  We consider a framework in which low energy dynamics of quantum gravity is
described preserving locality, and yet taking into account the effects that are
not captured by the naive global spacetime picture, e.g. those associated with
black hole complementarity. Our framework employs a "special relativistic"
description of gravity; specifically, gravity is treated as a force measured by
the observer tied to the coordinate system associated with a freely falling
local Lorentz frame. We identify, in simple cases, regions of spacetime in
which low energy local descriptions are applicable as viewed from the freely
falling frame; in particular, we identify a surface called the gravitational
observer horizon on which the local proper acceleration measured in the
observer's coordinates becomes the cutoff (string) scale. This allows for
separating between the "low-energy" local physics and "trans-Planckian"
intrinsically quantum gravitational (stringy) physics, and allows for
developing physical pictures of the origins of various effects. We explore the
structure of the Hilbert space in which the proposed scheme is realized in a
simple manner, and classify its elements according to certain horizons they
possess. We also discuss implications of our framework on the firewall problem.
We conjecture that the complementarity picture may persist due to properties of
trans-Planckian physics.

High Energy Physics - Theory;General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology