What is The Effect?

The titular end-times in my current work in progress encompass the end of the universe. You can’t get more end-timesier than that. Trapped on the last planet, my hero – mathematician Markusz Zielinski – and a dead engineer are trying to work out how to stop it.

The universe isn’t ending all at once but parts of it are in a most disturbing fashion due to ‘the Effect’. Before Markusz and friends can work out how to control or reverse the Effect, I had to work out what it does and a timeline fo...