P22 : Time: Identifying the Cause and Effects and Unifying General and Special Relativity

In standard physics, time is treated either as a coordinate (special relativity), a geometric dimension (general relativity), or an emergent thermodynamic arrow. None of these frameworks provides a physical mechanism for why clocks slow, why the causal speed limit c is universal, or why gravitational and kinematic time dilation share the same mathematical structure. This paper develops a technical account of time within the BFUT framework (building on Sharma 2026, P19), in which time is identified as the accumulated evolution of states in the Spaticle substrate. Both special-relativistic and gravitational time dilation are derived from a single propagation-budget constraint imposed by the finite capacity of this substrate. The universal speed limit c emerges as the maximum rate at which the substrate can reorganise itself. The approach unifies the temporal aspects of special and general relativity under one physical principle while making distinct predictions regarding the locality of gravitational time dilation. A dedicated section evaluates common philosophical expressions about time against the technical structure developed here.