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= Unconfirmed information

Abeels, Constant. A florist in BRÜSEL, owner of a shop located at 13 QUAI AU FOIN. A victim of the savage BRÜSELISATION of 746 AT, he eventually left the city with Tina TONERO and settled in CALVANI, where he was put in charge of GREENHOUSE No. 2 the following year (B, GC). See AMELIN, MODERN PLASTICS, POTFERDOM!, SCHREDER, STREETS OF BRUSSELS and VANDERSTICHELEN.

A.C.C.O.  [Administration Centrale des Cités Obscures].  Central Administration of the Obscure Cities.  The department that issues Obscure PASSPORTS (LSLC).

Aconitum. Latin name of aconit, a poisonous plant growing in mountain regions. Young shots have a triple bulbous stem. A plant photographed by Karl BLOSSFELDT, and probably the one that had the most influence on the Obscure Cities. It is a frequently used decorative element, and the botanists of CALVANI have even reconstructed it from scratch - on a gigantic scale (MAD, GC). See DÉCOUVERTE INATTENDUE, JONES, STREETS OF BRUSSELS and URFORMEN DER KUNST.

A.D. Anno Domini. "Year of God", in Latin. A convention used by Anglo-Saxon countries in our world to designate dates of the Christian calendar. Because this dictionary also contains many references to The TOWER calendar, all dates therein have a distinctive suffix. See A.T.

Aerostatic Locomotive. A dubious aerial transportation device conceived by Ernest PÉTIN (ETPV, GC).

Aerostatic Propeller.    Original French term:  Propulseur Aérostatique.  A concept developped by Axel WAPPENDORF (GC).   See HALLEY.

Agathe.  Aunt of Sarah CHAMISSO (ODH).   See also MONICA.

Ailée [Given name, meaning "Winged" in feminine form]. In the movie Taxandria, by Raoul SERVAIS, a young woman in the GARDEN OF DELIGHTS who remembered, among other things, that one second was TIME enough for one heartbeat.

Alaxian. An Obscure form of POETRY(GC).

Alaxian Velocipede. The first vehicle perfected by Axel WAPPENDORF, when he was only 12 years old (GC).  His father always refused to climb on board, arguing that the contraption was not equiped with brakes (GC, ETPV).  A number of similar designs have been proposed in our own world; and, if it is indeed tempting to say that some ideas have "passed", it is more difficult to say who has influenced who.  See also STRAUVEN.

Alaxis. An important Obscure City located in the Eastern part of the CONTINENT, north of URBICANDE. Described as "sulphurous", it is famous for its unending carnivals and celebrations (A). Its government is most complex and riddled with intrigues (GC). The city is criss-crossed with numerous canals and its emblem is a cross (EC). In the days of The TOWER, Alaxis was known for its sleek minarets (LT), but centuries later they had been replaced by enormous buildings in a gothic style, with a multitude of arches, rosace windows and ornate domes. Many traces of what we would call a mauresque kind of architecture do however remain (EP). The man who realised this transformation was Paul Dufournet HOREAU, for whom a monument was eventually built (GC). The TEMPLE OF VALENTINI is one of the oldest known remains in the Obscure World (GC), but ROBICK mentions that the top of the Second Hill, where it is built, was not left in ruins (FU). See BANDOLINI, BARBONI, CANAL MINOR, CANTORINI, COSMOPOLIS, ENFANTS DE CHOEUR, HIERARCHS, PALAZIO, TRÉGOMAIN and Boulevard of XHYSTOS.

Albert.  A surname often heard in connection with the Obscure Cities.  Albert the First, often called the "Knight King", was the very popular sovereing of Belgium from 1909 to 1934 AD.  See ALBERT BARRACKS, Albert CHAMISSO, Albert LESSING and STREETS OF BRUSSELS.

Albert Barracks.   An active military establishment in BRUSSELS.   Inside one of its disused buildings, the Dubeucq Block, can be found rooms wich are a perfect copy of part of the A. DESOMBRES MUSEUM.  Despite thorough research conducted during the First OBSCURE CONVENTION, no satisfactory explanation has yet been found to explain this occurence.  (Pictures by Eilko Bronsema, July 1999)

Algua. A perfume from CALVANI (GC).

Allée des Tilleuls [Alley of the Linden Trees]. A street leading to the main access of the COMMISSION OF HIGH INSTANCES building in URBICANDE. "Regularised" by ROBICK (FU).  See STREETS OF BRUSSELS.

Allée Verte.   [Green Alley]  According to the research of Isidore LOUIS, this street of BRÜSEL marked one of the limits of the flood that covered the heart of the city following the Great Reconstruction.  In the opposite direction, water reached as far as the QUAI AU FOIN (A2).

Altiplan. A mode of inter-city transportation. Looking somewhat like a plane with many layers of wings, it has several small propellers. In the days of Franz BAUER, altiplan trips were terribly long, for they could only fly very low and had to round all obstacles (MS). But by 747 AT, only three days were required to fly from MYLOS to ALAXIS (EP). Those vehicles are reputed to be extremely comfortable (GC).

Amelin, Mrs. Renée. A resident of BRÜSEL whose file was on the Burgermeister's desk next to Constant ABEELS' in 746 AT (B). See also HAMELIN.

Amiens. Ancient capital of the old province of Picardie, in France (PLI). Jules VERNE moved there in 1872 AD. According to internaut Vincent Caplier, the town's cathedral - which has an interesting LABYRINTH on its floor - could be a point of PASSAGE (INT). See SAMAROBRIVE and TEMPLE OF SERVADAC.

Amundsen Expedition. In FRIEDRICH's story, it reached the GLAËVER just as the KØBENHAVN was flying overhead (RA).

Amundsen, Roald.  In our world, a Norwegian explorer born in Borge (1872-1928 AD). Second Lieutenant on the BELGICA expedition to Antarctica in 1897-98 (MK).   He was the first to cross the North-West Passage (1906) and reached the South Pole in 1911.  Perished in Arctica while looking for NOBILE (PLI).

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