"Jeremy! Could you come over here please?", yelled inspector Davies from the opposite side of the underground living room. Still in complete awe I slowly made my way back towards the base of the stairwell that brought me here. More and more details stuck themselves on my retina. Various instruments lined the walls, some of which I had never seen before, not even amongst the vast collection my mentor kept. Only some smaller items such as a hydrometer, a sextant in poor condition or just very old, a microscope with a long copper cylinder as it's focal mechanism, various Chinese wooden puzzles I had seen before but in far less complicated configurations, some objects that appeared to resemble surgical tools and numerous sand timers. "Quite the sight isn't it Jeremy?", asked the old watchmaker from one of the lounging areas, where he had been having a conversation with inspector Davies. "Very much so. What exactly is it's purpose if I may ask?" Davies laughed and said: "Hubbard you may want to answer this one, you have a way of clearly describing the otherwise complex nature in a very small amount of words." "Very well. This place and its contents are here to be permanent", said Hubbard.

 

To the right: an artist's depiction of floor tile configuration in the reception hall of Bibliotheca Echidna. Officially no known artisan has been associated with this design and nothing is known about the exact date of its construction. There are indications that the basic layout came from documents out of the private collection of the architect Palladio. He was allegedly working on the designs and symbolism at the time of his death in 1580. After finishing the architectural philosophy he is most famous for: the Palladian style, he is believed to have constructed an entirely new approach to architecture.

 

It must have been clear from my countenance that this explanation did not quite ring true. "Perhaps a better explanation is to tell you how all of this came to be here, but for that we need to take you into the history of this country and with it down into Bibliotheca Echidna", continued my teacher. "What did you call this place?" I asked, no longer able to sustain proper decorum. "You are standing in one small part of what is called Bibliotheca Echidna, so named after a Greek monster that fostered numerous quite infamous creatures. Although these incarnations existed with the difference that they became somewhat milder natured since they all possessed one or more redeeming qualifications. You may have noticed the names of these mythical monsters above the doors that lead away from the hall of permanence, where you are right now. These doors lead to areas of specialization, each named after the nature of it's archetype namesake." The inspector, as was usual for him, played with his empty pipe and looked like he wanted to contribute to the explanation. "In the year 1667, one year after the great fire of London, John Thurloe, who had been a secretary to the council of state in Protectorate England and more importantly a successful spymaster for Oliver Cromwell, decided that it was inevitable that more wars would strip England and it's colonies from it's wealth, possessions and culture. What began as a means to safeguard the world's treasures turned into the creation of the halls of permanence. Modeled after the great library under the Sphinx of Giza. Thurloe was in the position he was not to gain and manage power but to sustain and keep that which he held in great value", explained Davies, "Something he managed to do quite well during his professional life, although most citizens will never know his true accomplishment, the one you are standing in right now."

 

"For most of his career the master spy and confidant of all high placed officials provided invaluable intelligence to Cromwell. After the death of Oliver Cromwell in 1658, Thurloe supported his son Richard as Lord Protector. Not long after when it became difficult to keep minds at peace, even for a true sorcerer of words, various parties accused him of arbitrary decisions as head of intelligence, and he was deprived of his offices. Reinstated as a secretary of state in February 27 1660, he resisted the return of Charles II. After the Restoration, he was arrested for high treason on May 15 1660, but was not tried. He was released on June 29 on the condition that he would assist the new government upon request. He retired from public life at least so it appeared and instead served as a behind-the-scenes authority on foreign affairs. Being consulted as an advisor on important matters was not enough for the man who had kept the politics of Great Britain together during trying times. During his professional life he was always second in command, something which he did excel at but ultimately loathed. Thurloe was not a strong man, not in the sense of leadership. He understood people and knew instinctively how to influence them and bend them to his will, but he could not rally them as a whole, nor could he command directly. Thurloe was a driven man. A man who always bend his mind towards something that was greater than himself, something that was both permanent and important on a global scale. Not that he needed to be directly associated with any such effort himself, if only he wanted to be the originator, the source from which great things came. Ever the avid reader he used literature and historical reference materials to build what could only be called an mythos for himself. Within his mind a system took hold in which humanity was categorized and labeled correctly, the trademark of any good manager in charge of many often difficult persons. Thurloe also looked beyond simply providing a reference for man's nature and habits, he wanted to create a tribute a lasting monument to our achievements."

 

"During a large part of his life he was privy to information relating to the location and whereabouts of important art and artifacts. He used these items usually as leverage and what exactly happened to these objects he never found out, that is until he was personally given a small memento by one of his informers, a man called Voynich, who's life he had saved not two days before. The man stumbled into his office, almost hugging the floor from his submissive posture and handed over a small package wrapped in dirty linen, held together by rope, which someone had tried to tie into something resembling a festive bow. Thurloe was initially furious, his informers knew they should not openly acknowledge their relation. Only out of curiosity did he open the package, as the informer was being escorted out. From the linen wrappings, a book appeared. Books held not special interest, since most of the man's knowledge came from years of interacting with people, his sole object of interest. Upon opening the book and paging through a couple of sheets of loosely bound vellum, he could not make out anything resembling known shapes, or even language. The man could simply not make any sense of what had been written in this tome. When he asked the informer who had been hurriedly brought back, he could not gain any more knowledge other than the fact that the book was medieval. For months Thurloe studied the book and it's curious language, not making any progress whatsoever. He consulted experts in cryptography, language, historians of medieval Europe and the contents of all major libraries in the country, without any result. It was during this search that he learned he had a latent passion for the arts, sciences and most of all literature. In his study, a newly added addition to his house, he spent many evenings and nights trying to relate all of the fields of human study to one another. For a man who was used to seeing through complex patterns of behavior, not being able to oversee something was utterly frustrating. In the end he conceded and realized that there was not enough time to absorb all knowledge in the world. Perhaps one could not store in one's head the world's intellectual treasures, but perhaps it was possible to protect, guard and study them in a place of his own design."

 

"It was during the later period of his life, away from public office when he initiated the construction of the first rooms of what we sometimes simply call 'Echidna', but what is formally called Bibliotheca Echidna. The Romans left enough deep structures of Londinium to expand and construct the first halls. Halls that would function first and foremost to hide the machinery that would construct the real library. After the first foundations were laid, objects of great value were moved from various musea into the waiting mausoleum. That does not mean that there are treasures buried here, instead objects of mainly great historical and cultural value are collected. The purpose of these halls of permanence was and is to keep and preserve humanity's greatest assets, it's art, it's writings, its scientific discoveries and it's achievements"

 

"Thurloe, sometimes spelled as Thurlow, named the organization of this place you are right now after his memory palace, or the memory palace he thought his hero Palladio the famous architect had actually physically constructed for himself in 1580", Hubbard continued. "Excuse me, his what?" I asked. The proceedings were going a bit too fast for me. The both of them were speaking of the place as if its presence were obvious and its purpose common knowledge. "A memory palace, surely I've told you about this?" Hubbard frowned as he lowered his eyes in wonderment if he had already explained something or if he had planned to do so and had simply assumed that this had made it fact. He pinched his nose, as he did when he worked himself out of confusion and continued: "A memory palace is a figment of your imagination, a model if you will, where you store important facts. The concept was first proposed by Cicero I believe, who explained how to best build one in the hollow of your cranium. It's purpose is to let you remember things more easily as well as create better connections between the things you allow to be stored. You start with a room, a room suitable for your needs, something that has a personal touch and in this room you place objects that remind you of something important, something you don't want to forget. For instance you visited a museum and you want to remember exactly what a particular painting looked like. In your memory palace you would hang it in a prominent place with some appropriate lighting perhaps. If you are careful and you build your palace diligently you can greatly extend the capacity and accuracy of your memory. Thurloe attempted to use a memory palace in his quest for knowledge and information hoping that it would help him read the manuscript given to him by Voynich, which eventually turned into a personal quest to gather as much knowledge in his head as possible.

 

After Palladio realized that his main contribution 'The Palladian Style' had pretty much taken care of itself, he wanted to add one more gift to humanity. Artists sometimes when they get to the height of their achievements sometimes reject their previous work and pave random ways in search for that something completely new and different. Palladio had arrived at the Palladyan Style, a way of extending vertical lines to give a building or monument more perceived height and stature. All of a sudden structures with the opposite were hesitantly built, small villas with more width than height sprouted around the area he resided in. It is no accident that the reception hall, the hall of permanence where we are now has such a low ceiling and is wide and long, this was Thurloe's way of honoring his hero's final achievements. Low ceilings if proportioned well can give inhabitants a sense of safety, a feeling of belonging. As many of his contemporaries Palladio had read Cicero and was fascinated by the description of a memory palace. Being an architect, the concept had a concrete and very real meaning. As someone who incessantly chased the perfect style and design, he saw it his purpose to realize the best way to construct a memory palace, but in stone. Needless to say he did not get very far and what we have is only one drawing, a sketch of a symbol and next scribbled to it the word:  'Echidna'. Thurloe made it his life's work to build the actual memory palace, with many guesses and liberties of course."

 

Hubbard coughed and went to search for his glass of wine. Davies, who had been listening with his arms crossed and his pipe still going strong, took over from the watchmaker. "Thurloe knew that the word Echidna referred to a monster from Greek mythology. Perhaps the word 'Arch Monster' would be more appropriate, for this monster was the mother of many of the mythological beasts that have burdened heroes throughout classic ages. Hesiod had the following to say about the creature"

 

"(ll. 295-305) And in a hollow cave she (Ceto) bare another monster, irresistible, in no wise like either to mortal men or to the undying gods, even the goddess fierce Echidna who is half a nymph with glancing eyes and fair cheeks, and half again a huge snake, great and awful, with speckled skin, eating raw flesh beneath the secret parts of the holy earth.  And there she has a cave deep down under a hollow rock far from the deathless gods and mortal men.  There, then, did the gods appoint her a glorious house to dwell in: and she keeps guard in Arima beneath the earth, grim Echidna, a nymph who dies not nor grows old all her days."
(Hesiod, Theogony)

 

"Yes yes Davies, we know you have a good memory for the classics, no need to boast about it". The inspector gave a wide grin and assumed Hubbard was ready to take over again. "Thurloe thought he had decoded the meaning of the drawing. According to him the six lines, emanating from the center, each represent one aspect of humanity's disciplines,  as each of the lines corresponds to one of Echidna's children. According to mythology, the monster Echidna bore either six or eight offspring, depending on which interpretation you read, each incarnation just as horrid and deadly as her venomous self. Thurloe thought that Palladio had left out two of the monsters: the Ladon and the Ethon because Hesiod who wrote about them did not mention them as direct descendants of Echidna and Typhon. Thurloe thought that Palladio had meant that each of the monsters to be representative of one aspect of humanity's unique abilities. The children of Echidna that Thurloe believed to be referring to were: The Chimaera, The Nimean Lion, The Sphinx, Orthrus, The Hydra and Cerebrus. Being both an engineer and an artists, Palladio sought to unite the two temperaments in a system of his own design, a system that was rigid in that it classified all of humanities endeavors, but free enough to express our most daring dreams.

 

"Thurloe thought he had solicited from scant documentation that the Chimaera or Chimera represented our achievements in literary aspects. It encompasses everything revolving around language and its many uses. Since many of our treasures consist of books and manuscript, Thurloe also used the monster's name to indicate the location of the central library of Bibliotheca Echidna. We will show you later what this looks like, but I'm sure Jeremy you have never seen and never will see anything like it. Old masterpieces, never seen before can be found here. That reminds me that we need to work more on your Latin"

 

"Palladio, or really Thurloe, also wanted to celebrate those achievements that are difficult to capture. This he categorized under the Nimean Lion, which mainly represents 'performance', or the act of portraying human experiences using only the self. Palladio associated the mythical lion with strength from with, used during confrontation. Performance he judged to be the ultimate expression of artistic confrontation. Within the realm you are now the Nimean Lion hall is used as a small theatre and is used to re-enact Greek and Roman plays. It is a safe haven for those artists who find themselves and their works censored by aggressive governments."

 

"If we had to point to one area that was important directly to Palladio, something he felt passionate about himself, it would have to be that, which is represented by the Sphinx. Both architecture and sculpture secrets and knowledge are guarded by the hall of the Sphinx. Palladio and Thurloe as well, felt passionate about the permanence of stone. We are now sitting in the hall of permanence, but really the entire subterranean structure is an attempt at permanence. "

 

"In their old age, the former master spy and the famous architect both wanted to preserve those ethereal things that only memory can provide. An entire section is dedicated to the viscera and the study of visceral stimulation, although in practice it was in Thurloe's day mainly alchemical in nature with a slow progression towards natural philosophy. These days, and I am partly at fault myself, we investigate such subjects as cuisine, olfactory experiences, wine and liquor manufacturing and storage, and other such Hedonistic obsessions. There are still strong debates as to the legitimacy of the hall named after Orthrus, the hound that guarded Geryon's cattle and with it the god's supply of beef. Maybe I judge to hastily and maybe both Palladio and Thurloe had a much better understanding of the need of the visceral arts. Most of our most important gatherings do not take place here but in the dining rooms of Orthrus's domain. Decisions are arrived at in a much milder manner if the speech that causes their instance is delivered on the wings of a good wine.

 

"Let us not forget the hall of the Hydra, the many headed monster of science. Within its tangled and twisted labyrinthine bowels, every possible of means of scientific measurement, design and verification are stored, together with important documents, prototypes and inventions too dangerous to lay into a mortal's hands. It is indeed my favorite hall, but I do concede to be biased towards the sciences. Jeremy, I hope to have enough breath in me to show you all the wonders contained in Hydra's lair, but you may have to explore with its guardian who will not let even me explore all of the riches contained in the vaults."

 

"It is not sure why Thurloe associated the visual arts with the hound of hell Cerebrus. Perhaps the works of fine art are the few ways we have besides literature that explore the darker side of humanity in such vivid detail. Cerebrus was also a guard, a final barrier before the afterlife. Perhaps this was a tribute, a salute to those people brave enough to challenge mortality by showing all facets of life and death. In the hall of Cerebrus we store important works of art that are being threatened or need to be protected. Most pieces are completely unknown to the world above: 'Da Vinci's Ezekiel Reformed', Van Gogh's final self-portrait, a drawing by  Julius Ceasar made of the Roman senate, an original sketch by one of the apostles drawn after the crucifixion. The list is quite extensive, we don't even know how some of the pieces got here or where they were located before they were stored in the vaults. We do need a Cerebrus to guard these objects, because they could greatly change the way we view history. Whether that would be good or bad is not for us to decided, which is part of the basis on which the Echidna was founded. We can not judge any of the items that come into the halls."

 

Hubbard puffed, he exhaled and inhaled deeply for the first time since he started his winded explanation. "What Hubbard is trying to say here, is that there are a lot of very important objects here and it is crucial that nobody knows who has not been expressly invited. Hubbard's neglect has created an uncomfortable situation because you were not meant to be here. At least not yet as I understand your mentor's plans. But what's done is done and you are here now. This is the most important thing you will ever see Jeremy and it is of the utmost importance that you do not breathe a word of what you have seen or what we might show you, that is if you will be shown at all of course, which I sincerely doubt", said Davies. I nodded, even though I had only seen the entrance hall I was deeply impressed. It did occur to me that there might be penalties for having broken the seal of confidentiality, but I reasoned that my mentor would not have gone through all the trouble of explaining the underground building's design and origins. With a bit of nervousness about what was going to happen to me and with a lot more curiosity about what was stored in the halls beyond, Hubbard walked me back to the exit and into the watch store. Davies went the way he came, which I guess was through some entrance connected to the underwater canal. That night sleep would not come. For hours I mulled the events over in my head. Could there really be an elaborate structure underneath, a building large enough to contain a museum and full library?

 

I know I should be concerned if my illegal entry this evening will have any major consequences, but the only thoughts that were going through my mind were if I was allowed back in to explore.