Galápagos Islands: Thal’n’lai

19) Thal’n’lai
Below the Galápagos Archipelago, June 29-30, 1845

A) Thal’n’lai a-Bha’nahf Yeth
Once a complex series of structures suspended above the ocean floor, Thal’n’lai—or to give its full name, Thal’n’lai a-Bha’nahf Yeth, unpoetically translated as “Sea Temple/Elder Thing Prison/ Lab Nineteen”—was built by the K’th-thyalei at the height of their powers. Its primary purpose was to study a captive Elder Thing. (See “Background Part 1—History of Dagon.”) Abandoned after the Cataclysm, Thal’n’lai eventually succumbed to the unappeasable laws of entropy. One by one its environmental protections failed, the restless earth eager to devour its once-glorious temples, labs, gardens, aquaria. Some collapsed into abyssal trenches, others were ground to atoms by tectonic plates, while most simply flooded and silted over. Now only the Great Hall remains, protected by the same technology designed to keep its guest of honor intact. And even that has been failing, the protective radius diminishing with each passing epoch. Within a few million years, the Great Hall will collapse, and its solitary inhabitant shall be deathless no more.

B) The Great Hall
The canal ends abruptly, debouching directly onto the Great Hall of Thal’n’lai. At first, travelers may believe they’ve been delivered to the shores of some vast, underground lake. As far as the eye can see, there’s a level expanse of water. Clear, fresh, and without algae or brackish impurities, the water scintillates with tiny intricate patterns. (To a modern explorer, the patterns would resemble fractals.) This shimmering produces an aquamarine radiance that illuminates the entire Hall. As their eyes became accustomed to the light, they soon realize the “lake” is artificial, an enormous chamber over four miles in diameter. (Keeper: feel free to finally bust out the adjective “cyclopean.”) The walls and ceiling are carved from the same greenish-grey “soapstone” found in Y’ha-n’thal, spiral patterns that loop around massive, circular murals that continue the submarine themes of the canal—the nightmare dinocaridids of the Cambrian Period, the monstrous plesiosaurs of the Mesozoic, the bizarre cetaceans of the early Holocene. Unlike the Deep One’s temple, these murals do not depict their own creators: the Ancestors remain uninscribed and unrevealed. Every few thousand feet along the curvature of the walls, an entrance to some other gallery may be seen; but each and every one has collapsed. There seems to be no exit from this artificial lake.

C) The Island
There is, however, a structure in the exact center. Seen from a distance, it looks like a heptagonal plinth barely peeking from the surface of the water. But as the boat approaches closer, it becomes evident that distance has played tricks with the travelers’ perception—the “plinth” is a small island, a quarter-mile in diameter and rising 90 yards above the waterline. The island is surrounded by a metal base, a seven-pointed star made from burnished copper. Heptagonal obelisks rise from each brassy point of the starry foundation. Almost invisible from the entrance, these columns are as tall as the island, but each is only 12 feet wide—mere matchsticks in the overall scale of the cyclopean Hall. The ceiling above the island descends in a cascade of stalactites, the central spike poised 700 yards above the island’s exact center. Brazen reflections of copper chase each other through the canopy of green stalactites. From afar the effect looks like lightning at play, a silent storm shimmering above the cool, submarine glow of the lake.

Castro’s Reaction
If Castro is present, the sight of the island causes him to panic. Fumbling with his trepanning port, he mutters in English, “The Cloven Pine! The Cloven Pine!” If this is the first time the characters have heard this reference, a Library Use or Education roll identifies this as a phrase from The Tempest—The sorcerer Prospero earned the servitude of Ariel by freeing the spirit from a “cloven pine.” An Extreme success recalls the verse in its entirety:

Prospero. This blue-eyed hag was hither brought with child
And here was left by the sailors. Thou, my slave,
As thou report’st thyself, wast then her servant;
And, for thou wast a spirit too delicate
To act her earthy and abhorr’d commands,
Refusing her grand hests, she did confine thee,
By help of her more potent ministers
And in her most unmitigable rage,
Into a cloven pine; within which rift
Imprison’d thou didst painfully remain
A dozen years; within which space she died
And left thee there; where thou didst vent thy groans
As fast as mill-wheels strike.

The moment Castro exposes his brain he calms down. After screwing the port shut and replacing his canvas hood, he fawns over Lowell with gentle meeping sounds. Occasionally he gestures to the other side of the lake, past the island—“¡Por favor maestro! Hazme completo de nuevo…te lo ruego…” (“Please master! Make me whole again…I am begging you…”) If the characters head to the island against Castro’s wishes, he utters a single, mournful cry and lapses into silence.

Making Sense of the Great Hall
There’s a lot to absorb here, and the Keeper should describe the Great Hall gradually as the characters close the distance between the canal and the “starry island.” A Spot Hidden roll observes the mathematical patterns in the water, while a Science (Mathematics) roll detects an intricate form of expanding symmetry, a kind of “recursive self-similarity” discussed by Gottfried Leibniz as a “monster” of fractional exponentiation. Science (Biology) or Science (Paleontology) rolls identify some of the prehistoric creatures depicted on the murals, but most are unknown to mid-nineteenth century science. (The Keeper is encouraged to look up authentic specimens as visual aids. A few interesting examples include Anomalocaris, Helicoprion, and Liopleurodon; all of which are unfamiliar even to Professor Lowell.)

C) The Ruins
The characters are free to explore the perimeter of the Great Hall, but there’s no way to pass through any of the blocked exits. Aside from the island, the only feature worth exploring is located at the far end of the lake, where Castro was frantically pointing. Here, entire sections of the ceiling have tumbled into the water, creating a miniature archipelago of jagged masonry in front of another collapsed passage. If the characters explore these ruins, a Spot Hidden roll discovers a broken panel of stone jutting from the water. A single figure is carved on the panel—a humanoid figure. Perhaps a priest of some kind, the figure is concealed beneath an elaborate scaly robe, and holds a rod tipped with a cluster of spirals. It’s head is covered by a peaked hood; not unlike a Spanish Nazareno, but more squidlike in shape, with two black holes for eyes. This figure is the only “humanoid” representation in the entire Hall. Could it be one of the architects? Unfortunately the remainder of the panel has broken off, and lies upside-down on the bottom the lake.

Lowell’s Laboratory
Upon seeing the ruins, another memory unlocks for Professor Lowell. These ruins weren’t here a few years ago! In fact, just beyond the blocked passage was a wondrous laboratory, the place where Lowell performed his more complicated experimentations, including his operations on Rafael Castro. If Castro is present, he begins sobbing hysterically at the ruins—“¡No no no no no no!” Seeing his hope for restoration crushed under tons of broken masonry, he’s forced into a frantic session of self-trepanning. Or, he may attempt to strangle Lowell once and for all—it’s up to the Keeper! In any event, finally understanding that he’s permanently deformed shatters Castro’s remaining sanity, and flings him into a mood best described as “permanent midnight.”

Prisoner Scenario: Thal’n’lai

If Lowell has been cooperative, Quiring continues his friendly discussion, pointing out new marine creatures and asking Lowell about his first experiences in the Great Hall. Lowell may remember his laboratory, but Quiring reluctantly informs the professor that the ceiling collapsed two years ago, permanently sealing the chamber and forever entombing the “miraculous workshop of the original engineers.” If Lowell is uncooperative or Quiring has brought a different character to the Great Hall, his crew paddles directly to the island.

White Leviathan, Chapter 4—Galápagos Islands
[Back to Encounter 18, The Gate | White Leviathan TOC | Forward to Encounter 20, The Starry Island]

Author: A. Buell Ruch
Last Modified: 2 December 2023
Email: quail (at) shipwrecklibrary (dot) com
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