Senlin Ascends
Part I - The Basement & The Parlor
1The Tower of Babel is most famous for the silk fineries and marvelous airships it produces, but visitors will discover other intangible exports. Whimsy, adventure, and romance are the Tower's real trade.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, I.V2Savvy shoppers will revel in the Market that coils about the foot of the Tower. Don't be afraid to walk away while haggling; a little retreat may win a great bargain.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, I.IV3The happy traveler will look for the broadest, most beaten path, will look to his fellow traveler for behavioral cues, will be an echo but will not raise his voice. It is dangerous to blaze a trail when one is already so clearly cut.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, I.VI4The camaraderie between travelers becomes more palpable the closer one draws to the Tower. Do not be surprised if you find yourself swept up in a spontaneous parade.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, II.XIV5The Tower's well produces a water that is famously crisp and pure. It is this untainted source which gives the local beer its ballyhooed flavor.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, III.II6The handkerchief is the universal utensil of the seasoned traveler. It can be a sanitizing device, a seat cover, a dust mask, a garrote, a bandage, a gag, or a white flag. One may feel well-prepared with nothing but a pocket square.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, Appendix, I.IV7Newcomers may expect the ringdoms of the Tower to be like the layers of a cake where each layer is much like the last. But this is not the case. Not at all. Each ringdom is unique and bewildering. The ringdoms of the Tower share only two things in common: the shape of their outermost walls, which are roughly circular, and the price of beef, which is outrageous. The rest is novel.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, I.X8Never let a rigid itinerary discourage you from an unexpected adventure.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, III.II9Inevitably, invariably, eventually you will discover you are unprepared to make an informed choice. When in doubt, say, Yes. Yes is the eternal passport. Yes is the everlasting coin.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, I.XII10Anything that distracts from the play becomes the play itself.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, III.V11If the actors are any good, or the script is, or the director, then the audience will be as quiet as a sigh. Unless, of course, the play is a comedy. Then quiet is a terrible and tormenting thing.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, III.XI12Bribery wins more arguments than reason.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, I.IX13Ask anyone you meet, Don't you miss the sun? Don't you miss the moon? They'll reply, Do you miss the heatstroke? Do you miss the howling wolves?
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, III.XII14If you ever discover that you are bored in the Parlor, wake up. You are asleep and having a tedious dream.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, III.LI15Most life in the ocean lives in the shallows. And so it is with those living on the land.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, I.IIVPart II - The Baths
1The Fountain of the Baths can unwrinkle a crone's elbow, can mend sprained muscles and strained hearts alike, can dislodge the most stubborn tic. Whatever is worrisome will be forgot.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, IV.III2The only real danger is of growing so relaxed that one falls asleep while soaking in a bath. To prevent accidental drowning, go with a companion or seek out a new friend.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, IV.IV3Even beauty diminishes with study. It is better to glance than gawk.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, IV.V4Conversations are a tedious symptom of an empty dance card.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, IV.VII5There are endless currencies beyond the bills and coins in your pocket. Sometimes a ticket may be bought with a smile; a glass of wine may be payment enough for an entertaining tale.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, IV.XI6Tourists who talk too often and too fondly of their homes can expect a lukewarm reception. Locals call such nostalgic tourists 'dirt-headed' or 'mud-minded.' One can hardly blame them. 'Home' is an exaggeration made true by distance.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, IV.XII7The politics of the Tower are like garden politics, like neighbors bickering over the ownership of a plum tree. You may detect undercurrents of rivalry and feud, though none are very serious. Even so, it is best to have a supple opinion in matters of local governance.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, I.XIV8Often the simplest way to unlock a door is to knock upon it.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, IV.I9The longer you linger in the halls of Babel, the more strongly you will feel the pull of allegiances, of clans, kings, and guilds. A man who stands alone is generally thought a lost tourist or a rogue. Many have found the one is a natural sibling of the other.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, IV.XX10The Baths are like a chrysalis. Exhausted men and women wrap the Baths about them and, in a fortnight, are transformed. One may come in a worm, and go out a butterfly.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, V.III11The truth, when finally told, will often sound strange, while a lie is so often familiar.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, V.IV12One shouldn't feel compelled to attend every ball, or accept every proposal, or finish every glass that is raised. The sun is sometimes brighter when watched from the shadows. Sometimes to enjoy a scene fully, we must first retreat a little way.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, V.XIV13The trade winds climb the Tower along a spiraling, tangled course. Ships do not rise up and down the Tower like plumbs on a line, but rather twist their way up like ivy climbing a tree. 'Up' is not at all a straightforward direction.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, I.XIIIPart III - New Babel
1Volume II in the Everyman series describes the many marvels of New Babel: the Lightning Nest, the Chrom chapels, its population of exotic moths and bats, and how it earned the titillating nickname the Bedroom. Request a copy from your local bookman today!
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, V.XXII2The simplest way to make the world mysterious and terrifying to a man is to chase him through it.
– Every Man's Tower, One Man's Travails by T. Senlin3There is a narcotic, unique to the Tower and in particular New Babel, called White Chrom or Crumb, among other things. The porters call it Crumb because it makes the real world seem like the sort of thing a mouse could eat in one bite and still be hungry.
– Every Man's Tower, One Man's Travails by T. Senlin4Goll's Port is not an original feature of the Tower. It was dug out eons after the Tower's erection, and the fact shows in its shoddy form. It has been renamed throughout the centuries by a parade of ambitious men, and yet appears to have stubbornly remained little better, little nobler than a smuggler's cove.
– Every Man's Tower, One Man's Travails by T. Senlin5An ancient and beloved teacher once told me that a journal is the only book a man can undertake and know for certain he will one day finish.
– Every Man's Tower, One Man's Travails by T. Senlin6Presuming that I can obtain a ship, I wonder how I would crew it. Of course, I cannot afford to hire airmen, nor can I tolerate the pirate option of violent salaries. No, each one of my crew must come on their own, for their own reasons.
– Every Man's Tower, One Man's Travails by T. Senlin7Even with a crew and a ship, escaping the port requires the right wind. A single airstream feeds the entire Port of Goll; all ships come in from the low south and depart to the high north. When there is only one road out of town, runaways are easy to catch.
– Every Man's Tower, One Man's Travails by T. Senlin8Today's candidate: the Fat Alistair. She's a merchant ship, forty-six feet, stem to stern, with two twenty-pound guns and bunks for twelve. A good candidate on the surface of it; unfortunately, she flies the colors of Pelphia. Stealing from the Pells, who I must one day infiltrate, seems beyond stupid. The search continues.
– Every Man's Tower, One Man's Travails by T. Senlin9Tucked among the old ledgers on my office shelves are a dozen flawed dictionaries, several primers on aeronautics (which I have thoroughly perused and the best of which I've claimed as my own), and at least thirty unique and useless guides to the Tower. When I read them, I want to shout, Draw me a map! Show me the way! But all the authors do is describe their footprints and talk about their shoes, which are always the best, the only true shoes.
– Every Man's Tower, One Man's Travails by T. Senlin10The Banyan o' Morrow is a flat-bottomed scow that's as ugly as a pig's nose. One thirty-pound gun, heavily corroded, is its only defense. The motley crew of six would probably surrender without argument. A charmless but feasible candidate. (On second inspection, rot has turned the bulwarks soft as cake. It is a deathtrap.)
– Every Man's Tower, One Man's Travails by T. Senlin11The Double Fond is a pot-bellied galleon, with an s-shaped hull, eight long guns, three fat envelopes, a grappling cannon, a glorious deckhouse, a great cabin complete with teardrop chandelier, and a crew of sixty-two armed marauders… All dreaming aside, a ship is only as good as her course. I must find a new wind.
– Every Man's Tower, One Man's Travails by T. Senlin12Everything I've read on the subject suggests that five able bodies are required to make a skeletal crew. Counting myself, Adam, and Voleta, and presuming that I can recruit Iren, I'm still one short. I suppose I could advertise in the dockyard. Aeronaut wanted for crusade into certain peril and probable death. Low wages, moral reward; philanthropists preferred.
– Every Man's Tower, One Man's Travails by T. Senlin13Mirrors are not so honest as one might think. They can be mugged at, bargained with, and one can always ferret out a flattering angle. Really, there is nothing like the expression of a long-lost friend to reflect the honest state of your affairs.
– Every Man's Tower, One Man's Travails by T. Senlin14Every important journey I have undertaken has begun the same: with crushed sheets, a balled pillow, flung open books, and not a wink of sleep. Tonight, I added a new sort of frittering to the ritual: sewing. I have at least solved the question of where to hide the painting, though I mangled my coat's lining in the process.
– Every Man's Tower, One Man's Travails by T. Senlin15I can't stop thinking about that cocky, yellow-haired woman who tried to blackmail me. She must've felt so very clever. She really believed she'd make a fortune off of me and redeem her life. It wasn't a bad plan. But she was doomed by insignificance and ignorance and hope. And it may be no different for me.
– Every Man's Tower, One Man's Travails by T. Senlin16When teaching me to load a gun, Adam warned that an overloaded barrel does not fire faster or farther, it merely explodes in one's face. So it may be in the port this evening when Rodion and Finn Goll collide.
– Every Man's Tower, One Man's Travails by T. Senlin17I still recall a line from that feckless Everyman's guide. It said something like, 'the Tower's real trade is in whimsy, adventure, and romance.' I cannot imagine a less accurate trio. Though, who in their right minds would've come if the editors had said, 'the Tower's true trade is in tyranny, dismemberment, and heartbreak?
– Every Man's Tower, One Man's Travails by T. SenlinArm Of The Sphinx
Part I - The Stone Cloud
1The difficulty with a disguise is that it must be worn for some time before it hangs credibly upon the shoulders. But if worn for too long, a costume becomes comfortable, natural. A man always in disguise must take care lest he become the disguise.
– The Stone Cloud's Logbook, Captain Tom Mudd2With his ship, I have also taken possession of the late Captain Billy Lee's log. Reading his diary has provided me with two insights. First, penmanship is not a priority in the elementary institutions of the Tower. And second, I have signed us on for a rough life.
– The Stone Cloud's Logbook, Captain Tom Mudd3Compared to how ably Adam and Voleta adapted to our new life, my own acclimation was painfully slow. If mankind ever attempts to colonize the islands of the stars, we should crew the ships with children and put the youngest at the wheel.
– The Stone Cloud's Logbook, Captain Tom Mudd4Trust is a muscle that works best in reflex.
– The Stone Cloud's Logbook, Captain Tom Mudd5One can't turn around in a pirate's cove without being accosted by some charlatan selling the promise of treasure. Though I suppose it is comforting to think that there is a reliable wage to be made drawing and selling treasure maps. The same could be said of writing travel guides.
– The Stone Cloud's Logbook, Captain Tom Mudd6Omissions become lies, etc.
– The Stone Cloud's Logbook, Captain Tom Mudd7I find myself in the unenviable position of having to rely upon another man's impression of my wife to correct my recollection of her. I don't know what I would do without Ogier's portrait of Marya to clear my muddled head.
– The Stone Cloud's Logbook, Captain Tom Mudd8I knew a boy in school who rolled out of his bunk in his sleep, struck his head, and never woke again. I console myself with this terrible memory whenever I look down at the chasm that follows me like a shadow. We are, all of us, living at a deadly height.
– The Stone Cloud's Logbook, Captain Tom Mudd9One need not be royalty to be in high demand. Even the plowman and the dairymaid are thought exotic in the ringdoms of Babel.
– The Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, Vol. IV10In the natural world there are two varieties of awe: the carnal awe associated with reproduction, and the hypnotic awe experienced by the prey of certain predators, such as the stoat. After years of observation, I am still not sure which variety of awe the Tower inspires.
– Reflections on a Pillar, John Clark11The clan of the Pells is distinguished by their courtly manner. A Pell is always well dressed, sweetly perfumed, and arrayed in the most current fashions. They are harmless in general, but loquacious to a fault; if ever corned by a Pell, one is in reasonable danger of being charmed to death.
– Anthropologies of Babel by A. FranboisePart II - The Golden Zoo
1We are, each of us, a multitude. I am not the man I was this morning, nor the man of yesterday. I am a throng of myself queued through time. We are, gentle reader, each a crowd within a crowd.
– Folkways and Right of Ways in the Silk Gardens, Anon.2Civilization first came into being when two of our ancestors knocked together at the mouth of a cave, and one brute or the other uttered the immortal phrase: 'No, no, I insist— after you.'
– Folkways and Right of Ways in the Silk Gardens, Anon.3Gentle reader, do not make yourself an arbor under which other pedestrians must pass. Move your embraces and glad reunions to the shoulder. Even a great romance is but a stumbling block when it happens upon the road.
– Folkways and Right of Ways in the Silk Gardens, Anon.4I admit, your lordship, to having had my doubts about boarding spiders and spider-eaters in a public park. It seemed to my admittedly meager imagination a bit like inviting rats into your home and then adopting tigers to keep them in check.
– Inaugurations of the Silk Gardens, Salo5Should you ever be tempted to dip your toes in the Garden's aquifers, just remember where the water flows. One man's bath becomes another man's broth.
– Folkways and Right of Ways in the Silk Gardens, Anon.6Without military experience to shape and temper them, young men turn into idlers, my lord; they turn into bards. The Gardens are full of them, lounging on elbows with their shirts open, spewing poetry at plain-faced girls. I shudder at the waste of it. We will owe this generation a war.
– Inaugurations of the Silk Gardens, Salo7When the gilded birds of the Zoo trilled their fantastic song, women swooned, fops moaned like doves, and old men mopped their rheumy eyes. This is the trouble with the man of the masses: show him the sublime, and he is reminded of himself.
– Inaugurations of the Silk Gardens, Salo8Please do not saddle the clockwork beasts. Do not pet or tease the spidereaters. Reserve such familiar activities for other, more receptive subjects.
– Folkways and Right of Ways in the Silk Gardens, Anon.9After the initial shock receded, I quickly forgot Edith's arm was at all unnatural. Much as spectacles flatter an intelligent face, the powerful engine compliments her quite well. It is difficult to fathom that such an essential and vital part of her could one day run down like a pocket watch.
– The Stone Cloud's Logbook, Captain Tom Mudd10The man or woman who is rarely lost, rarely discovers anything new.
– Folkways and Right of Ways in the Silk Gardens, Anon.11If living on a coast taught me anything it was that every ship in the sea wants to sink. It is only the frenzy of the crew and the grit of the command that keeps a ship from foundering. The Stone Cloud is no different. If it soars, it is by dint of our will. It sinks as a matter of course.
– The Stone Cloud's Logbook, Captain Tom Mudd12I'm suspicious of men who think it better to revise an entire society than to reform their own manner of address. A constructive revolution is as impossible as an architectural fire.
– Inaugurations of the Silk Gardens, Salo13Despite the evidence of my chosen profession, I am far from comfortable with violence. Unfortunately, the consequence of practice is mastery.
– The Stone Cloud's Logbook, Captain Tom Mudd14There is little in the world more curative than a picnic. Some call for doctors and tonics when they fall ill. I call for friends and wine. 'But' you say, 'What if you are really dying?' Of course I am! We all are! The question is, gentle reader, in these uncertain times, would you rather be a patient or a picnicker?
– Folkways and Right of Ways in the Silk Gardens, Anon.Part III - The Bottomless Library
1It is common knowledge the Sphinx does not exist. This fact, however, has not diminished his fame.
– The Myth of the Sphinx: A Historical Analysis by Saavedra2The origin of a myth is like that of a river. It begins in obscurity as a collection of tentative, unassociated flows. It streams downhill along the path of least resistance, seeking consensus. Other fables join it, and the myth broadens and sets. We build cities on the banks of myth.
– The Myth of the Sphinx: A Historical Analysis by Saavedra3Had the Sphinx not existed, surely the mothers of the Tower would have had to invent him. Who better to encourage children in their studies than a ghoul who riddles you and eats you if you answer wrong? 'Why should you study, my son? Because you never know what the Sphinx might ask!'
– The Myth of the Sphinx: A Historical Analysis by Saavedra4The Sphinx could never reveal himself without losing his essential mystique. To be the Sphinx is to be unknown. If, however, he were a myth, he would be just as unknowable. We can only hope that one day he will emerge and prove once and for all that he does not exist.
– The Myth of the Sphinx: A Historical Analysis by Saavedra5Some scholars believe the Sphinx must be a supreme mesmerist to bring so many to ruin. He spellbinds his victims into self-destruction. Other students of the Sphinx, however, contend that, rather than hypnosis, he practices the black art of legal contracts.
– The Myth of the Sphinx: A Historical Analysis by Saavedra6It is by studying the Sphinx that we realize all wonder is seasoned with dread; all courage is tinctured with fear; all wisdom is the fermentation of folly.
– The Myth of the Sphinx: A Historical Analysis by Saavedra7Routine is rather like the egg-whites in a batter: it imparts little flavor, but it holds everything together.
– The Wifely Way by the Duchess K. A. Pell8A short list of potent stuffs for sparing use: cloves, especially in mulled wine, but also in baked goods; perfume, which should be undetectable to you and elusive to everyone else; and frank conversation in every instance.
– The Wifely Way by the Duchess K. A. Pell9Take stock of your virtues. Aspire within your means. No one admires the bird who sings over the orchestra.
– The Wifely Way by the Duchess K. A. Pell10Outings are essential to the health of a wife's self-esteem. How else can she learn if her things are in fashion, or if she has become the subject of gossip? As a rule, never air your linens more often than yourself.
– The Wifely Way by the Duchess K. A. Pell11When introductions are made, never be first in the reception line. 'First to curtsey, first forgot,' or so the saying goes.
– The Wifely Way by the Duchess K. A. Pell12C is for Cheeky, Coquettish, and Coy, such as the girl who treats hearts as a toy.
– The Unlikable Alphabet, a Primer for Children by Anon.13G is for grumble, groan and for grouch: such as the one who is quick to cry, 'Ouch!'
– The Unlikable Alphabet, a Primer for Children by Anon.14L is for liar, lip-server, and lout; such as the boy who has more than one mouth.
– The Unlikable Alphabet, a Primer for Children by Anon.15S is for snooper, snake, and for sneak, such as the boy who takes just a peek.
– The Unlikable Alphabet, a Primer for Children by Anon.16F is for fawning, false, and for fake, who lives to be liked by those that he hates.
– The Unlikable Alphabet, a Primer for Children by Anon.17P is for prankster, picador, and peeve, or the young lad who keeps tricks up his sleeve.
– The Unlikable Alphabet, a Primer for Children by Anon.18All glory goes to the man who is willing to hurl himself, hat and boot, over the brink just to hear in his dramatic exit a smattering of applause.
– A Beginner's Guide to the Game of Oops19A bad painter only worries about how his barn looks. He doesn't work his brush into the nooks and shadows. His barn is handsome enough from the road. But when a wet spring comes, the eaves fall off. Do not neglect inconvenient corners.
– The Art of Painting a Barn by Mr. B. Ritter20The lion's share of blunders occur in the final hour of a job. Pails are kicked, hinges painted over, and brushes lost in the lime. When the end is in sight, mind how you go.
– The Art of Painting a Barn by Mr. B. Ritter21The essential lesson of the zoetrope is this: movement, indeed all progress, even the passage of time, is an illusion. Life is the repetition of stillness.
– Zoetropes and Magic Lanterns: An Introduction to Moving Stills22Do not allow small people to make large impressions. Do not fritter your beauty upon mirrors. Do not make wishes, for wishes only curse the life you have. Never forget, you stand at the end of a long line of short lives.
– The Wifely Way by the Duchess K. A. Pell23Myth is the story of what we do not understand in ourselves.
– The Myth of the Sphinx: A Historical Analysis by SaavedraThe Hod King
Part I - The Mermaid
1Some men seem to think that temperance is preservative, that moderation somehow pickles the soul. They would place their beating hearts inside jam jars if they could. Which does beg the question, what on earth are they saving themselves for?
– Oren Robinson of the Daily Reverie2Wallflowers are harmless. They are pretty things that stand in corners with a pleasant look on their face. It's the wall-weeds I can't stand. They moan about the mantles, mope upon the sofas, and pout about the punch bowls, waiting to be asked, Are you all right? You look so sad. Wall-weeds will linger for hours if you let them. And the only thing that seems to drive them away is other people's happiness.
– Oren Robinson of the Daily Reverie3The Tower is a pestle grinding upon the mortar of the earth. It pulverizes bones, fortunes, kings, love, youth, and beauty. That is its purpose—to crush. So, no, I will not retract my one-star review of Café Sotto's shortbread. I'm sorry the baker is despondent to the point of suicide, but at least he knows now how I felt after eating his wretched biscuits.
– Oren Robinson of the Daily Reverie4Originally, the parrots of Pelphia served as town criers. They raised the alarm when fires, rogues, or raiders threatened the peace. But more recently, a neurosis has gripped the flock: The birds have become insatiable gossips. Do not be surprised if a parrot divulges a neighbor's secret or your own.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, VII. III image5Oh, how airmen love to say our stars are wrong! They call Nature the supreme artist, apparently forgetting that Nature also paints our deck chairs with bird droppings and our backs with hairy moles. Pelphia's constellations were designed by a panel of famous artists and installed by master plumbers, not plopped willy-nilly about the sky by drunken Nature. Really, who's to say it's our stars that are wrong?
– Oren Robinson of the Daily Reverie6There really is no point to teasing a Boskop. They are insensible to wit. One might as well whistle for a footstool or attempt to romance a mop.
– Oren Robinson of the Daily Reverie7Approach an officer of the law as you might a stray dog in the street: Use dulcet tones; keep your hands out of your pockets; and don't look them too long in the eye.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, IV. II image8In the span of just a few years, the Coterie have gone from being a drunken fraternity to the most influential society in the realm. I've had an easier time getting an audience with the king than an open seat at the Coterie Club.
– Oren Robinson of the Daily Reverie9Don't saw off your arm to feed a dog. You only have two arms, and the world is full of dogs.
– Oren Robinson of the Daily Reverie10Why do we call a dishonest person two-faced? Is it really so honest to wear the same face day in, day out, regardless of our mood, our condition, or the event? We are not clocks! Have a face for every occasion, I say! Be honest: Wear a mask.
– Oren Robinson of the Daily Reverie11Eventually, the certainty of a noose is preferable to the agony of an appeal.
– Oren Robinson of the Daily Reverie12To whiten the complexion, one may drain a little blood. And the same is true of our pale city.
– Oren Robinson of the Daily Reverie13I never respond to invitations. It just smacks of desperation. The only event I am certain to attend is my funeral, and I hope to arrive very, very late.
– Oren Robinson of the Daily Reverie14Ecstasy lies in that brief silence at the end of a play, when the performance is over but the applause has not yet begun.
– Oren Robinson of the Daily ReveriePart II - The Leaping Lady
1If you want to read her future, don't peer at a young lady's tea leaves or probe the lumps on her head. No, look to her table manners. I can observe a girl eat a fig, and afterward, tell you whether she will grow up to be a marchioness or a mudlark.
– Lady Graverly's Table: Rare Graces and Common Shames2My grandfather, the royal magistrate, famously said: Sometimes a prisoner would rather stare at a bare wall than a barred window. Or, put another way, ladies: Do not taste the cake your figure cannot afford.
– Lady Graverly's Table: Rare Graces and Common Shames3At the round table of color, orange sits supreme. Orange is sublime. Orange is ablaze. And seated across from Lady Orange, we have Sir Purple. I ask you, is any color more vulgar? The word alone emerges like something from a lavatory. Purple. Plopple. It's all prunes, liver spots, and ink stains. If I ever utter a word of praise for that wretched hue, please snatch my pen away and gore me with it.
– Oren Robinson of the Daily Reverie4A screaming mob and a cheering public sound an awful lot alike.
– Oren Robinson of the Daily Reverie5No. 38: Because you have purchased a new frock and wish to air it before the fashion spoils. No. 39: Because you are intoxicated and in need of an audience.
– 101 Reasons to Attend My Party by Lady Sandbom6No. 81: Because youth is fleeting and cannot be savored in retrospect. No. 82: Because your enemy has RSVP'd, and you wish to make a scene.
– 101 Reasons to Attend My Party by Lady Sandbom7Smiles are like candlelight. They can warm and cheer the bleakest room. But we would be wise not to forget: Even the brightest candle hides a blackened wick.
– Oren Robinson of the Daily Reverie8I'd rather be misquoted than never quoted. Some of my best lines are missources.
– Oren Robinson of the Daily Reverie9I have seen men pierced by a wink and women gored by the cut of an eye. The gaze is a martial art.
– Oren Robinson of the Daily Reverie10A lady's figure is her ledger. Aging is forgivable. Fattening is not.
– Lady Graverly's Table: Rare Graces and Common Shames11There is little less charming than a spurned woman. I'd rather be cornered by a house fire than a heartbroken girl.
– Oren Robinson of the Daily Reverie12Two roads run to fame: one from fortune; the other, folly.
– I Sip a Cup of Wind by Jumet13Only people who go to bed early believe in happy endings. We night owls understand that happiness does not dwell in finales. It resides in anticipation, in revelry, and in worn-out welcomes. Endings are always sad.
– Oren Robinson of the Daily ReveriePart III - The Gold Watch
1Sadly, the secret to longevity may very well be mediocrity. We see evidence of this in the history of the menu of Café Tertre. The dreadfully inventive specials—the slink pie and lemon soup were seen once and never heard from again. The perfectly succulent ambrosia krill, which lit up its bisque with an ethereal light, was so popular we relished the crustacean into extinction. But the merely palatable, unremarkable pigeon pie will linger on the board forever.
– Oren Robinson of the Daily Reverie2An unexpected knock on my apartment door is as welcome as the drums of an invading army.
– Oren Robinson of the Daily Reverie3The rich learn lessons. The poor commit crimes. Mistakes are generally considered a mark of the middle class.
– Oren Robinson of the Daily Reverie4I distrust sweet cocktails and cheerful men for the same reason: It's hard to tell how dangerous they are until they've knocked you on your ear.
– Oren Robinson of the Daily Reverie5A stain is only a stain if anyone notices it. Slosh wine onto the carpet? Scoot a sofa over the spot. Spill gravy on your shirt? Fan your ascot to cover it. Spoil your political reputation with a grievous indiscretion? Start a domestic purge or a foreign war.
– Oren Robinson of the Daily Reverie6I love a good scandal. There's nothing more comforting than tut-tutting the public sins of another from the privacy of your own squalor.
– Oren Robinson of the Daily Reverie7I don't understand the appeal of those hateful screw-booths. I've heard some claim to have seen visions of lost loved ones, and others say they saw their true and shining selves buried beneath age or ugliness, but I've only ever been lampooned by the Willo'-the-Wisps. All they've ever taught me is that my inner nemesis is a crueler critic than my gravest enemy. So what? I still have to sleep with the fellow!
– Oren Robinson of the Daily Reverie8Whenever I stand on a rooftop and look down at the people in the streets, the world makes perfect sense.
– Oren Robinson of the Daily Reverie9An earnest failure is superior to immaculate potential.
– I Sip a Cup of Wind by Jumet10If you lie loud and long enough, it eventually becomes the truth.
– Oren Robinson of the Daily Reverie11The mob does two things well: nothing and revolution.
– I Sip a Cup of Wind by Jumet12All the birds in the forest sing when a lonesome rifle rings.
– I Sip a Cup of Wind by Jumet13A man may rot like an egg: His shell does not show it, but all that is within him has gone foul.
– I Sip a Cup of Wind by Jumet14Sometimes a wheel squeaks not because it is faulty but because it bears the most weight.
– I Sip a Cup of Wind by Jumet15A man who is not suspicious of a philosophy that appeals to his nature is like the bull comforted by the rutted path that leads to the slaughterhouse.
– I Sip a Cup of Wind by Jumet16The universe breathes in ragged breaths. The body dies. The fungus grows. The loam spreads. The tree roots. The forest burns. The cloud bursts. The flood drowns. The alluvium feeds the fields. In, out. In, out. There is no stasis, no stillness. The source of all misery lies in our insistence that tomorrow be like today. But if it were, if it ever were, it would spell the end of everything.
– I Sip a Cup of Wind by Jumet17Some men spend their days pretending to be distinct, assured, or enigmatic. But in death, they are all as guileless as infants. In death, we are ourselves at last.
– I Sip a Cup of Wind by Jumet18Memory is not like a box of stationery—easy to browse, reorder, and read. No, memories accumulate like leaves upon the forest floor. They are irregular and fragile. They crumble and break upon inspection. They turn to soil the deeper you go.
– I Sip a Cup of Wind by JumetThe Fall Of Babel
Part I - The Daredevil's Brother
1Courage circulates like a melody sung in a round. It is an infinite canon, an infectious and intoxicating performance.
– from the diary of Joram Brahe, captain of the Natchez King2Those who claim to be ready for anything are overpacked and invariably unprepared for the one obstacle every adventurer must eventually face—disappointment.
– from the diary of Joram Brahe, captain of the Natchez King3The birds do not dwell upon the miracle of the air, nor do the fish marvel at the currents that carry them. I suspect such is the case for the lords and ladies of the Tower. For them, gold has become the invisible medium of life.
– from the diary of Joram Brahe, captain of the Natchez King4Never was a line untangled by heaves and tugs. An unwanted knot requires a flexible stratagem to undo. One must give a little here to make some progress there. So it is with most of life's snarls.
– from the diary of Joram Brahe, captain of the Natchez King5The crowning ringdom's only known import are the lustful gazes of stupid men. Her primary exports include shrieks and orphans.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, IX. XVII6A lord once told me that wealth is squandered upon the poor, much as rain is wasted upon puddles. But who wants the rain to fall all in one place? Is that not what cleaves the levee, what drowns the valley, what empties the boneyards only to fill them again? More puddles, I say. Fewer floods.
– from the diary of Joram Brahe, captain of the Natchez King7Some of my crew are convinced an old rope will continue to hold purely because it has held for so long. As if a ship was buoyed by precedent. As if the past promised a future.
– from the diary of Joram Brahe, captain of the Natchez King8To scrounge funds for this expedition, I haunted the courts of the middle ringdoms. Taking advantage of the romantic feelings the middle class hold for rogues, I presented myself as an adventuresome rascal embarking upon a noble quest. Their purses burst open for me. I robbed them, and they applauded.
– from the diary of Joram Brahe, captain of the Natchez King9The night is haunted. I cannot sleep for thinking of home—home, where my son still rocks in his cradle; home, where my love's hair is still red as a cardinal. Our garden is green. Spring is unending. I grow old in the company of youthful ghosts.
– from the diary of Joram Brahe, captain of the Natchez King10It is bad manners to inquire into an airman's past and imprudent to divulge your own. We must behave as if each of us emerged fully formed, not from a womb, but from a sculptor's block.
– from the diary of Joram Brahe, captain of the Natchez King11Many of the traps I've fallen for were not furtive but rather signed, sealed, and sent through the post. One can hardly call it an ambush if one RSVPs.
– from the diary of Joram Brahe, captain of the Natchez King12Anger that survives until morning is either righteous or insidious. Either way, it must be dealt with.
– from the diary of Joram Brahe, captain of the Natchez King13I hope to be rich one day, but not miserably so. I once rubbed elbows with a gold-drenched lord. He had a staff of dozens, a harem of admirers, and a seat at every table. Yet I have never met a more paranoid, anxious, and isolated wretch. The only medicine for gout is moderation; the only cure for excess is charity.
– from the diary of Joram Brahe, captain of the Natchez King14Men who brag about how they would've risen to the occasion amid some unattended crisis are pigeon-livered liars. There is nothing more flattering to one's ego, nor more insulting to a survivor, than armchair courage and the valor of the parlor.
– from the diary of Joram Brahe, captain of the Natchez King15To lead is to come last. A chef only eats when the dishes are done, and a captain goes down with the ship.
– from the diary of Joram Brahe, captain of the Natchez King16Scavenge is such an unlovely word. It conjures up visions of vultures and grave robbers. We only take what the dead could not carry.
– from the diary of Joram Brahe, captain of the Natchez King17Any airman who has ever killed another in battle has learned the unhappy truth: Ships sink; ghosts float.
– from the diary of Joram Brahe, captain of the Natchez King18Retreat is an ancient art. Generals have studied it; conscripts practiced it. Nearly fifty years of survival has taught me that often the best time to run away is shortly before you arrive.
– from the diary of Joram Brahe, captain of the Natchez King19Trust no man with a secret unless its preservation will enrich himself as well. The soul of discretion is not integrity but stock.
– from the diary of Joram Brahe, captain of the Natchez King20I have done it. I have scrabbled into heaven… All the Tower under the Collar now seems little better than a poorhouse.
– from the diary of Joram Brahe, captain of the Natchez KingFrom the Belly of the Beast 1We have spent our lives scrabbling up the mountainside without the promise of a mountaintop.
– from the sermons of Luc Marat (translated from hoddish)Part II - Steel Bird, Iron Worm
1Choose your traveling companions wisely. The Tower has a way of turning quibbles into feuds and a morning spat into an evening divorce.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, III. IV2Much as a meandering river will pinch off an inconvenient bend, the Tower affords visitors the opportunity to cut away the errant twists and embarrassing turns of the lives they've left behind.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, II. XX3The Tower is not without its seasons of unrest, but so it is wherever humanity gathers. Dynasties rise and fall; oligarchs sweep up fortunes for revolutionaries to scatter. The wild swings of history have a way of sawing a society in half. Visitors are advised to be adaptable; when possible ride the saw, not the log.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, II. IX4Never was a rough road smoothed by looking backward; never was a great height shrunk by looking down.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, I. XVI5Though Oyodin's architectural transparency has ushered in an era of relative peace, the war on smudges is unending. Be advised: While fingerprints are considered innocuous, the imprint of a posterior on the glass wall of a home or business is taken as a slight. Visitors should mind where they lean.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, VII. IV6The term marine snow is used to describe the drifting passage of rotting matter down through the unlit ocean depths to the seafloor. Similarly, the rain of grout and rubble one may encounter in the shadow of the Tower is known as a stone shower.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, VI. IIIFrom the Belly of the Beast 2We plow the fields of history with pens and pots of candle black, for the fruits of tomorrow cannot grow until the stubble of the past is tilled under.
– from the sermons of Luc Marat (translated from hoddish)7Anyone who has ever peered into a telescope and spied the unexplored sprawl bottled therein knows that wonder only ceases when examination ends.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, VII. XII8A lock tempts a pick. A chain invites a file. But a dung pile courts only beetles and flies. Sometimes the best way to protect your belongings is to shroud them in something foul.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, I. III9Much as opportunity may turn the placid grasshopper into a locust swarm, panic may convert an idle crowd into a rampaging horde.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, I. II10A half-hearted apology is as good as a half-struck match.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, III. I11Travelers who mistake inconvenience for catastrophe or confuse a detour for derailment only deplete their mettle. There is no need to embellish difficulty; hardship is quite content to embroider itself.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, II. V12Virtue tires; evil does not.
– Music for Falling Down Stairs by JumetFrom the Belly of the Beast 3We have risen from the chimneys of history—we the soot of empire, we the cinders of suffering. Yet the kings of the Tower would blame us for this great conflagration. They say we are the smoke that lit this fire; we are the ashes that set the world alight.
– from the sermons of Luc Marat (translated from hoddish)13Do not waste the limited resource of your patience on those who think misery a competition. Spendthrifts of self-pity are always miserly the moment empathy is due.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, VI. V14A reputation ruined on the front page was never restored by a retraction on the last. The guillotine gives no refunds, and neither does the press.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, XII. I15The holdings of a ringdom's Lost and Found are auctioned off according to their perishable nature: lost milk, bread, and cut flowers are sold after a day; lost fruit and leafy vegetables are sold after three days; lost onions, tubers, and children after a week; hard cheese and smoked meat go on the block after a fortnight.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, I. VII16Inside the walls of the monolith, black water is stored in immense stacks and under great pressure to keep it from draining into the already overtaxed aquifers below. The arrangement has led some to call the Tower Ur's largest unflushed toilet.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, VI. I17Be leery of the agreeable grocer who bags your plums behind the counter. Be suspicious of the obliging clothier who offers to wrap your shirts in the backroom. Be wary of helpful persons, lest you go home with a bag full of rot or a box full of rags.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, V. X18Leapt fences have spoiled many trousers. Often it is while skirting inconvenience that we encounter catastrophe.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, II. I19An axe-head survives its handle, and a ship outlives many sails.
– Music for Falling Down Stairs by Jumet20True conspiracies are inflexible and susceptible to discovery, but imaginary plots are ever evolving and, as a result, invulnerable. That is to say, conspiracies are perishable, paranoia is not.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, VIII. IFrom the Belly of the Beast 4Souls are like sails. Without a mast to cling to and a ship to pull, the ocean winds will whip them to shreds. It is constraint, purpose, and labor that gives a soul its shape.
– from the sermons of Luc Marat (translated from hoddish)Part III - The Bridge Of Babel
1A choice lightly made may change the course of a life. That is to say, visitors are advised against ordering shellfish from the cafés of Simbersae.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, VIII. II2It is true that what distinguishes the amateur from the professional is not a single stroke of success but rather the lengthy education of repeated failure. Even so, visitors are advised to beware the captains who boast about the many shipwrecks they've survived.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, II. VI3The Shadowless Hour, when the sun shines directly above the Tower, is commemorated that night by a great dispersal of sky lanterns, the scattering of which briefly resembles the birth of a galaxy, an impression that is somewhat spoiled by the resulting widespread fires.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, VI. XII4Not all political feuds are heated. The diplomatic bond between some factions is like the unhappily wedded pair who, having endured many decades of infraction and contention, no longer see the need to vocalize their revulsion. They can bicker well enough in silence.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, VI. VI5Sometimes distraction is the best poultice for disillusionment.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, I. IX6Ambivalence is the midwife of happiness. Do not make promises when a shrug will suffice.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, IV. XVI7In a tower full of farewells, eloquent goodbyes are surpassingly rare. Many go unmarked amid a gradual parting of ways, like a receding hairline or a fading tattoo. Though, there are those grand bon voyages that fly forth like a knocked-loose tooth: abrupt, inarticulate, and aching.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, III. IX8The mind is ingenious at finding itself expressed in secret everywhere. We detect human faces in wood grain, countenances in cloudbanks, and profiles in the moon. It is comforting to think our visage is so ubiquitous; but alas, we are only vain.
– Homage, Vol. II by Jumet9Pilgrims are encouraged to remember that the principal consumer of sheep is not wolves but shepherds.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, IV. IX10The most immense, rapacious waves come bannered by the bluest days.
– Music for Falling Down Stairs by Jumet11Some fear the desolation of a broken heart; others dread the chronic suffering of an injured back. Both grievances benefit from a division of burdens. Lift your sorrows with a friendly ear and your luggage with a brawny porter.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, VII. I12Outrage, like charity, is sweeter with an audience.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, IV. VIII13Should you ever feel dread at the prospect of where your adventures have carried you, take solace in the fact that the vast majority of mortal accidents occur in the home. Perhaps the secret to longevity is absenteeism.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, IX. II14Neglect never patched a crack, nor denial plugged a hole. Do not forget your imperfections; they have not forgotten you.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, II. VII15The ground is full of self-righteous bones, but we would do well to remember it is the cause, not the loss, that ennobles sacrifice.
– Homage, Vol. II by Jumet16And then I dreamt the Tower bare and trembling to the root. As fall to winter's table bore a most peculiar fruit.
– Music for Falling Down Stairs by Jumet17If mankind ever attempts to colonize the islands of the stars, we should crew the ships with children and put the youngest at the wheel.
– The Stone Cloud's Logbook, Captain Tom Mudd18Like a drowning soul floundering at sea, the hand of history reaches for objects of convenience rather than perfection. And so are heroes gripped.
– Homage, Vol. III by Jumet19Do not race your postcards home. Dally long enough for word of your adventures to arrive before you. Let them announce you and lay the foundation for your legend.
– Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel, I. I