Thursday, August 30, 2007

Editor's Appendix C: Additional Evidence in the Eliot Case

The following images all have obvious relevance to Professor Nishi's role in the case of the "Eliot device." They are followed by a transcription of the letter discovered on the corpse of Mr. Giles Canning, based on a copy of the letter found in the Professor's predictably disorganized files:

Figure 1:



Detail of the magistrate's warrant nailed to the front and rear doors of Professor Nishi's Abney Park laboratory by Mayor Shaunathan Sprocket (20 August); this photograph is noted as having come from the front door of the blockhouse.

Figure 2:



It is believed that this is the only extant photograph of Professor Nishi's reproduction of the "Porta Terrarum" or "Eliot" device, the one for which her Abney Park property was sealed. Note the Professor in the background, right, near one of her plesiosaurs.

Figure 3:



The infamous "death list" found affixed (14 August) to Giles Canning's spine with the murder weapon and widely thereafter circulated throughout New Babbage. Note that the names of the Imperial Theatre orphans are separated from those of Jason Moriarty and Professor Nishi. The reader will recall, it was Dr. Nishi's belief that these names were not a list of intended victims, but rather a list of people Mr. Canning hoped to question regarding the whereabouts of the device's three components.

Figure 4:



The painting by Jason Moriarty that appeared among numerous others on 24 August at Loki Absinthe. Much of the symbology and imagery already seen inside the Imperial (see Appendix A) is repeated here. More importantly than the garish painting itself, is the letter inadvertently discovered attached to the back of the canvas by a Miss Indigo Li.

Figure 5:



The letter from Professor Alexander Eliot to Jason Moriarty, found on the back of Moriarty's painting.

Figure 6:



A curious document. According to Professor Nishi's notes, this records the loan of a considerable sum of money to Professor Eliot by Sir Edler Reifsnider, the man who would later try to destroy the Imperial Theatre. It was given to Professor Nishi during a meeting with Reifsnider at Abney Park, prior to her showdown with him at the theatre two days later (28 August). Reifsnider presented this loan agreement as proof of his authority to seal the theatre, evict the orphans, and have the building demolished.

Figure 7:



This painting was installed at Loki Absinthe on 29 August, the work of another orphan, Jimmy Branagh. Much more will be written on this image in a subsequent appendix. For now, I would note that young Branagh reported having painted this following a dream he had after the gathering at the absinthe house on 24 August. The child seen from the back appears to be Branagh himself. Note also Lewis Carroll's Cheshire cat on what appears to be a stone altar, dominated by a sickly green monstrosity, something that seems a hybrid of octopoid and arthropod. According to Professor Nishi's notes, the painting was described to her in detail by Artemisia Paine. Later, the Professor questioned the artist about it, and later still, she asked Mr. Leon Susenko, Miss Gloriana Maertens (of Caledon Eyre), and Miss Beq Janus to render opinions. There was a general consensus that the woman's face, repeated many times in the upper left-hand corner, was meant to be the that of Professor Nishi.

What follows is a transcript, by Artemisia Paine, of the letter found with the "death list" and the "Sunrise cylinder" at the scene of Canning's murder:

Mr. Canning,

We have just heard grave news that Professor Eliot has been killed. It looks as though he had been living above his son[']s absinthe factory all this time.

We were fools to assume he would hide far from the theatre. It is our belief that even though he hid from the rest of us, he would not trust any other to his work and as you were the closest to him on the project I feel he will have sent a way to contact you.

The murder has brought attention to us. Even the mayor of New Babbage is involved now, so be careful. Be on your very best guard when it comes to Professor Eliot's first assistant and do please destroy any evidence in your possession of the Sunrise experiment.

It is imperative that we find the device before any of the others.

God speed

Your friends,

The Thirteen

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