The Temple of Aeb

The Temple of Aeb

 

                                          i.

 

     Welcome to you, most learned Leondo!.

You’ve travelled far in answer to my call

And am honoured by your presence here,

For your repute in esoteric lore

And architectural complexities

Is unmatched anywhere upon this Earth!.

     Ardum my name. I am the sole High Priest

Of Aeb – pronounced in Sacred Rites as ‘Eve’ –

The Golden Goddess of this cultic Shrine

By master-craftsmen built, decades ago,

And filled with priceless treasures to enhance

Her fame and bring the faithful to adore

Her beauty and magnificence no less

Than favours she might grant to those

Who honour her and humbly ask her aid.

     From their donations are derived the funds

To pay my maintenance and the expense

Of candles, incense, robes and such repairs

As are required to keep the building sound.

 

                                         ii.

 

     To guard these riches from the sacrilege

Of theft or profane damage, those who built

Aeb’s temple cunningly devised a scheme

Whereby no person could remain, for long,

In safety in the Shrine. It was a sheet

                                                                                Of searing, incandescent flames – as fierce

And fiery as those sudden flares which leap

Above the surface of the molten sun –

That has no exit-ports perceptible

In floors, or walls, or ceilings of the Shrine.

     From where we stand, outside the danger-zone,

You can perceive the unique treasures ranged

Upon the Altar and the Sanctuary-walls.

There’s nothing like them elsewhere in the world;

(Or so the experts say who’ve travelled far

In search of sacred cultic artefacts),

So one can understand why those who built

This place, and then endowed it with such wealth,

Should seek to make the site impregnable.

     But what the mechanism to control

The flames I cannot say. I was informed,

When first installed, that all the building-plans

And other records were destroyed one day

By accident when, inadvertently,

They had been left upon the Altar there

And then consumed by fire when the High Priest

Then holding office tried to rescue them.

(Unluckily, he lost his life because

The flames caught him as well!).

                                                                 Suffice to say,

Although some form of movement-sensor seems

To trigger the emergence of the flames –

Perhaps a clever pressure-pad device –

Nobody knows the secret. I have searched

The building from the cellars to the roof

But found not one clue that might help reveal

The source, or fuel, of the sudden fire;

And so the mystery remains entire .

 

                                        iii.

 

     I, Ardum, Aeb’s High Priest, will yield to none

In my devotion of the goddess. She

Is central to my life and her I serve

With undiminished fervour, faith and love.

My whole life has been hymn to her since first

I entered in Aeb’s service long ago,

And still my veneration is so deep

That some folk think I must be mad to keep

Such faith when I must suffer agonies

As consequences of my love for her.

     (Look at the burn-scars on my face and hands –

Yet more are hidden underneath my dress! –

Caused by the unpredictable outbursts

Of those protective flames of which I spoke,

That so disfigure me that pilgrims turn

Away in horrified disgust or fear).

     To mitigate the menace, I’ve devised

A special fabric for my robes – part fire-

Resistant — that helps to reflect the heat

Away should those dread fires erupt whilst I

Am still engaged in ritual events

That cannot be omitted or curtailed).

     My problem is that I cannot allow

That inconvenience to interrupt

The Sacred Rites that – by the Oath I swore

On taking office – have to be performed

Each day at dawning, noon and dusk, upon

The Altar in the Sanctuary itself.

So I must brave the threat and trust that Aeb

Will keep me relatively safe whilst I

Fulfil the duties that the Holy Book

Requires me to enact as her High Priest.

     The Prophets of Aeb’s cult declared, (when first

This Shrine was built), that should her rituals

No longer be enacted every day

Precisely as prescribed, a terrible

Catastrophe would fall upon this land

And population; nothing would remain

And no-one would survive its virulence;

For Aeb would be offended and her wrath

Surpass mere human comprehension’s scope.

 

                                 iv

 

     This is a sorry case, you will agree,

And one demanding resolution, since

I must lay down my office here one day –

When incapacity or death compel –

Yet who, knowing the hazards, will be brave

Enough to risk them and assume the rôle

Of Aeb’s High Priest, keeping her Rituals

Precisely as the Sacred Rubrics say?.

     It may not come to that, of course!. The flames

Come oftener, less predictably and much

More fiercely with each passing year. I fear

That soon they will destroy this sacred Shrine

And all the priceless treasures now contained

Within the Sanctuary walls. (Those artefacts

Cannot be moved because, the moment touched,

The fires erupt protectively around

Them bringing harm to anyone who’s near.

     I know the truth of this, for once I tried

To move one and the guarding flames upsurged,

Singeing the tenderest, most delicate,

Parts of my body underneath my robes:

A most unpleasant incident – from which

I scarce escaped alive! – that left me raw

And permanently impotent. I was

Quite badly burned. For weeks I could not sit,

(Never mind pee or shit — you’ll please

My vulgar language here!), without great pain.

Those scars have never healed. Even today,

Years later, I still suffer from the wounds

Inflicted by that same experience!).

     But I digress from what’s important here.

It will be plain that, should the Shrine burn down –

Entailing the cessation of Aeb’s Rites –

The prophecy must be fulfilled and all

In the vicinity will be destroyed.

 

                                    v.

 

     That’s why I asked if you would visit here

And give me your advice. Your great repute

For esoteric wisdom and renown

In architecture led me to believe

That you might find the answers which – despite

My best research-endeavours – still elude

My competence to find or understand.

     As recompense I offer you this Book

Of Aeb’s most sacred Rituals. The text –

Faithfully copied during many years

Of careful labour by my own two hands

Before my injuries were too severe –

Is decorated with rich images

That, heretofore, have never been revealed

To any but Aeb’s sworn High Priests. (Apart

From the original, it is the sole

Exemplar of its kind. Its rarity

Is worth more than a nation’s wealth in gold,

Or any other prized commodity).

It shall be yours, whether or not success

Crowns your participation in our quest

To solve the mysteries of Aeb’s hot Shrine.

     If you should fail, the huge calamities

The ancient theologians prophesied

May come to pass quite soon; but your success

Will push them further off and may – if Aeb

So wills – prevent them happening at all.

 

                                    vi.

 

     I thank you for your welcome and the clear

Description of the problems which you face,

Most reverend High Priest. I, Leondo,

Will start investigating this same day;

But it may be at least a month before —

When my researches are complete — I can

Advise you what the causes are of these

Unfortunate occurrences and how you might

End their intrusive incidence.

                                                           Until

That time arrives it would be best if you,

In the performance of  Aeb’s Sacred Rites,

Took every care not to provoke the flames.

     I will observe your movements in the Shrine

To gather clues additional to those

Which, I am sure, this Book of Rituals

Contains. For, in my long career as Sage,

I have seen others of its kind that held,

(Encoded in their texts and images),

Secrets that none suspected to be there.

     Now I’ll withdraw to start my work, for time

Is of the essence in this case and I

Have much to read and think upon before

I can solve the enigma of this place.

 

     *     *      *    *     *     *    *      ”     *     *

 

                                 vii.

 

     Ardum, I have for five weeks – as agreed –

Studied the architecture of the Shrine

And Sanctuary, making comparisons

With cryptic informations in the Book

Of Sacred Rituals that you gave to me,

(As I suspected when I saw it first,

Its text is more than just liturgical),

And correlated them most carefully.

What I discovered is astonishing,

As I will now explain to you as best

I can, though you will surely find that much

Of what I say seems quite incredible.

     Before I start, though, I congratulate

You on surviving still the fearful flames.

Often, these past weeks, I have stood outside

The Sanctuary and observed with care

As you performed your duties, with the fires

Sometimes erupting dangerously near

Your person as you prayed. The courage you

Exhibited, by staying at your post

Despite the menace to your life, filled me

With admiration and profound respect.

     But, as I watched those incidents unfold,

I gathered helpful clues to supplement

The information that Aeb’s Book contains.

As a result I can outline for you,

In simple terms, the situation here.

 

                                      iix.

 

     Firstly, the architecture of the Shrine

And Sanctuary. You have supposed that all

Is made of solid marble. That is wrong.

The building is of metal, everywhere –

From its foundations to its roof alike –

Iron within electrum sheathed and then

With marble facings skilfully applied

To beautify, deceptively, its looks.

Even the roof-tiles are not what they seem;

They’re metal too, but textured to appear

As if they were of terracotta made.

(Later I will explain why this was done).

     Second, the Altar from those very same

Materials is built. It is, in fact,

A box of which the volumetric space

Is two-thirds filled with mercury. Just like

The rest of this strange building, its veneer

Of ornate marble simply serves to hide

Its proper attributes and functions there.

     Thirdly, the Sanctuary’s marble floor –

As you already cleverly surmised –

Has several secret pressure-plates inset,

Apparently at random placed, but all

So interlinked that, should just one of them

Be activated, all the others will

Immediately respond in unison.

     Fourthly, the edifice entire – its size,

Materials, arrangement of its parts –

And its precise location on this hill –

Were most ingeniously designed to be

A focal point where cosmic energy

Could be captured, confined, controlled and then

Directed to protect the Shrine without

The need for human intervention, since

All would be actioned by the hidden laws

Of physics that pervade the universe

And without which nothing at all could be.

 

                                        ix.

 

     Now that I have explained why Aeb’s great Shrine

Was built in so unusual a way,

You’ll want to know how those erratic fires –

That cause you so much inconvenience –

Can be controlled or, at the very least,

Be more reliably predictable.

Patience, a short while more, I ask of you.

     All that I’ve so far told you, and much more,

Is in the pages of Aeb’s Sacred Book

Concealed in cryptic phrases, sequences

Of colour-coded capitals, details

Within its illustrations and amongst

The marginalia that seem, on sight,

To comment on the Rubrics and the Rites

But actually refer to mystic lore.

     The evidence you sought so long was there,

Before your eyes each day, yet you could not

Perceive it!. That was not your fault, because

Only somebody who had specialised

In learning arcana for many years

Could seriously think that in a book

Of prayers there was concealed a manual

Of esoteric architectural

And technical significance disguised

In common words and pious formulæ.

     The authors of Aeb’s Book were genii,

Experts in esoterica, possessed

Of understandings that have long been lost

From ordinary human consciousness.

     (Although I say it with true modesty,

I am one of the very few alive

Today with the ability to read

Their secret symbols and make sense of what

They wished to hide from the profane; or priests

Who might misuse the knowledge, if it were

Presented to them more accessibly).

 

                                 x.

 

     This edifice, the Shrine and Sanctuary

Of Aeb, your Goddess, was designed to be

A huge machine able to generate –

Through interactions of its elements

With small kinetic variations caused

By barometric movements in the space

Around the Altar – waves of energy

Of such enormity that they can spark

The fiery plasma-field of which you know.

(The process is quite complex to explain,

So we will talk of it another time).

     Suffice, for now, to say that as the years

And decades have gone by, some subtle change

In the environment has interfered

With the original parameters,

Causing the unpredictability

That now endangers both the Shrine itself

And all who would approach Aeb’s Altar there.

     I’ll need more time, (another week or so),

To do the calculations, but I’m sure

That I can solve the problem, though that may

Require some alterations to the site.

(I’ll tell you what they are when next we meet;

But you must realise that they will be

Expensive, so you need to give some thought

To the financement of the enterprise).

     A few remarks, before I hurry off

To calculate how to restore again

The status quo origine of this

Device.

                 You will be very pleased to learn

That should Aeb’s Sacred Rites not be performed

Precisely as prescribed within her Book,

The prophesied Catastrophe will not

Occur. I have annulled the cryptogram

That gave it force. (Perhaps the Goddess Aeb

Helped me accomplish that!).  So, if you choose

To take a holiday whilst I complete

My work, there is no danger to be feared

From that particular phenomenon.

I can assure you that all will be well.

     Nevertheless, if you still feel obliged

By your devotion to Aeb’s Sacred Rites

To risk both health and life in your routine

Of praying at the Altar, take great care

Whenever you go to the Sanctuary

Not to disturb the slightest thing.

                                                               Each time

You enter, gently close all doors; that will

Reduce internal pressure-gradients.

Follow the same route, putting your feet down

Exactly where you did the time before

So that you do not, accidentally,

Trigger the pressure-plates under the floor.

Move slowly, touching nothing as you go

Towards or from the Altar, for the fires

Are sparked by sudden motions that disturb

The atmospheric pressure in that place.

The choice of what to do is yours. You must

Act as you think is right. I’ll say no more.

 

      *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *

 

                                   xi.

 

     My friend, if I may call you that, your work

On the behalf of Aeb’s Shrine cannot be

Sufficiently rewarded. You deserve

The honours of a Saint, and more if that

Were possible.

                                I, Ardum, shall inscribe,

Within the Book of Rituals, a prayer

Commemorating you and what you’ve done.

(I’ll even add it to the copy that

I gave to you!). Thereby your fame will last

As long as Aeb is worshipped in this place;

For my successors will pronounce your name

Thrice daily at the Altar as the Rites

Henceforward will prescribe them to perform.

Leondo’s name will be immortalised!.

     As for my prayers, I shall continue them –

Thanks to your reassurances – not from

The fear of prophesised disaster, but

Because of my devotion to Aeb’s cult

There at the Altar in her Sanctuary.

     Later, I’ll listen carefully to what

You have to tell me of the process that

Engenders the mysterious fires and how

They may in future be controlled, as was

Intended by the Founding Prophets who –

In honour of their Golden Goddess Aeb –

Created such a wonderful machine,

The like of which before has not been seen.

 

                                    xii.

 

     I thank you for the honour that you do

To me in recognition of my work

And, humbled by your generosity,

I bow before you in my gratitude,

Most reverend Ardum.

                                                  I’m ready now

To tell you what I’ve found and to explain

How to restore this sacred place again

To its  safe status quo ante…

                 * * * * * * * * * “

[Afternote:

I had just imagined what seemed a simple but ingenious concept for capturing and storing wind-energy and atmospheric electricity [from thunderstorms and lightning] in order to release it within the temple Sanctuary, (when the presure-plates were triggered), by interacting with the mercury and electrum-sheathed iron and thereby igniting natural gas [methane], from an underground source beneath the temple.

Before I could write it down, however, the concept vanished from my memory when a long telephone conversation interrupted my train of thought.

I am still hoping that some serendipitous event will ‘remind’ me of the details but, so far, this has not happened. So – without suggesting any qualitative comparison – the poem remains as intriguingly unfinished as S.T. Coleridge’s Kubla Khan. J. A. B.]