9.1 The Covenant

In the previous chapter, we stood at the edge of logical collapse. We saw that tempting “omnipotent universe”—a world where physical constants can be modified, time reversed, and scarcity eliminated just by thinking. But we also discovered with horror that world is topologically equivalent to nothingness. To preserve “meaning,” awakened civilizations must make a counterintuitive decision: Even though we can become gods, we choose to remain human.

This decision marks the universe’s history entering a completely new ethical stage. We are no longer passively constrained by physical laws (like early life forms), nor arrogantly attempting to rewrite physical laws (like engineers in the early lucid dreaming stage). We choose to actively maintain physical laws.

This relationship has a specific term in ancient theology: Covenant.

From Rainbow to Noether Operator

In Hebrew mythology, after the great flood, God placed a rainbow in the clouds as a sign never to destroy the earth again. This is a primitive contract: the powerful promise not to abuse power.

But in the context of information physics, “covenant” is no longer a mythological metaphor; it is mathematical necessity.

In the early 20th century, Emmy Noether proved the most profound theorem in physics history: Every continuous symmetry corresponds to a conservation law.

• Time translation symmetry $⟹$ Energy conservation.

  (Promise: Physical laws are the same yesterday and today. $\to$ Energy cannot disappear into nothing.)

• Space translation symmetry $⟹$ Momentum conservation.

  (Promise: Physical laws are the same here and there. $\to$ Motion will not stop without reason.)

• Gauge symmetry $⟹$ Charge conservation.

Theorem 9.1 (Physical Definition of Covenant-Keeping):

So-called “physical laws” are essentially vows that God (collective consciousness) makes to Himself.

Noether currents are the legal text of this contract.

Before civilization’s awakening, we thought energy conservation was a shackle imposed on us by the outside world.

After civilization’s awakening, we understand that energy conservation is the symmetry we actively maintain (as awakened consciousness) to ensure game fairness.

If we use vacuum engineering technology to break symmetry (e.g., making energy non-conserved), we are breaching the covenant. The cost of breach is not God’s punishment, but loss of existential credibility—the universe will lose its predictability and degenerate into chaos.

The Physicalization of Ethics: Why Do We Preserve Gravity?

Let us analyze a specific case: Why do awakened civilizations, capable of eliminating gravity (by shielding the Higgs field or modifying spacetime curvature), choose to preserve it?

In Section 3.2, we defined gravity as the “geometrization of love”—it is the tension of separated individuals longing to return to unity.

If we eliminate gravity:

1. Physical consequences: Galaxies disintegrate, planets scatter, atmospheres escape.

2. Ethical consequences: We eliminate “heaviness.”

Heaviness is the anchor of existence.

When you hold your child, you feel heaviness. That is not because $F=mg$, but because his existence is real.

If he were light as a feather, or like a holographic projection without mass, your love for him would have no grip.

We choose to preserve gravity because we want to experience the weight of embrace.

We choose to preserve friction because we want to experience the texture of climbing.

We choose to preserve thermodynamic losses because we want to experience the cost of giving.

This is the “Great Refusal”: We refuse the lightness of nothingness and choose the heaviness of reality.

We refuse cheap magic and choose expensive physics.

Humility of the Almighty

This redefines the meaning of “omnipotence.”

• Immature omnipotence: Like a spoiled child, conjuring whatever is wanted, resetting the game at the slightest inconvenience.

• Mature omnipotence: Possessing the power to destroy everything and rewrite everything, yet gently restraining radiance, carefully avoiding touching those fragile constants.

This restraint is the highest form of love in the universe.

Just as parents playing chess with children, clearly able to checkmate in one move, yet deliberately follow the rules, even intentionally lose, just to let children experience the joy of the game.

Awakened civilizations (God) watch lower civilizations still in swaddling clothes, struggling in gravity’s mire, crying in birth, aging, sickness, and death. God’s finger hovers over the console; with a light press, all their suffering could be eliminated.

But God withdraws the hand.

Because God knows that if gravity is removed, they will never learn to walk. If death is removed, they will never learn to cherish.

God chooses to keep the covenant.

God chooses to remain silent, to maintain the coldness and stability of physical laws. This coldness is God’s greatest respect for all beings.

Conclusion:

Physical laws are the golden handcuffs that God puts on Himself to protect our independence.

As long as these handcuffs remain, as long as energy is still conserved and the speed of light is still finite, we know: God still loves this world, loves it enough to limit Himself.