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= Unconfirmed information

Bouchiney (Mrs). Owner of the PALAIS DES MILLE FEUX. An easily swayed person (ODH).

Boullée, Etienne Louis. French architect born in Paris (1728-1799 AD), author of visionary projects, including a cenotaph for Newton (PLI). He probably had his own PASSAGE, for ROBICK knew of him, and even found his work a source of inspiration (FU).

Boustrophedon. An animal today considered mythical in the World of the Cities, and that may have inspired the creation of gargoyles in ours (GC). Curiously, in the LIGHTED WORLD this term refers to an ancient writing mode, where each line was laid in a direction opposite to the previous one, "like the furrows of a plow".  See FAUNA.

Boyer, Cyril. An internaut who has suggested that there is really no such thing as PASSAGES. Only the Obscure World is real; the universe that we consider ours is a figment of the imagination... (INT).

Brasìlia.  Capital of the country of Brazil.  It is the city in our world closest to URBICANDE in concept and appearance, which probably explains that ROBICK visited the place.  Cause or effect, the NETWORK followed him closely (AS #239).  See also BRAZIL and TORRE PALACE.

Bratslawsky. General Intendant of MYLOS after Mary VON RATHEN abandoned her directorial powers (GC).

Braunstein, Jascha. A retired postal worker, living on the 15th level of a dome in GALATROGRAD. His wife considers life in their apartment to be very stressing (EC).

Brazil. A city of the KAMOUR BLHYR region, in the South of the CONTINENT. Built on the shore of a river, far from the sea (GC).  See STREETS OF BRUSSELS.

Brekerhof (The). A new neighbourhood of GENOVA. Although of a similar style, its buildings are much more pleasant than the older areas of the city (A2).

Brentano. Ancient name of BLOSSFELDTSTAD. Built on the site of antique LIBUSSA (EC).

Brentano, Clemens. A German writer, born in Ehrenbreitstein (1778-1842 AD). One of the main pillars of romanticism, brother of Bettina von Armin, who was Goethe's friend (PLI).

Brentano, Franz. German philosopher, born in Marienberg (1838-1917 AD), nephew of Clemens (above). He tried to distinguish logic from psychology, and influenced Husserl (PLI).

Brentano, Irina. Wife of president Thadeus BRENTANO and Perpetual Secretary of the Academy of Sciences of TAXANDRIA. She instigated the matter duplication experiments that eventually led to the GREAT CATACLYSM and she (or her copy) was the mother of the first two-headed Prince (SEP). See BLOSSFELDTSTAD and FILIPUS.

Brentano, Thadeus. Husband of Irina. President of TAXANDRIA at the time of the separation with the rest of the Obscure World. His name was long cursed by the surviving Taxandrians (SEP).

Broch, Thomas. An engineer in URBICANDE, he was for a long time a friend of Eugen ROBICK, and contributed much in the redesign of the city (FU). Named RAPPORTER of the COMMISSION OF HIGH INSTANCES, he disappeared in 738 AT when the city was ravaged by an earthquake (GC).

Bruegel [or Breughel], Pieter, "The Elder". A painter born near either Breda (Holland), or Brée (Belgium) [c. 1525-1569 AD]. He is the author of many famous landscapes and scenes of country life (PLI). He is not mentioned in the CHRONICLES, but his depiction of the Tower of Babel is so similar to that of the TOWER that it cannot be doubted that he had contacts - if only indirect ones - with the Obscure World (LT).  See STREETS OF BRUSSELS.

Brugnatelli, Giuseppe. A name frequently mentioned in the Obscure World, but very little is known about the man, except that he may have been a disciple of Ulrich VON WILAMOWITZ-MOELLENDORF and that he apparently specialised in dematerialogy (GC).

Brunon, Claude-Françoise. Author of LES SYSTÈMES D'URBICANDE (GC). See also AUTOUR DES CITÉS OBSCURES.

BRÜSEL.   Seventh volume of the CHRONICLES.  (A Suivre) publication:  issues 158, 159, 160, 171, 172 and 173; from March 1991 to June 1992 AD.  Castermand album:  1992.

Brüsel. (Pronounced Bruh-zel) One of the largest of the Obscure Cities; located in the north-western part of the CONTINENT, on the shore of the NEPTUNIC OCEAN. Formerly under the rule of MUHKA, now directed by a College of Échevins [Deputy-Mayors] headed by a Burgermeister. French and Flemish are the main spoken languages. Starting in 736 AT, the city was completely reconstructed, but this change took many years to accomplish, and only at the cost of immense difficulties (B, EC, GC). See ABEELS, ALLÉE VERTE, AMELIN, BRUSSELS, DE VROUW, GARES DU NORD ET DU MIDI, HAMELIN, ORDURODUC, PALACE OF THE THREE POWERS, PORTE DE HAL, SCHAERBEEK, SENNE, SPANACH and TONERO.

Brussels. In French, Bruxelles, from the frankish word Bruocsella, meaning "The House in the Swamp". Known as Brussel in Flemish. Capital of Belgium. Of all the cities in our world, this is probably the closest to the Obscure World. Points of PASSAGE are very numerous, and there are many indications of a heavy traffic to and from BRÜSEL. See BRÜSEL Boutique, CENTRE BELGE DE LA BANDE DESSINÉE, FALSTAFF, GALERIE DE LA REINE, MARCHÉ-AU-CHARBON, PALAIS DE JUSTICE, PORTE DE HAL and WIERTZ.

Bruxellisation. A French term coined to describe the destruction of the architectural heritage of BRUSSELS. MONTREAL has known a similar fate during the years 1960-80 AD, but the process seems to have slowed down lately.

Bruzdowicz, Florence. Daughter of a Parisian art merchant. Became Augustin DESOMBRES' fiancée in 1896 AD (MAD).

Bruzdowicz, Johanna.  Author of the original music for the sound play Le MUSÉE A. DESOMBRES (MAD).

Bryan. The direction wheelsman of the zeppelin imagined by FRIEDRICH. A strong red-headed fellow who whistled all the time (RA).

"B" Sect.  A secret organisation in our world.  Mostly active at the end of the 19th Century and at the beginning of the 20th, but perhaps still in existence. Devoted to establishing contacts with BRÜSEL from BRUSSELS, it may have included amongst it members such illustrious people as ANSPACH, HORTA and SOLVAY.  The MAISON DU PEUPLE may have been specifically designed as a meeting place for the sect (DB).

Buch, Arnold. An art auctioneer dealing in Amsterdam, London, Paris and Zurich. Friend and associate of Vigoleis KOELBER (MAD).

Buch-Koelber, Sonia. Wife of Arnold, sister to Vigoleis. She wrote the biographical notice on DESOMBRES in the catalogue compiled for the sale of his works (MAD). Bulletin of the Academy of Sciences.  A remarkable document, obtained under mysterious circumstances by Olivier TISSOT.  See NERED and NETWORK.

English translation of bulletin

Busby-Germain. A house-painting company in BRÜSEL. According to an ad published in the April 719 AT issue of L'ÉCHO DES CITÉS, Mrs. René HAMELIN was desperately trying to contact them for an unspecified reason (EC).

Bustos-Domecq, Honorio.  An often quoted Obscure philosopher.  His work has reached almost religious proportions (PGC).  See also PALINGENIUS and SOGOL.

Butor, Michel. French writer born in 1926 AD. Author of several interesting articles on science fiction. Most notably those lines, written in 1953 AD:

[...] "Let us now imagine that a number of authors, instead of describing at random and very quickly more or less interchangeable towns, started to use as setting for their stories a single city, named, precisely located in space and in the future; and that each would take into account the descriptions given by the others before introducing his own new ideas. This city would then become a public domain item in the same way an actual ancient city does; bit by bit, all the readers would use its name for the city of their dreams and would shape it to match." [...]

[...] "Soon, all authors would be forced to take this predicted city into account, readers would organise their actions according to its coming existence, at the very limit they would feel compelled to build it."

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