Cornelius
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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. |
"Revolution is our place. Think about it. Scientists. Artists. Speech-makers. Novelists. We're the ones that look at the world and see how it should be and how it's falling short, and we go to work shouting on street corners, or writing angry novels, or packing gunpowder into casing. Different methods. But the soul is always seeking and striving."[1]
Cornelius is a prominent member of the Tracklayer's Union and the leader of the Prehistoricist movement within the Union.
The Scientist-Philosopher
"You've heard of this Tomb-Colonist. Once he was a partner of Furnace Ancona. There are rumours that he is still around, somewhere."[2]
Formerly a partner of Furnace Ancona,[3] Cornelius is a scholar and avid philosopher[4] who has extensively studied both the Great Chain of Being and the Correspondence,[5][6] and founded the Prehistoricist ideology based on his findings.[7] He is an expert in the art of bio-engineering,[8][9] who appeals to his collaborators' hopes and ideals to win their favor.[10]
The basic principle behind Cornelius' philosophy of Prehistoricism is that humans are not suited for hard labor, so the Tracklayers' Union should instead find and employ a creature that thrives in doing it.[11] To Cornelius, humans are not workhorses but agents of revolution who better the world where they can.[1] At the root of this line of thinking is the idea that the Great Chain dictates that there is, or may be created, a creature suited for every role.[12]
Appearance and Personality
"But when you find him, he is sitting on a bench in Moloch Station, fully bandaged and waiting for the 12:15. When you tap his shoulder, he glances at you like he was expecting this meeting."[13]
Cornelius is an apparently young man wearing tomb-colonist bandages, with an asymmetrical gait as if he is injured.[14] Beneath his bandages, his face is covered in numerous tiny mouths, which can each speak and emote separately.[15][16] Rather than argue, these mouths seem to repeat, rephrase, or build upon each other's statements.[17][18]
Even ignoring his myriad mouths, Cornelius is a remarkably talkative man.[19] He is not very candid, however, and his answers may seem prepared or rehearsed in advance.[20] He is fond of animals,[21][22] and has a general preference for nonhuman company;[23] in keeping with this, he has been rumored to cavort with devils.[24] He communicates best with fellow scholars and anyone who thinks on his level,[25][26] but also has a tendency to people-please.[27][28] Cornelius is soulless; he willingly gave up his soul before his first death, and would rather go without it, as he feels it has not been with him for "anything that matters."[29]
Mouths Upon Mouths
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Beyond this point lie major spoilers for Fallen London, Sunless Sea, Sunless Skies, or Mask of the Rose. This may include endgame or major Fate-locked spoilers. Proceed at your own risk. You can find out more about our spoiler policy here. |
"He unwinds the bandage around his head. His face is covered with tiny mouths, none of them bigger than an eye. When his first mouth is silent, the other mouths speak, or grimace. All these mouths give him a strange cadence; he speaks with one voice and another, like verses of poetry."[30] "It was my fault. I called on the Discordance, I read the law of ice, I tried to enter the Adulterine Castle."[31]
Cornelius once led the Tracklayer's Union alongside Furnace Ancona.[32] During the building of the Moloch Line, the original railway between London and Hell,[33] he bargained with the devils who hired the Union to negotiate the best possible terms for their workers.[34] The construction of the line went well until the workers reached the Hurlers - great standing stones marked with the frozen Discordance.[35] One Supervising Deviless wanted to excavate the stones, but Furnace refused, citing the dangers of such an operation.[36] To get her way, the Deviless sought to sabotage Cornelius; she deliberately inflamed his curiosity,[37] teasing him about not being able to read an inscription written in the Discordance and smuggling him a dictionary.[38] This Deviless was also the one to take Cornelius' soul.[39]
And so it was that Cornelius went off to read the Discordance.[40] He saw Furnace's tendency to advocate for those she disagreed with as inauthentic and needless self-sacrifice, and had implored her to stop doing this throughout their time together.[41] With this concern about his partner in mind, and a desire to "cure" the problem himself, he read a Discordant Law that forbade "speaking one truth with the same mouth."[42] This did not go as expected, as Furnace grew a new face whenever she spoke up for something she did not personally believe in, and ended up with three faces.[42] The consequences of this law also gave Cornelius his extra mouths,[43] and apparently also wounded him grievously enough that he died.[44]
Disgraced and disfigured, Cornelius spent six months in The Tomb-Colonies.[45] His status is unknown among the Tracklayers,[46][47] but he has been seen advocating for Prehistoricism at the Union's headquarters.[48] He still cares deeply about Furnace,[49] but is critical of her and her leadership;[50][51] for her part, Furnace refuses to work with him in the future.[52] Cornelius ultimately plans on returning to the Tracklayers' Union to regain power and continue pursuing his ambitions.[53][48]
References
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