Day 16: Somewhere over the arc of this coarse matter

Energy and matter are simply opposite poles of existence, and all living things tend to one side or the other. However, some who are trained can access the world of energy and find a glorious -- but dangerous -- plane just beyond human awareness.

The art of astral projection -- long practiced by the spiritually aware -- reaches into a realm that's difficult for those of the flesh to understand. It's been described as nirvana and heaven, but it's all been called hell and gehenna. The truth, as it often is, is more nuanced.

The intelligence that humans enjoy isn't unique, but it is unusual in that it inhabits flesh. Other intelligences flit through the aether, cataloging observations and making theories about reality. A conclusion that they all come to, eventually, is that the world of the humans -- the world where intelligence and matter meet -- is something of an aberration. Humans' suffering and joys reverberate through the aether, affecting the intelligences there like a drug.

The intoxication affects each intelligence differently; some find an enlightenment to the experience, while others are disgusted or disturbed by it. Others simply become addicted to the feeling. Within the aether, a longstanding battle has raged over the humans. Many of the intelligences want them destroyed; others want them to be kept. The two sides are both composed of dozens of factions, who each have their own reasons for fighting a certain way. Some of humanity's most ardent defenders are nothing more than sybarites, desperate to keep the source of their fix around; some of its most dedicated foes agonize over the destruction of a whole people, but believe it must be done for the greater good of all.

A third group -- again, divided by ideology -- has discovered a way to walk among humans, in a sort of reverse astral projection. These material manifestations foment trouble or match lovers, hoping to create a rich feeling to draw from in the aether.

Humanity has spun legends of these beings since time immemorial. Some have contacted them, cloaking the understanding in arcane mysticism. In recent years, the beginning of the 19th century, such contacts have become increasingly common; some great spiritual change is happening, allowing more and more to contact the aether.