The Prelapsarian Exhibition: Difference between revisions
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{{Event | {{Event | ||
|image1 = <gallery> | |image1 = <gallery> | ||
Prelapsarian exhibition poster.png|Poster | |||
Exhibition-header.png|Header | |||
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
|date = Summer of 1899 | |date = Summer of 1899 (2022) | ||
| | |location = [[Veilgarden]] | ||
|alias = F.F. Gebrandt's Prelapsarian Exhibition | |alias = F.F. Gebrandt's Prelapsarian Exhibition | ||
|notable_figures = [[F. F. Gebrandt]]<br>[[The Empress]] | |notable_figures = [[F. F. Gebrandt]]<br>[[The Empress]] | ||
|related = [[The Salt Lions]]<br>[[The Second City]] | |related = [[The Salt Lions]]<br>[[The Second City]] | ||
|title1 = The Prelapsarian Exhibition | |title1 = The Prelapsarian Exhibition | ||
}}<blockquote>''"F.F. Gebrandt CORDIALLY INVITES All Londoners to participate in the Raising & Assemblage of a New Museum of Prelapsarian History & accompanying Exhibition..."''<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Gazette_beckons The ''Gazette'' beckons, ''Fallen London'']</ref></blockquote>The '''Prelapsarian Exhibition''' was a | }}<blockquote>''"F.F. Gebrandt CORDIALLY INVITES All Londoners to participate in the Raising & Assemblage of a New Museum of Prelapsarian History & accompanying Exhibition..."''<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Gazette_beckons The ''Gazette'' beckons, ''Fallen London'']</ref></blockquote>The '''Prelapsarian Exhibition''' was a significant event of the second year of 1899. [[London]] collaborated to establish the '''Museum of Prelapsarian History''' — with some twists and turns along the way. | ||
==For The Edification Of The Public== | ==For The Edification Of The Public== | ||
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It should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with the Empress that she had asked Gebrandt to make a machine that would summon an apparition of her dear [[The Royal Family|Prince Consort]].<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Watch,_yet_more_furtively|Watch, yet more furtively|Fallen London|}} ''"The Consort – whether that is the real man or a shadow conjured up from the fog – has cornered himself against the walls in fear. He pleads with the Empress in ragged German, and she pleads back with him – soothing and begging."''</ref> However, he appeared visibly distressed, and begged the Empress to cease her meddling.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Watch,_yet_more_furtively Watch, yet more furtively, ''Fallen London''] ''"The Consort – whether that is the real man or a shadow conjured up from the fog – has cornered himself against the walls in fear. He pleads with the Empress in ragged German, and she pleads back with him – soothing and begging. A semicircle of courtiers draws upon a lifetime of purposefully not seeing things, and keep their composure intact."''</ref> Gebrandt informed the Empress that she would have only a short while with the past-Consort before the machine overloaded; once it did, the Empress prevented Gebrandt from switching it off.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Watch,_yet_more_furtively Watch, yet more furtively, ''Fallen London''] ''""I am turning the machine off," yells Gebrandt – for the first time you notice the dull hum that has filled the room, making it hard to hear her speak. For the first time, the Empress acknowledges her with a hiss: "We forbid it!""''</ref> | It should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with the Empress that she had asked Gebrandt to make a machine that would summon an apparition of her dear [[The Royal Family|Prince Consort]].<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Watch,_yet_more_furtively|Watch, yet more furtively|Fallen London|}} ''"The Consort – whether that is the real man or a shadow conjured up from the fog – has cornered himself against the walls in fear. He pleads with the Empress in ragged German, and she pleads back with him – soothing and begging."''</ref> However, he appeared visibly distressed, and begged the Empress to cease her meddling.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Watch,_yet_more_furtively Watch, yet more furtively, ''Fallen London''] ''"The Consort – whether that is the real man or a shadow conjured up from the fog – has cornered himself against the walls in fear. He pleads with the Empress in ragged German, and she pleads back with him – soothing and begging. A semicircle of courtiers draws upon a lifetime of purposefully not seeing things, and keep their composure intact."''</ref> Gebrandt informed the Empress that she would have only a short while with the past-Consort before the machine overloaded; once it did, the Empress prevented Gebrandt from switching it off.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Watch,_yet_more_furtively Watch, yet more furtively, ''Fallen London''] ''""I am turning the machine off," yells Gebrandt – for the first time you notice the dull hum that has filled the room, making it hard to hear her speak. For the first time, the Empress acknowledges her with a hiss: "We forbid it!""''</ref> | ||
As Gebrandt's device continued running until it collapsed, it essentially ruptured space-time, causing headaches and nausea in those present...<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Time:_Extruded_Like_Too_Much_Forcemeat_into_Not_Enough_Casing|Time: Extruded Like Too Much Forcemeat into Not Enough Casing|Fallen London|}} ''"The pain is brilliant, shooting up the side of your face until you're not quite sure you still have a face. You are in three places at once and would prefer to be in none of them. You are paying the price for every vice you have ever indulged in as a single lump sum. And then the whole ordeal repeats [...]"''</ref><ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Collapse_to_the_ground Collapse to the ground, ''Fallen London''] ''"Everyone around you – passers-by, urchins, the Empress' servants and hangers-on – looks a little green. Londoners lean on lamp posts to steady themselves. It appears it's not just you, then. You can tell that something has changed – but what?"''</ref> and causing shreds of the [[Second City]] to manifest across London,'''<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/A_Careful_Stroll_Around_the_Neighbourhood A Careful Stroll Around the Neighbourhood, ''Fallen London''] ''"Buildings have appeared around London. Buildings that were not previously there. The architecture […] is undoubtedly Second City; ghosts or relicts of ancient dwellings."''</ref>''' including an invasion of animated stone constructs called '''ushabtiu | As Gebrandt's device continued running until it collapsed, it essentially ruptured space-time, causing headaches and nausea in those present...<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Time:_Extruded_Like_Too_Much_Forcemeat_into_Not_Enough_Casing|Time: Extruded Like Too Much Forcemeat into Not Enough Casing|Fallen London|}} ''"The pain is brilliant, shooting up the side of your face until you're not quite sure you still have a face. You are in three places at once and would prefer to be in none of them. You are paying the price for every vice you have ever indulged in as a single lump sum. And then the whole ordeal repeats [...]"''</ref><ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Collapse_to_the_ground Collapse to the ground, ''Fallen London''] ''"Everyone around you – passers-by, urchins, the Empress' servants and hangers-on – looks a little green. Londoners lean on lamp posts to steady themselves. It appears it's not just you, then. You can tell that something has changed – but what?"''</ref> and causing shreds of the [[Second City]] to manifest across London,'''<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/A_Careful_Stroll_Around_the_Neighbourhood A Careful Stroll Around the Neighbourhood, ''Fallen London''] ''"Buildings have appeared around London. Buildings that were not previously there. The architecture […] is undoubtedly Second City; ghosts or relicts of ancient dwellings."''</ref>''' including an invasion of animated stone constructs called '''ushabtiu''' (singular: '''ushabti'''). While the novelty of the ushabtiu drew in enterprising merchants,<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Spread_of_a_Novel_Fad The Spread of a Novel Fad, ''Fallen London''] ''"Londoners have immediately taken to the streets with wheelbarrows laden with oversized ushabtiu, hawking them for cut-rate prices. Alas, it was too much to hope that this wouldn't become an opportunity for base commerce."''</ref> they proved more troublesome than anticipated when they turned out to be, well, alive: they vandalized property, played pranks, and generally caused havoc.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Unlock_the_door_(Spite_and_Malice) Unlock the door (Spite and Malice), ''Fallen London''] ''"Your home has not been rudely tossed and trashed. But everything is subtly off [...] In a way, this is worse. It'll take weeks to fully undo. Someone has struck at the very heart of the way you live. [...] Who could be responsible for this?"''</ref>[[File:Ushabtilimestone.png|thumb|An ushabti]] | ||
Angry Londoners quickly traced the catastrophe back to the Museum, and a mob assembled, demanding answers.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Investigation_into_an_Ongoing_Crisis Investigation into an Ongoing Crisis, ''Fallen London''] ''"You are not the only one with this idea, it seems. A small crowd of Londoners has formed around the museum, demanding to be let into the Egyptology Wing, to get at the knowledge therein. They all seem to have experienced similar mishaps – some more severe than others."''</ref> Gebrandt soothed the crowd, and a public discussion determined the root cause of the problem.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Join_the_angry_mob Join the angry mob, ''Fallen London''] ''"Citizens, please." Gebrandt has come to the doors of the museum. "I don't have the answers you're looking for. But maybe we can find them together." Suspicious eyes shoot out among the crowd; it's starting to sound like she's proposing the good people of London help themselves. Maybe even work towards a common goal. A radical notion if ever there was one. She sighs. "If you promise to be orderly I'll let you come inside. I'll explain everything."''</ref> The ushabtiu contained the bodies of Second City citizens who had transported their minds to [[Parabola]]; the citizens' bodies harbored a deep resentment that animated their funerary statues, but the parties responsible for their suffering were long gone, so they turned on Londoners.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Watch_Gebrandt%27s_demonstration|Watch Gebrandt's demonstration|Fallen London|}} ''"We have ascertained the purpose of the stone entities that are stalking us [...] They contain the bodies of Second City dwellers who abandoned their city for the shores of Parabola. But the statues themselves seem to have grasped some kind of malicious awareness. They resent their sacrificial role, and this possesses them to take revenge on their creators – or just whoever is nearby. Which is to say, ourselves."''</ref> Gebrandt soon came up with a solution: tricking the ushabtiu into entering Parabola physically.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Watch_Gebrandt%27s_demonstration|Watch Gebrandt's demonstration|Fallen London|}} ''"...the original inhabitants of the Second City are long gone, and impossible to locate. We will therefore have to make a substitution of our own – make it appear as though their true masters are just beyond the mirror."''</ref> | Angry Londoners quickly traced the catastrophe back to the Museum, and a mob assembled, demanding answers.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Investigation_into_an_Ongoing_Crisis Investigation into an Ongoing Crisis, ''Fallen London''] ''"You are not the only one with this idea, it seems. A small crowd of Londoners has formed around the museum, demanding to be let into the Egyptology Wing, to get at the knowledge therein. They all seem to have experienced similar mishaps – some more severe than others."''</ref> Gebrandt soothed the crowd, and a public discussion determined the root cause of the problem.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Join_the_angry_mob Join the angry mob, ''Fallen London''] ''"Citizens, please." Gebrandt has come to the doors of the museum. "I don't have the answers you're looking for. But maybe we can find them together." Suspicious eyes shoot out among the crowd; it's starting to sound like she's proposing the good people of London help themselves. Maybe even work towards a common goal. A radical notion if ever there was one. She sighs. "If you promise to be orderly I'll let you come inside. I'll explain everything."''</ref> The ushabtiu contained the bodies of Second City citizens who had transported their minds to [[Parabola]]; the citizens' bodies harbored a deep resentment that animated their funerary statues, but the parties responsible for their suffering were long gone, so they turned on Londoners.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Watch_Gebrandt%27s_demonstration|Watch Gebrandt's demonstration|Fallen London|}} ''"We have ascertained the purpose of the stone entities that are stalking us [...] They contain the bodies of Second City dwellers who abandoned their city for the shores of Parabola. But the statues themselves seem to have grasped some kind of malicious awareness. They resent their sacrificial role, and this possesses them to take revenge on their creators – or just whoever is nearby. Which is to say, ourselves."''</ref> Gebrandt soon came up with a solution: tricking the ushabtiu into entering Parabola physically.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Watch_Gebrandt%27s_demonstration|Watch Gebrandt's demonstration|Fallen London|}} ''"...the original inhabitants of the Second City are long gone, and impossible to locate. We will therefore have to make a substitution of our own – make it appear as though their true masters are just beyond the mirror."''</ref> | ||
Latest revision as of 10:58, 4 June 2025
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Beyond this point lie spoilers for Fallen London, Sunless Sea, Sunless Skies, or Mask of the Rose. This may include midgame or minor Fate-locked content. Proceed with caution. You can find out more about our spoiler policy here. |
"F.F. Gebrandt CORDIALLY INVITES All Londoners to participate in the Raising & Assemblage of a New Museum of Prelapsarian History & accompanying Exhibition..."[1]
The Prelapsarian Exhibition was a significant event of the second year of 1899. London collaborated to establish the Museum of Prelapsarian History — with some twists and turns along the way.
For The Edification Of The Public[edit]
"The main purpose of the Museum is to display the past – unvarnished and undistorted by myth and fancy."[2]
Two years after her failed bid for Lord Mayor of London, F. F. Gebrandt purchased an abandoned estate in Veilgarden[3] and announced in the Unexpurgated London Gazette that she would be transforming it into the Museum of Prelapsarian History, an establishment that was originally one of her campaign promises.[4] After an immense renovation project,[3][5] securing funding from investors,[6] dissuading any unwanted bureaucratic intervention with a bit of bribery,[7][8][9] and manufacturing tokens that guests could redeem for museum merchandise,[10] Gebrandt planned the opening ceremony for her collection of exhibits.
Each of the Museum's wings was devoted to a specific subject. The Palaeontology Wing (also called the Natural History Wing) sought to counteract the "misinformation and charlatanry" spread by the thriving Bone Market;[11] every specimen Gebrandt accepted was examined and catalogued in the museum's Osteology Lab.[12] The Natural Sciences Wing showcased recent breakthroughs in chemistry and physics; it initially had a special focus on Neathy optics — the phenomena of light that could exist only in darkness[13] — but these exhibits were later separated into a small Inorganic Sciences Wing.[14] However, the crown jewel of the museum was its Archaeology Wing — informally the Egyptology Wing, as the Masters allowed Gebrandt to display Second City artifacts, but not to directly call it as such.[15] It aimed to present history free from myth and distortion, and was prepared to accept thousands of artifacts from previous Fallen Cities.[16] Lastly, there was F.F. Gebrandt’s Hall of Recent History, a marketplace for donated items that still held interest despite not being strictly prelapsarian.[17]
Night At The Museum[edit]
"Something in the air feels wrong. You sneeze. The smell of salt water – true salt water, something not seen in the Neath – lingers in your nostrils. But it's joined by others: Aniseed. Pollen. Rhubarb. Tobacco. Memories from the Surface come to mind. Then the pain starts."[18]
Upon its completion, the Museum of Prelapsarian History was opened to great fanfare. His Amused Lordship, delighted to finally host a celebration after the cancellation of his centenary Revel to End All Revels, organized a grand festival on the museum grounds, even repurchasing many of the wines he had previously sold off.[19]
Something strange was afoot, however; sharp-eyed workers noticed the addition of sphinxstone into the Museum's renovations,[20] which appeared to play a crucial role in the maintenance of an unspecified "device."[21] As the crowds streamed in for the opening presentation, the Empress and her retinue paid an abrupt visit to the Egyptology Wing, where the sphinxstone had been kept.[22] Gebrandt explained to the audience that on the Empress' orders, she had used the time-absorbing properties of this stone as the catalyst for something approximating a time machine.[23] And then the demonstration began.
It should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with the Empress that she had asked Gebrandt to make a machine that would summon an apparition of her dear Prince Consort.[24] However, he appeared visibly distressed, and begged the Empress to cease her meddling.[25] Gebrandt informed the Empress that she would have only a short while with the past-Consort before the machine overloaded; once it did, the Empress prevented Gebrandt from switching it off.[26]
As Gebrandt's device continued running until it collapsed, it essentially ruptured space-time, causing headaches and nausea in those present...[27][28] and causing shreds of the Second City to manifest across London,[29] including an invasion of animated stone constructs called ushabtiu (singular: ushabti). While the novelty of the ushabtiu drew in enterprising merchants,[30] they proved more troublesome than anticipated when they turned out to be, well, alive: they vandalized property, played pranks, and generally caused havoc.[31]
Angry Londoners quickly traced the catastrophe back to the Museum, and a mob assembled, demanding answers.[32] Gebrandt soothed the crowd, and a public discussion determined the root cause of the problem.[33] The ushabtiu contained the bodies of Second City citizens who had transported their minds to Parabola; the citizens' bodies harbored a deep resentment that animated their funerary statues, but the parties responsible for their suffering were long gone, so they turned on Londoners.[34] Gebrandt soon came up with a solution: tricking the ushabtiu into entering Parabola physically.[35]
With the help of citizens,[36] Gebrandt manufactured vast quantities of a specially formulated perfume[37] and built a machine to disperse the mist around London.[38] The scent lured the ushabtiu into an enormous mirror inside the Egyptology Wing; as the last of them marched into Parabola,[39] Gebrandt shattered the mirror, trapping them.[40] Mercifully for Londoners' senses, a rare rainfall soon washed away the perfume, leaving the city to rest on its laurels.[41] Only a few ushabti remained in the city afterward, and the Department of Menace Eradication has taken on the duty of hunting down the last of them.[42]
References[edit]
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