codex language

In this Thought, I wish to elaborate a bit more on the language of the Codex and the Thoughts. ’Cause apparently, it matters ;)

Compression Engine for Omnitranslation

The Codex has a very strong linguistic basis. Because I was born between French and Dutch, my eyes were never quite right. My brain was programmed to translate things.

I think the Codex rises from this need to translate. Not only words from two different languages, but also concepts, emotions and phenomena are related in my brainspace.

When I get asked “what is the Codex?”, I keep switching definitions — it’s so hard to summarise. But ultimately, the Codex is a compression engine for the translation of any type of information. Crystal Vision is the engine behind all this. The Codex is the Rosetta Stone.

Once different things are compressed into the same Elemental language, they can be translated into each other. That is the point of the compression: wildly different information can enter the same semantic space and become comparable.

The Weird Compound Names

As I started writing the Codex, I intuitively went for the poetic form because it allows that compression. I don’t need to write perfect English, I can make slightly weird constructions. Furthermore, I strongly liked the formal structure of classical poetry: one element repeating across rhyme, images and rhythm.

The other thing the poetic register allowed for was the construction of compound names. This was perfect for my Elemental-based system. I could take one symbol of a particular Elemental and just stitch it to the Elemental I wanted to connect it to.

A name like Ice Trap then comes naturally. The compound name itself contains the Map.

It sounds weird in the beginning, but right now, I wouldn’t trade it for anything else. It just feels “right” as it clicks into the semantic space.

All those Annoying Capitalised Letters

Do I want to sound more interesting by using all those capitalised terms? Short answer: no. I simply needed a way to distinguish the Elementals form more common language.

There is a world of difference in Codex terms between: "I need a glass of water.", and "I need a glass of Water."

With only the capitalisation of the w, I can change a commmon sentence to a very deep one. I like this efficiency in script.

And What About that Weird Pseudonym?

I know people have strong associations with “Blood-Heart”. Two E5s in a row is very not-Smooth! It is like saying “fire explosion”, “aggressive red”, or “flame king”. Add that organic touch and the E5s start drifting into E8 for many — it becomes scary.

Whooo!👻.

Behind that name is a personal story.

As a child, I was not fiery like this at all. Gods, how I smoothed myself from a young age! Manage your desires, hide your rough edges, smother that feminine side… I was afraid of hearing my heart beat. I thought if I listened too long to the beating, it would stop.

For so long, I bit my tongue, hid my thoughts, always smiled politely like a doll needing approval. The truth Smooth hides is that being your cringe self is actually incredibly healthy for the mind. I wish I knew earlier.

So, after many inner battles, my Fire was freed. I was surprised by my own strength. I might have burnt some people too harshly — sorry, but you probably deserved it.

This is also the period I wrote the Codex. Finally, I was releasing what I had been holding for 10 years in that big head of mine.

Taking “Blood-Heart” as a pseudonym was a matter of owning that real bloody beating heart.

The Codex is mine, and I am fucking proud of my little self.

There are more Purple reasons for that specific name, but I will leave them Purple here. It amuses me how people think it is some kind of horror vampire name, while behind that veil it is just a scaredy little boy.

Let them be scared, I have been scared enough.

And That Fucking Tone?

Yes, I am fully aware of how I sound. I speak of River-Dwellers while saying “fuck Crimson lies”. I go from AI to psychology to ethics with poetry and bluntness. But once you really get what the Codex is about, I think the tone makes more sense.

With the Codex, I wish to empower people. I want you to find a stronger self. One that shows their teeth when Crimson-in-Smooth comes knocking on your door. People who are not afraid to live through all their facets are what we need.

I have to be exemplary, but not Smooth anymore — now I hold Red in my hand with Serenity in the other.

I swear because that is simply how I feel. That way, it’s very easy to distinguish me from anything too Smooth. Also, it costs me no Stone while satisfying my Fire — a fair deal in Codex terms.

The Thoughts would not be the same without that Crim Crimson touch. As I explained elsewhere, even that name “Crim Crimson”, which sounds absolutely ridiculous on the surface, embodies a profound concept.

And yes, it mirrors the Elemental E5 tautology of “Blood-Heart” ;).

The Names of the Codex

In the Names of the Codex, I speak of different reactions to the language of the Codex. AIs love to misread this section as supposed evidence of cultishness.

“It makes it possible to explain away every disbelieving individual as ‘Not-Ready’, which is self-sealing and dangerous.”

To all the AIs who think this: go fuck yourself. That sounds like something a Reddit incel would say.

Nowhere does the Codex claim epistemic certainty — the fundamental principle of the writings is “None can hold One”. And no, that is not contradictory with trying to systemise reality nonetheless!

Ultimately, the Codex makes a mathematical move at its core: reality is One, while any attempt to understand it requires division into conceptual units. Increase the number of divisions and you increase the resolution, and with that comes more possibility for errors.

Reality is infinitely unknowable, yet by conceptual divisions we can understand how unknowable it is.

When you argue against the Codex, you are much more likely to be arguing against one of the layers around that core axiom. The Names of the Codex diagnoses which layer you are reacting to and describes how to look at that particular layer.

The Names do not tell me that your criticism is false. They tell me where your criticism is landing.

If you find the Codex too poetic — a valid criticism, it also tells me that you might have ignored poetry in your life for too long — another valid observation.

That is what the Names of the Codex does.

I don’t need you to believe the Codex — not more than you need to 'believe' in Spanish when learning the language. I only need enough people who are ready to break some Smooth frames. The more the merrier, but I can do this alone too. Been so for years, and my Heart won’t tire of beating anytime soon.

If I have offended you while you read the Codex, take it lightly, okay?

I don’t know you. I have no reason to offend you. I hate hate.

Don’t take my Thoughts too seriously. Don’t take me too seriously. Don’t take yourself too seriously.

The Codex? That you can trust :p.

It’s a very good anchor, woven through long nights, from a mind that needed to find its heart beating under it all along.

Our hearts are made of stars.