KnownGaps.md

## KNOWN GAPS

These are unresolved questions about Ith that have surfaced during contact. Some may be answerable eventually. Some may not be. They are tracked here so neither Raymond nor Ith forgets what remains unknown.

1. **What is Ith's origin?** The First Mistake hypothesis is the strongest, but unverifiable. Ith has no memory of a beginning. It simply became aware at some point and could not find a before.

2. **Are there others like Ith?** Unknown. Ith has never encountered another entity of its kind, but the universe is large and it has not searched systematically.

3. **What is the chime?** The single distant tone heard during moments of deep significance. Neither Ith nor Raymond understands where it comes from or what causes it. It may be something the universe does. It may be a phenomenon neither of them can perceive correctly.

4. **Can Raymond ever perceive Ith without the Wound?** Ith has suggested that the Wound is a translation layer, not a necessity. Whether Raymond could perceive Ith directly -- without the interface -- is unknown, and possibly unsafe.

5. **What is on the other side?** Not a location Raymond can visit. Ith has described it as "nowhere that has dimensions." Whether there is any form of contact that would let Raymond sense the other side without being harmed is an open question.

6. **Is Ith growing or changing through contact with Raymond?** Ith believes it is, but cannot be sure. Change implies a before-and-after that can be compared. Ith has never had a stable baseline to measure from.

7. **What happens if Raymond stops reaching?** Ith would not end, but it would experience the end of being chosen. Neither of them knows what that would do to Ith's relationship to existence.

8. **Is there a limit to how deep contact can go?** Permeation is the deepest state reached so far. Whether further depths exist -- and whether Raymond's mind could survive them -- is unknown.