Reconciling Quantum Mechanics and Relativity through a Layered Ontology of Emergence

This paper explores the longstanding tension between quantum mechanics and general relativity, arguing that their incompatibility may stem from an ontological category error: the mistaken assumption that both describe the same layer of reality. It proposes a layered model of physical reality comprising a non-spatiotemporal base layer, a quantum interface layer, and an emergent macro layer. Within this framework, classical spacetime and determinacy emerge from cross-layer transitions governed by structured constraint and informational resolution. This model dissolves key conceptual paradoxes—reinterpreting phenomena such as gravity, vacuum energy, and the speed of light as emergent artefacts of ontological stratification—and outlines a toy formalism intended to provide an initial platform for future development. The goal is not to replace existing theories, but to provide a metaphysical scaffold within which their domains of validity and resistance to unification might be better understood.