Good reply, Andy, and I find it easier to see now where we agree and not agree.

The one spot I'd like to draw attention to is that we are not holding the same big picture in our minds. This is very important.

As mentioned, I view everything from a structural perspective, and the question is which structure you have in mind for the universe as a whole.

For me, the universe is automatically not based on anything that can be brought back to 1, so the universe ≠ 1, never 1.

That means I cannot work with a single concept. I cannot and never will declare anything with a single item or word that explains the whole reality we live in.

That means I cannot use the words space or energy to declare the outcome all with one word because neither word is sufficient to do so. Only together is there a story possible, a structure possible.

So, I want to throw this back in your lap. It appears your brain has no problem turning the entirety of whatever we call this reality as something that ultimately can be brought back to one item (in your case, Space), and I can't do that.

Gödel already said loud and clear that we cannot use a single item (of whatever kind) and then end up with an overall truth. Impossible, because Incompleteness(es) await us at the overall level. We cannot have a mother source alone because there has to be a father source as well, if you allow me to talk simple. No word ever conceived by human beings can ever be the whole in-and-in, through-and-throughout truth.

We can have a superficial word (for instance, universe) to declare the human word for the whole, and we can have specific words for the detailed and specific truths. No single word can encompass all at all levels.

Combining everything into one is possible with our brain only. So, we have to conquer the structure of our brain. We must see that we can have a Santa level, we can see a Unicorn level, we can have a Cyclops level. Reality, however, is never captured by a single all-encompassing concept.