The Time-Mass Hypothesis: A Heuristic, Preprint-Based Speculation on the Fermi Paradox Inspired by Hierarchically Nested Dimensions Theory (HNDT) (V1)

Notes:This preprint presents the Time-Mass Hypothesis, a heuristic corollary derived from the Hierarchically Nested Dimensions Theory (HNDT; Lu & Lu, 2026, Zenodo). The hypothesis suggests that time mass possesses an ontological effective mass that accumulates over cosmological timescales, and that a civilization's survival depends on rhythmic matching between its meaning-generation rate and this accumulated time-mass. Carbon-based (slow+many) civilizations could persist for billions of years, whereas silicon-like (fast+one) civilizations would exhaust their meaning-generating capacity within extremely short windows (centuries to millennia) and subsequently fall silent or self-terminate. This offers a plausible resolution to the Fermi paradox without invoking unobserved Great Filters or deliberate concealment. The work is exploratory, self-critical, and does not claim definitive proof. The authors adopt a humble and open stance: researchers are welcome to extend, refine, or challenge the hypothesis, to develop formal models, and to explore its empirical implications. This is Version 1 (v1) of the manuscript. We anticipate possible future revisions and encourage collaborative debate within the academic community.