Mission Statement
The Liminal Archives is a decentralized organization focused upon the study, exploration, and documentation of liminal phenomena. Its members stretch all across the globe and are dedicated to uncovering the mysteries present within liminal spaces.
Liminality
Liminality can be defined as a transition state between different forms of being. All liminal spaces, including Limspaces and Thresholds, adhere to this principle in one way or another. The exact nature of liminality is unknown, as is the reason for its existence. Some believe it to be the product of unconscious symbols, weighing on reality. Others believe it to be the embodiment of limbo, or karmic punishment. Some simply see it as a tool for people to discover their true selves. There are many ideas, but no one knows for sure.
Generally speaking, liminal spaces are self-contained and difficult to access. Most people are not able to perceive liminal spaces naturally; often, awareness is gained only after direct exposure to liminality, such as accidental entrance into a threshold. Most of the world remains unaware of liminality, and it is not an accepted concept in the scientific community. It is generally regarded as fringe or conspiratorial, and is ignored by government organizations for this reason.
Archivist Terminals
Archivist Terminals — a type of Dataspace Console — are devices which allow for interface with the Archives through connection to the Dataspace, which is a non-physical information network. These terminals allow for Archivists to access and add new information to the Archives from anywhere on Earth, and even from within certain Limspaces and Thresholds.
The Archives are one subset of the Dataspace, used specifically by the Liminal Archives organization. The Dataspace itself has existed for much much longer, and contains an inconceivably vast amount of information, most of which is undecipherable and meaningless, but is constantly being added to the Dataspace from unknown locations across reality.
Who makes use of the Liminal Archives?
Most of the Archives' contents are available to anyone with access to an Archivist Terminal, and this includes many people who do not contribute to the Archives themselves. There are many individuals and small groups around the world with an interest in liminality, especially those who live near a Threshold.
Who contributes to the Liminal Archives?
Contributors to the Archives come from many places, and many walks of life, but most fall into at least one of the following categories:
Volumists
Volumists, also known as Scholars, maintain the Archives, working to ensure that information is consistent and as accurate as possible. Scholars are broadly knowledgeable on the ways of liminality, often acting as guides to those discovering the Archives for the first time.
Visionists
Visionists are dedicated to the scientific study of liminality, seeking to expand the scope of human knowledge. To Visionists, liminal spaces are a grounded, physical phenomenon that can be quantified with science.
Venturers
Venturers are driven by adventure, personal desire and curiosity. They tend to be the first to explore liminal spaces, and their personal journals often make their way back to Baseline and serve as the foundation of knowledge for newly explored limspaces. They are the pioneers of the Archivists, boldly leading the way forward.
Vagrants
Vagrants seek spiritual connection with liminality. They explore liminal spaces in order to study unique perspectives, philosophies and peoples. Vagrants often view liminal spaces as an extension of nature or the human mind, rather than a quantifiable or scientific phenomenon. They see each limspace and threshold as a unique spirit to explore and learn from. Vagrants tend to keep records of the people they meet, and provide detailed analyses of the spiritual aspects to liminality.