Chapter 25: On Dimensions
"Uh, so this is magic theory? It’s scarier than math. I don’t understand it at all."
After the Ancient One finished speaking, Pietro, who had been full of interest at first, was now lying on the table with a defeated expression.
Wanda was also completely lost, while Coulson had managed to force himself to understand the beginning, only to collapse later on all the same.
Just as Orion Cross had said on the way here, if magic followed the laws of the universe, then it was also a form of science.
But in the eyes of ordinary people, the Ancient One’s magic theory overturned the "science" they originally understood, so it naturally conflicted with their common sense.
Compared to the other three "good children" who were listening seriously, Orion Cross, the person who had actively requested to learn magic, was instead holding Coulson’s phone, connecting to the Wi-Fi, and browsing the internet.
"As expected, it’s like this."
After searching online for a while, Orion Cross discovered that a certain theory from his memories did not exist in this world.
The Ancient One series mission required Orion Cross to surpass her in dimensional knowledge. In itself, that was practically an impossible mission.
But based on a pattern Orion Cross had discovered, the more supernatural abilities existed, the more technology developed in leaps, and the more basic theory tended to become scarce or incomplete.
This was also why there were so many civilizations in the universe, yet their technology did not seem to be too far ahead of Earth’s.
Because a portion of the technology in the universe had already fallen into stagnation and bottlenecks. There had been no explosive exponential growth like what was described in the Dark Forest theory.
Earth, on the other hand, had abundant basic theory. Whether it was Pym Particles born from quantum mechanics or the various Iron Man armors that had yet to appear, none of them seemed like technology that should appear on a primitive planet incapable of interstellar travel.
In other words, when the gap was not too large, the less extraordinary power a civilization possessed, the richer its foundational theoretical knowledge would be.
Then, was there any civilization with even less extraordinary power than Earth?
Of course there was. That was Earth from Orion Cross’s previous life, where no extraordinary power existed at all.
"Can I borrow a piece of paper and a pen?"
After confirming it, Orion Cross suddenly spoke.
"Do you have a new understanding?"
The Ancient One opened a miniature portal and took out paper and a pen, placing them in front of Orion Cross as she asked curiously.
"It just makes things easier for ordinary people to understand."
Orion Cross shook his head slightly and spoke.
In truth, if it were only Pietro and Coulson who did not understand, Orion Cross would not have chosen to complete this mission. He could simply wait another month.
But now, Wanda was the same, so Orion Cross had an idea.
Just as the Ancient One had said earlier, the essence of any magic was drawing mana from a dimension. Wanda’s unawakened chaos magic was naturally no exception.
If Wanda underwent systematic study, perhaps she could awaken without using the Mind Stone as a key.
"You should all know the theory of zero to four dimensions, right?"
Orion Cross looked at Wanda and the others and asked.
"Zero dimension is a point. One dimension is a line. Two dimensions are a surface. Three dimensions are an object with length, width, and height. At four dimensions, time is added."
Perhaps because the Ancient One’s theory had nearly broken his mentality earlier, the moment Orion Cross finished speaking, Coulson immediately answered his question.
After answering, Coulson let out a long breath of relief. Thank goodness. He was not illiterate.
"Then, to make it easier for you to understand, let’s treat this line as four dimensions. How do we turn it into five dimensions?"
Orion Cross drew a line on the paper, looked at them, and asked.
"Draw another one."
Wanda’s eyes lit up. She snatched the pen and drew another perpendicular line on the paper.
"That’s right. Two lines form a plane. This one-dimensional line creates a branch and becomes two-dimensional. Then, if four dimensions create a branch, five dimensions are born."
Orion Cross rubbed Wanda’s head and continued, "This is the objective theory behind the existence of parallel universes."
In Avengers: Endgame, when Dr. Banner went to borrow the Time Stone from the Ancient One, the Ancient One had mentioned this point. Once the timeline branched, a parallel universe would be born.
"And if a person is a five-dimensional existence, then she can see every branch and possibility of the future. To a certain extent, that is predicting the future."
As he said this, Orion Cross glanced at the Eye of Agamotto hanging in front of the Ancient One.
"A good understanding. Simple and convenient."
After listening, the Ancient One nodded in agreement.
"Then how do you explain the sixth dimension?"
Coulson had already forgotten the original purpose of learning magic knowledge. He looked at Orion Cross eagerly and asked.
Orion Cross picked up the pen and drew two points on the paper, then looked at Coulson. "How do you move between two points using the shortest path?"
"Naturally, a straight line."
Coulson answered subconsciously.
"Wanda."
Orion Cross handed the paper to Wanda beside him and blinked.
"I know!"
Wanda pursed her lips and thought for a moment, then revealed a happy expression before carefully folding the paper in half.
The two points overlapped.
This was the shortest path.
"Remember? This line is the timeline. So, theoretically, the sixth dimension means being able to travel through space-time and arrive at a certain point in time within a certain parallel universe."
To be honest, Orion Cross himself felt that this theory was somewhat far-fetched. But if everything developed normally in the future, then all of it truly existed.
Whether it was predicting the future, checking the possibility of victory against Thanos, or traveling through space-time to reverse the future.
"Is there more after that?"
Coulson asked carefully.
"Now, treat the complete whole containing every parallel universe produced by the Big Bang as seven dimensions. In that case, the eighth dimension should also be understandable, right?"
Orion Cross glanced at Coulson and spoke.
"If seven dimensions create a branch, then that means..."
"Yes."
Orion Cross nodded. "The eighth dimension is another universe outside this entire collection of parallel universes. In different collection universes, even the laws of physics may be different."
"For example, perhaps in another collection universe, the speed of sound is faster than the speed of light."
"Perhaps in another collection universe, there is no magic or technology at all. It may even be that the universe was not created by a Big Bang, but split open by a person."
The so-called collection universe, from Orion Cross’s omniscient perspective, referred to one series of films, television shows, anime, or works after another.
No matter how strong the Ancient One was, she could only traverse dimensions and observe time within the Marvel series of universes.
The powers Orion Cross obtained through the system, however, came from other collection universes.
"An interesting theory. I have gained something from it."
The Ancient One fell silent for a moment, then spoke.
[the Ancient One Series Mission: Defeat the Ancient One in dimensional theory. Reward obtained: Hyperdimensional Magic.]
Mission complete!