![[240327-milky-way-black-hole-mn-1355-a2ad19.png]] [[World]] [[Worldmaking]] In summary, the core mechanics of Steins;Gate are as follows: • The universe consists of a very large, or infinite, number of “world lines” existing in superposition. • Each world line is a self-consistent history with a certain divergence value. • Only one world line is “active” at a time and determines the actual state of the physical world. • Which world line is active can change, if an action contradicts the predetermined events of the current active world line. In that case the new active world line is chosen to be as similar as possible to the previous one, but without contradictions. • The physical world reconstructs when the world line changes. • Some events happen on many world lines, making them harder to avoid. This effect is experienced as “convergence”. World lines with significant similarities can be classified into “attractor fields”. Multiple ways to cause a world line shift are demonstrated, with slightly varying effects. Each causes alterations to the world line structure. • Actions in the present that contradict the predetermined future. The new world line is one where the action took place. • Sending a “D-mail” to the past. The position of the “present” does not move. The D-mail arrives in all world lines where it has no new effect. • “Time leaping” or physical time travel. The “present” moves back with the time traveler. The time traveler arrives in all world lines where their presence causes no immediate contradictions. There are further subtleties: • Human memory can partially avoid the reconstruction process. Those with “Reading Steiner” are fully exempt. • World lines can contain self-consistent time loops. • World line shifts that do not cause a measurable divergence change behave differently to those that do. The rules discussed in this chapter are sufficient to understand almost the entire story. *from The Mechanics of Steins:Gate*