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description: "The Eternal Presentists emerged when renowned Moment-Dweller philosopher Always-Already Ahmed encountered the Immutable Stone and experienced a profound validation. Where others saw temporal contamination, he saw proof of what Moment-Dwellers always knew: everything exists only in the eternal now. The Stone doesn't persist through time—time is an illusion the Stone helps dispel."
article_type: full
taxonomyContext: "Splinter groups and philosophical schools that emerged in response to the Immutable Stone, challenging both cultures' fundamental beliefs"
image_prompt: A robed philosopher frozen mid-gesture beside an obsidian monolith, surrounded by swirling temporal distortions in muted grays and blacks. Dark fantasy oil painting style with dramatic chiaroscuro lighting, ethereal mist suggesting collapsed time.
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# The Eternal Presentists
## Core Revelation
The Eternal Presentists emerged when renowned Moment-Dweller philosopher Always-Already Ahmed encountered the Immutable Stone and experienced a profound validation. Where others saw temporal contamination, he saw proof of what Moment-Dwellers always knew: everything exists only in the eternal now. The Stone doesn't persist through time—time is an illusion the Stone helps dispel.
"The Timeys see permanence," Ahmed explained to no one in particular (as is customary), "but permanence requires time to be permanent *through*. The Stone simply *is*, perfectly demonstrating the eternal present we all inhabit."
## Philosophical Response
The Eternal Presentists have developed "Hyper-Present Theory"—the idea that the Stone is so intensely present it makes the illusory nature of time visible to even the most deluded Timey. They argue the Stone doesn't exist across moments because moments don't exist; it exists in the only moment there is, which is all moments, which is no moments.
They've created elaborate non-sequential proofs (written simultaneously on dissolving paper) showing how the Stone's apparent permanence actually demonstrates the impossibility of change, therefore the impossibility of time, therefore the correctness of Moment-Dweller philosophy.
Their motto: "The Stone doesn't last forever—forever doesn't last."
## Practices & Rituals
Eternal Presentists practice "Aggressive Presentness," actively demonstrating the non-existence of time through increasingly elaborate performances. They hold "Simultaneity Circles" where all participants speak at once about different topics, proving all conversations exist in the same moment.
Their most distinctive practice involves "Stone Sitting"—spending indeterminate non-periods at the Immutable Stone, being aggressively present at Timeys who come to study it. They offer running commentary on the non-existence of whatever research the Timeys think they're conducting.
They've established "The Momentary Museum," which displays the same exhibits differently each instant, or the same, or doesn't exist—the distinction is meaningless.
## Cultural Position
Traditional Moment-Dwellers appreciate the Eternal Presentists' defense of orthodoxy but find their militancy exhausting. Being aggressively philosophical at Timeys violates the polite mutual ignorance both cultures usually maintain.
The Entropic Orthodox see them as provocateurs, especially when Presentists interrupt decay ceremonies to explain that nothing is actually decaying because change requires time. Several interfaith incidents have occurred at shared mushroom markets.
Surprisingly, some Permanence Weavers find common ground with Eternal Presentists—both believe in a form of unchangingness, though they disagree violently about what it means. Their debates (if simultaneous shouting can be called debate) have become Portland's newest spectator sport.
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*Entry in Philosophical Movements taxonomy*
