The Imaginary Museum of Atlantis

Jack Ross

The Imaginary Museum of Atlantis

ISBN: 978-1-877441-74-5

©Jack Ross 2006, 2020

This publication is copyright.

Any unauthorised act may incur criminal prosecution.

No resemblance to any person or persons living or dead is intended.

First published by Titus Books in 2006

1416 Kaiaua Road, Mangatangi

New Zealand

www.titus.co.nz

Published with the assistance of Creative New Zealand

Contents

Who am I?

Automatic writing

Session 1 (4/9 – 8.44 a.m.):

Session 2 (6/9 – 8.37 a.m.):

Session 3 (7/9 – 8.42 a.m.):

Session 4 (8/9 – 8.33 a.m.):

Session 5 (9/9 – 8.25 a.m.):

Session 6 (10/9 – 9.32 a.m.):

Session 7 (11/9 – 8.15 a.m.):

Session 8 (13/9 – 8.32 a.m.):

Session 9 (14/9 – 8.37 a.m.):

Session 10 (15/9 – 9.01 a.m.):

Session 11 (16/9 – 8.50 a.m.):

Session 12 (17/9 – 7.12 a.m.):

Session 13 (18/9 – 8.29 a.m.):

Session 14 (20/9 – 8.33 a.m.):

Session 15 (21/9 – 8.45 a.m.):

Session 16 (22/9 – 8.17 a.m.):

Session 17 (23/9 – 8.33 a.m.):

Session 18 (24/9 – 9.12 a.m.):

Session 19 (25/9 – 8.47 a.m.):

Session 20 (27/9 – 9.05 a.m.):

Session 21 (28/9 – 8.25 a.m.):

Where am I?

A

Amnesia –

Atlantis (Etymology)–

Atlantis (Location) –

B

Baring-Gould, Rev. Sabine (1834-1924) –

Baxter, James K. (1926-1972) –

Bianca –

C

Cannibal Worms –

Cicero, Marcus Tullius (106-43 BC) –

Critias –

D

Daedalus –

Derren Brown Mind Control –

Doctor Who –

E

End-times (Arghati) –

End-times (Prophecies of 9/11) –

Enoptromancy –

F

Felton Mathew’s spider-web plan –

Forum –

Fotis –

G

Girl in Love, A –

Golden Ass, The –

Guide to the Otherworld –

H

Herennium, Ad [To Herennius] –

Hy Brasil –

Hysterical Dissociation –

I

Imaginary Museum –

Ithaka –

Jardin des Supplices –

K

Ka –

Keeper of the Scales, The –

Kronos –

L

L’Atlantide [Atlantis] –

Lemuria –

Lucius, La Métamorphose de [The Transformation of Lucius] –

M

Martian Meteorite Found in Antarctica –

Memory Theatre –

Mu –

N

Naacal Tablets –

Notice of Seizure of Goods under Customs and Excise Act 1996 –

Nuttall Codex –

O

Odyssey, The –

Oral Sex –

Orichalcum –

P

Panopticon –

Paris Eros –

Phaeacia –

Q

Quarles’ Book of Emblems –

Questionnaire –

Quetzalcoatl –

R

Radiant Child, The –

Rajesh, M. N. (1947- )–

R. U. R. –

S

Short-term Memory Impairment –

Socrates & Alcibiades –

Symposium –

T

Talismano della Felicitá, Il –

Timaeus –

Time Travel –

V

UFOs –

Ventris, Michael (1922-1956) –

Verne, Jules (1828-1905) –

W

Waite, Arthur Edward (1857-1942) –

Werewolves –

World Map –

X

Xanthippe (fl. 5th century BC)–

Xerxes (c.519-465 BC) –

Xylomancy –

Y

Yama –

Yates, Frances A. (1899-1981) –

Young, Edward (1683-1765) –

Z

Zener cards –

Zeus & Mnemosyne –

Zodiac –

When Phrynicus produced his play The Capture of Miletus, the audience in the theatre burst into tears. The author was fined a thousand drachmas for reminding them of their own evils, and they forbade anybody ever to put it on stage again.

– Herodotus, 6: 21.

For Ken again

By the time he climbed off at the wharf, he’d forgotten getting onto the boat. As for anything before that – the wave, the beach, the girl – it was lost in an irredeemable past.

Where am I? he wondered, as he followed the crowds down the gangplank, through the scruffy medley of barren thriftless shops flanking the street exit, and out into the vacancy of a summer afternoon.

"Who am I?"

There didn’t seem to be anyone to ask. Everyone was moving so fast, commuters rapt in their dream of home, that it seemed impertinent to break into their self-absorption, force himself upon their notice, beg to be redeemed.

Groping in the pocket of his jeans, he found a pencil. In the other pocket, the left one, there was a notebook:

READ ME

said the inscription on the cover.

Good, then he’d anticipated this … what could one call it? This absence of mind, this fugue, this flight from all that was stable and well-formed. Already the ferry itself was hard to grasp, drifting off into its own, self-generated mist.

Forward, his mind seemed to be saying, Don’t dwell on all that. There was nothing for it than acceptance of this concrete footpath, these bollards, this – yes – green-painted bench.

He sat down in the sun and started to read:

Who am I? Automatic writing

The procedure is as follows:

sit in darkness, pen poised on the paper (loose blank sheets of A4)

clear your mind / wipe reflections from the mirror / still the waters of the well

don’t look at what you’re writing / (connections may be posited subsequently)

Rereading:

Keep a level head

Take careful note of names / dates / places to check

Themes & incidents may – or may not – be significant

Recovery may – or may not – be a matter of years not days

Session 1 (4/9 – 8.44 a.m.):

mirrors were forbidden in the royal household so princess tela had never seen herself could she in fact have been said to know herself lacking as she did that necessary self image that sense of what can be seen through anothers eyes of course she had seen other girls the servants and ladies in waiting who surrounded her at all times she had to imagine she looked like one of them waking this day unusually before dawn she

Tela and Sabra

The Princess and the Slumgirl

A Princess of Atlantis

A Princess of Lemuria √

Session 2 (6/9 – 8.37 a.m.):

the rumble of the earthquake woke her a little before dawn the glass of water at the head of her bed was still vibrating with a single ringing tone as the walls and beams of the palace creaked and groaned under the strain slipping out from under the smooth lion skin naked as she was born she walked to the window and stared out over the troubled city the darkness was broken here and there by flames screaming voices she couldnt be sure but she suspected one of the watchtowers had fallen there seemed to be some shift in the ridges of darkness which were all she could see in the penumbra

she felt on edge disturbed her nerves unnaturally alert thats how it generally was of course one couldnt simply turn over and go back to sleep after one of these events it was worse during the day in any case then one could sometimes feel the tremor approaching like a wave of upheaval rushing across the land smooth and irresistible all one could do was brace for the shock and wait till it was over

dont show fear that was the most important thing dont show fear that was what her father had told her not long before he died we have a position to safeguard people look up to us if any of us ever loses control then the others will too father never lost control not even when the mountain spewed flame that last time not even when he marched towards the lava flow holding the whip and flail he died like a king thats what they said about him shed only been a little girl at the time but she still remembered the spurt of hot tears blinding her at the last minute she hadnt turned her head away though that was what theyd been emphasizing to her for days you mustnt turn your head away so shed seen him die seen the lava grind across him as nonchalant as it was pitiless but the next day it stopped the day her uncle was anointed the new king

she shook her head this was no time to rake up those old memories only yesterday shed been telling herself that it was time to grow up take more interest in the conduct of the kingdom otherwise it might be truly said her father had died in vain as for her uncle she shuddered thinking of his bloated hateful face those fat white hands tufted with bristles shed learnt to avoid those hands ever since shed realised he wanted something from her not just to marry her off to one of her cousins consolidate the kingdom for himself and his family of toad like children but something unutterable for himself

dawn was beginning to break now over the harbour rim lighting up the docks and cranes the little ships moored out in the channel it was a rare day now that passed without a tremor of some kind so people had learned to live with them ships would dart in to unload but they never stayed tied to the wharf a moment longer than necessary there were a few signs of damage down there but nothing too extensive so far as she could see only yes one of the ten watchtowers had fallen leaving a gap in the walls high up on the mountainside she shivered in the cold wind on her bare flesh time to get dressed if she delayed much longer the whole palace would be awake and shed be caught in another day of ritual observances somehow this day seemed made for more than that she had to get out talk to someone see fresh things

the trouble was all her clothes were made for the palace tight bodiced gowns that left the arms and breasts bare sweeping down to the floor in clotted folds she had a cloak though and an old athletic tunic left over from the days when shed been allowed to exercise out on the fields with the boys shrugging it over her shoulders she thanked her stars her hair had been cut short a few days before all her long locks cut off and burnt before the goddess a sacrifice they called it but it had left her looking like a boy

out in the street the day had already begun pedlars were selling spiced meats on skewers they smelt so good for a moment she regretted her breakfast waiting for her back in the palace but then shed