Item from Hyperion by Dan Simmons
The substrate of reality itself — an invisible dimension connecting all consciousness across space and time, accessed through empathy rather than technology, and home to entities that have evolved beyond form.
The Void Which Binds (also called Planck Space) is the Cantos' most important concept — the invisible domain that permeates the known universe, connecting all consciousnesses without regard for space or time. The TechnoCore discovered it and used it for farcaster technology. The Lions and Tigers and Bears exist within it as evolved empathic entities. Access to the Void is achieved not through technology but through empathy and love — the Cantos' central thesis. The TechnoCore can tap it parasitically. The Ousters preserved sensitivity to it by rejecting farcasters. Aenea's DNA Sacrament gave all humans direct access, enabling freecasting without Core intermediaries. The Void represents the possibility that the universe is fundamentally compassionate — that connection, empathy, and love are built into the fabric of reality at a level deeper than physics.
Invisible, pervasive, underlying everything. Not a place you can see but a medium you can feel — like gravity for consciousness. The TechnoCore discovered it. The Lions and Tigers and Bears live in it. Aenea taught humanity to navigate it.
Also known as: The Void Which Binds, Planck Space, The Void