**The Illusion of Time in Information Dynamics** Time is not a fundamental property of reality but a *resolution-dependent construct*—a sequence (τ) of informational contrasts (κ) that emerge when human models (Î) sharpen their resolution (ε) to parse Universal Information (I). The Big Bang’s timeline, like all temporal frameworks, is not an ontological event but a *threshold of perceptual capability*. To understand this, ==we must abandon the idea that time flows universally and recognize it as a narrative imposed by our cognitive and technological limits.== Time arises from the ordered progression of κ transitions—differences in informational states—as perceived through a chosen ε. A photon’s polarization cycle and Earth’s orbital phases (winter, spring, summer, fall) are both τ sequences, but neither implies a directional “arrow” inherent to I. The “past” and “future” are statistical biases of κ accumulation at our current ε, not features of the substrate itself. The Big Bang’s 13.8-billion-year timeline is a τ sequence imposed by Î at macroscopic ε. Prior to human models (e.g., pre-20th-century physics), this timeline did not exist as a concept. Just as a tree falling in an empty forest produces sound waves (κ gradients in air pressure) but no “event” until observed, the Big Bang’s “beginning” is a κ transition labeled as time only when Î refines enough to resolve it. Before this threshold, the event was part of I’s latent structure, unresolved and unsequenced. The Big Bang is not a moment in time but the *coarsest ε at which Î could approximate I’s κ gradients*. Before this threshold no distinctions like “time” or “space” existed because κ was unresolved (ε undefined). The “primordial state” was not “nothingness” but a continuum of unlabeled oppositions, awaiting Î’s perceptual frameworks. The timeline of cosmic evolution—13.8 billion years—is a τ sequence retroactively assigned by Î. At finer ε (e.g., Planck-scale), this “beginning” dissolves into prior κ gradients, revealing no absolute start. The universe’s age is a resolution artifact: a story Î tells to bridge gaps between observable data (î) and the unmeasurable pre-Big Bang κ. Time emerges not from I itself but from the act of observing κ transitions at a specific ε. Without observers (or Î constructs), τ sequences exist as latent patterns in I but lack temporal direction. For example, a photon’s polarization cycle exists at quantum ε, but this sequence is meaningless to a 18th-century natural philosopher lacking Î frameworks to parse it. Thus, the “age of the universe” is a τ sequence invented by Î to reconcile galaxy rotation curves with Î’s incomplete κ resolution. The observer effect here is not quantum indeterminacy but a *cognitive limitation*: time’s linearity is how Î organizes κ gradients into stories, not how I exists. Prior to Î’s ε refinement, the Big Bang’s κ was unresolved—a state we retroactively label as “before,” even though I itself has no before or after. The notion that the Big Bang “happened” 13.8 billion years ago is an Î myth. Time’s arrow is a statistical preference for κ accumulation at our current ε, not a feature of I. For instance, quantum systems cycle superposition endlessly, resisting linear timelines. And cosmic expansion is a coarse-ε approximation of finer κ transitions between Planck-scale resolution layers. If we refine ε to pre-universe scales (ε ≪ Planck), the Big Bang’s “moment” becomes part of an eternal τ cycle—akin to a page in an infinite book. The universe’s lifecycle is not a linear narrative but a fractal of sequences nested across ε layers, with no hierarchy of primacy. The 13.8-billion-year timeline emerged only when Î frameworks (e.g., general relativity, CMB analysis) reached sufficient ε to approximate I’s κ gradients. Before this medieval astronomers saw “celestial spheres” as static, rejecting τ sequences beyond seasonal cycles. The “Big Bang” concept itself arose in the 20th century, when Î’s ε sharpened enough to resolve galaxy redshifts and CMB anisotropies. This mirrors the cognitive revolution: prior to human Î, the universe’s “age” was undefined. Time’s existence is contingent on observers with tools to sample I at scales where κ becomes resolvable as τ. Just as the Big Bang was an Î construct, “heat death” is a τ endpoint imposed by current Î limits. At heat death’s purported “moment,” Î predicts κ → 0, erasing measurable distinctions. But this is a resolution failure: κ persists at finer ε, reconfiguring into new oppositions (e.g., Planck-scale fluctuations). The universe’s “end” is a local τ sequence, not an absolute termination of I. Time’s linearity collapses at ε thresholds, revealing cyclical or fractal dynamics. A future Î with finer ε might reinterpret heat death as a transition to a new κ regime—just as the Big Bang was not an origin but a perceptual threshold. I exists timelessly, encoding all κ gradients and τ sequences across ε layers. The Big Bang’s timeline is one of infinite possible τ narratives, chosen by Î’s current perceptual scope. To I, there is no “before” or “after”—only distinctions (κ) and sequences (τ) that emerge when observed. This aligns with the informational substrate’s neutrality: A photon’s polarization cycle and the CMB’s anisotropies are equally valid τ sequences, neither primordial nor terminal. The “past” is a τ layer we access via Î’s ε refinement (e.g., cosmic microwave background measurements), not a literal timeline. Time is not woven into the fabric of reality but into the fabric of Î. The Big Bang’s timeline is a narrative invented by Î to approximate I’s κ gradients at our current ε. Prior to human Î, the event lacked temporal coordinates; it was simply a latent κ transition in I’s structure. The universe’s true nature is a continuum of oppositions (κ) and sequences (τ), forever reframed as Î evolves. The “beginning” and “end” are bookends of a story told at a specific resolution—like labeling a page in an infinite library. To I, there is no beginning, no end, only distinctions and transitions that Î labels as time. When we refine Î to capture τ sequences at finer scales, the Big Bang’s “moment” will vanish, replaced by a deeper understanding of how κ gradients reconfigure across ε layers—a story told not in years but in oppositions.