I got permission from
@Just_a_Random_Butler (Plant).
Overall, I agree with Reiner04, Planck, and Finepoint's opinions.
I created a
QnA thread regarding that same issue before Reiner04 created this staff thread, and I got some insightful explanations from Qawsedf234. However, I think there is definitely some issue with the current way we grant HDE to beings that just aren't physical whatsoever.
To quote the HDE page directly:
A given object or entity is referred to as being higher-dimensional when they exist as part of a system with a number of coordinates axes greater than our own, or in layman's terms, if they possess more than three dimensions.
The issue that arises with that definition is that, by the very postulate of the ability, you just can't grant HDE to something that "can't take up space," as
Qawsedf234 explained. This is why a concept wouldn't have HDE since it would be contradictory to its nature. As such, an "AE 1" being that embodies, let's say, a concept, a law, or something of that caliber, shouldn't have HDE on their profile unless:
1: It has two keys, one for the true form (AE) and one for an avatar/physical incarnation (HDE)
2: It has a single key, but both AE and HDE relate to something different; while the AE is for the "true nature", the "physical incarnation" that it can take can be HDE.
Unless it's one of those two cases (not counting very specific situations where a verse makes abstract object dimensioned), I think there is definitely a problem.
So, for example, saying that someone has a "4D mind" or a "4D soul" either means that their soul and mind take up some space (and therefore, have some physicality attached to them) or that they aren't "an abstract object" in the rigorous definition of the term. However, right now, we don't assume that an HDE being (no matter the dimension) has a fundamentally different nature for its mind/soul and other non-physical aspects unless stated. (In simpler terms, a 4D being doesn't have a 4D mind unless stated)
I'll take an example from a verse I know: in this verse,
abstract objects like concepts, mind, and soul are under the fourth dimension (being time here). If they were truly abstract objects, they wouldn't be affected by the passage of time, since only physical components/physical matter can be affected by time. It would be like saying the "number 7" can wither away and die, nonsensical. However, the verse does imply that it works that way, so to solve the issue, it would need to be studied on a case-by-case basis to be sure of what it can grant (or not). One thing is sure, however,
it wouldn't be acceptable as any CM.
So yeah, I don't think it makes any sense to both be "an abstract object not existing in space or in a physical sense" and yet have HDE. However, I think Vietthai also makes a good point, mainly:
Again as i have said, dimension is axis of direction, 3 dimensions are 3 directions, up and down, forward and backward, left and right. So more dimensions just mean more weird directions, angles. And HDE being mean their existence just be able to extends toward those weird directions that above the 3 basic one
I think this is where the issue lies. We all know fictions that can provide weird beings or objects that are "abstract and yet dimensioned", one of the easiest examples would be a 6D Ghost, but I think the problem lies in the HDE page itself, rather than the seemingly incoherent consequences of such a character.
Ghosts, for the most part in fiction, are spiritual; it is not an "abstract object" like a concept can be, but it isn't "physical" like a human being can be. Therefore, when a Ghost can seemingly exist in "the sixth dimension", for example, it works the same as a human being from the sixth dimension, you would give HDE to his body, not to the "non-physical aspect that makes his existence" (Mind/soul...), however in the case of a Ghost, there is no "physical body" that can get the HDE.
So, I think there should be something else for beings like Ghost that are "abstract" yet "able to reach higher dimensions". Because, like
Tayman mentioned in the QnA thread, it's more related to "range/range of movement" rather than "having four or more spatial axes". Maybe a Pseudo-HDE, a new "alternate type" of HDE (for beings that are non-physical but can still travel/reach higher dimension with movement), a mention in "range section", etc could solve that problem.
Edit: The idea of
Dimensional Travel was brought up to me, and it could be reworded to be an ability for the aforementioned beings that are "not within physical space but can still reach higher-dimensional realms".