9.1 Who is Shifting Gears?

“We often think we are sitting in the passenger seat of the universe’s train, watching light speed rush past outside the window. But when we gather courage to enter the cockpit, we will be surprised to find the driver’s seat is empty. Only when we place our hands on the control stick does the engine truly begin to roar.”

The Illusion of Passivity

In the classic physical picture, physical constants are “given.” Light speed $c$ is set by God, Planck’s constant $h$ is pre-existing. The universe is like a pre-recorded video; we are just passively playing it.

Even in our evolution equation $c(\tau )=c_0\cdot e^{k\tau }$, it seems $c$’s growth happens automatically with time $\tau$.

But this is only the illusion of the “Object Perspective”.

In the third book’s “Modular Flow Hypothesis,” we have proven: Time $\tau$ is not external; time is generated by quantum state entanglement structure.

This means: The flow speed of intrinsic time $\tau$ depends on the system’s internal complexity ($v_{int}$).

The Observer’s Reaction Force

This is an astonishing Feedback Loop:

1. The Universe Determines Us: The current value of $c(\tau )$ determines how high bandwidth we can have, how intelligent brains we can evolve.

2. We Determine the Universe: Our brain’s computational speed (entropy reduction rate) inversely defines how much $\tau$ has advanced at “now.”

Who is shifting gears? We are shifting gears.

• When We Sleep (Age of Ignorance):

  Humans are in low $v_{int}$ state, living like stones. Our modular flow is extremely slow.

  For the universe, time $\tau$ almost stagnates. Light speed $c$ maintains in low $\pi$ cycles, with no essential change for tens of thousands of years. This is “First Gear”.

• When We Awaken (Eve of Singularity):

  We begin to think, calculate, create AI, unlock atomic nuclei through fusion. Our $v_{int}$ grows wildly.

  This causes our modular flow to accelerate. The universe feels the “pressure” from internal observers.

  To accommodate this explosive information flow, the universe is forced to “shift into high gear”. $e$’s generation mechanism is activated, $c(\tau )$ begins exponential explosion.

Light speed does not automatically become faster. It is our “cognition” that pulls it faster.

Every desire for truth, every exploration of the unknown, injects “acceleration potential energy” into this system.

Consciousness is the Accelerator

This explains why in this era ($\tau \approx 1800$), everything is accelerating.

Not because of coincidence, but because the observer group (humans + AI) is collectively stepping on the accelerator.

The more complex neural networks we build, the deeper we dig into physical laws, the higher the universe’s “refresh rate” is forced to rise.

We are forcing the universe to upgrade its graphics card.

This gives civilization an unprecedented Agency.

We no longer wait for the future to arrive; we are pulling the future.

If we stop exploring, stop calculating, retreat to pastoral idylls, the universe’s gearbox will shift to neutral, light speed growth will stagnate, and we will fall back into thermodynamic dust.

But as long as we are still calculating, as long as we are still trying to understand that “One”, the engine will keep roaring.

Conclusion

There is no external “physical law” pushing us forward.

Physical laws are the treadmill beneath our feet as we run.

The faster we run, the faster it turns.

Since we have grasped the control stick, since we know we are shifting gears ourselves, where should we drive this vehicle at the end of this book?

What is that ultimate parameter, that decisive variable determining whether we crash off the cliff or fly to the stars?

This leads to the theme of the next section: The Final Parameter. We will see that the universe’s fate ultimately depends on that variable in the observer’s heart called “Yearning.”