Whilst you have been debating the fate of the Algorismus between Mariamne and Madame Blackwood, the Shrouded Man
>>5709518>>5711251has been quietly exploring the mechanical arrays of calculant engines scattered all around in manifold configurations within the cavernous chamber of the Clock Tree.
He has isolated one machine in particular, that seems to drive the orrery-like orbiting mechanisms of cogwheels and crankshafts. The Shrouded Man yelps in delight... but quickly his eagerness turns to confusion:
-This machine... I believe it controls the dais... but it seems to require some form of code? What could the code be??
A thought occurs to you... back in the City, you surreptitiously glimpsed a strange Edict... in the War Room, moments before you were transported away to the Dead Land. An Edict proclaimed directly by Mortmain himself...
>>5683931Your thoughts turn to what Madame Blackwood once spoke of rituals, of dates and festivals... how the Sempiternal Empire could command its subjects by changing the calendar alone. You yourself obeyed the ceremony of the Hecatomb pillar and the commemoration of the sacrificed dead.
>>5683661>>5683769>>5683926Of course, Mortmain's horological Edict had not been issued yet when you saw it... it would be preposterous for a machine to attempt to destroy Time. What sort of algorithm would try to rearrange the sequence of events out of chronological order? How would anyone ever comprehend the news, or any events of significance? This would be utterly ridiculous! No algorithm would ever dare to rearrange Time, to present events and news in an arbitrary sequence of its own inexplicable volition. Yet the itch of the thought nags at your memory - could that festival, the Day Of Fifth Darkness, be the code to command the Algorismus?
>>5688613>If you know the calendar code of The Day Of Fifth Darkness, write in. 