--- Changism IV: Rewriting Cosmology by Unifying Geometry, Change, and Quantum Relationality (ChanGEsM) A Metaphysical and Physical Reinterpretation of Cosmology Without Dark Energy, Block Time, or Universal Clocks --- Table of Contents Preface The Last Clock Standing: The Hidden Assumption in Cosmology Part I - Ontological Foundations 1. Time as the Last Metaphysical Artifact 2. Change as the Substrate of Reality 3. Geometry as the Expression of Change 4. From Spacetime to the Space-Change Continuum Part II - The Mathematical Core 5. Introducing χ: The Local Rate of Change 6. Rewriting the Friedmann Equations Without Time 7. Weyl Geometry, Metric Variability, and Electromagnetic Structure 8. Zitterbewegung, Charge, and Field Quantization as Metric Undulations 9. From t to χ: A Covariant Reformulation of Relativity Part III - Cosmological Phenomena Reinterpreted 10. The Hubble Tension as a Misreading of Change 11. Dark Energy as a Fiction of Temporal Synchrony 12. Redshift, Distance, and Relational Change in χ 13. Structure Formation and the CMB in the χ-Geometry Frame Part IV - Philosophical and Interpretive Frameworks 14. Relational Quantum Mechanics and the Changist-GEM Triad 15. Presentism Restored Without Contradiction 16. Agency, Novelty, and Freedom in a Dynamical Cosmos Appendices A. Glossary of Changist and GEM Terminology  B. Modified Equations in χ-Space  C. Comparative Table: ΛCDM vs. Changist Geometry  D. Historical Lineage: Heraclitus to Weyl to Rovelli Preface: The Problem Hidden in Plain Sight Physics has consistently dismantled Newtonian absolute time. Yet, at the heart of cosmology, we still use a global time parameter as though all clocks in the universe tick synchronously. This contradiction forms the basis for many conceptual anomalies - including the invention of dark energy and the unresolved Hubble tension. Changism proposes an ontological revision: time is not fundamental. It is a measure of change - nothing more. Building on this insight, and now informed by the recent geometric theory of electromagnetism (GEM), this article proposes a deeper unification: geometry and change as the dual fabric of reality. We propose replacing time (t) with a local scalar parameter (χ), which measures the local rate of change, and integrating this with geometric field theory where field behavior and particle motion arise from metric variation. Dark energy, the Hubble tension, and the metaphysical burden of time emerge from one central error: mistaking change for time. By combining Changism's ontological insight with the geometric derivation of forces, we arrive at a universe that evolves locally, relationally, and geometrically - without the need for time as a dimension. In this vision, physics returns to what is real: structure, motion, and transformation - all unfolding now, without a ticking cosmic clock. Let us begin where all change begins: in the present. --- 1. Time as the Final Metaphysical Artifact Despite the revolutions of 20th-century physics, a persistent metaphysical residue continues to pervade our models: the ontological status accorded to time. This residual belief - that time is a real, flowing, and independent dimension - has survived the dissolution of Newtonian absolutes and subtly infiltrates even the relativistic and quantum formalisms that sought to dismantle it. It functions now as conceptual scaffolding: once supportive, now obfuscating. 1.1 The Legacy of Time in Modern Physics Einstein's relativity fundamentally disrupted the notion of an absolute, universal time. Special relativity demonstrated the relativity of simultaneity; general relativity revealed that time is curved, inhomogeneous, and responsive to gravitational fields. Yet, time endures in our equations, modeled as a fourth coordinate - a relic of spacetime formalism - and employed as a universal parameter in cosmological models. This endurance is not trivial. The standard cosmological model adopts a global time variable tt, embedding within it the assumption of a homogeneous cosmic evolution. This introduces a paradox: while relativity teaches that clocks are inherently local, cosmology persists in describing the universe as evolving uniformly in a global parameter. The discord contributes directly to unresolved tensions in contemporary physics - notably, the Hubble tension, and the invocation of dark energy to explain an accelerating universe in terms of a single cosmic clock. 1.2 The Semantics of Temporal Flow The notion of temporal flow is more linguistic than physical. We speak of "time passing" or "events occurring at a time" not because these reflect the ontology of the universe, but because they mirror the cognitive architecture of human experience. As Husserl and Bergson correctly emphasized, our perception of time arises from the structured interplay of memory (retention) and anticipation (protention). This experiential rhythm is mistaken for an ontological flow - a misidentification Changism seeks to correct. Physics must distinguish between the coordinate constructs we impose and the dynamical structures that exist. Time, in this view, is not an entity, nor a medium, but a convention of measurement - a derivative abstraction of change. We do not measure time. We measure change, and interpret the measured rate as "time." 1.3 The Changist Reframe: Replacing tt with χ\chi Changism, in conjunction with Geometric Electromagnetism (GEM) and Relational Quantum Mechanics (RQM), posits a fundamental reorientation: physical systems do not evolve in time - they exhibit change. What is needed, therefore, is not a global temporal coordinate, but a local measure of dynamical progression. This leads to the introduction of a local scalar field χ\chi, defined at each point in space as the intrinsic rate of change of physical configurations relative to others. Unlike tt, which presupposes a shared universal frame, χ\chi is inherently relational and localized. It encodes how fast systems evolve, not when they do. In this reformulated framework: The cosmological scale factor becomes a(χ)a(\chi), dispensing with the fictive uniform time variable. Redshifts reflect differential histories of χ\chi between emission and observation, not motion through a universal timeline. Quantum correlations are not defined at "moments in time," but through exchange relations parameterized by local χ\chi variations, aligning naturally with RQM's epistemic relationalism. 1.4 The Cost of Time Retaining time as a universal dimension imposes profound conceptual costs. Among them: Dark energy becomes a necessary artifice to reconcile observations with an unjustified temporal homogeneity. Block universe interpretations lead to philosophical dead ends, such as the denial of genuine becoming and the illusion of free will. Temporal nonlocality in quantum mechanics - exemplified by entanglement - is mystified by the presumption of simultaneity across spacelike separations, a notion meaningless without a universal clock. These are not physical necessities. They are artefacts of misapplied metaphysics. 1.5 Toward a Timeless Ontology The unified framework proposed here - integrating GEM, Changism, and RQM - dissolves time as a primitive concept: Geometry (GEM): All forces and field dynamics arise from metric variations; electromagnetism emerges from curvature. Change (Changism): Time is not a dimension but an emergent measure of comparative change - χ\chi, not tt. Relationality (RQM): States are not global, temporally-evolving entities but contextual, observer-relative correlations. Under this triadic synthesis, time is not an entity within the universe - it is a projection of how we compare changes among entities. The cosmos is not a block of four-dimensional spacetime; it is a dynamically structured, relational manifold of changing configurations. There is no "when."  There is only: what changes, where, and relative to what. --- 2. Change as the Substrate of Reality Contemporary physics traditionally regards change as a consequence - the result of systems evolving within a temporal backdrop. Changism inverts this hierarchy. It asserts that change is not a derivative of time; rather, time is a descriptive artifact abstracted from the comparison of locally unfolding change. The true ontological substrate is not temporality, but transformation - a ceaseless reconfiguration of relational structure. When integrated with Geometric Electromagnetism (GEM), this principle takes on a precise and elegant physical form: change is geometry in flux. What we interpret as motion, force, and field is simply a manifestation of variability in the metric structure of space itself. Thus, space is not a static container, and time is not an external clock. Both are emergent from a more fundamental substratum: dynamical relationality. 2.1 From Motion to Metric Variation In Newtonian mechanics, motion is the translation of position through time. In special relativity, motion becomes a trajectory in Minkowski spacetime; in general relativity, it is geodesic flow through a dynamic, curved manifold. GEM completes this evolution by collapsing motion into metric evolution: the geometry itself changes, and particles are simply loci of geometric flux. This implies: Change is not something occurring within geometry - change is the geometry. Field equations are not laws governing motion, but differential constraints on metric variation. "Motion" is a perceptual shorthand for the evolving configuration of the space-change continuum. In this paradigm, the particle is not an entity traversing space, but a topological structure - a stationary node within a dynamical, evolving metric field. What we observe as a worldline is a residue of curvature flow in a manifold of relations. 2.2 Why Change Must Be Ontologically Fundamental Without change, distinction vanishes. No interaction, measurement, or structure can be defined in the absence of transformation. Changism grounds this in a philosophical axiom: to exist is to differ, and to differ is to change. This view is reinforced by: Changism, which makes change the ontological ground of being, reducing time to a derived schema of comparative variation. GEM, where all forces and field dynamics are encoded in evolving metric structures - curvature, not causal imposition, drives interaction. RQM, where quantum properties are not intrinsic, but emerge only through relational change - the outcome of inter-system correlations. Thus, the trifecta: Ontology (Changism): Change is real; time is not. Mechanism (GEM): Fields and forces arise from metric evolution. Epistemology (RQM): States are descriptions of change-relative-to-an-observer. Together, they dissolve the need for time as a fundamental backdrop. The cosmos is not evolving in time - it is evolution. 2.3 The Continuum of Change Although physical models frequently describe change as discrete - transitions between quantized states, abrupt decays, probabilistic jumps - the underlying substrate remains geometric and continuous. In GEM, this is reflected in the non-conservation of the metric under parallel transport: the covariant derivative of the metric is non-zero, ∇λgμν≠0\nabla_\lambda g_{\mu\nu} \neq 0. This indicates that space is not only curved, but dynamically varying - a fluid continuum of evolving relationships. This geometric view recasts physical phenomena: Electric charge arises from local anisotropies or compressions in the metric. The Lorentz force is a consequence of geodesic deviation in a geometry with non-uniform curvature. Quantum behaviors such as Zitterbewegung or wave-particle duality reflect metric oscillations - not ontological indeterminacy, but vibrating geometry. Changism complements this with the assertion that a "moment" is not a slice of universal time, but a configuration of change - a cross-section through a topological process of relational transformation. 2.4 Toward a Physics of Becoming Once we accept that change is ontologically primary, physics transforms from the study of objects in motion through time, to the study of patterns of transformation within a dynamically structured geometry. The fundamental equations do not describe evolution along a temporal axis tt, but rather relational mappings between configurations parameterized by the local change-rate scalar χ\chi. This shift leads to a reevaluation of foundational metaphysical assumptions: In Newtonian mechanics, the world is a collection of objects influenced by forces, evolving through absolute time. In relativity, the world consists of events situated within a curved geometry, with proper time as an invariant along worldlines. In Changist-GEM cosmology, the world is a web of geometrical relations undergoing continuous change, with no need for time as a universal dimension, yet preserving time as a real system of measurement. Time, therefore, is not a flowing medium, not a container of events, and not a metaphysical backdrop. But neither is it an illusion. It is a real, constructed framework - a comparative standard by which the rate of change between systems is quantified. We do not discard time as unreal; we redefine its status: Time is not the stage.  Time is not the actor.  Time is not even the rhythm of the play. Time is the tool we use to describe the rhythm - an emergent measure of comparative change. In this view, physics does not study "how things change in time," but rather, how patterns of change give rise to the quantities we measure as time. --- 3. Geometry as the Expression of Change If change is ontologically fundamental, then geometry is not a passive arena but the active embodiment of that change. It is not the backdrop upon which change unfolds - geometry is the change, instantiated as the evolving structure of spatial relations. From this perspective, geometry is not where change happens; it is how change happens. The theory of Geometric Electromagnetism (GEM) gives precise mathematical content to this view. By attributing forces and fields to variations in the metric tensor, GEM realizes the Changist ontology in concrete form. The manifold of spatial relations becomes a living structure in continual transformation. Together with Relational Quantum Mechanics (RQM), this view culminates in a vision of the cosmos as a self-modulating network of geometric change, where time is not fundamental, but emerges from comparative dynamics. 3.1 From Fixed Background to Living Structure In classical physics, geometry functions as a fixed container - an inert stage upon which particles act. General relativity modifies this view by allowing mass-energy to curve spacetime, introducing a dynamic interplay between matter and geometry. Yet even here, the framework often retains an implicit global temporal evolution. GEM advances beyond this by treating the geometry itself as autonomously dynamical. In a Weyl manifold, where the covariant derivative of the metric does not vanish (∇λgμν≠0\nabla_\lambda g_{\mu\nu} \neq 0), the geometry is not preserved under parallel transport - it is inherently evolving. This implies: The metric tensor gμνg_{\mu\nu} is not a passive descriptor, but an active field encoding transformation. Forces and fields emerge from internal variations in geometry, not from interactions over time. What appears as motion is reinterpreted as a stationary configuration within a continuously changing metric substrate. Changism provides the ontological axiom: change is real, time is derived.  GEM provides the mechanism: metric variation constitutes physical change. Thus, geometry ceases to be form; it becomes process. 3.2 Charge as Local Geometric Compression Within the GEM framework, electric charge is not a substance but a localized deformation of geometric structure. This reconceptualization aligns precisely with Changism's insistence that what exists are localized patterns of transformation, not temporally evolving entities. Specifically: A "charged particle" is not embedded in space - it is a geometric divergence of space. Its field does not emanate from it as an effect - it is the spatial imprint of a non-uniform metric configuration. Its trajectory is not an evolution in time - it is a geodesic defined by the differential geometry of space. Thus, what we traditionally describe as "a particle moving through time" is, in this ontology, a coherent, localized configuration of change, propagating across a shifting geometric field. Time enters only through measurement: the assignment of comparative rates of change between systems. 3.3 Field Dynamics Without Time In this framework, field dynamics do not unfold within time; they are the mechanism by which geometry transforms. GEM allows us to formulate the behavior of fields and particles without invoking an external temporal parameter: The Lorentz force arises naturally from geodesic deviation in a Weylian geometry, eliminating the need for a time-dependent force law. The Maxwell equations are recast as constraints on metric variation - the electromagnetic field is a manifestation of curvature, not a field evolving in time. The Dirac equation can be understood as a description of intrinsic geometric oscillation - Zitterbewegung emerges as a resonance in the metric, not a stochastic quantum phenomenon. In every case, what we perceive as "dynamics" is the projection of geometric transformation, viewed from within and compared via local clocks. Time is not fundamental to these laws - it is inferred from them. 3.4 The Unification of Metric and Ontology The deepest implication of the Changist-GEM synthesis is this: the geometry of space is the substance of reality. There is no deeper substrate. What exists are: Metric structures, whose curvature and divergence constitute all physical phenomena, Change, understood as the intrinsic evolution of these structures, Measurement, which emerges as relational comparison of configurations via the scalar field χ\chi, rather than an external time tt. In this framework, particles, forces, and even states are not primitive entities, but epistemic expressions of relational geometry. This view resonates fully with Relational Quantum Mechanics: Quantum states are not absolute but defined by correlational structures between systems. Time does not govern evolution; it is extracted from observed relational changes. Objective reality is not static; it is a network of interrelated processes - a fabric of becoming. GEM provides the structural field.  Changism supplies the ontological priority of change.  RQM guarantees the internal consistency of measurement and observation. Together, they converge on a cosmology where geometry is not the container of reality, but its generative engine. 3.5 Geometry Is Becoming From classical Euclidean form to relativistic curvature, geometry has long served as the scaffold of physical law. But in this unified framework, geometry transcends its role as passive structure - it becomes the dynamic content of the cosmos itself. No longer is geometry: A container for matter, A backdrop for dynamics, A passive arena for forces. Instead, geometry is: The language of change, The substance of interaction, The processual core of physical being. In the Changist-GEM-RQM cosmology, the world is not constructed in space and time - it is constructed as geometry and change. Time, accordingly, is not what causes change.  It is what change looks like when measured from within. --- 4. From Spacetime to the Space-Change Continuum The concept of spacetime, introduced by Minkowski and developed by Einstein, has long stood as a central pillar of modern physics. It elegantly unifies space and time into a four-dimensional manifold with a pseudo-Riemannian metric. Yet for all its mathematical efficacy, spacetime is not the terrain itself - it is a model, a representational construct. And as with any model, it must be judged by its fidelity to deeper physical and ontological principles. The convergence of Changism, Geometric Electromagnetism (GEM), and Relational Quantum Mechanics (RQM) now challenges the metaphysical status of spacetime. Together, they reveal that the universe is not a four-dimensional block, but a dynamically evolving relational structure, where space is fundamental, and "time" is a derived measure - a scalar indexing local change. This leads naturally to a new conceptual foundation: the Space-Change Continuum (SCC). 4.1 The Ontological Limitations of Spacetime The standard spacetime framework treats time as a coordinate axis, analogous to the spatial dimensions but distinguished by its signature in the metric. This implies that: All events - past, present, and future - are equally real, The universe is a static 4D "block" that exists timelessly, Change is not fundamental but illusory. This block universe conception presents severe philosophical and physical challenges: It undermines causality and temporal asymmetry, It is inconsistent with the contextuality and probabilistic structure of quantum mechanics, It contradicts relativity's rejection of global simultaneity, It erodes the basis for experience, agency, and becoming. GEM reveals that the metric is not static; it evolves. Changism explains why: change is primitive, and any notion of time must be constructed from it, not imposed upon it. 4.2 The Architecture of the Space-Change Continuum In the Space-Change Continuum (SCC), we discard the ontological fusion of space and time. Instead, reality is composed of: A 3-dimensional spatial manifold, defined by relational metric structures, A locally defined scalar field χ\chi, which measures the rate of change intrinsic to each region. Thus, the coordinate system transforms from (x,y,z,t)(x, y, z, t) to (x,y,z,χ)(x, y, z, \chi), where χ\chi is not a time parameter but a relational scalar - a measure of local becoming. Its properties: Contextual: No global χ\chi exists; each system evolves according to its own internal dynamics, Relational: χ\chi emerges through comparison between evolving systems, Operational: It replaces time as the quantity we record when measuring how fast something changes. In short, χ\chi is the scalar rhythm of physical transformation - not a flowing dimension, but a local measure of dynamical progression. 4.3 The Geometry of Change Within SCC, the evolution of geometry is re-expressed as a function of χ\chi, rather than time. GEM supplies the mathematical machinery: dgμνdχ=Fμν[g,ρ,J,∇g,…]\frac{d g_{\mu\nu}}{d\chi} = \mathcal{F}_{\mu\nu}[g, \rho, J, \nabla g, \ldots] Where: gμνg_{\mu\nu} is the local metric tensor, Fμν\mathcal{F}_{\mu\nu} is a functional representing how geometry responds to local matter-energy distributions, χ\chi is the scalar field encoding the local rate of change. This formulation: Preserves general covariance and gauge invariance, Remains consistent with empirical predictions of relativity, Eliminates the need for an external or global time parameter. It redefines dynamics as geometric transformation indexed by local change, not evolution through a universal clock. 4.4 Relativity Reinterpreted Contrary to popular interpretation, relativity does not require time as an ontological axis. It requires only: Locally valid frames of reference, Invariant intervals between events, Causal ordering constrained by the speed of light. In SCC: The speed of light cc is reinterpreted as the maximum rate at which change can propagate across relational structures, Proper time becomes a path integral of χ\chi - the total local change experienced along a trajectory, Simultaneity loses significance; what matters is coherent change - i.e., synchronized evolution patterns. The Minkowski interval, ds2=−c2dt2+dx2+dy2+dz2,ds² = -c² dt² + dx² + dy² + dz², becomes: ds2=f(χ)2dχ2+dx2+dy2+dz2,ds² = f(\chi)² d\chi² + dx² + dy² + dz², where f(χ)f(\chi) encodes how geometry scales with the rate of local change. 4.5 The Dissolution of the Block Universe SCC dissolves the metaphysical construct of a static 4D spacetime. In this framework, the universe is not a block that "is" - it is a process that becomes. The future does not preexist; it is a space of potential configurations, constrained by the current relational geometry and the dynamical laws that govern its transformation. There is: No global timeline, No ontological future or past, No privileged slice of "now." There is only: A 3D spatial field, Dynamically reconfiguring according to intrinsic relations, With observers participating in and measuring that change from within. Time does not pass.  Geometry transforms. 4.6 Philosophical Implications The transition from spacetime to the Space-Change Continuum represents a profound shift in cosmological ontology. It clarifies and unifies: The primacy of change (Changism), The dynamics of geometry (GEM), The relational nature of quantum states (RQM). In this model: The cosmos is not a pre-written story in four dimensions - it is a generative matrix of evolving forms, The "present" is the total state of ongoing transformation, The "past" is retained structure, The "future" is an open set of geometric possibilities. This is not a universe that flows through time. It is a universe that transforms itself, measured by the very changes that constitute it. The Space-Change Continuum is not spacetime refined.  It is reality redefined. --- 5. Introducing χ\chi: The Local Rate of Change If time is not fundamental - if it is a derivative abstraction used to quantify the unfolding of change - then what replaces it as the parameter of evolution? In a cosmos where space is ontologically real and change is primary, the replacement is not a temporal coordinate but a scalar measure of transformation. We denote this quantity by χ\chi: a locally defined scalar field that quantifies the rate and accumulation of physical change. Unlike time, χ\chi is not an external parameter imposed upon systems; it is a relationally constructed, empirically grounded measure emerging from within the systems themselves. 5.1 What is χ\chi? At its foundation, χ\chi captures the cumulative measure of intrinsic change experienced by a system. It is the operational quantity we invoke - often unknowingly - when we refer to the "passage of time." Formally, for a physical system along a trajectory γ\gamma in configuration space: χ(x)=∫γδΦ2(x) dλ,\chi(x) = \int_{\gamma} \sqrt{\delta \Phi²(x)} \, d\lambda, where: δΦ(x)\delta \Phi(x) denotes infinitesimal changes in physical state variables (e.g., fields, energy densities, geometric curvature), λ\lambda is a path parameter in state space, The integral measures change directly, not duration. This removes any dependency on time as a primitive concept. χ\chi is not defined by clocks - clocks are defined by their own internal χ\chi-accumulation. 5.2 Measuring χ\chi in Practice What we conventionally call "time" is already an indirect measure of χ\chi: A second is defined by 9,192,631,770 oscillations of a cesium atom - a quantification of repetitive change. A day is one Earth rotation - a periodic transformation. Time dilation in relativity is the consequence of different systems accumulating χ\chi at different rates, not time itself "slowing." Thus, we reinterpret elapsed time as the comparison between two χ\chi-fields. Operationally: χlocal(x)=N(x),\chi_{\text{local}}(x) = N(x), where NN is a count of discrete transitions or oscillatory cycles in a reference system (atomic transitions, quantum oscillators, etc.). Timekeeping is then the act of comparing the χ\chi-rate of a reference system with that of the system under observation. 5.3 Why χ\chi Supplants Time The traditional concept of time brings with it three critical issues: Universality: Assumes a shared evolution rate for all systems, contradicting relativity. Dimensionality: Posits time as a dimension through which events move, despite no ontological support for such flow. Paradox: Gives rise to conceptual dilemmas - the block universe, causal loops, and time travel conundrums. In contrast, χ\chi is: Local: Defined by the internal dynamics of each system. Relational: Emerges through comparative analysis across systems. Directionless a priori: The temporal arrow arises statistically (e.g., via entropy). Dimension-free: Requires no embedding in a temporal manifold. In adopting χ\chi, we relinquish metaphysical burden while retaining - and even enhancing - empirical adequacy. This realignment is fully compatible with: GEM, where dynamical behavior is generated by metric evolution, not propagation in time. RQM, where quantum states are defined only through observed changes in inter-system relations. 5.4 Rewriting Dynamics with χ\chi Once χ\chi is adopted as the evolution parameter, conventional time-dependent formulations are naturally recast. For example: Classical mechanics: d2xdχ2=F(x)m,\frac{d²x}{d\chi²} = \frac{F(x)}{m}, Friedmann cosmology: (a′a)2=8πG3ρ(χ)−ka2+Φ(χ),\left( \frac{a'}{a} \right)² = \frac{8\pi G}{3} \rho(\chi) - \frac{k}{a²} + \Phi(\chi), Wave propagation: □χAμ=Jμ,\Box_\chi A^\mu = J^\mu, where: Primes denote derivatives with respect to χ\chi, Φ(χ)\Phi(\chi) encapsulates emergent effects due to geometric variability, The d'Alembertian □χ\Box_\chi is constructed with respect to the evolving geometry indexed by χ\chi. These equations maintain their predictive power but now rest on a physically meaningful, locally measurable quantity, rather than an abstract temporal axis. 5.5 Cosmological Reinterpretations The shift to χ\chi carries deep implications for cosmology: The Hubble tension becomes a discrepancy in the inferred χ\chi-rates between different cosmic epochs or observational regimes. Dark energy may be reinterpreted as an artifact of enforcing a global time across inhomogeneous regions of evolving geometry. The Cosmic Microwave Background is not "13.8 billion years old" - it is a geometric relic of an early χ\chi-configuration. Expansion is no longer space growing over time; it is the divergence of regions within a dynamic relational manifold, each following its own path through χ\chi-space. 5.6 Summary: χ\chi as the Pulse of Reality Where time served as a clock, χ\chi is a pulse - a scalar field of internal progression. It is not a flowing dimension, but a measure of structure in motion. By replacing time with χ\chi, we obtain: A unified formalism linking GEM, Changism, and RQM, A coherent ontology rooted in measurable, local change, A consistent epistemology for interpreting physical law without metaphysical residue. In the Space-Change Continuum, the cosmos is not a four-dimensional structure progressing through time. It is a three-dimensional geometry unfolding through its own internal transformations, with χ\chi as its intrinsic signature - the scalar heartbeat of the universe. --- 6. Rewriting the Friedmann Equations Without Time The Friedmann equations are foundational to standard cosmology. Derived from Einstein's field equations under the cosmological principle (spatial homogeneity and isotropy), they describe the temporal evolution of the universe via the scale factor a(t)a(t). Yet, implicit in this framework is a profound assumption: the existence of a global temporal parameter tt, valid across all space and all observers. This assumption is incompatible with general relativity, which prohibits a universal time, and with observational cosmology, which reveals inhomogeneity in both structure and clock rates. A reformation is required - one that replaces time with local change as the driver of cosmological evolution. Changism, together with Geometric Electromagnetism (GEM) and the Space-Change Continuum (SCC), accomplishes this by replacing tt with a locally defined, physically grounded scalar field: χ\chi - the rate of intrinsic change. --- 6.1 The Classical Friedmann Framework The first Friedmann equation in standard cosmology reads: (a˙(t)a(t))2=8πG3ρ(t)−ka2(t)+Λ3,\left( \frac{\dot{a}(t)}{a(t)} \right)² = \frac{8\pi G}{3} \rho(t) - \frac{k}{a²(t)} + \frac{\Lambda}{3}, where: a(t)a(t) is the scale factor, ρ(t)\rho(t) is the average energy density, kk is the spatial curvature constant, Λ\Lambda is the cosmological constant. This form presumes: A global, synchronized time parameter tt, Homogeneous expansion governed by a single cosmic clock, Cosmological acceleration attributed to a fixed vacuum energy Λ\Lambda. These assumptions fail when confronted with: The relativistic principle that clocks are local and context-dependent, The inhomogeneous and anisotropic structure of the actual universe, The persistent empirical discrepancies now known as the Hubble tension. 6.2 Reformulating with χ\chi: Change-Driven Expansion We now replace the universal time parameter tt with the scalar field χ\chi, which encodes local physical change. The scale factor becomes a function of local evolution: (a′(χ)a(χ))2=8πG3ρ(χ)−ka2(χ)+Φ(χ),\left( \frac{a'(\chi)}{a(\chi)} \right)² = \frac{8\pi G}{3} \rho(\chi) - \frac{k}{a²(\chi)} + \Phi(\chi), where: Primes denote differentiation with respect to χ\chi, ρ(χ)\rho(\chi) is the energy density measured relative to local change, Φ(χ)\Phi(\chi) captures the effective acceleration due to variability in χ\chi across space, Φ(χ)\Phi(\chi) replaces Λ\Lambda, not as a fixed energy density, but as an emergent term from non-uniform dynamical evolution. This formulation retains the observational predictions of standard cosmology where they are valid, but corrects the underlying ontology: expansion is not a function of time, but of how regions of space change with respect to their own internal dynamics. 6.3 Interpreting Φ(χ)\Phi(\chi): Emergent Acceleration In ΛCDM cosmology, the cosmological constant Λ\Lambda is introduced ad hoc to explain late-time acceleration. In the Changist-SCC framework, such acceleration arises naturally from: Inhomogeneities in χ\chi-fields across regions of space, Curvature-induced variation in the rate of local geometric change, The relational nature of measurement, which produces perceived acceleration when comparing asynchronous systems. Thus, Φ(χ)\Phi(\chi) is not a fundamental field or vacuum energy - it is a relational distortion effect, akin to gravitational redshift but generalized to dynamical evolution. It encodes the second-order geometry of change itself. 6.4 Why the χ\chi-Formalism Matters Replacing tt with χ\chi resolves several conceptual and empirical tensions in cosmology: ✅ No global synchronization required  Each observer evolves relative to their own local χ\chi, in accordance with relativity. ✅ The cosmological constant problem dissolves  The observed acceleration is not due to vacuum energy, but to inhomogeneous unfolding of geometry. ✅ The Hubble tension becomes expected  Different observers measure different χ\chi-based expansion rates, eliminating paradox. ✅ Mathematically coherent with GEM  Metric evolution is driven by intrinsic geometric variability, not evolution through external time. ✅ Compatible with RQM  No background time is assumed; quantum states evolve only through interaction-defined changes. The result is a formulation of cosmology that is local, geometric, and relational - in full alignment with modern physical principles. 6.5 Changist Friedmann Equation: Final Form We summarize the reformulated cosmological equation in its complete ontological clarity: (a′(χ)a(χ))2=8πG3ρ(χ)−ka2(χ)+Φ(χ)\boxed{ \left( \frac{a'(\chi)}{a(\chi)} \right)² = \frac{8\pi G}{3} \rho(\chi) - \frac{k}{a²(\chi)} + \Phi(\chi) } This is not a mere mathematical convenience. It represents a conceptual realignment: Time is replaced by intrinsic change, measured locally as χ\chi, Expansion is redefined as the evolving relational divergence of geometric structures, The universe is not evolving in time, but self-transforming along paths of localized becoming. With this equation, cosmology becomes truly relational. The universe is not a temporal sequence of frames, but a living configuration of space and change, whose rhythm - χ\chi - we now recognize as its most faithful clock. --- 7. Weyl Geometry, Metric Variability, and Electromagnetic Structure In standard general relativity, the geometry of spacetime is encoded by a Riemannian metric gμνg_{\mu\nu}, and the requirement of metric compatibility ensures that: ∇λgμν=0,\nabla_\lambda g_{\mu\nu} = 0, meaning that the length of vectors remains invariant under parallel transport. This yields a coherent theory of gravitation, but it precludes local scale variability - the possibility that lengths themselves may vary in a geometrically meaningful way. Weyl geometry generalizes this framework by allowing the covariant derivative of the metric to be non-zero: ∇λgμν=−2Aλgμν,\nabla_\lambda g_{\mu\nu} = -2 A_\lambda g_{\mu\nu}, where AλA_\lambda is the Weyl gauge field, a 1-form that governs the local variation of scale. In this structure, geometry is not only curved but also dynamically rescaled as one moves through the manifold. Remarkably, this variation in scale encodes electromagnetism - thereby providing a geometric foundation that integrates seamlessly with Changism, where change is primary and time is derivative. 7.1 Metric Variability as Force Generation In Weyl geometry: The metric tensor gμνg_{\mu\nu} is not rigid: scale is path-dependent. Parallel transport becomes non-integrable with respect to length. The 1-form AμA_\mu functions as a connection field associated with scale transformations, and its curvature yields the electromagnetic field. In Geometric Electromagnetism (GEM), this formalism leads naturally to: Derivation of the Lorentz force law as the consequence of geodesic motion in a Weyl manifold. A geometric reinterpretation of Maxwell's equations via the curvature of AμA_\mu. An action principle built from curvature scalars that include contributions from both the metric and the Weyl field. From the Changist perspective, this means: Electromagnetism is not a force acting through time, but a manifestation of spatial asymmetries in change. Fields are not entities evolving temporally, but differential structures in the relational geometry of space. 7.2 Charge as Divergence in Geometric Structure In this formulation, electric charge is interpreted not as a substance but as a geometric source term - a divergence in the Weyl connection: ∇μAμ∼ρcharge,\nabla_\mu A^\mu \sim \rho_{\text{charge}}, with the electromagnetic field tensor arising from: Fμν=∂μAν−∂νAμ.F_{\mu\nu} = \partial_\mu A_\nu - \partial_\nu A_\mu. Here, charge represents a localized deformation in the scale structure of the manifold - a region where the rate of geometric change departs from equilibrium. In Changist terms: Charge marks a non-uniform rate of relational transformation. Fields are encoded curvature patterns in the evolving structure of space. Dynamics result from asymmetries in how change is distributed - not from interactions mediated over time. 7.3 Frequency and Change: Geometry in Oscillation What is traditionally understood as temporal oscillation - such as wave behavior or quantum frequency - is recast as geometric modulation: The Dirac equation describes geometric degrees of freedom rather than quantum states evolving in time. Zitterbewegung, the trembling of relativistic electrons, is understood as a resonance in metric structure, arising from the interplay of spin and curvature. Under Changism: Frequency is not "oscillation per unit time" but oscillation per unit χ\chi - the density of geometric change. Wave behavior becomes a localized vibration in curvature, not a fluctuation over a temporal backdrop. Evolution is not motion through time, but structural reconfiguration along the χ\chi-gradient of space. Thus: Frequency becomes curvature, Charge becomes divergence, Dynamics become internal flow in the evolving geometry. 7.4 Gauge Invariance as Relational Consistency Weyl geometry incorporates a natural scale gauge symmetry: gμν→e2λ(x)gμν,Aμ→Aμ+∂μλ(x),g_{\mu\nu} \rightarrow e^{2\lambda(x)} g_{\mu\nu}, \quad A_\mu \rightarrow A_\mu + \partial_\mu \lambda(x), This reflects the principle that only relational ratios matter, not absolute lengths or scales. This matches the foundations of: Changism, which denies the existence of absolute temporal scales, RQM, where all observables are defined through inter-system relations. Gauge symmetry here is not merely mathematical - it expresses a deep ontological principle: reality is relational, and scale is meaningful only in the context of change. 7.5 From Local Fields to Cosmological Dynamics Weyl geometry not only accounts for local forces but also integrates naturally with cosmological evolution: The expansion of the universe is reinterpreted as a scale transformation in the Weyl metric field. Electromagnetic structure emerges from spatially localized curvature within the changing geometry. The Friedmann equation in χ\chi-form (Chapter 6) becomes a Weyl-covariant flow equation governing the large-scale structure of space. The SCC cosmology thus becomes: A metric theory with no need for time, Driven by curvature, divergence, and non-integrability, Governed by a locally evolving field of change - χ(x)\chi(x). 7.6 Summary: Geometry as the Engine of Change Weyl geometry realizes the Changist principle that geometry is not the backdrop of change - it is the very fabric of changing. In this synthesis: Length varies, and that variation encodes force. Curvature and divergence are not mathematical abstractions, but physical features of evolving structure. Electromagnetism and cosmic evolution both emerge from local patterns in the metric's transformation. GEM, as a realization of Weyl geometry, thus provides the physical infrastructure for Changism. It shows how: All interactions are patterns of structured change, All motion is geodesic flow in a space defined by its own internal evolution, Time is superfluous: what we need is χ\chi, the measure of how the cosmos reconfigures itself from within. The next chapter will explore how quantum phenomena, interpreted through the lens of Relational Quantum Mechanics, harmonize with this framework - completing the unification of geometry, change, and observation. --- 8. Zitterbewegung, Charge, and Field Quantization as Metric Undulations Quantum mechanics has often been characterized by its conceptual strangeness: particles behaving like waves, discrete energy levels, vacuum fluctuations, and the peculiar trembling of electrons predicted by the Dirac equation. But what if these quantum phenomena are not fundamentally mysterious? What if they are the natural consequence of geometric structure - the dynamical undulations of a living, evolving space? In the unified ontology of Changism and the metric formalism of Geometric Electromagnetism (GEM), quantum phenomena are reinterpreted not as intrinsic weirdness, but as geometrically encoded resonances within a continuum defined by curvature, scale, and change. The scalar field χ\chi, as the measure of local transformation, provides the natural parameter by which these processes are structured and perceived. 8.1 Zitterbewegung: Metric Resonance at the Compton Scale Zitterbewegung - the rapid trembling motion predicted by the Dirac equation - has been historically interpreted as interference between positive and negative energy states of relativistic electrons. But in the Changist-GEM framework, this effect finds a new explanation: Zitterbewegung is a resonance of the metric field - a localized oscillatory deformation of geometry. Rather than being a temporal phenomenon: It is a standing wave in geometric curvature, It arises from non-uniform flow in the local metric structure, It is modulated not by time tt, but by the scalar field χ\chi: the rate of internal change. In this picture, what we identify as an "electron" is not a particle moving in space-time, but a topologically stable oscillation - a recurring pattern of geometric transformation in the space-change continuum. 8.2 Charge as Structured Divergence in Geometry In GEM, electric charge emerges not as a fundamental property of particles, but as a structured deformation in the metric field: The Weyl gauge field AμA_\mu encodes anisotropic rescalings of the local geometry. Its curvature Fμν=∂μAν−∂νAμF_{\mu\nu} = \partial_\mu A_\nu - \partial_\nu A_\mu yields the electromagnetic field tensor. The divergence ∇μAμ\nabla_\mu A^\mu relates to charge density, understood now as regions of persistent metric asymmetry. In Changist terms: Charge is not an attribute but a stable feature of geometrically constrained change. It reflects a relational imbalance in the field of evolving metric configurations. Conservation of charge becomes conservation of a pattern of divergence in geometric flow - a symmetry of change, not substance. Charge thus marks zones of persistent curvature-generation, structured not by temporal dynamics, but by coherent divergence in χ\chi-modulated geometry. 8.3 Quantization as a Resonance Condition of Metric Structure Traditionally, quantization is introduced axiomatically: systems possess discrete energy states, and measurements yield probabilistic eigenvalues. But in the Changist-GEM view: Quantization is not fundamental. It is the emergent consequence of geometric resonance. Specifically: The metric supports stable modes only under certain geometric constraints - just as standing waves appear only at discrete frequencies in bounded media. These constraints arise from curvature, boundary conditions, and scale-dependence, all of which vary with χ\chi. Allowed energy states are not imposed - they are the harmonics of the evolving metric. Thus: A "quantum state" is a configuration of spatial resonance, A "particle" is a localized topological excitation within the resonant structure, Planck's constant ℏ\hbar expresses the quantization scale of geometric modes, not an arbitrary quantum axiom. Quantization reflects which geometric patterns are dynamically sustainable in a space that is itself in flux. 8.4 Field Evolution Without Time Standard quantum theory describes the evolution of systems via the Schrödinger or Dirac equations with respect to time tt. In the Changist-GEM framework, however: There is no ontological time axis, Evolution occurs with respect to χ\chi - the intrinsic scalar of transformation. Reformulating the dynamics: The Schrödinger equation becomes: iℏdψdχ=H^ψ,i\hbar \frac{d\psi}{d\chi} = \hat{H} \psi, The uncertainty principle becomes: ΔE Δχ≥ℏ2,\Delta E \, \Delta \chi \geq \frac{\hbar}{2}, with Δχ\Delta \chi expressing uncertainty in cumulative change, not elapsed time. In this view: The wavefunction is a geometric descriptor of potential configuration-space evolution, The observer does not perceive time flowing, but rather observes relational variation in χ\chi - the differential structure of change across systems. 8.5 The Quantum Vacuum as Vibrating Geometry The quantum vacuum - far from being empty - is in this framework a ground state of metric activity: Virtual particles arise as transient metric excitations, localized in both space and χ\chi, Zero-point energy is the residual oscillation of geometric modes constrained by curvature, The Casimir effect becomes a manifestation of boundary-conditioned resonant suppression in the local metric field. In cosmology, this reinterprets: Vacuum energy as ambient metric activity - not a source term for expansion, but a signature of high-χ\chi micro-structure, The cosmological constant as an emergent, regionally averaged curvature rate, not a fundamental parameter. The vacuum becomes the persistent echo of geometry in motion - a field of latent transformation, structured by its own relational constraints. 8.6 Summary: Quantum Phenomena as Manifestations of Geometric Change To summarize: Zitterbewegung is a standing metric vibration, not a particle jittering in time. Charge is geometric divergence, not an intrinsic property of matter. Quantization arises from resonant stability conditions in evolving curvature. Planck's constant reflects the minimum scale of coherent geometric excitation. Wavefunction evolution occurs with respect to χ\chi, not time. The quantum domain is not separate from geometry - it is how geometry behaves when structured by change. What we interpret as quantum mechanics is the resonance language of a trembling manifold, a pattern of structured fluctuation within the evolving metric fabric of space. Observers experience this through their own χ\chi-bound evolution, perceiving geometry as probability, curvature as energy, and change as event. In this light, quantum theory becomes the harmonic analysis of geometry - a music played in the key of curvature, measured in the rhythm of χ\chi. --- 9. From tt to χ\chi: A Covariant Reformulation of Relativity Einstein's theories of special and general relativity fundamentally transformed our understanding of space, motion, and gravity by replacing Newtonian absolutes with relational invariants and geometric dynamics. However, despite the revolutionary elimination of universal simultaneity and absolute time, time itself remained as a coordinate - the fourth dimension, distinct only in metric signature, yet conceptually retained as a fundamental axis. In the Changist-GEM framework, this last metaphysical vestige is relinquished. Time tt is replaced by the scalar field χ\chi - a local, relational measure of cumulative change. Crucially, this reformulation preserves the full mathematical structure and empirical content of relativity, while providing a cleaner, ontologically parsimonious foundation. 9.1 Spacetime Without Time In special relativity, the spacetime interval is: ds2=−c2dt2+dx2+dy2+dz2,ds² = -c² dt² + dx² + dy² + dz², which ensures Lorentz invariance and the preservation of causal structure. However, it embeds time as a coordinate on par with spatial axes, while imbuing it with unique dynamical properties. In the Changist formalism, we redefine the invariant interval in terms of χ\chi: ds2=−α2(χ)dχ2+dx2+dy2+dz2,ds² = -\alpha²(\chi) d\chi² + dx² + dy² + dz², where: χ\chi is the scalar field representing local accumulated change, α(χ)\alpha(\chi) is a local scale factor, encoding the metric response to evolving geometric configurations. This formulation retains: Interval invariance under local transformations, Frame-dependent measurements of spatial separation and rate of change, Causal structure governed by geometric relations. But crucially, it removes the necessity of time as an ontological dimension, recasting spacetime as a space-change continuum. 9.2 4-Velocity and Proper Change In standard relativity, the 4-velocity is defined with respect to proper time: uμ=dxμdτ,u^\mu = \frac{dx^\mu}{d\tau}, where τ\tau is the invariant duration along a worldline. In the Changist perspective, proper time is replaced by proper change. The new definition becomes: u~μ=dxμdχ,\tilde{u}^\mu = \frac{dx^\mu}{d\chi}, where: χ\chi encodes the intrinsic transformation along a trajectory, u~μ\tilde{u}^\mu now measures motion relative to local change rather than external duration. This shift respects relativistic covariance while grounding motion in geometric evolution, not temporal flow. 9.3 General Relativity in a Changist Frame Einstein's field equations relate spacetime curvature to the energy-momentum tensor: Gμν=8πG Tμν.G_{\mu\nu} = 8\pi G \, T_{\mu\nu}. In Changist-GEM theory, the field equations retain their tensorial form but are reinterpreted as equations of metric transformation with respect to χ\chi. The evolution equation becomes: DgμνDχ=Fμν(g,T,Aμ,…),\frac{D g_{\mu\nu}}{D\chi} = \mathcal{F}_{\mu\nu}(g, T, A_\mu, \ldots), where: DDχ\frac{D}{D\chi} is the covariant derivative along the direction of intrinsic change, Fμν\mathcal{F}_{\mu\nu} includes contributions from matter, energy density, Weyl gauge fields, and curvature gradients. Here, spacetime no longer evolves in time, but evolves in relation to itself - with χ\chi parameterizing the rate of that evolution in a locally determined manner. 9.4 Causality and Light Cones in the Space-Change Continuum The light cone structure in relativity defines causal order through the null condition ds2=0ds² = 0. In the χ\chi-formalism, this becomes: dx2+dy2+dz2=α2(χ)dχ2.dx² + dy² + dz² = \alpha²(\chi) d\chi². This retains the relativistic limit on signal propagation (i.e., the speed of light), but with a new interpretation: The speed of light is the maximum rate at which geometric change can propagate per unit spatial displacement. Light cones no longer represent intervals of simultaneity in time, but domains of mutual influence in evolving geometry. Causality is reframed as coherent transformation within the metric field, constrained by the local structure of space and the distribution of χ\chi. 9.5 Time Dilation as Differential Change Time dilation in special relativity is classically expressed as: Δt′=Δt1−v2/c2.\Delta t' = \frac{\Delta t}{\sqrt{1 - v²/c²}}. This is reinterpreted in Changist physics as: Δχ′=Δχγ,\Delta \chi' = \frac{\Delta \chi}{\gamma}, with γ=11−v2/c2\gamma = \frac{1}{\sqrt{1 - v²/c²}}. But the ontological shift is crucial: There is no presumption of absolute clocks. Dilation reflects differential accumulation of internal change between observers in relative motion. This reframing reveals that measured discrepancies in rates are not distortions of time, but variations in geometric transformation. Observers move through different paths in the space-change manifold and thus experience change differently. 9.6 Beyond Coordinate Time: A Fully Relational Geometry By removing tt and replacing it with χ\chi, we arrive at a formulation of relativity that is: ✅ Fully covariant - all physical laws remain tensorial and frame-independent, ✅ Relationally grounded - no background time is needed to define evolution, ✅ Compatible with GEM - where geometry itself drives force via metric variation, ✅ Epistemically consistent with RQM - where quantum states reflect relational change rather than temporal progression, ✅ Ontologically minimal - change is fundamental; time is not. In this framework, relativity becomes a theory of transformation, not motion through time.  Simultaneity becomes co-change, and proper time becomes proper geometric progression. The result is a cosmos not unfolding in time, but expressing itself through the rhythm of its own internal change, measured by χ\chi, manifested through geometry, and observed through the relations that bind it. --- 10. The Hubble Tension as a Misreading of Change The so-called Hubble tension is typically framed as a technical inconsistency: two methods of measuring the expansion rate of the universe yield statistically incompatible values for the Hubble constant H0H_0. But this apparent conflict conceals a deeper issue - an unexamined metaphysical presupposition embedded in standard cosmology: the assumption of a global temporal framework. In conventional ΛCDM cosmology, all change is implicitly referred to a universal time coordinate tt, as if the cosmos unfolds on a single, cosmic clock. This assumption underlies both early- and late-universe measurements, despite the fact that relativity explicitly denies the existence of global simultaneity. The Hubble tension is not a conflict of data.  It is a conceptual misstep: a confusion between local change and global time. 10.1 The Divergent Measurements Let us briefly review the two primary approaches to determining H0H_0: (1) Early-Universe Inference (Planck, ΛCDM) Analyzes the cosmic microwave background (CMB) - radiation from the surface of last scattering (~380,000 years post-Big Bang). Fits the data to a ΛCDM model to extrapolate the present-day Hubble constant. Yields: H0CMB≈67.4 km/s/Mpc.H_0^{\text{CMB}} \approx 67.4 \ \text{km/s/Mpc}. (2) Late-Universe Direct Measurement (SH₀ES, Cepheids) Utilizes the distance ladder: parallax → Cepheid variables → Type Ia supernovae. Directly measures redshifts and luminosities in the nearby universe. Yields: H0local≈73.2 km/s/Mpc.H_0^{\text{local}} \approx 73.2 \ \text{km/s/Mpc}. The discrepancy between these values exceeds 5σ significance. While various exotic theories have been proposed - early dark energy, extra neutrino species, time-variable GG - none offer a universally accepted resolution. More importantly, all retain the flawed presumption of a globally synchronized time parameter. 10.2 What Is Actually Being Measured? Neither method directly measures time. Instead, both rely on relational observables: Redshift (frequency comparisons), Standard candles (luminosity versus distance), Atomic or stellar oscillations (used to calibrate clocks and cycles). These are measurements of change - specifically, the ratio of change in distant systems to change in the observer's own instruments. What these comparisons assume - erroneously - is that all such change occurs within a shared temporal frame. This assumption fails when space is geometrically and gravitationally inhomogeneous. General relativity ensures that observers in different regions experience change at different rates. Therefore, applying a single global tt-parameter across heterogeneous domains produces a category error. 10.3 From H0H_0 to HχH_\chi: The Relational Reformulation To resolve this, we reformulate the expansion rate in terms of local change: Hχ(x)=a′(χ)a(χ)∣x,H_\chi(x) = \left. \frac{a'(\chi)}{a(\chi)} \right|_x, where: χ\chi is the local cumulative change scalar field, a(χ)a(\chi) is the scale factor expressed as a function of χ\chi, xx indexes position or gravitational environment. This yields: A spatially dependent expansion rate, Calibrated to the intrinsic transformation of each region, Measured with respect to local geometrical unfolding, not global time. Thus: H0CMBH_0^{\text{CMB}} measures expansion relative to a nearly uniform early-universe χ\chi-field, H0localH_0^{\text{local}} measures expansion in a highly inhomogeneous χ\chi-environment, shaped by gravitational clumping and curvature. The "tension" is not paradoxical; it reflects the failure of a global time model to account for relational differences in evolution. 10.4 The Tale of Two Reference Frames Consider two observers: One analyzes the CMB, inferring change from a regime where χ\chi was spatially uniform, The other observes Type Ia supernovae in a structured, clumped cosmos where χ\chi-rates differ markedly. Each observer uses a local changist clock - a χ\chi-based calibration anchored in their own reference frame. When they attempt to translate findings across frames under the assumption of global time, they encounter apparent conflict. The tension vanishes if one acknowledges:  Observers are embedded in their own evolving geometric fields, not synchronized by a universal clock. 10.5 Resolution Without New Physics This reinterpretation eliminates the need for speculative modifications: ✘ Early dark energy  ✘ Variable speed of light  ✘ Modified inflation  ✘ Extra relativistic species Instead, it provides: ✅ A fully relativistic, geometrically grounded explanation,  ✅ Based on local observables and relational measurement,  ✅ Fully compatible with gravitational time dilation and curvature effects,  ✅ Naturally aligned with Relational Quantum Mechanics and Changist ontology. This is not new physics. It is physics correctly interpreted. 10.6 The Hubble Constant Is Not Constant The very term "Hubble constant" is a misnomer. In Changist-GEM cosmology: There is no single expansion rate, The universe does not evolve in time, but in locally defined geometric change, Each region of space has its own Hχ(x)H_\chi(x), determined by its local curvature, matter density, and field configuration. The conflict in H0H_0 values is a signal that cosmology still carries hidden Newtonian assumptions, despite its relativistic framework. 10.7 Summary: A Conceptual Misreading of Transformation The Hubble tension arises not from data, but from modeling change as if it were time. Once that error is corrected: The differing measurements align as contextually distinct evaluations of geometric evolution, Time is revealed as an emergent calibration of local change, not a universal substrate, And the cosmos appears not as a singular, clocked expansion, but as a plurality of co-evolving relational fields. The universe is not expanding in time.  It is differentiating geometrically, and that differentiation is what we measure. --- 11. Dark Energy as a Fiction of Temporal Synchrony The discovery in the late 1990s that distant Type Ia supernovae appeared dimmer than expected under a decelerating universe led to a paradigm-shifting conclusion: the expansion of the cosmos is accelerating. To account for this, cosmologists postulated the existence of an unknown repulsive force - dark energy - now said to comprise approximately 70% of the universe's energy budget. Yet dark energy remains entirely inferential. It has no direct detection, no consistent field-theoretic model, and no empirical foundation beyond its role as a placeholder in equations derived under the assumption of a globally synchronized cosmic time. In the Changist-GEM framework, dark energy is not a substance.  It is a relational artifact, arising from the projection of asynchronous change into an artificial global timeline. 11.1 The Observational Basis: Supernovae and Redshift The case for dark energy rests on two key observations: High-redshift supernovae appear dimmer than predicted by models of a decelerating universe. Their spectral redshifts imply a greater recessional velocity than expected under uniform expansion. These findings, when interpreted within the standard framework, imply a late-time increase in the cosmic expansion rate. The second Friedmann equation, in terms of time tt, yields: a¨(t)a(t)=−4πG3(ρ+3p)+Λ3,\frac{\ddot{a}(t)}{a(t)} = -\frac{4\pi G}{3}(\rho + 3p) + \frac{\Lambda}{3}, and a positive a¨(t)\ddot{a}(t) requires a positive cosmological constant Λ\Lambda, interpreted as vacuum energy with negative pressure. This inference presupposes: A global time variable tt along which the entire universe evolves, A common temporal reference between distant supernovae and the present observer. But in general relativity - and certainly in the Changist view - no such universal temporal framework exists. 11.2 What Is Actually Being Measured? The supernova data yield two observable quantities: Redshift zz: A change in photon frequency between emission and detection. Apparent magnitude: A function of energy flux and luminosity distance. Neither measures expansion directly. They are relational comparisons: Between the state of distant systems at emission and local systems at detection, Anchored in atomic processes, field oscillations, and geometric resonances - not in absolute time. The crucial flaw lies in interpreting these changes as occurring across a shared temporal axis. This presumption misreads genuine geometric desynchrony as dynamical acceleration. 11.3 The Changist-GEM Interpretation: Expansion as Asynchronous Geometry In the Changist-GEM cosmology: The universe evolves through locally varying χ\chi-fields, not a global time tt, Different regions possess different histories of gravitational collapse, curvature, and entropy, As a result, the rate of internal change differs across cosmic structures. When we observe distant events, we compare their historical χ\chi-state with our present local χ\chi-state. This comparison, misinterpreted as an evolution in time, produces an illusion of acceleration. Dark energy is not a force; it is an epistemic artifact:  The result of forcing heterogeneously changing geometry into a synchronized model. 11.4 Rewriting Cosmic Acceleration in Terms of χ\chi We replace the time-based evolution equation with its change-driven counterpart: a′′(χ)a(χ)=Φ(χ),\frac{a''(\chi)}{a(\chi)} = \Phi(\chi), where: a(χ)a(\chi) is the local scale factor, as a function of accumulated change, Φ(χ)\Phi(\chi) captures effective curvature-driven behavior, without requiring a cosmological constant, The second derivative is with respect to χ\chi, not time. Here, apparent acceleration arises not from a repulsive field, but from spatial variability in the metric's rate of change - governed by mass distribution, geometry, and structure formation. 11.5 Inhomogeneity and the Illusion of Repulsion Cosmic structure is not homogeneous. The large-scale universe consists of: Voids, which expand rapidly, Clusters, which evolve more slowly due to gravitational binding. Each region possesses its own effective χ\chi-rate: Light from voids traverses faster-evolving geometries, When compared to slower-evolving dense regions, this produces apparent redshift and dimming. Thus, acceleration is not universal. It is an emergent relational property of inhomogeneous geometry - no exotic dark energy required. 11.6 The Metaphysical Cost of Synchronization By insisting on a global time tt, standard cosmology: Misreads asynchronous change as acceleration, Introduces a fictional energy component to preserve model consistency, Retains Newtonian intuitions under relativistic equations. In contrast, the Changist-GEM framework: Respects local covariance and geometric differentiation, Accounts for variation in redshift-distance relations without introducing unobserved substances, Grounds dynamics in relational transformation, not temporal evolution. Dark energy, then, is a model-dependent artifact, not a physical necessity. 11.7 Summary: Releasing the Cosmos from Temporal Constraint The cosmological constant was introduced to maintain stasis, then repurposed to explain acceleration. In both instances, it reflects a misunderstanding: projecting uniform time onto a non-uniform cosmos. When we instead acknowledge: That regions evolve according to their own internal change rates, That observation is inherently relational, That time is an abstraction of χ\chi, we find no acceleration, no mystery, and no need for dark energy. The universe is not driven by a hidden force.  It is dynamically differentiating, and what we call "acceleration" is simply the geometry of change unfolding at different rhythms. --- 12. Redshift, Distance, and Relational Change in χ\chi Redshift has traditionally been regarded as the clearest evidence of cosmic expansion. Distant galaxies exhibit redshifted light, interpreted in standard cosmology as the stretching of space over time. In this view, photons are elongated as the universe evolves, with the expansion encoded in the scale factor a(t)a(t) and time serving as the evolutionary parameter. But in the Changist-GEM framework, redshift is not the imprint of a temporal stretching. It is a relational measure of differential geometric change - a record of how differently the universe evolved between two regions, the emitter and the observer. Redshift is not a function of elapsed time.  It is a signature of geometric differentiation - the divergence of local rates of change across space. 12.1 Redshift as a Relational Observable Redshift is defined by the observed wavelength shift: 1+z=λobsλemit.1 + z = \frac{\lambda_{\text{obs}}}{\lambda_{\text{emit}}}. In standard cosmology, this is reinterpreted as: 1+z=a(tobs)a(temit),1 + z = \frac{a(t_{\text{obs}})}{a(t_{\text{emit}})}, implying that redshift reflects the ratio of the scale factor at two coordinate times. This requires: A global time variable tt, A synchronous cosmic clock spanning vast distances, Homogeneous application of a(t)a(t) across diverse gravitational regions. This assumption is invalid in a relativistic and geometrically evolving universe. Relativity denies global simultaneity, and GEM further shows that metric variability must be locally defined. 12.2 Redshift as a Function of Local Change Rates Let us introduce a local transformation function f(χ)f(\chi), which encodes the frequency of physical processes in a region (e.g., atomic transitions, photon emissions). Then: 1+z=fobsfemit,1 + z = \frac{f_{\text{obs}}}{f_{\text{emit}}}, where: fobsf_{\text{obs}} is the frequency at the observer's location, femitf_{\text{emit}} is the frequency at the source, Both are derived from the rate of geometric change, i.e., the local derivative of metric variation with respect to χ\chi. This reframes redshift as: A ratio of change rates, not a timeline of stretching, A relational measurement grounded in differential geometry, Independent of any absolute temporal parameter. Redshift is not "how much time passed" for light.  It is how differently space has transformed along the emitter-to-observer trajectory. 12.3 Distance as Integrated Differential Geometry In the standard model, luminosity distance is defined as: DL=(1+z) r,D_L = (1 + z) \, r, where rr is the comoving radial coordinate, and redshift is interpreted temporally. In Changist-GEM cosmology, DLD_L is reconceived as: A path integral over a dynamically changing geometry, A record of how the metric evolves along the light's path, governed by χ\chi, A measure of geometric divergence, not just spatial displacement. The redshifted propagation of light reflects: Metric inhomogeneity, shaped by local curvature and Weyl divergence, Variations in local change rates, producing frequency shifts relative to the observer's reference frame. Light, in this picture, travels not through time but through a manifold of relationally evolving geometry. 12.4 Cosmological Implications 🔹 Supernova Dimming Distant supernovae appear dimmer not due to acceleration, but because they originate from regions of slower cumulative change, leading to a higher redshift and an altered luminosity relation. 🔹 Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) BAO features do not trace time-evolved sound waves; they reflect geometric imprints formed at recombination, subsequently distorted by regional variation in χ\chi. 🔹 Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) The CMB's temperature anisotropies are not mere fluctuations in early-time energy density. They encode initial variations in local χ\chi-rates, now observed through an evolved and differentiated metric. 12.5 The Distance Ladder as a Ladder of Change The cosmological distance ladder depends on periodic systems: Parallax (triangulation over Earth's motion), Cepheid variables (period-luminosity correlation), Type Ia supernovae (standard candles). All rely on cyclical or resonant processes, i.e., on rates of change - not absolute time. In the Changist view: These steps are not aligned via a global clock, but connected through comparisons of χ\chi, Systematic errors arise from assuming synchrony across different regions and epochs, Apparent acceleration - and by extension, dark energy - is an artifact of improperly aligning desynchronized reference frames. 12.6 A Generalized Relational Cosmology Cosmological observables, reinterpreted in terms of χ\chi, become: Relational metrics of how geometry unfolds differently across space, Correlations of curvature, divergence, and local rate of transformation, Non-temporal reconstructions of the universe's structure, based on integrated geometric evolution. There is no cosmic clock ticking uniformly. There is only: A living manifold of metric variation, Regions co-evolving at distinct rates, Observers comparing their internal dynamics to those of the signals they receive. The "history" of the universe is not a sequence in time - it is a dynamical morphology in the geometry of space. 12.7 Summary: Change is Measured, Not Time Redshift, distance, and expansion are all framed in traditional cosmology as temporal phenomena. But our detectors do not perceive time. They register: Frequencies, Intensities, Oscillatory counts. These are all rates of change, measured locally and compared relationally. In Changist-GEM cosmology, redshift is not a chronicle of time passed.  It is a differential signature of how space has transformed. With this, the veil lifts: There is no need for a temporal scaffold, No accelerating fabric of space, No universal now. Only the relational geometry of change, unfolding across a manifold that measures itself by its own transformation. --- 13. Structure Formation and the CMB in the χ\chi-Geometry Frame In standard ΛCDM cosmology, the formation of structure - galaxies, clusters, filaments, and voids - is modeled as the progressive amplification of primordial density fluctuations under the action of gravity, traced along a global time coordinate tt. The Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), meanwhile, is treated as a temporal snapshot of the early universe, fixed at a specific cosmic epoch (~380,000 years post-Big Bang). The Changist-GEM framework rejects the notion of a universal time axis. Instead, it introduces a relational evolution of space governed by the local scalar field χ\chi, which measures cumulative change. Structure forms not "later" in time, but faster or more intensely in regions where change proceeds more rapidly. The universe's structure does not emerge over time.  It emerges through geometric differentiation - the local divergence of transformation encoded in χ\chi. 13.1 Structure Formation in ΛCDM: The Temporal Paradigm In the standard model, structure formation proceeds via: Quantum fluctuations seeded during inflation, Growth through gravitational instability, Tracked by the growth factor D(t)D(t) over cosmic time, Modeled by the density contrast equation: δ¨+2H(t)δ˙=4πGρδ,\ddot{\delta} + 2H(t) \dot{\delta} = 4\pi G \rho \delta, where: δ=δρρ\delta = \frac{\delta \rho}{\rho} is the density perturbation, H(t)H(t) is the Hubble parameter, Time derivatives drive the dynamics. This framework assumes: A globally defined coordinate time tt, Homogeneous evolution punctuated only by small-scale deviations, Synchrony among observers across the cosmos. All of these assumptions collapse under scrutiny from a relativistically rigorous, ontologically minimal perspective of localized geometric change. 13.2 Relational Growth in the χ\chi-Geometry Frame In the Changist-GEM formulation: χ\chi encodes the local rate of cumulative transformation, Fluctuations in χ\chi correspond to early geometric asymmetries, Structure forms where geometry evolves faster: collapse initiates not later, but sooner in terms of accumulated change. The growth equation is re-expressed in terms of χ\chi: δ′′+(a′(χ)a(χ))δ′=4πGρ(χ)δ,\delta'' + \left( \frac{a'(\chi)}{a(\chi)} \right) \delta' = 4\pi G \rho(\chi) \delta, where: Primes denote derivatives with respect to χ\chi, a(χ)a(\chi) is the local scale factor, ρ(χ)\rho(\chi) reflects the regional matter density evolved according to local χ\chi-trajectories. Here, voids, clusters, and filaments emerge not because they exist "later," but because the geometry in those regions evolves along different changist pathways. 13.3 The CMB as a Geometry-Imprinted Horizon of Change In standard cosmology, the CMB is a temporal surface: the universe at t≈380,000t \approx 380{,}000 years. In Changist-GEM: The surface of last scattering is not a moment in time, but a threshold in local geometric conditions - when matter-photon decoupling occurs at a particular value of χ\chi, The CMB is a textured record of differential transformation across space, Anisotropies in the CMB correspond to early differences in curvature, density, and divergence - frozen not simultaneously, but relationally, via varying χ\chi-values. Thus, the CMB is not a temporal snapshot. It is a geometric fossil of early changist asymmetries, now observed through a manifold that has continued to differentiate. 13.4 Baryon Acoustic Oscillations as Localized Metric Freezing BAO are typically treated as "standard rulers" - oscillatory patterns frozen at recombination. In the Changist-GEM view: BAO patterns solidify when local χ\chi surpasses the acoustic threshold condition, Observed angular sizes reflect how regions have differentially evolved in curvature and scale, The "ruler" is not globally standard, but locally contingent upon geometric flow. This reframes discrepancies in BAO measurements across surveys as expected consequences of non-synchronous evolution - not statistical error. 13.5 The Cosmic Web: A Pattern of Metric Self-Organization Simulations of structure formation reveal: Hierarchical clustering, Flow along anisotropic filaments, Void expansion driven by underdensity. Under the Changist-GEM model: These features arise from metric variation: curvature evolving along spatial gradients in χ\chi, Clusters form where curvature intensifies more rapidly, Voids expand where divergence accumulates with lower resistance. This process is not temporal. It is morphogenetic: structure is the resonant unfolding of geometry, governed by local differential equations on a dynamic manifold. 13.6 Summary: Geometry, Not Time, Shapes the Cosmos The Changist-GEM perspective recasts cosmic structure as an emergent feature of relational geometric evolution, governed by: Local χ\chi-rates of change, Metric variation (curvature, divergence), Non-uniform distributions of gravitational potential. There is no need for: A global scale factor a(t)a(t), A singular cosmological clock, Synchrony among causally disconnected regions. The universe is not built over time.  It is structured by how geometry differentiates itself, one region unfolding according to its own changist rhythm. The cosmic web, the CMB, and BAO are not frozen in time. They are the visible signatures of a spatially evolving geometry - dynamic, localized, and relationally encoded in the differential pulse of χ\chi. --- 14. Relational Quantum Mechanics and the Changist-GEM Triad Quantum mechanics has long been seen as conceptually incomplete: it defies classical intuitions, predicts probabilities without causes, and invokes "collapses" that occur without clear mechanisms. Entangled systems appear to affect one another instantaneously, and measurement seems to require an ill-defined "observer." These paradoxes do not stem from quantum theory itself, but from metaphysical assumptions we have imported into its interpretation - assumptions of absolute time, observer-independent states, and a pre-existing spacetime backdrop. Relational Quantum Mechanics (RQM), first formalized by Carlo Rovelli, challenges these assumptions. It posits: Physical quantities exist only in relation to other systems. There are no absolute states; there are only relational facts. This epistemological stance aligns directly with: Changism, which asserts that change, not time, is fundamental; Geometric Electromagnetism (GEM), which derives force and motion from the variability of the metric, not from objects moving in spacetime; And with the spirit of general relativity, which defines physical content in terms of local geometric relations. Together, these form a consistent ontological triad: Change (χ\chi): The scalar measure of cumulative local transformation, Geometry (gμνg_{\mu\nu}): The evolving relational structure of space, Relation (RQM): The perspective-dependent assignment of states and observables. 14.1 The Relational Core of Quantum Theory In RQM: The quantum state ψ\psi is not an absolute description of a system, It is a description relative to another system, typically one that has interacted with it. Measurement is not a physical discontinuity in nature. It is an epistemic update: a re-description of relational configuration following interaction. This principle directly parallels Changist-GEM concepts: Interaction = relational geometric deformation, State = description of co-evolved metric configurations, Collapse = transition from potential relational structures to defined mutual configurations. 14.2 Particles as Localized Metric Modes In the Changist-GEM model: A "quantum particle" is a localized metric excitation, a stable mode of curvature or divergence within the manifold. Its properties (mass, charge, spin) emerge from how its local geometry relates to nearby fields and curvatures. Measurement is the interaction of two geometric configurations - observer and observed - causing a co-evolution of structure. Hence: Entanglement arises from shared geometric modes, not instantaneous influence. Nonlocal correlations reflect a common changist history, not violations of causality. What appears as "quantum weirdness" is simply the relational nature of geometry under asymmetric change. 14.3 Quantum Evolution in χ\chi Quantum systems traditionally evolve in time tt, but in Changism, time is replaced by χ\chi, the scalar of transformation. Thus, the relational Schrödinger equation becomes: iℏddχψS∣O=H^S∣OψS∣O,i\hbar \frac{d}{d\chi} \psi_{S|O} = \hat{H}_{S|O} \psi_{S|O}, where: ψS∣O\psi_{S|O} is the state of system SS relative to observer OO, H^S∣O\hat{H}_{S|O} is the Hamiltonian governing that relation, χ\chi quantifies the physical change accumulated during interaction, not elapsed coordinate time. This makes quantum theory coordinate-free and relationally grounded: Evolution is not in time, but in the geometry of mutual change, Observables are re-expressed in terms of differential interaction patterns, Collapse becomes a shift in the relational metric configuration. 14.4 Resolution of the Observer Problem Standard quantum mechanics suffers from ambiguities around: The role and definition of observers, The boundary between quantum and classical, The mechanism of measurement collapse. In the Changist-GEM-RQM triad: All systems are observers - insofar as they interact and relate, All observations are geometric events - metric deformations induced by interaction, Collapse is not collapse - it is the realignment of relational curvature in response to mutual deformation. No special role is assigned to consciousness, devices, or temporal moments. All measurement is localized changist correlation. 14.5 Summary Table: Ontological Coherence Concept Changism GEM RQM Fundamental Entity Change (χ\chi) Geometry (gμνg_{\mu\nu}, AμA_\mu) Relation (( \psi_{S Time Emergent, not fundamental Absent; replaced by χ\chi Not needed; only interaction matters Evolution Geometric transformation Metric variation Interaction-driven state change Measurement Comparison of change Local geometric deformation Relational state assignment Collapse Epistemically irrelevant Reconfiguration of geometry Observer-relative knowledge update Nonlocality Inapplicable Curvature correlation, no causality Correlated records, no superluminal flow 14.6 Geometry as Quantum Process In this synthesis: Spacetime is not a backdrop; geometry is an active participant in all phenomena. Quantum behavior arises from geometric resonance and interaction, Observers and systems are simply relational nodes in an evolving field of change. There is no background time. No observer-independent state. No fundamental collapse. There is only geometry in motion, systems in relation, and facts emerging from the co-evolution of asymmetric change. Quantum mechanics is no longer a theory of probabilities on a static screen. It is the harmonic grammar of space itself, modulating through interactions, encoded in curvature, and parameterized by χ\chi - the measure of becoming. --- 15. Presentism Restored Without Contradiction Contemporary physics, especially in the relativistic tradition, has embraced eternalism - the view that past, present, and future are equally real, existing as regions of a four-dimensional spacetime manifold. This view culminates in the block universe interpretation, wherein the entire history of the cosmos is fixed, and "now" is merely an arbitrary slice through an unchanging continuum. Yet this metaphysical stance is in profound tension with: Our lived experience of change and becoming, Causality, which implies a directed, processual unfolding, Agency, which requires an open future and an evolving present. Presentism - the view that only the present is real - has been largely dismissed within physics as incompatible with relativity. But this rejection depends on assumptions the Changist-GEM framework no longer shares. By replacing absolute time with relational change (χ\chi), and by grounding evolution in local geometric transformation, we can reclaim a physically coherent, relativistically consistent form of presentism. The present is not a moment in universal time.  It is the locus of active transformation - the domain where geometry, matter, and relation are still in flux. 15.1 The Block Universe as a Static Illusion In the standard formulation: Spacetime is treated as a complete 4D manifold, All events - past, present, and future - exist on equal ontological footing, The present has no privileged status. This model derives from the Minkowski interval: ds2=−c2dt2+dx2+dy2+dz2,ds² = -c² dt² + dx² + dy² + dz², which treats time as just another coordinate, with a distinct metric signature but no inherent priority. The result is conceptually elegant, but ontologically inert: Change becomes illusory - everything "already is," and nothing truly happens. Causality becomes geometric order, not dynamic flow. The future is fixed, rendering freedom and emergence unintelligible. This interpretation contradicts both observation and coherence. Physics depends fundamentally on measurement - which is an act, a process, a localized change. The block universe cannot account for that. 15.2 Changist Presentism: The Geometry of Active Relation In Changism, time is not a dimension - it is an abstraction from how systems change. What exists is not "at a time," but within an evolving configuration of geometry. The real is the currently transforming relational structure, measurable via χ\chi, not tt. Thus, presentism is redefined: The present is the 3D hypersurface of currently active transformation - the slice of the universe undergoing co-evolution, The past exists only as imprinted structure - in curvature, memory, record, The future is undetermined potential - a space of configurations not yet actualized. In this ontology: The real is what is still changing, The present is where interaction occurs, Reality is dynamically constructed, not statically laid out. 15.3 RQM: Facts Are Local, Present, and Relational Relational Quantum Mechanics confirms this picture: There is no global wavefunction of the universe, Quantum states are relative - facts exist only in the context of interactions, Observation, and thus actuality, occurs in the present moment of co-change. From this, it follows: The past is not retrievable; it is encoded in the present, The future is not predetermined; it is constrained possibility, The present is the only domain where relational facts are defined. Thus, presentism is not pre-relativistic. It is the logical consequence of a relational ontology in which change, not time, is fundamental. 15.4 GEM: The Metric Evolves, and Only the Present Exists In the framework of Geometric Electromagnetism, the metric tensor gμνg_{\mu\nu} is not static: It varies according to local energy, charge, and curvature, The Weyl connection allows for scale evolution, enabling geometry to reflect real, measurable change, The geometry of the universe is not frozen - it is in continual morphogenesis. In this setting: The present geometry is the only one undergoing active transformation, The past is contained within the current configuration (e.g., curvature memory, topological constraint), The future is a set of potential deformations not yet realized. GEM thereby supports a non-block conception of the universe: not a frozen manifold, but a self-transforming geometric field, evolving locally and relationally. 15.5 No Contradiction with Relativity Relativity is often invoked to reject presentism because it denies absolute simultaneity. But this rejection is only valid if one presumes: A global present must exist for presentism to be viable, Time is part of the geometry rather than an emergent abstraction. Changist-GEM avoids both errors: Each observer traces a local χ\chi-hypersurface - a dynamically evolving slice of currently changing relations, These local "presents" need not globally align - and relativity does not require them to, There is no violation of covariance: all physics remains local, geometric, and observer-relative. Thus, presentism becomes a relational construct - frame-dependent, yet physically real, embedded in the evolving geometry of change. 15.6 Becoming as Physical Process In this triadic ontology: Change is not derivative - it is ontologically primary, The present is the expression of that change - the domain where it occurs, The universe becomes - not as metaphor, but as geometric fact. This allows us to restore: Causality, as the directional evolution of relational geometry, Emergence, as the unfolding of new configurations from old structures, Agency, as participation in the reformation of metric relations. There is no contradiction between becoming and relativity - only the appearance of contradiction when time is mistaken for ontology. 15.7 Summary: The Present as Relational Transformation We may now articulate presentism in the Changist-GEM-RQM triad: The present is the region of active co-change, defined by evolving geometric relations, The past is that which has left structure behind - curvature, memory, encoded form, The future is not yet real - it is a field of unrealized possibility, constrained but undetermined. The universe is not a block of events.  It is a self-transforming continuum, whose only real content is that which is still becoming. In a cosmos built from change, the present is not a point in time. It is the dynamical topology of now - where geometry flows, interactions occur, and facts arise. --- 16. Agency, Novelty, and Freedom in a Dynamical Cosmos Traditional physics, grounded in determinism and the block universe, offers a vision in which the future is fixed, agency is illusory, and novelty is merely a rearrangement of initial conditions. In this view: The laws of nature prescribe a complete, unchanging reality, Choice is reducible to causal necessity, Time is a path already written, traversed only once. The Changist-GEM-RQM triad offers a radically different cosmology - one in which: The universe is in process, not preconfigured, Change is primary, not derived, Geometry is dynamical, not passive, And relational interaction is ontologically real, not epistemic veneer. In such a cosmos, agency is not a metaphysical intrusion but a natural consequence of local systems co-evolving with - and partially shaping - their relational geometry. The universe is not a computation.  It is a creative unfolding of structure, possibility, and relation. 16.1 Agency as Embedded Self-Transformation Agency, in the Changist framework, is not a violation of physical law, but a structural expression of systems that: Possess internal complexity, Maintain feedback loops between internal state and external environment, Exert differentiated influence on their future evolution. In GEM terms: An agent is a localized configuration of curvature and divergence, with sufficient internal degrees of freedom to modulate its own geometric dynamics, This modulation can alter the trajectory of metric evolution - not arbitrarily, but within the bounds of local possibility. In Changism, such a system does not passively undergo change - it partially governs how it changes, by selecting among available transformation paths through the geometry of χ\chi. 16.2 Freedom as Structured Underdetermination In deterministic physics, the future is wholly determined by the past. There is no room for deviation, emergence, or volition. In the χ\chi-geometry paradigm: There is no globally fixed future - only a local space of geometrically permitted evolutions, The present configuration admits multiple potential continuations, constrained by local relations but not fixed by initial conditions alone, This is not randomness - it is structured underdetermination, grounded in the geometry of change. Freedom, then, is the capacity of a system to: Explore multiple viable pathways of geometric evolution, Modulate these pathways in response to internal state and relational context, Participate in shaping which transformation occurs. It is not the rejection of law, but its realization through adaptive constraint. 16.3 Novelty as Emergent Geometric Differentiation Novelty is not the exception to physics; it is the expected outcome of evolving geometry. As χ\chi accumulates: Metric configurations enter new regimes, Bifurcations arise, akin to phase transitions in complex systems, Emergent structures appear that were not reducible to prior state descriptions. Examples include: The cosmic web from changist density variation, Life from thermodynamic structure in matter-field interaction, Mind from recursive informational geometry in neural systems, Culture as intersubjective geometric resonance across observer-structures. These are not imposed from outside the system - they arise when geometry gains sufficient complexity to differentiate and self-modulate. Novelty is geometry learning how to bend differently. 16.4 Causality Without Determinism Causality does not require determinism. In Changist-GEM-RQM: Causality is local propagation of change - the directed deformation of geometric relations, Determinism is replaced by constraint - systems evolve within structured possibility spaces, Outcomes are not predetermined, but contingently realized through interaction. Relational quantum mechanics reinforces this: Measurement creates facts, rather than revealing preexisting ones, Probabilities arise from relational structure, not from hidden absolutes. This cosmology sustains: Causality as consistent propagation of relational transformation, Freedom as the structured plurality of changist pathways, Agency as system-dependent modulation of local geometry. 16.5 Ethical Implication: Participatory Transformation If the universe is a dynamic process, and if we are embedded agents within it, then our participation is not optional - it is constitutive. To be is to transform, To act is to reshape geometry, To relate is to modify the structure of the real. In this vision, ethical agency is defined by: How we influence the unfolding geometry, How we harmonize our own transformations with others', How we choose among futures - not in abstraction, but in relation. Thus, ethics becomes: A geometry of resonance, not prescription, A discipline of becoming, not obedience, An art of co-evolution, not transcendence. 16.6 Summary: The Freedom of a Becoming World The Changist-GEM-RQM triad restores the dignity of freedom: The cosmos is not closed - it is open-ended, structured by change, We are not passive observers, but dynamic nodes of transformation, The future is not written - it is being written, through the interaction of geometry and relation. A becoming universe is not deterministic.  It is alive with possibility - a differential flow of change in which freedom is the law's deepest expression. With this, the triadic ontology is complete: Changism asserts that all things exist by changing, GEM describes how structure evolves through metric transformation, RQM ensures that what exists is defined only through relation. Together, they reveal a universe that is not a machine but a metamorphic continuum - and invite us to recognize our role within it: not as interpreters of the given, but as co-authors of what becomes. --- Epilogue: The Triad of Becoming - A New Map of Reality Physics has long sought unification - a convergence of laws, forces, and descriptions into a single coherent account of the cosmos. Yet this pursuit has been hindered not by complexity, but by ontological assumptions inherited from an earlier age: That time flows universally, That space is a fixed stage, That states exist independently of observation. The Changist-GEM-RQM triad offers not a further elaboration of old foundations, but a reconstruction of them - a new map of reality, drawn not with the coordinates of time and space, but with the intrinsic variables of change, geometry, and relation. 🌌 Changism: Change Is Primary, Time Is Derived At the core of this framework is Changism - the principle that change, not time, is fundamental: The universe does not evolve in time, it unfolds through local transformation, The scalar field χ\chi becomes the true measure of evolution - not duration, but dynamical difference, Every clock, every process, every interaction measures accumulated change, not the passage of a metaphysical time axis. Time is an epistemic projection.  χ\chi is the ontological pulse of becoming. 🌀 GEM: Geometry as Generative Flow Geometric Electromagnetism (GEM) reveals the physical world as metric in motion: Fields are not on space - they are space: structured variation in curvature, divergence, and scale, Motion and force are not caused - they are geometrically enacted, Quantum behaviors, including charge and oscillation, are understood as resonant modes of the metric, not mysteries of particles. The metric tensor gμνg_{\mu\nu}, enhanced by the Weyl connection AμA_\mu, becomes the dynamic grammar of change: Geometry does not describe change.  It is the substrate through which change is expressed. 🤝 RQM: Relation as the Basis of Fact Relational Quantum Mechanics (RQM) completes the triad: States are not absolute; they are defined by interaction, Measurement is not discovery, but co-creation - a relational event in a network of changing systems, Facts are not located in space or time, but arise when systems engage in transformation. RQM affirms what Changism and GEM assume: There is no view from nowhere, There is no observer-independent reality, The universe is an evolving mesh of interactions, not a static ensemble of entities. What is real is what is related and changing. The Unified Ontology: A Background-Free Cosmos The triad converges to yield a cosmology without external scaffolding: No absolute time tt, No fixed background space, No privileged ontology of things. Instead, the universe is: A manifold of evolving relations, A metric field in dynamic transformation, A network of local systems, measuring and influencing each other through accumulated χ\chi. What we perceive as matter, energy, motion, and observation are simply resonant configurations of this ongoing relational geometry. There is no timeline.  There is only transformation. From Physics to Meaning This is more than a new physical theory. It is a new orientation of thought: The present is real, because it is where change is active. The future is open, because evolution is relational, not fixed. Agency is possible, because local systems modulate their geometric pathways. Novelty is lawful, because structure generates emergence, not repetition. Consciousness, language, memory, culture - these are not epiphenomena of matter in time, but geometric configurations of systems undergoing structured change. We are not objects. We are configurations in becoming. A Final Invitation Let this triadic synthesis serve not as a conclusion, but as an inflection point - a turn in how we think, observe, and participate in the cosmos. To physicists:  → Here is a framework without metaphysical residue - dynamic, relational, and predictive. To philosophers:  → Here is an ontology aligned with process, agency, and locality. To all thinkers:  → Here is a cosmos not indifferent to meaning, but composed through relation, shaped by interaction, and transformed from within. The next revolution will not be in what we observe, but in how we understand what observation is: The cosmos is not a machine.  It is a living geometry, patterned by its own capacity for change.  And we are not outside it - we are part of its rhythm. Fin.  But not finished. Let us begin again - in change, in relation, and in the evolving structure of what we call the real.