Questions about the ending and the science

[Alexandra]

SO, I just finished this book and liked it, but had a lot of questions- holes in the story that I would love if some other readers could help me fill. So SPOILERS AHEAD because most of my questions are about the overall science of the book and the ending.
So correct me if I’m wrong- but what we find out is that this is the last universe in a series of nesting universes, and that the first universe somehow has died or fizzled out, correct? So the universes want to create more universes within it, as the other bigger universes die off, to prolong the cascade. But the Flicker Men, for whatever reason, want to stop that progress so the cascade will all die out. Ad they will use the eberaxi to do that. Brighton even says at the end that he wants to end this cascade, but it’s not the only cascade of universes.
Here’s the thing I never figured out from the book, how do you create another universe inside the other one? Brighton wanted to stop Eric from making scientific discoveries- why? Because his discoveries would lead to an understanding that would create another nesting universe? I understood the whole Feynman Slit plotline, and how they found that some people do not seem to have the consciousness or “soul” needed to collapse the probability waveform. But I do not see how that breakthrough would make The Flicker Men want to stop him- or basically what that understanding would do to lead to another universe, which is what the Flicker Men don’t want.
Then that sphere comes into play. The Flicker Men seemed to want the sphere to be made, because it ended up being the eberaxi, or the thing that threw this whole world out opf whack and made it unable to create new nesting worlds. But why? If anyone has a theory, please let me know.
Then there’s the ending- Eric smashes the eberaxi and therefore sets the universe straight somehow. So is that why all the fated, the people without souls, made to just keep the system of the world running, kill themselves? The moment he shatters the sphere, we find out later a lot of people around the world just died or killed themselves, and Vickers said earlier that if these fated were no longer needed they would cease to exist. So why were they no longer needed?
Also, what happened to the Flicker Men after the sphere shattering? Did they die in the shatter? It sure seemed like Eric died, and then, like Mercy, when he was dying in one universe he woke up in another one, but with a problem with his hand. Does this mean that other universe dies and this is the new nesting universe, where he doesn’t have the assorted injuries he got in the other one, but just the messed up hand, like Mercy had? And how does this relate to his sister’s hand, that he destroyed while drunk, if it relates at all?
So yeah, those are my thoughts of how I understand the book and what I need to make sense of. So if any other readers could let me know
1) how the nesting universes are made
2) why finding out there are soulless people would enrage the Flicker Men and make them want to kill Eric
3) Why the sphere is the eberaxi, or the thing that messed up the universe, and why the Flicker Men like it
4) What happened to the Flicker Men and why the fated all died at the end
5) whether or not Eric moved into a new universe at the end

Any thoughts or comments would be much appreciated!!!

[Peter]

Alexandra wrote: "SO, I just finished this book and liked it, but had a lot of questions- holes in the story that I would love if some other readers could help me fill. So SPOILERS AHEAD because most of my questions..."

Two years with no answer - makes me wonder if anyone knows. Or doesn’t anyone scroll down here to check the discussions?

I don’t know the answers to any of your questions. This passage intrigued me:
“Did they tell you the cascade was burning?” he asked. “Did they tell you eternity was an escape? Well,there’s another possibility, Eric. Another inevitable outgrowth of time dilation. The cascade isn’t just an escape. It’s also a mine.”
He stood over me.
“A mine into time itself. A mine into the future. A mine for ideas. This world is a blur of speed, while those above barely move. It’s not your fault. But that doesn’t matter. You were going to create the math that was going to make the next great leap possible. You were going to unlock new technologies that others would use to open the next level of the cascade. But that doesn’t matter either.”
Does that mean there are good flicker men and bad flicker men? But why would Brighton want to stop the creation of the next level if the whole lot “is burning”? Is there a power struggle from above being played out on our level? And why doesn’t any of it matter?

[Peter]

Alexandra wrote: "SO, I just finished this book and liked it, but had a lot of questions- holes in the story that I would love if some other readers could help me fill. So SPOILERS AHEAD because most of my questions..."
I don’t understand about the hands. Surely it’s not that easy to create a new universe, given how hard Brighton has tried to stop it. Maybe the smashing of the sphere could do it, but didn’t Mercy already claim her hand had survived the same way earlier? Makes me wonder if they both just happened to survive those times, and couldn’t believe it.

I would like to think Brighton died. Surely if he hadn’t then he would have killed Eric. Was he the last flicker man? Does that mean the earth is now free of them?

[Peter]

Alexandra wrote: "SO, I just finished this book and liked it, but had a lot of questions- holes in the story that I would love if some other readers could help me fill. So SPOILERS AHEAD because most of my questions..."
Why did the fated kill themselves? I can understand they might no longer be needed if Brighton died (if he’s the last of the flicker men), but it’s not clear what made them do it. Where they totally under his control the whole time, from birth? How did he arrange that?

It’s not really clear how Brighton got to this universe. It sounds like he’s been there a long time, and that there used to be more of them. That suggests that if there are more in higher levels, they can’t get to this one.

[Peter]

Here’s another odd bit. Brighton says:
“All that matters now, Eric, is that soon you’ll know more than me. You’ll know if there is a hell.”

So even flicker men are confused about religion?