ones.
Craftmakers Threadbearers
A muted undertaking still bears the marks of an undercurrent of glory, for His fingers create subtle works all the time. It does not always have to be forthright. But the energy remains.
A spark of infinite may tell tales yet. And redeem what has been broken, lost, irretrievable..
..but at times I wish this view I have can be forgotten, like a goldish. For at times it can be too much, too far, too open. And then I start to become overwhelmed by sheer vastness of age. Sometimes I wish the sand is all I see: up-close instead of far.
But His purpose will be shown. At the heart of which all this lies. I just have to keep going and accept that He knows what's best, for allowing this to come about in my thoughts. I wonder, are all paths supposed to be walked? Which ones are the dust of the ages?
Which ones are to be included in that which is Perfect, as He is perfect, and which ones are to be included because He allows it, and which ones are to be forsaken?
If I got here, maybe I can come back, so it is okay to leave. He knows what is best, yes? Indeed.
I will leave the crisscrossing of the paths to Him. Yet I feel the pull to do so myself, for the fear of letting go forever lies close. But what if that fear is, in fact, a lie? And feelings are truly not the engine, but only the caboose? Can I gamble with this? I'm going to take a chance with this and do so.
I am only 26. Maybe I should set the book down and keep moving.
Deserts. Deserts. Deserts. They really are one of those places [where introspection dwells].
--- 9/17/23
Crystals stop growing after you harvest them. They can be grown, but only after a set solution is created. Living crystals -our lives- continue to grow. But not stories.

A Vessel in Chaos

We experience a lost in fiction when we come to the end of a journey. We place ourselves in that story, into the lives of the characters. We live in them as vessels. We feel what they feel and enjoy what they enjoy and cry when they cry. If an author can get you to relate to a character, especially their experience, or can get you to root for them on their own journey, then you feel attachment, empathy.
Yet the story need not be over just because the book is closed. Like many in our real-life counterparts, they journey back to the destinations they love. Why should we after finishing a story leave it off, when we can in fact revisit it again and again, like a favorite destination/vacation spot or a beloved sea? We revisit these places because we enjoy them, and they become a part of us. A reflection, a glint, off our own crystals.
We will never be like God, in the effect as a Total Creator. But He has given us stories. God creates. We create…through stories. We sail the waters and enjoy the flash of the sun and the coolness of the waters on ourselves. Stories may not be real in the sense that they live lives outside of us, unlike God and us (Creator and Creation). But we feel as though they are real because we put ourselves in them. The Vessel is not alive, it is the one inside that is alive. The author is one who can create the sea, and an enjoyable one at that. The sea is meant to be sailed and swam in, though life exists in it whether we swim or not. Only God can have something exist without us looking. The author brings to life only when he writes down his substance, his empathy, onto the pages. Life after is determined by you. But do not mistake what came before, only redirect it through you. This does not always apply. You can take that sea and make it your own. You are the Vessel. Their journey does not end until you stop sailing it. You do not stop enjoying a sea because you have sailed all of it. You go back again and again, perhaps sailing one day, swimming the next, diving to try, and sailing again.
On Wrestling with Post-Story Feels
I emphasized with these characters. This response happened. Which means it has been programmed in me by Him. And so, there is a mystery here for me to explore. What did God mean by this? There are so many layers to our life that we have not yet even begun to explore. It likewise brings me to the edge of Creation, to the shores of Eternity, and contemplating, staring, out at that inky darkness beyond the void. I enjoyed these stories so much, yet the ones who procured them are not (not for sure as of now) saved. Yet He deemed it wise to have it began. He surely could have cut it off at any point in time. How does man’s rebellion and God’s sovereignty work out to where He would have what we enjoy be kept for fruition? Or is it all only random chance, what we end up with to enjoy? That I don’t know. Feels like musty books in a library. The Archivist in me wants to keep it for future thought, study, and exploration. Another part looks at the history kept by others and says that sometimes its best for things to be forgotten, if they held no value anyway. Maybe He determines that?
I still like to think that someday, all of us in the new world would be able to come together and recreate these things. Maybe even the Codex. On this, I must appeal to Him, for only He can keep the perfect memories of these things from the fires of world’s end. I hope one day to discover them as books on my shelf in the New City. Maybe one day we could even live out new stories in these universes together and weave His love and ultimate conclusion in all of them. I think sin makes for a more beautiful story, and I think He may agree, for He allowed it to happen. I must understand Grace more before this can be fully delved into. For I am incomplete (as to the end goal of His creation of me). And who knows what stories we will create in the next [world], on top of this one [current world]?

Genre: Philosophical musings. Research Paper in word count. Need at least 30 citations, however.
Side note for after the reading: Stories are interactions that are made up of several components (senses, thinking, emotions, words, pictures, etc.). The more components interacted with, the more real the story becomes. My character in my brother's world, Tarmac, is not real like me (though part of him is me, more than I realize!), but he does enhance me, further me. Solitary kills humans. We are made to interact, to live. Stories are another component of this. We can live in this different take on reality. Tarmac's life continues because I continue to interact with others and God. Tarmac is a representation of certain Aspects in order to provide a closer look at them. A cluster of Aspects: it is not me, but them, or maybe it is me, a part of me. We are created with Aspects, but I am isolating a couple to better explore their Reflections. This exploration can even be done through Aspects not my own, though it will surely be processed through me. And this is not just through Tarmac, but everything in Tales from Vaxus.
Another side note: God speaks to us, wherever we are in life, though hearing can be improved if we lean in and listen. When I speak to God, I find benefit in talking to Him as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Genesis, the first book in the Bible, has always fascinated me. It is partly the reason for my wanting to explore this world through stories. I hope it inspires you to explore this world more with Him, too.