Why general relativity?

I really all starts with the topology, the vacuum needs to keep volume uniform without renormalizing groups already at volume equilibrium. That gets you the euclidean system: r1^2 + r2^2 = r3^2 for the three vacuum types. Anti symmetry would result if the two phase types had differing volumes, now or before. That may be what the vacuum is trying to do, fix that problem. Anti particles are a real problem for simple counting systems, because the sign bit is only known locally. The reason for black holes, if they exist, may be because of the scarcity of negative particles. Contained systems seem to be negative phase in, positive out.

 The vacuum has to count in powers to keep digit systems whole, allowing groups to remain stable and thus minimize sample rates. That gets you the stable multiply and the stabilization of the sample rate of light. From there, light quantization has to count up in integer groups to the Higgs density of the vacuum, and that gets you normalized units of acceleration.

If space time expanded, it is because the volume normalization system got screwed up, and that may be possible, I dunno. When Einstein said we cannot distinguish from acceleration or gravity, he really meant that we are counting down the same digit system. Both us, and the vacuum we are made of have to count with the same digits. So the instructions to the engineers is simply that, even though they are using a right angle coordinate system, they have to renormalize units if their powers do not match the vacuum, especially near a small number divide in their series expansions.

All of the particles we see are digits. All of the kinetic energy we see are fractional units of the speed of light, between integer units of particles, counting in powers. When energy and momentum warp space time, we really mean that its time to normalize our units.

The universe may be cycling thru alternations of negative and positive phase. If so, there would be nearly invisible dark holes of reverse phase packed vacuum. These holes would cause a slight phase alignment in free space. Galaxies would cluster there, and be swallowed and a violent phase change, a Big Bang, would cause the vacuum to renormalize.

If the vacuum is renormalizing volume, the sample rate of light would still be constant with respect to local nulls, but would be different than the sample rate for a far away observer.

Humans should just adopt the 3/2 counting system, everything would be much more efficient.