Cthulhu and his Children by Liquid Nerve (www.deviantart.com)

As previously mentioned, Lovecraft cites that Cthulhu produced one offspring named Shaurash-ho (see below). I can find very little (almost no) information on this entity but based on its relationship with Cthulhu, it more than likely is one of the members of it’s “Spawn” and was produced asexually.

According to the Ponape Scriptures Cthulhu had three sons and one daughter with an entity called Idh-yaa; the sons are Ghatanothoa, Ythogtha and Zoth-Ommgg and the daughter is Cthylla. I have already discussed in detail Ghatanothoa in previous articles and I will cover the others separately in future articles. However, for now I want to review this “family” dynamic of Cthulhu.

First, it must be emphasized that the terms father, mother, sons and daughter are highly anthropomorphic and not applicable to Cthulhu and it’s Spawn. However, it is hypothesized that these terms can be useful in distinguishing sexual reproduction from asexual reproduction such as the budding or fragmentation of Cthulhu to produce Shaurash-ho. While it is highly unlikely that sexual reproduction among these entities functions in a similar capacity as it does in Terran life, a distinction can be made between a mixing or fusion of two entities (such as Cthulhu and Idh-yaa) and the “budding” or production of a new entity from another (such as Shaurash-ho being the asexual progeny of Cthulhu).

Second, as was previously proposed, it is hypothesized that Cthulhu and its Spawn may be composed of an extra-dimensional form of plasma (a form of ionized gas). In our universe plasma is very common but typically found in stars where temperatures reach 27 million degrees Fahrenheit (15 million degree Celsius). So why didn’t Cthulhu or its spawn boil away the Pacific Ocean when it emerged from R’lyeh?

The Cthylla Supplication by Hawanja (www.deviantart.com)

Based on the latest iterations of string theory, there are 10 spatial dimensions and one temporal dimension. Of the 10 spatial dimensions, there are the 3 we are familiar with and 6 that are unknown to our senses. These ideas lead to a family of different theories called M-theory, which predicts a large number of universes (the multiverse). How many universes? According to the mathematics of M-theory 10500 different universes may exist (The Grand Design by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow, 2010), each with a different set of natural laws; some may be similar to ours and some may be very different. Some of these other universes may be entirely devoid of matter but comprised of energy (dark energy or otherwise). In contrast, some universes may contain no matter or energy. In order to exist in our space-time Cthulhu and its Spawn may draw energy from one of the matterless universes and then dump the generated heat into a cold, void-like universe that has no matter or energy.

As shown in the figure below, we exist in a 3 spatial / 1 temporal universe or membrane (also known as a brane). Most of the material that makes up our matter (electrons, quarks, photons, etc.) are made of open strings which are attached to our brane and can not leave. However, gravity (in the form of gravitons) are closed strings (loops) that can pass from one brane to another through the bulk or material between the two branes; all of this is based on the mathematical predictions of String Theory.

Theoretical illustration of two universes as predicted by M-theory (www.abyss.uoregon.edu)

Based on the theoretical arrangement described above, two hypotheses can be proposed in describing the fundamental nature of Cthulhu and its Spawn. The first hypothesis is that Cthulhu and its Spawn enter our universe through the “curled up” higher dimensions, tapping into other branes for the extremely large amounts of energy needed for hyperspace travel (more on that below). An alternate hypothesis is that they enter our universe through points of intense gravity (in the heart of stars or even black holes). As previously mentioned gravitons can travel from one brane to another so maybe Cthulhu and its Spawn utilize these “gravity strings” as carrier waves to travel from one universe to another.

While theoretically it is possible to travel through hyperspace, the amount of energy needed to accomplish this is beyond our technology at this time. For example to simply probe into hyperspace, at least 1019 billion electron volts of energy is required. The Large Hadron Collider, which is the worlds largest and most powerful particle collider, can only generate 103 billion electron volts of energy. Thus, it will be sometime before humanity and generate the amount of energy needed to seriously investigate hyperspace. However, for Cthulhu and its Spawn, the generation of such large amounts of energy may be possible.

Cthulhu Spawn by Ian Llanas (www.deviantart.com)

Finally, I want to provide this quote from the physicist Paul Davies, which I found in Michio Kaku’s book Hyperspace: A Scientific Odyssey Through Parallel Universe, Time Warps and the 10th Dimension, on what we could do if we manged to unify the known forces (electromagnetic, gravity, strong nuclear force and weak nuclear force) into one “superforce” :

“…we could change the structure of space and time, tie our own knots in nothingness, and build matter to order. Controlling the superforce would enable us to construct and transmute particles at will, thus generating exotic forms of matter. We might even be able to manipulate the dimensionality of space itself, creating bizarre artificial worlds with unimaginable properties. Truly we should be lords of the universe.”

Such a passage certainly reminds one of Cthulhu and its Spawn or of Yog-Sothoth.

Next time I will be initiating a discussion on the tale “In the Walls of Eryx” written by H.P. Lovecraft and Kenneth Sterling. Thank you – Fred.

Cthulhu Spawn by Chillier 17 (www.deviantart.com)