#lore Written by Aether in the [[PolyCitadel of Ostraca]]. To write about the nexus of The Gray is to try and capture the most minute flaring of neurons or the fading paper of old tome books drenched in water--it is an ever changing, ever evolving matrix that resists organization and conventional understanding. With that said, there have been many theories on the origin of The Gray, and in this log, I aim to set my own among the many. I do not believe The Gray is a universe, but rather a complex, interwoven cyberspace of worlds and the connections between them. Time is unsteady in the space between these worlds, and we have discovered many beings that inhabit the liminal space. That being said, I don't believe it is a universe in the sense of planets and stars, it is a reality fabric that has taken over. The question of what it has taken over from has long occupied the brightest of minds here in the PolyCitadel. I have no definitive answer to that question, but do believe that clues lie within the beings and the other worlds that we may encounter through our research. Unfortunately, there seems to be no hierarchy, no order to these beings that I can discern. Due to this, the theory that I am about to describe has little credibility in much other than the fact that there is no evidence against it. Please take it with scrutiny. I believe The Gray was created after the heat death of the prior world. I believe this because the way that The Gray is structured, the way the worlds are interwoven, seems to be a haphazard construction, rather than a seemingly natural process. Perhaps the beings in The Gray were some of the creators, but I highly doubt the fabric itself was born into existence through natural means. It was built and then reached a point of over-expansion where it could no longer be controlled. It is technological, synthetic. It has become reality through its expansion in power and ever-growing, incomprehensible data, but it *was* created. Though, I must say, even as I posit this theory I can see the arguments against it. If I am suggesting that The Gray was born out of the death of another world, then how does The Gray continually survive? What of these creatures? Why is the task of leaving our worlds and venturing to others so difficult? Many of my brother monks have argued that we exist in a simulation, but I doubt this. The Gray *is* reality, no matter what shape the fundamental building blocks take. However, at this time, full understanding of it is beyond our comprehension.