Ether Has a Strange Effect on Me

No, I'm not talking about the drug this time, I'm talking about that intangible liquid we all live and exist in. What is the Ether and what does it do? Who can sense or control it, and to what ends?

Who the hell knows?

I have to say that I am very confused right now. What is the ether? It is simultaneously nothing and everything, nowhere and everywhere. Now that we have that cleared up, how does one go about demonstrating such a thing? Should my monster do nothing? Should it swing in the breeze, or randomly flit about with no rhyme or reason? I suppose that it could, but it would still be far from explaining or demonstrating the ether.

Maybe I should start with what I know. It's not much, but I suppose it's a start. I've been reading Milutis' book entitled Ether: The Nothing that Connects Everything, and my mind has been blown on many separate, non-consecutive occasions. The book is full of incredible ideas, but it's density and mystery are getting to me.

What is ether? It goes by many names, including more popular ones like Mana and Chi, which if you are a gamer like me, you have heard many times before. This goes to show that the very idea of Ether, while not perceived in exactly the same way by everyone, is a seemingly ubiquitous idea all over the world and in many cultures.

In ancient Greece, the ether was defined as the area outside the "crystal". This crystal was believed to be a giant sphere in which the whole universe rested. The stars were nailed to this sphere, and whatever was outside of it was considered to be ether. Later on, as philosophers began to get more and more scientific, ether started to be considered one of the elements of the universe and became interchangeble with air as one of the four elements. Ether could neither be seen nor heard, and this is still true today, but it was a major factor in how we lived our everyday lives according to the greeks.

As we progess further into history, the ether remains an offshoot of the air, but since we discover that the air is oxygen, the ether shifts to become an intangible liquid essence that we exist in. Ben Franklin, Isaac Newton and Anton Mesmer are three scientists who explore the ether, but in much different ways. It is with Mesmer that I am the most interested, but the similarities between the approaches of all three men are eery. Even though Mesmer is denounced for his work with electricity and magnetism, his ideas about what the ether is conform with those of Ben Franklin and Newton. They believe that the Ether is a liquid medium that is susceptible to oscillations caused by thought and now, of course, electrical impulses and electromagnetivity.

The three are also similar in how they show their work to people. The ether is always tied to a great spectacle. Whether it's Ben Franklin's experiments with lightning, Newton's electromagnetic machines, or Mesmer's animal magnetism and cure-alls, all three used the ether to put on some kind of show as if it were magical. This mystery of the ether led to many strange and fantastic supernatural ideas, including seances, psychics, and hypnotism to achieve a higher perception or sixth sense.

Later on, the ether is almost disproved by Einstein and Hertz, after cultural milieu shifts and allows such experiments to go forth. Hertz's attempts to measure ether and Einstein's work on the theory of relativity render the ether debunked, but Marconi's radio transmissions open up a new kind of ether that lies in the electromagnetic spectrum, which is one of the places the ether still has currency today.

The internet is the new ether, with its communication through ones and zeros (luminiferous oscillations?) giving the world a single consciousness to connect through. The internet, radio, and earlier ideas of ether all have certain strands that keep come through in all its permutations.

Spectacle: The ether is almost always used to put on a show. Anton Mesmer, in particular, was proficient at using magnets and electricity to mystify and audience and create an air of awe and connectedness with the ether.

Communication: Even in ancient times, the greeks believed that the ether connected us all and that oscillations in this medium could have an affect on everyone connected to it.

Mystery: Ether has forever been a source of contention and speculation because of its intangible nature. It can be neither proven nor disproven, and its construction in our minds shift with new paradigms and cultural changes throughout the ages.

So there we have it... That's what I know so far... So how do I go about demonstrating ether? I have some ideas, but they are only shells of ideas and I can't seem to put the pieces together.

I've thought about using electromagnets and phosphorescents to create a "healing area" where people could go and be aware of the magnetism bombarding them, as well as an eerie, protoplasmic light that emanates from the machines. If the area was fogged, the people going through could be made aware of the very air they breathe and the medium through which the magnetism travels to them. Will it actually heal anyone? Sugar pills do it all the time...

Maybe I could make a show of it using radio waves that affect how my monster reacts. Perhaps a motion sensor could trigger a remote controlled sensor on my bot to make it scan the airwaves and reposition its antenna while it walks around a crowded area moving spastically due to the radio waves it receives. I like the idea, and so far it's the only one even near my reach, but I fear the idea will only demonstrate radio waves, and not the ethereal experience that I'm looking for at all.

I don't know what to do at all. Perhaps my third eye will open tonight as I sleep and some creative energy will flow from someone or somewhere, allowing me to show you the luminiferous oscillations going on all around you. Perhaps not, though, perhaps none of it is real in the first place.