Towards the unification of the four fundamental forces

Time is a classical concept, and not an intrinsic part of quantum theory. Hence there must exist a reformulation of quantum theory which does not refer to classical time. We have proposed a prequantum, prespacetime theory, from which conventional quantum field theory and 4D classical spacetime are emergent. This eight dimensional underlying theory inevitably lives in a space described by the number system known as the octonions, and is a candidate theory for the unification of the four fundamental forces. The symmetry group is the exceptional Lie group F4. Amongst other predictions, we derive the asymptotic value of the fine structure constant, matching with the measured value to two parts in 10^7. This so-called aikyon theory is a deterministic matrix dynamics, from which quantum indeterminism emerges in a coarse-grained approximation. In this colloquium, we give an overview of the theory and it's predictions, and the work that still remains to be done.