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= Unconfirmed
information
Small College. One of the official ruling chambers of ALAXIS (GC).
| Smolderen, Thierry. A
writer who, according to some, is the real author behind Le MYSTÈRE
D'URBICANDE. An analysis of the structure of his last name does
indeed reveal interesting details... (OT).
See LOMS and NERED. Snozzi, Luigi. An architect. He is quoted as saying: "Cities are fit for men, the countryside for dogs!" (GC). Snul, Georges. An échevin [deputy-mayor] of BRÜSEL, involved in the Real Estate scandal (A, EC). |
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| Société des Transports Vicinaux des Cités Obscures (S.T.V.C.O.). An office responsible for delivering travel visas to those inhabitants of our world who have been granted Obscure Citizenship (LSLC, INT). The word "vicinaux" is plural for vicinal, a French term little used nowadays and applied to roads linking villages and hamlets. (PLI). |
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Société
des Transports Virtuels Urbanautiques (S.T.V.U.).
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Sodrovni. A major City located north of MYLOS, capital of SODOVNO-VOLDACHIA. Its winters are very severe, and there is a whole network of underground passages for the convenience of pedestrians (EC, EP, GC).
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Sodrovno-Voldachia (a.k.a. Sodrovno-Voldachian Union). A federation of several cities of the west of the CONTINENT, that were under the domination of PÂHRY between 571 and 671 AT. This is the closest thing the Obscure World has to a country, but such an arrangement is considered unnatural in the rest of the Cities. The region is one of the few places left where HORSES are still used as draft animals (GC). The political system of the Union is quite repressive, and it has close economical ties with MYLOS. See l'ETAT DU MONDE, GALATOGRAD, GOLIADKINE CIRCLE, IMÉCOURT, The Four IRREDUCIBLES, PAVILION OF SODROVNO-VOLDACHIA and SODROVNI.
| Soeren. One of
the scientists of MOUNT MICHELSON during WAPPENDORF's stay (EP). Sogol, Pierre. [1] A name often heard whenever Obscure philosophers are mentionned. He is considered to be a peer of BUSTOS-DOMECQ and PALINGENIUS (PGC). [2] A major character in the novel Le MONT ANALOGUE, sometimes called Father Sogol. Solange (Mrs.). A kindly shopkeeper in a shabby suburb of BLOSSFELDTSTAD. Albert CHAMISSO was her best customer for milk after his downfall (ODH). Solvay, Ernest. Belgian industrial and philanthropist, born in Rebecq (Brabant) [1838-1922 AD], founder or endower of various scientific societies and inventor of the amoniac sodium carbonate fabrication process (PLI). He commissionned several interesting building from architect Victor HORTA. See INVENTOR and SOLVAY LIBRARY. |
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Solvay Library. A remarkable room, located in the Institute of Sociology of BRUSSELS and recently restored to its former splendor (GM). It is also certain that it has a connection with the Obscure Cities. It may be one of the terminal points of the PASSAGE used by Mary VON RATHEN to visit our world. It is also possible that the A. DESOMBRES MUSEUM and/or the KOELBER FOUNDATION include(s) an identical room (MAD). See also SOLVAY and STREETS OF BRUSSELS.
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(Pictures below by Eilko Bronsema - July 1999)
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Somonites (Desert of). A vast desolate expanse covering the center of the western half of the CONTINENT (RA, GC). See also LEBEY, TIME PORTAL and VESSEL OF THE DESERT.
Sonia. An unmarried lady living in WAIZE, on the island of YLIASTER. In April 719 AT, she placed a personal ad in l'ÉCHO DES CITÉS, expressing her desire to exchange letters with a young man of CASSION or ZOR (EC).
Sonic Marker. A device for playing back soundtracks in public places, probably a form of SOUND INVERTER. Used by WAPPENDORF to gather the construction capital for the SUPER-VEHICLE (GC).
Sophie Tempel [a.k.a. Sophie]. Neighbour of ROBICK in URBICANDE. Proprietor of a high class brothel (FU). She was for a while involved with Robick, but eventually left him for Thomas BROCH (GC). See also DURAINE DE MONTIGNAC.
Sound Inverter. A machine used in the Obscure World to record sounds. The playback is of fair quality, but the device is apparently difficult to set properly (MAD). See SONIC MARKER and GRAPHOPHONE.
SOUVENIRS DE L'ÉTERNEL PRÉSENT [Remembrance of Eternal Present]. A variation on the movie Taxandria, for which François SCHUITEN had done the graphic conception. Published in 1990 AD, with texts by PEETERS and lettering by Etienne SCHREDER (SEP).
Spanach, Auguste. Burgermeister of BRÜSEL at the start of the great transformation works (EC); died prematurely in 746 AT. His name was given to a boulevard of the New Brüsel. This patronymic is nothing special in our world, but it should be noted that there in an Anspach Boulevard in BRUSSELS. Auguste was said to be one of the lovers of DURAINE DE MONTIGNAC (INT).
Spatio-striata. One of the strangest types of QUARX. Its body exists only in certain unconnected sections of space (CG).
Speeckaert, Gustave. Acting Burgermeister in BRÜSEL, in replacement of Auguste SPANACH after the Real Estate scandal (EC). He tried to save the TEMPLE OF AUGUSTINES (GC).
Spheres. From the MARAHUACA PIT, it was possible to gain access to a place where enormous symbol-covered globes piled up to influence the destiny of many worlds. ARDAN and LODERER entered one, and found themselves transported to GALATOGRAD. DESOMBRES was apparently guided into repairing another. A similar cluster was discovered in the middle of the FOREST OF MEGARA with the help of Professor VON WILAMOWITZ-MOELLENDORF.
| Spiro-thermophage. A variety
of QUARX living in radiator pipes and feeding on heat (GC). Spirou. A weekly belgian magazine devoted to BANDE DESSINÉE, published in our world since 1938 AD. During the printing of issue number 3221, the first for the year 2000 AD, a strange phenomenon seems to have briefly put the publication in contact with the Obscure World. Spitfire XIV-FRC (RM 921). A flying machine of a type unknown in the Cities. It appeared in the sky above ALTA-PLANA in 751 AT, starting an intense debate. Axel WAPPENDORF, who was fascinated, wanted to have a memorial erected (EC). Aeroplanes of that kind did not exist in our world before 1937 AD, which would indicate a serious twist in the temporal connection with the Obscure World. See ARKHALSKY, PALINGENIUS CIRCLE, RECTORATE OF MARBURG, RHODES, SIRK, TIME and TRAHMER.
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| Splach. A parfume
from CALVANI (ODR). Spongias. A variety of marine animal specific to the Obscure World. They have a pale and elegant body, and their wing-like flippers allow them to jump out of the water and glide for a while. WAPPENDORF called them fishes (ETPV). They are found in the GREEN LAKE and at the bottom of the MARAHUACA PIT. They are also hunted for sport (GC), and they are delicious when cooked A LA BROCH (ODH). See AQUATIC TRIPOD and FAUNA.
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St-Pierre, Sylvain. Canadian [1956 AD- ]. Living in Laval, in the suburbs of MONTREAL. Participant to the First OBSCURE CONVENTION and author of this Dictionary. See also TRAVEL NOTES.
| Stamps. We know of several in our world that are connected to the universe of the Cities, all of them conceived by François SCHUITEN. One shows ROBICK (below) and is obviously the copy of a Brüselite edition. Another (right) has been issued to commemorate the centenial of the Belgica expedition to Antarctica, and would have been copied in the Obscure World following an expedition to the MYSTERIUM MAGNUM. There is also a series of four stamps describing important sites in BRUSSELS (bottom). The Obscure versions are probably the work of Robert Louis Marie DE LA BARQUE (B, GC, LSLC). See also POSTAL SERVICE. |
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Star Express. A ride in COSMOPOLIS, both Roller Coaster and Funhouse of sorts (EP).
Steiner. An auctioneer, partner of Arnold BUCH (MAD).
Stella Matutina. A city of the KAMOUR BLHYR, covered with huge tents to slow down evaporation (GC). See EXPO '67, FROMENTAL and NITA.
| Sterckx, Pierre. An art
critic in BRUSSELS, encountered by Claire DEVILLERS during her inquiry. He is one of the few
members of his profession to have any knowledge at all about DE
LA BARQUE and his work (DB). Stina. A co-worker of Hella JACOBSEN at the DINESEN workshop (RA). |
Pierre Sterckx |
Stone, Quint
(Pr.). A
character whose existence has not been established beyond the shadow of a doubt,
mentionned as the author of an article on TIME and supposedly in
charge of the COLLEGE OF
IMMATERIAL STUDIES.
| Stork Club. A fashionable
establishment of XHYSTOS (MS). Reservations are required
long in advance. In deference to HORTA, it is a serious faux-pas
to order pasta. The proprietor is Konstantin PAPADIMITRIKOPOULOS
(GC). Strauven, Gustave. Belgian architect at the beginning of the 20th Century AD. His connections with the Obscure World are not proven, but there is strong circumstancial evidence. The shape and size of his single wheel vehicle, which is much like the ALAXIAN VELOCIPEDE, would fit remarkably well in the circular logia that he built in 1903 for the painter Saint-Cyr in BRUSSELS. This building also has much in common with the house of Pierre CAUCHIE.
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| Streets of Brussels.
It should not come as a surprise that the city of BRUSSELS,
as the main point of PASSAGE to the Obscure Cities, has a
great many streets, boulevards, alleys, plazas and avenues bearing names that are more or
less closely connected to places or persons from the OTHER
WORLD. It must be noted that, since the city is bilingual, most of the French
names also have a Dutch equivalent. Source: Plan de Bruxelles, Michelin, 1998.
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S.T.V.C.O. See SOCIÉTÉ DES TRANSPORTS VICINAUX DES CITÉS OBSCURES.
Subway. See MÉTRO.
Succession difficile (La) [The Difficult Succession]. A fresco by DESOMBRES, showing characters who are most probably Klaus, Kurt and Mary VON RATHEN (MAD).
Suchin, Mitya. Russian researchist living in Berlin. An irreplacable source of information about the Hanover EXPO 2000. A participant in the First OBSCURE CONVENTION. See also GIGANTIC.
Sukhin, Dmitry Borisovitch. SODROVNO-VOLDACHIAN architect. We owe him the PAVILLON of the Union at the Obscure EXPO (INT).
Sun Life Building. Built in MONTREAL between 1913 and 1933 AD, the Head Office of the Sun
Life Insurance Company was for a long time the largest building in the British Empire.
Several clues indicate that, like the PALAIS DE JUSTICE of BRUSSELS, it is in fact a point of PASSAGE,
most probably linked to the Obscure City of MARIEVILLE.
The Sun Life Building, during its construction.
Super-Panzer. A type of armoured vehicle used for inner-city control in URBICANDE. The original plans were drawn by WAPPENDORF, but the scale was misread at the assembly line. The resulting monstrosity was reneged by the inventor (ETPV, FU, GC).
Super-Vehicle. Another name for the VESSEL OF THE DESERT (RA).
Supreme Generator. The main power source of MYLOS, hidden deep in the hearth of the city (A). See SAM.
Suzanne (Mademoiselle). One of the "leaners" from the tale MARY LA PENCHÉE (MLP).
Sylvano, Victor. A resident of GENOVA. He published an ad in the first issue of L'ÉCHO DES CITÉS (April 719 AT), offering to exchange ten crates of DOMAINE DE CALVANI bubbly wine for a copy of URFORMEN DER KUNST (EC).
Systèmes d'Urbicande (Les) [The Systems of Urbicande]. A very deep study on the significance of the NETWORK, by Claude-Françoise BRUNON (FU2).
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