Changeling

FACT FROM FICTION

We’ve always believed that the best stories are built on a foundation of truth, and this one is no exception. Now it’s time to separate what is real from what we’ve made up.

Archimedes—We’ve only scratched the surface of Archimedes’ genius. His discoveries, which include establishing the value of pi (the ration of a circle’s circumference to its diameter), are the basis for calculus and physics, without which most of our modern scientific advances could not have been made. One scholar made the observation that, if more of Archimedes’ writings had survived, we would already be living on Mars. Sadly, most of his writings were lost to history, the parchment books scraped clean and written over during the Middle Ages.

The Archimedes Palimpsest, mentioned in this novel, is real. It was discovered in a monastery just before World War I, the ancient Greek writing barely visible on the parchment which had been cleaned and resized, and used for a medieval prayer book. It has only been in the last decade that modern fluoroscopy techniques have made it possible to read one of Archimedes’ most important works. The part about a Vault and a timelock that can only be opened every thousand years is our invention, but if Archimedes had wanted to create something like that, he probably could have.

The war machines described in the prologue and in the Arkimedeion museum, including the Archimedes Claw, used to pick up entire warships and then drop them down, smashing them to pieces in the harbor, are believed to be real. The heat ray, an array of parabolic mirrors capable of focusing the sun’s light into a sort of laser beam for setting ships on fire, has long been attributed to Archimedes, but it is unlikely that he actually created such a device, or that it would have worked as suggested. In 2006 the MythBusters television program ruled the Archimedes Heat Ray “busted.” In 2009, in conjunction with students from MIT, the show revisited the “myth” and found that, while it was technically possible to create such a device, it would have been of extremely limited usefulness in warfare.

The Arkimedeion Museum in Syracuse is a real place, but the layout of the museum and its contents are the authors’ creation. Sadly a research trip was out of the question and descriptions of the facility are limited to a number of less than favorable visitor reviews, some of which complained that many of the interactive exhibits were not functional. As rule, we like to avoid presenting real world locations in a negative light, but those reviews seemed like an opportunity for a little exercise in “what if?”

Skulls—Strange elongated skulls found on the Paracas peninsula in Peru have long aroused the interest of UFO enthusiasts who see an astounding similarity to the shape of the heads described in most reports of encounters with the extraterrestrial “grays.” One story, widely circulated on the Internet, mistakenly claims that DNA tests on the Paracas skulls indicate that they are not human. That story is a fiction, though not our invention. What is factual is that the skulls do exist, and are an example of what was once a wide-spread body modification technique practiced not only in South America, but all over the world, even well into the 20th century. And yes, elongated skulls were found in the Hal Saflieni Hypogeum on the island of Malta.

Certain cultures, probably for purely aesthetic reasons, would wrap the heads of infants tightly with blankets and ropes, or bind them to boards, in order to flatten and reshape the skull. Because the human head stops growing at a very young age, the desired effect can be achieved in a relatively short time, with no physical damage to the brain.

Many of the aforementioned UFO enthusiasts accept this explanation, but wonder if perhaps the reason these ancient people wanted to change the shape of their heads was to look more like their “gods” who they believe were actually alien astronauts. In the case of the Paracas culture, the same culture responsible for creating the Nazca Lines, large geoglyphs which can only be seen in their entirety from high altitude — a low flying spacecraft perhaps? — the question should not be lightly dismissed.

Phantom Time—The Phantom Time Hypothesis is real thing — that is to say, someone has proposed it, therefore the proposition exists. According to historian Herbert Illig, Holy Roman Emperor Otto II and Pope Sylvester II conspired to fabricate nearly three hundred years of history — corresponding to the years 614 to 911 CE — in order to place their respective reigns on the cusp of the new millennium, which it is supposed, would have given them a great deal of influence over faithful Christians. The primary evidence for Phantom Time is the adjustment made during the transition from the Julian to Gregorian calendar. Supporters of the hypothesis also claim that there is very little archaeological evidence that can be reliably dated to this period, and when challenged, call into question the accuracy of dating methods. They also correctly point out that most of what we know about the Middle Ages derives from written histories, many of which have a suspiciously fanciful flavor.

There is quite a bit of evidence against the hypothesis, but then that is exactly what we would expect from such a well-thought-out deception. The central argument however, namely the discrepancy in Pope Gregory’s adjustment of the calendar in the year 1582, only works if we assume that Gregory was correcting for the accumulation of every extra leap year day added since the inception of the Julian calendar in 46 BCE. Since the purpose of the Gregorian calendar was to avoid confusion about when to celebrate Christian holidays, it is far more likely that Gregory’s scholars would have chosen a more relevant starting point, such as the Council of Nicea in 325 CE, which established, among other things, the dates for those holidays.

While Phantom Time probably isn’t a supportable proposition, it raises some interesting questions about the trustworthiness of history, particularly with respect to contemporary sources.

Fogou—Like skull deformation, the practice of creating underground chambers was ubiquitous in the ancient world. Many scholars favor a utilitarian explanation, and indeed, these chambers could have been used for food storage or a refuge from enemy attacks — survival bunkers for ancient preppers. Others believe they served a ritual purpose, a (figurative?) doorway to the Underworld or transition point to another realm. Neither explanation can be discounted simply because the cultures that made these chambers and tunnels left no written explanation for their purpose. From the fogous of Scotland, to the erdstall tunnels of Europe, to the kivas of the American southwest, these underground vaults remain a mystery that may never be solved.

Which brings us to….

Hal Saflieni Hypogeum—Until the recent discovery of Gobekli Tepe in Turkey, the megalithic temples of Malta were considered the oldest structures known to man, some dating back over 7,000 years. The Hypogeum is just a little more recent — the site has been dated to 4000 BCE — and is the only known subterranean temple from the prehistoric period, which makes its unusual acoustic design all the more intriguing. The auditory properties of the Hypogeum described herein are real, up to a point. Research has confirmed that the Oracle Room resonates at 110 Hertz, a frequency known to produce trance-like effects. That this was understood by architects living before the creation of written language is nothing short of amazing. And yes, as mentioned earlier, elongated skulls were discovered among the human remains buried in the Hypogeum.

Infrasound—The lower limit of human hearing has been established as 20 Hertz, though by the time most of us reach adulthood, the ability to hear lower ranges will have diminished considerably. (If you’re curious about this, you can find phone apps, like the one Jade used, to produce a range of frequencies. The results may surprise and discourage). Any sound below 20 Hz is called infrasound, and while we cannot hear infrasound, it can produce unusual physical effects — ranging from nausea to extreme anxiety to outright panic. The connection between ghost sightings and infrasound in the 17–19 Hz range was first suggested in 1998, and ongoing research between infrasound and allegedly haunted houses has been very promising.

The idea that infrasound might be manipulated to produce very specific hallucinations, as described in this novel, is well beyond the limits of what is possible. For now.

Bell Rock—Located just south of Sedona, Arizona, Bell Rock is one of several magnificent red limestone buttes that tower over the desert landscape. It also happens to be the site of an “energy vortex,” one of several purported to exist in the Sedona region. According to local lore and too many anecdotal reports to count, encountering a vortex may cause a wide range of emotional and physical reactions. Some feel rejuvenated. Other describe a strange humming sound. Still others report seeing strange lights in the sky. There are even stories about a gigantic alien spacecraft concealed inside Bell Rock. While the vault described in the story is completely fictional, the similarity between the effects of infrasound and the Sedona vortices is, to say the least, intriguing enough to explore in fiction. And if you ever happen to be in Sedona, maybe you’ll get to experience a vortex encounter firsthand!