sixth wall

Meanings

1. The conceptual boundary separating the creator (author, director, god or "prime mover") from both the narrative (their work) and the observers (the audience).
2. The "invisible hand" of the creator that shapes plot progression, coincidence, and fate within a story, which remains unseen, unacknowledged and beyond the perception of the characters and the audience under normal narrative circumstances.
3. The ceiling.

Etymology

Coined by extending the theatrical concept of the fourth wall and the fifth wall (often referring to the medium itself, the critics, or the barrier between the audience and each other). The sixth wall proposes a further metaphysical layer separating the entire projected reality (narrative and audience) from the absolute creator (author/director/artist) or "god" of the narrative. The sixth wall and the invisibility of all that beyond it is considered a structural imperative for narrative immersion. It is the layer where essentially "Deus Ex Machina" or "God In The Machine" operates; the breaking of such would mean that the machine has surpassed and consumed its 'god'.