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DISCLAIMER: This thread goes into detail. If you want to get an overview of the points I'm making, just scroll down to the bottom where it says "Conclusions". Though I would definitely recommend you read through the entire post to truly understand it.Today I'm going to discuss one of the less understood, but most important concepts in Zombies: the different realms, or worlds, within Zombies. I will also discuss the effect that time has on each of these realms. The three realms I'm referring to are the physical, Aether, and Agartha realms.To understand the story behind Zombies, it's crucial you understand how each of these realms works and how they interact with each other in terms of time. Once these concept is understood, the story itself will make a lot more sense.I've based this information off of years of research. I've followed the Zombies story closely for over 4 years now, and anyone that's around CoDz for awhile knows I know my stuff. If you have any questions for me please don't hesitate to ask, I'll do my best to give you an answer.Let's get to it. The Three RealmsLet's start with an overview. We have 3 realms within Zombies:Physical Realm - This is the physical world. It is reality. We can touch, hear, feel, smell, and taste. In this realm we occupy a physical body and are bound by the constraints of time and space.Aether Realm - This is the spiritual world. We are limited to sights and sounds only, but we can view and interact with the physical world as we please. In this realm we are a soul/spirit and have no physical attributes. We are not bound by time, but are bound by space. The best way to think about Aether is that it is like Earth's atmosphere, surrounding us at all times.Agartha Realm - This is a combination of both the spiritual and physical world. Time does not exist within Agartha. Very little is known about this realm.Those are the three realms we're dealing with in our story. Now let's get into specifics...Ethereal EnergyYou may have heard me mention this word before, but if not pay attention because it is a very important concept that needs to be understood.Ethereal Energy is the energy found within all things on Earth, living or dead. Ethereal energy is abundant in the physical realm.Ethereal energy from the physical realm is what powers the Aether realm. The Controller uses this energy to gain power in Aether, the more energy the stronger the controller becomes. We've known since Black Ops (based on character quotes ) that when we kill a zombie, it only makes the controller within Aether stronger. And that is because there is a transference of Ethereal energy from the deceased corpse to the Controller.115 is a highly concentrated source of Ethereal energy. When someone gets near 115, they are infected with this concentrated energy, and the controller within Aether takes notice. An example of this is when the Ascension scientists begin working with Element 115 and attract Samantha.With Element 115 on Earth, Ethereal energy is abundant. And thus the controller within Aether becomes very powerful. That very well may be the reason Maxis bombed Earth, in an attempt to destroy the remaining 115 and break Richtofen's connection with the Ethereal energy. We know they had a 115 source in Nevada, and that's where one of the missiles hit so it would be reasonable to believe that was his goal. After the remaining 115 is destroyed Richtofen tried to find another way to harness the energy, which ended up being the towers.Now that we've covered energy, let's talk about the other part of the equation: time.The Fourth DimensionTime plays a crucial role in our story as well. But time is not the same across all realms.The physical realm is bound by time. We can not move backwards in time in the physical realm, as time is linear. We can only move forward in time by means of the MTD.Time is much different in Aether. In fact, you could say time is non-existent in Aether. A spirit in Aether, if powerful enough, can view any moment from the past to present day. But while the controller in Aether has the ability to go back to any point in time, they do not have the ability to change the past themselves. They can only bring spirits back to a point in time and hope that the physical realm changes itself.Which brings us to the cycle.Viewing Images from the Past"Viewing Images from the Past" is a pretty accurate metaphor for how the Zombies cycle works. As we just discussed, the controller in Aether has the ability to send spirits back in time to a previous memory and have them relive it. If they relive it and change things drastically, then history is changed. And that is how our characters can continue to die and be reborn again while progressing through the story.It goes like this: We fight and die in the physical realm, we go to Aether, the controller brings us back to a point in time to repeat the events until they are changed. Once they are changed, the cycle is broken and history is rewritten from that point. The characters in the game often mention a feeling of déja vu because of this repeating cycle.For example, the O4 are fighting at Der Riese in the beginning of our story. They end up dying, and Samantha brings them back to the point when they first arrived at Der Riese. After enough attempts, they finally survive Der Riese and escape through the MTD. When they arrive at Kino they eventually die again, and Samantha brings them back to the point when they first arrived at Kino. They continue this cycle until they survive and get to Ascension, and so on and so on. This small cycle is depicted in the opening cutscene for Die Rise as well.That's how every map has worked. SNN-Moon Samantha brings us back, Tranzit-Buried Richtofen brings us back, and Maxis brings us back on Origins.But keep in mind the controller can't actually bring people back to any point in the past, it can only bring souls back to a point in their own past to have them change their own history and thus change history for everyone.Alternate Dimension...Sort OfI've seen the question a thousand times: Is Origins in another dimension/reality/timeline? But the answer is blurry. It just depends on how you look at it.We learned in MotD that when our characters die and repeat the cycle, that time moves on without them. So where exactly are we when we're repeating the cycle?A good answer would be Aether, but even that isn't completely accurate, as Aether is not a physical realm. The best answer would be it is a previous memory we're reliving, that eventually becomes reality once the memory is altered drastically enough. But that doesn't tell you exactly where the map is occurring, so I'll just leave it up to you to decide.Conclusions• When a character dies, their soul travels to Aether. The controller in Aether brings their souls back to a point in time before their death to repeat the event.• The O4 have been dying and repeating cycles since Der Riese.• The controller in Aether allows us to repeat the cycle, by bringing us back to a previous point in time before we died.• The controller in Aether is powered by Ethereal energy found on Earth• 115 is a concentrated source of Ethereal energy.• Origins is us going back to a point in our own past and repeating it.