Philosophical/Virtual Reality
From PVirtWiki
When a philosophically sensitive person ienters a field of autocausality, that person's free will and consciousness are shunted to a splinter reality called Philosophical/Virtual Reality, or "The P/Virse." Philosophical/Virtual reality initially resembles the real world, but it responds to the desires, both conscious and unconscious, of the sensitive or sensitives within.
People will relatively low sensitivity may only be able to make minor changes, such as oxidizing steel or changing the color of paint, while people with high sensitivity may be able to make major changes to the structure, and even the apparent physics, of his or her surroundings.
If the field is turned off or the sensitive leaves the field, the sensitive returns to normative reality. However, changes to the P/Virse are persistent, even in the absence of a continual autocausality field. Any sensitive entering an autocausality field in the same area will see the P/Virse more or less as it was left by the last sensitive, although there is evidence for a drift towards normative reality over time.
In short, to philosophically sensitive people, there appears to be a second reality "underneath" the real world, one that is revealed in an autocausality field. Philosophical/Virtual Reality has become a sort of secret world, accessible to only a small percentage of the population, with its own ethics and culture.
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Consensus in Philosophical/Virtual Reality
The P/Virse is continuously and subtly shifting according to the preconceptions and preferences of the sensitive. Often this reinforces impressions: a scary place will become scarier, a pleasant place will become more pleasant. When more than one sensitive is in an area, the space conforms to a compromise or consensus among those present. Usually a conscious choice to change reality trumps passive, involuntary alteration, but this is not always the case.
Some individuals seem to have a stronger influence on the P/Virse (or "philosophy"), being able to make larger changes more quickly, and to override the alterations of others where there's a conflict. However, P/Virts can form cabals, either intentionally or unconsciously, pooling their power to override a stronger P/Virt.
Disagreements and out-and-out battles over a specific alteration to the P/Virse are rarely won outright. The result is nearly always a compromise, with more influence by the stronger P/Virt, and less by the weaker.
Normative Reality in an Autocausality Field
Non-sensitives cannot directly perceive an autocausality field. Reality within an autocausality field proceeds normally according to most accounts. There have been some reports of minor, sudden shifts within normative reality in an autocausality field, such as a small object moving from one place to another, but these shifts always seem to take place when the observer is not looking, and have never been recorded by any device. Opinions differ on the significance of this.
When a sensitive leaves normative reality for the P/Virse, their personal autocausality field goes with them, but the rest of their body is left behind. What remains is a fully-functioning person with no free will or self-awareness. Typically, the person will appear to be in a light coma, opening their eyes in response to voices, pulling back from painful sensations, and in some cases making noises or stringing together words in nonsensical patterns. In some cases, a shell, as they are often called, will move of its own accord, in response to unpleasant stimuli. Proper care of one's shell is a popular subject of debate in the P/Virse, with opinions divided between restraint -- which helps to prevent self-injury -- and freedom -- which might allow the shell to leave the autocausality field in case of disaster, returning the sensitive to it.
Non-Sensitives
Most people who are not philosophically sensitive -- often derogatorily called P/Ons in P/Virt jargon -- cannot perceive an autocausality field, and if they observe one directly it immediately collapses, returning sensitives to their bodies and causing them to experience the smear. Sometimes trusted non-sensitives are hired as bodyguards, to watch the shells indirectly and collapse the field if there is any danger.
Perceptives
A small number of non-sensitives are philosophically perceptive to one extent or another. Every perceptive interacts with the P/Virse in a different way, while being unable to enter the P/Virse directly. A typical perceptive -- to the extent that there is such a thing -- can look into an autocausality field from outside and see shadows of a sort, a fuzzy vision of the P/Virse overlaid on normative reality. Some P/Pers, however, hear things instead of seeing them, or just get feelings. Some can see the edge of the autocausality field itself, as sensitives can, and some can even enter an autocausality field without collapsing it, albeit without interacting with it directly. Some can even be seen from within the P/Virse, as a shadow. The full range of perceptive abilities has not been catalogued, and many P/Virts are wary about them.
Violence in Philosophical/Virtual Reality
Each person's personal autocausality field, generated by their nervous system, protects them to a certain extent within the P/Virse. While P/Virts often have the ability to mold their own bodies, attempts to change someone else's body are nearly always unsuccessful. The neurological autocausality field also protects against physical damage -- anything that would cause pain or trauma is usually automatically resisted. This is not to say that some P/Virts have not discovered ways to make life unpleasant for each other, just that they tend to be more indirect.
This automatic personal defense system is not absolute, though. The details are not clear or consistent, but it would appear that emotional openness and physical vulnerability are directly linked in the P/Virse. If you are emotionally exposed to another person, that person has some power over you. A deep trust or love can create this sort of openness. Lovers in the P/Virse often decorate each other's bodies as an expression of this connection. However, fear, awe, and despair can also create openness, and there have been a few cases where mental abuse creates the possibility for physical abuse. Breaking someone down with intimidation or fear in order to hurt them physically is perhaps the highest crime in P/Virt culture, not the least because nerve damage is the only physical change that translates from the P/Virse to normative reality.
