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Gene Ray (born Otis Eugene Ray, 2 July, 1927) is the author of several websites on which he presents writings related to his concept of "Nature's Harmonic Simultaneous 4-Day Time Cube", which he claims represents the ineffable truth of the universe.
Ray worked as a master electrician in Florida for several decades and was also the inventor of several patented devices, see external links below. He actively promoted the game of Marbles, publishing a book entitled "Mr Marbles: Marbles for Everyone", and planning a world marbles tournament.
In 1987, the St. Petersburg Times reported that "Mr. Marbles has become a philosopher." Ray developed a system of thought centered on the symbols of the pyramid and the circle. The pyramid, large at the base but narrow at the top, represents the unsustainably increasing growth rate of modern civilisation. Said Ray, "Money is pyramiding. Religion is pyramiding. Education is pyramiding. The environment is pyramiding. The pyramid of progress has destroyed the marbles circle, it's destroyed the family circle." The circle/circular cycle, on the other hand, is natural, mobile, and self-sustaining.
Ray's proposed solution to the problem of "pyramiding" was a million-dollar marbles tournament. The million-dollar prize would attract people concerned about the long-term implications of society's "pyramiding" and/or disillusioned with its current state, who would then be convinced of Ray's views through the experience of playing marbles inside a giant sphere. The 1987 St. Petersburg Times article reports that Ray was planning to form an "Order of the Sphere" to promote his philosophy. It is not known if the Order of the Sphere ever became a reality.
Critics of Ray like to draw attention to his "marbles period" because they consider it inconsistent with his later Time Cube theory. Under the Time Cube theory, the circle is considered a "zero value," and "circle measure is slop bucket." Supporters of Ray see his circle-based philosophy as a natural precursor to the Time Cube. Ray first recognized the significance of the circle/circular cycle, and only later discovered the fourfold division of the circle into the four corner quadrants of the Time Cube.
He created his well-known "Time Cube" website in August, 1997, after being banned from several Internet message boards; since then, he has updated it with new writings every few weeks for several years, resulting in a single massively extended page.
Ray has stated that his main reason for publicising what he claims to be the "Greatest Social and Scientific Discovery of Humanity" on the Internet is to induce a research group to evaluate the Time Cube, and control its release upon the public. Ray also offers $10,000 to any academic institution or professor who disproves Time Cube.
Gene Ray explains the 4/16 Rotation Principle, an important element of Time Cube, as follows: "If Earth stood still, it would have mid-day, mid-night, sun-up and sun-down as 4 corners. Each rotation of earth has 4 mid-days, 4 mid-nights, 4 sun-ups and 4 sun-downs. The sixteen (16) space times demonstrates cube proof of 4 full days simultaneously on earth within one (1) rotation. The academia created 1 day greenwich time is bastardly queer and dooms future youth and nature to a hell."
A typical Ray quotation is "Time is CUBIC, not linear as stupid educators teach."
Ray has made comments on his sites which some people view as anti-Semitic or racist; however, Ray denies any such sentiments. He does, however, oppose the cultural expression of homosexuality. He says that "Bible's and Science's 1-day Earth rotation are evil scams".
Dr Ray generated much controversial publicity in 2002 when he elaborated on a politically incorrect implication of Time Cube, writing on his Time Cube website that "Tis Time to kill any educator who does not teach Cubicism above cubelessness. To save humanity from extinction, like prior civilizations perished, youth must redirect self teachers, or destroy them. ... It is not immoral for students to kill all educators who ignore Nature's Harmonic Time Cube or suppress free speech rights to debate Time Cube Creation Principle." He has since replaced some of the more confrontational words in these statements with euphemistic terms.
Ray proclaimed himself a "Doctor of Cubicism" in December 2002, explaining that universities are too evil to bestow upon him such a prestigious honour of wisdom. In January 2002, he lectured and debated Time Cube with students at MIT. This event was the first such presentation within an academic institution, filling one of MIT's largest lecture halls. Advance advertising for the event included posters with quotations from the Time Cube website, declaring the Time Cube to be "the Holy Grail of Physics" and stating that "-1 times -1 = +1 is stupid and evil". Also, for several years Dr Ray has been planning to write a book explaining the Time Cube. He says that this book "will contradict and condemn every religious and scientific book written".