Multiverse
The existence of a multiverse is now widely accepted in Illuminatia, as it explains the so-called multiversal duplication of the population and contents of the Lucidus ships shortly before the space-time anomaly that caused the destruction of the spacecraft and the evacuation of their population to the surface of Neonisi.
Previous to the settlement of Illuminatia, the existence of parallel realities in parallel universes was only a hard theory that explained multiple scientific hypotheses regarding the nature of the laws of physics and the nature of astronomy.
A multiversal duplication refers to a discreet population of Lucidus survivors who all share a common universe and timeline relative to other parallel universes and parallel timelines. The population that occupied the three Lucidus ships forms one multiversal duplication. Each separate "copy" of this population who originated from a different parallel universe are respectively referred to as a different multiversal duplication.
Background
It is understood that at least three different parallel realities converged at the point in space and time at which the three Lucidus ships were traversing an uncharted galaxy just before they experienced the space-time anomaly that resulted in the Existential Crisis declaration and subsequent self-destruction and evacuation of the Lucidus ships.
Recent findings have shed hints of doubt on the presumption that only three "copies" of the Lucidus population were made within the currently observed universe and timeline of reality, as individual settlements of Lucidus survivors were contacted in outlying areas of Illuminatia who, through genetic testing and spectrometric analysis, were later determined to likely not be members of the originally-discovered three duplications of Lucidus survivors.
Perspectives in multiversal duplication
Reference to the multiversal duplications of the Lucidus population is a convenient shorthand for noting the existence of the three dominant unique groupings of individuals who have the appearance of being copies of each other, as they do appear to be three distinct duplicates of one original population.
In reality, the one original population is only relative to one's own perspective as a member of the Lucidus population in one given timeline of reality in one's own universe. The other multiversal duplications, who appear to be copies of one's own original reality, are simply one's own same population of Lucidus survivors who crossed over into the same parallel universe as one's self and therefore appear to be a duplicate.
It should also be noted that the observer could be a member of the population that crossed over into a parallel universe and is therefore itself an interloper in the other observer's native reality "timeline." There is no definitive way of telling whether the observer is occupying the observer's own timeline or a timeline parallel to the universe from which the observer embarked. It could be the case that none of the multiversal duplications present on Illuminatia are currently occupying their original universe and that they all crossed over. It is unclear if having this knowledge would really matter, in the scheme of things.
Three originally observed multiversal duplications
Second multiversal duplication
Third multiversal duplication
The populations of the three primary multiversal duplications that were originally understood to occupy Illuminatia populated their own largely exclusive geographical regions when Illuminatia was first settled. These three areas are now reflected in regional clusters of primary settlement cities and have been given arbitrary ordinal designations based merely on the ranking of the population of the largest city within each of the three regions. The First Multiversal Duplication dominates the Randall Bay coastal region; the Second Multiversal Duplication is found primarily in the southern and western regions of the continent including the West Coast, Southwestern, and South Coast megalopolitan complexes; and the Third Multiversal Duplication populates eastern and northern Illuminatia including the Anglo-Hungarian Bay, Wolfgang Amadeus Bay, and Brookeview Bay regions.
Although dominant cultural values held by the Lucidus-derived civilization dictate that Illuminatians afford equitable value and equal societal regard to the populations of each of the three multiversal duplications, the First duplication in the Randall Bay coastal region and, to a lesser extent, the Third duplication in eastern and northern region, did enjoy some cultural dominance early in Illuminatian history thanks to the more rapid advances in technology, organization as a civilization, and exploration of larger regions of land on the continent that these populations enjoyed, especially as compared to the southern and western region. The Third duplication—particularly the population centers on the western coast—exhibit a significantly stronger tendency toward cultural isolation and independent economic operations.
As Illuminatia was unified and developed as a society, however, these cultural differences smoothed and the various regions of Illuminatia now enjoy equitable social capital and distribution of resources.
Relevance of position among parallel universes
The debate regarding the relevance of which multiversal duplication occupies that given population's original timeline and universe relative to the other parallel universes and parallel realities from which the other multiversal duplications hailed is largely moot in popular culture and is merely a curiosity of note for potential relevance in later research in the scientific world.
Some traditions of thought propose increased importance of the question of which universe Illuminatians currently occupy, as it is thought that this may have an impact on the quality and applicability of the information exchanged between Illuminatia and Earth once communication with Earth is reestablished. These thinkers believe that engaging in a cultural and scientific exchange with an Earth of a different parallel reality from that from which Illuminatians' ancestors originally departed could have detrimental effects on cultural and scientific progress on both worlds and, as a result, could irreparably damage humanity as a whole.