A Journey to the Ruins of the Map Machine

A Journey to

The Ruins of the Map Machine

2

Foreword by the Author

It has in recent years in this country and others repeatedly been called into question whether what we call the Map Machine has ever existed.

Some critics acknowledge the validity of the archeological research concerning the individual ruins, but dispute that there is any connection between them.

Others go as far as to refute the authenticity of the ruins altogether, attributing them to a much later romantic period - doubting they were ever anything but ruins, let alone functioning machines.

In the course of these disputes, some critics shave not even shied back from accusing the author of this book of forgery and fraud.

It is for this reason that in this “Journey to the Ruins of the Map Machine�, I am presenting the overwhelming proof and scientific evidence in favour of my research.

And it is with great confidence that I am leaving it to the curios reader to form his own view.

In the August of 2010 - jm

4

On Exactitude In Science

by Jorge Luis Borges

‘… In that Empire, the Art of Cartography attained such Perfection that the map of a single Province occupied the entirety of a City, and the map of the Empire, the entirety of a Province. In time, those Unconscionable Maps no longer satisfied, and the Cartographers Guilds struck a Map of the Empire whose size was that of the Empire, and which coincided point for point with it.

The following Generations, who were not so fond of the Study of Cartography as their Forebears had been, saw that that vast Map was Useless, and not without some Pitilessness was it, that they delivered it up to the Inclemencies of Sun and Winters.

In the Deserts of the West, still today, there are Tattered Ruins of that Map, inhabited by Animals and Beggars; in all the Land there is no other Relic of the Disciplines of Geography.’

Suarez Miranda,Viajes de varones prudentes, Libro IV,Cap. XLV, Lerida, 1658

On the Impossibility of Drawing a Map of the Empire on Scale 1 to 1 6

by Umberto Eco

“We would have to postulate an empire that achieves awareness of itself in a sort of transcendental apperception of its own categorial apparatus in action. But that would require the existence of a map endowed with self-awareness, and such a map (if it were even conceivable) would itself become the empire, while the former empire would cede its power to the map.�

As the two introductory quotattions in this book show, the concept of the map on scale 1:1 is one very well established in literature.

Where Borges lays out the general idea of the map, Umberto Eco’s essay is essential for understanding why the map can be a machine and why that machine also is a computer at its heart.

For, the map can only exist as a process, as an ever changing mechanism, equipped with a sense of self-awareness.

It is therefore only consistent to assume that the Map Machine has logical components and - with even more certainty - that it is operated by humans.

The state we find the machine in today - the state of a ruin - relieves it from its mission. Territory and map are inseper-

The Map Machine 8

ably entangled in the map’s deteriorating devices. And it does seem reasonable to speculate, that its builders sought exactly this reconcilation of map and territory when they eventually gave up the machine’s maintenance.

But is the story of the map not just a myth?

The ancient city of Troy was long believed to belong merely to the realm of legends. Only few archeologists took Homer’s writing as founded on historical fact. Had they caved in to the ridicule of their peers, how great would the loss to our knowledge be today. In this spirit, the following chapters will reveal the truth about the Map Machine through the description of its components.

Cyanometer

In scientific circles it is a widely held opinion that device A had the function of a Cyanometer. Its postion was adjusted depending on the blueness of the sky, using a colour scale on the floor of the device.

Cyanometer (Device A) 10

It is believed that a mirror on the floor of the device was used to give an image of the patch of sky visible through the oculus above and to compare it to the colour scale. However, neither the mirror nor the colour plates have yet been found.

The following parts of the Cyanometer can be found on site today:

Cyanometer (Device A) 12

1 - Oculus 2 - Assumed position of Colour Plates 3 - Feedback Connection into Map Machine 4 - Maintenance Walkway 5 - Spiral Stair 6 - Reflection Catcher Devices (Backside)

2

4

6

1 4

2

3 5

4

Historically the invention of the Cyanometer is attributed to HoraceBenedict de Saussure, a Swiss aristocrat and physicist who lived from 1740 to 1799. The blueness of the sky was believed at the time to be a useful indica-

Cyanometer (Device A) 14

tor for weather forecasts. Also, it was unknown in Saussure’s time why exactly the sky has a blue colour.

Alexander von Humboldt used a Cyanometer throughout his travels to South America.

Cyanometer as used by Horace-Benedict de Saussure

Since Saussure’s and Humboldt’s time the blueness of the sky has been of interest to artists more than it has to scientists. Michael Surtees study of the sky over New York may serve as an example for this.

Cyanometer (Device A) 16

The Cyanometer appears to be a late addition to the map machine. Theories on the reasons for this are mere speculation.

There even is a minority of scientists who call the identification of device A as a Cyanometer into question.

New York Color Study

by Michael Surtees

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Logic Gates

Device B is part of the core of the map machine. It is one of the earliest components and erected on top of a number of predecessor buildings, four of which could be dated and mapped to this day. For a long time device B was falsely

Logic Gates (Device B) 20

believed to be part of the data storage facilities. Only recently it could be proven to have held the function of a fluidic logic gate.

One segment of the aqueducts that fed the logic gates has been restored.

The components of the Logic Gate are well researched. Once the restoration is finished, testing can commence - an important step in our understanding of the Map Machine:

Logic Gates (Device B) 22

1 - Input Aqueduct 2 - Input A 3 - Input B 4 - Output C 5 - Output D 6 - Drain 7 - Output Pipeline

1

7 4,5,6

2,3

Recently discovered archival material may give an idea of what the earlier predecessors of Device B have looked like (see right hand side).

Few remains have been found of these earlier constructions. However, through

Logic Gate (Device B) 24

the analysis of well preserved foundation piles and the reconstruction of the canal layout in the immidiate surroundings, there is today little doubt that they too were logic devices of consderable size.

26

System Clock

When the system clock was first discovered at the beginning of the last century, the water tower was still standing and even parts of the mechanical clock were still in their place.

System Clock (Device C) 28

The tower was since toppled by a winter storm. Parts of the clockwork were taken down and brought to the National Museum but have since been lost.

At the current state of research the following parts of the system clock have been identified :

System Clock (Device C) 30

1 - Collapsed Water Tower 2 - Water Pump 3 - Feedback Connection into Map Machine 4 - Input Regulation 5 - Reflection Catcher Devices (Backside)

4

2

3

1

5

At the current state of research the following parts of the system clock have been identified :

System Clock (Device C) 32

1 - Collapsed Water Tower 2 - Water Pump 3 - Feedback Connection into Map Machine 4 - Input Regulation 5 - Reflection Catcher Devices (Backside)

1 5

4

2

3

Earlier versions of the system clock were housed in masonry towers.

In course of the general modernisation of the map machine those towers were mostly replaced by ones of the Device C building class.

System Clock (Device C) 34

The image on the right shows a model of one of these towers of the earlier period.

Parts of the clockwork are visible and the large pendulum that determined the system frequency of the map machine.

Documents show that Astronomer Royal Nevil Maskelyne was given the task to test a clock in 1766.

Final proof is still to be brought but many indications suggest that his tests were in some connection to the system clock.

System Clock (Device C) 36

As the highest ranking astronomer of the country it is reasonable to assume, that he would be called upon when questions of the map machine were discussed.

38

Mechanical Tentacle

Device D can clearly be identified as a part of the machine that was originally completely underground - only opening to the surface through a circular oculus. Part of the surrounding ground has eroded and left the device exposed in

Mechanical Tentacle (Device D) 40

the way we find it today. Unfortunately in its current exposed state, the structure itself is eroding at an exceeding rate.

Preservation is proofs to be difficult in the remote mountainous area.

A team of Danish archeologists in a recent excavation found proof for the long held theory that the structure extends further underground and is in fact connected to a larger fluidic network.

The expedetion brought to light a num-

Mechanical Tentacle (Device D) 42

ber of new artefacts and also was able to draw up a detailed reconstruction plan (see right). It is assumed, that the device featured a large scale hydraulic piston, that enabled it to be pushed out of its cavity - making it a Mechanical Tentacle

Mechanical Tentacle - Reconstruction Drawing

44

Reflection Catchers

Being more filigrane than most of the other machine components, today only few well preserved examples of the Reflection Catcher device can be found.

These devices were part of the input side of the map machine.

Reflection Catchers (Device E) 46

They were always custom made for a particular place, tracing the shape and trajectory of the sun’s reflections on that place.

Device E was found in a forest - there were no traces of its former surroundings.

Computer simulations have been carried out to determine the original position and movement of the devices found at the forest.

The device has a first screen that catches reflections from a rectangular surface

Reflection Catchers (Device E) 48

- presumably a window - and a second screen that shades the first from direct sun light.

The simulations allow for a surprisingly detailed reconstruction of the reflective surfaces the devices once mapped.

2

1

Matching this reconstructed information with archival material suggests a striking congruence with Red Lion Square.

Reflection Catchers (Device E) 50

Etchings of Red Lion Square - form the Pre-Machine Period

52

Memory Basins

The memory basins are part of an elaborate system of data storage.

The large vessels are connected to the logic devices of the machine by underground piping.

The pulsed water stream received from

Memory Basins (Device F) 54

the logic devices throuh this piping is distriputed by Device F into the concentric bands of memory basins. As new information is coming in, the stored water is cascading down to lower basins.

Water is distributed into the basins from the main vessel through a large adjustable syphon, that is activated when the water in the vessel rises above a certain mark. The basins are organised in circles around the main vessel. With every bit of information the basins revolve around the center by one step.

Memory Basins (Device F) 56

1 - Main Vessel 2 - Memory Basins 3 - Central Pipe (from underground) 4 - Adjustable Syphon 5 - Maintenance Ladder 6 - Cascade Spouts

2

5

1

3

4

6

The switch from open canals to steel piping and high-pressure pipelines is the biggest turning point in the history of the map machine.

The design of the memory basins was drastically influenced by this change.

While the predecessor device relied sole-

Memory Basins (Device F) 58

ly on gravity and the principle of communicating vessels (see reconstruction drawing), the new memory component was less dependent on the terrain and therefore mostly placed in remote areas for reasons of data security.

In addition to the machine components described in this book, there is a wealth of machine ruins around the world that await thorough scientific investigation. Many will of course show no connection to the Map Machine, but

Future Map Machine Research 60

almost certainly some will be identified as vital parts of it. While in the past, most people were indifferent to theses traces of the Map Machine, there is now a growing movement to find, record and analyse these testimonies of the past.

Machine Ruins in the former Yugoslawia Photographs by Jan Kempenaer

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Sylvie and Bruno Concluded

by Lewis Carroll

“ ‘That’s another thing we’ve learned from your Nation,’ said Mein Herr, ‘map making. But we’ve carried it much further than you. What do you consider the largest map that would be really useful?’

‘About six inches to the mile.’

‘Only six inches!’ exclaimed Mein Herr. ‘ We very soon got to six yards to the mile. Then we tried a hundred yards to the mile. And then came the grandest idea of all! We actually made a map of the country, on the scale of a mile to the mile!’

‘Have you used it much?’ I enquired.

‘It has never been spread out, yet,’ said Mein Herr: ‘the farmers objected: they said it would cover the whole country, and shut out the sunlight! So we now use the country itself as its own map, and I assure you it does nearly as well.’”

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Georg Simmel on ruins

as quoted in a lecture by Dawn Ades

“A painting from which bits of paint have fallen, a statue with maimed limbs, the text of an ancient poet that has lost words and lines - all of these continue to have effect solely because of what remains in them of artistic forming or of what imagination can construct on the basis of these remnants: its immediate appearance is not an aesthetic unity, but offers only certain parts of a diminished work of art.

But the ruins of a construction mean that, in the vanished and destroyed parts of the work of art, other forces and forms, those of nature, have grown back and thus, from whatever art still lives in it and the nature already living in it again, a new whole, a characteristic unity, has arisen.�