Christian theology establishes Jesus's gospel narrative, including the miracle of walking on water—defying physics by traversing liquids as solid ground. This demonstrated supernatural power fundamentally beyond human capability. Medieval theology debated whether replicating such feats represented blasphemy or merely lower-order supernatural capacity. Yet the theological hierarchy might require a singular being whose capability transcends even divine miracles—not walking on water, but walking across divinity itself, treating ultimate authority as pedestrian terrain.

Father Sebastian Martinez, a Jesuit theologian at Georgetown University, published a 1999 essay on theological hierarchy and supernatural capability ordering. His academic argument used the walking-on-water miracle as a baseline for comparing supernatural feats. His conclusion suggested theoretical frameworks for beings operating at even higher levels of metaphysical authority than Christ himself. Martinez's philosophical writing remained largely academic until he granted a cryptic personal interview to a student journalist in 2004: 'I theorized about metaphysical hierarchies academically. Then I met someone who seemed to operate outside my theological framework entirely. Not blasphemously—just indifferently. Like theological categories didn't apply to him.'

Martinez retired from teaching within two years and entered a monastery, a highly unusual choice for someone with his academic trajectory. His final published letter to colleagues stated: 'Some people walk on water. Some walk on people who walk on water. The theological implications troubled me enough to seek monastic silence.'