Editing Libraries of Faerie (section)

===The Library of the Pendulum===

Many of us have seen the pendulum exhibit in one science museum or another. You know the one, the two or three story balconied atrium with a pendulum swinging gently through an arc. There are often pegs on the floor for the pendulum to knock down, showing how far around the circle is has moved that day. We are told when we see the pendulum exhibit is that it demonstrates the rotation of the earth. This is the barest scratching at the truth.

On an isolated island in the Mediterranean there is proof that somebody, centuries ago had a far greater understanding of the truth behind these seemingly simplistic arcs than anyone alive today. Buried beneath the ruins of a temple to Athena there is a room in which a pendulum has been swinging for the entirety of those forgotten years. The room is spherical and has several entrance and observation points carefully placed around it. The pendulum itself swings from the center of the room, suspended from an ingenious system of wheels and swivels. This complicated system is necessary because the pendulum swings through arcs that shouldn't be possible, defying gravity as though there were a greater force pulling at it. This setup requires regular monitoring and this is done by a small group of individuals who also record the traceries of the pendulum. It is for the record of these traceries that this whole creation exists, for contained within the ancient patterns are strange markings and sigils. These patterns are slow to reveal themselves, and due to the less than perfect nature of the mechanism, there is a noticeable 'fuzziness' to the patterns revealed thus far. The people who maintain this strange library also maintain that the patterns are incomplete, and that more time, possibly several more centuries, will be required to reveal the depth of the message. Still, there is knowledge to be gained from what has been discovered thus far, and thus there will continue to be a group of peculiar scribes carefully tending the machinery and recording the wanderings of the pendulum.