--8--
Construction began on Cyrus' new property in March 1982.
Originally he had meant it to be the site of his mausoleum - Cyrus had always been just morbid enough to consider death without becoming too concerned, and this consideration had led him to the conclusion that his family needed a mausoleum. His mother's, father's, grandparents' and by this time a couple of aunts' and uncles' ashes were residing in his home, in sombre yet tasteful urns that were all sitting in a locked closet.
The plan was to build a magnificent structure in the image of the Kriticos family mausoleum back in Greece. It would have a domed roof and magnificent marble columns, red marble flooring and a chapel with an altar for their family to pray in. He would commission artists to paint scenes of the Passion, Resurrection and Ascension of Christ, and fill it with the most beautiful religious objects that he could lay his hands on. His mausoleum would be perfect, a sanctuary out in the clearing by the woods where the morning sun would glint on the golden dome and glitter on the dewy grass. It had been his dream since he was a child, to own that land for eternity.
Of course, once he had stumbled across the Arcanum, Cyrus' plans were immediately altered. If all went to plan, he would never need a mausoleum to be buried in.
Construction began in March 1982. Contractors were hired from all over the world and paid enormous sums to come to America to work on Cyrus' eccentric project. French glassmakers and a Spanish glass-etcher were amongst the first to arrive, along with a team of seven Russian metalworkers and a company of New England architects with their own firm of land excavators who started work immediately on the foundations and the basement.
The architects were given photocopies of the pages of the book, complete with English translations of the Latin text which accompanied the figures, all of which Cyrus had prepared himself. They crew their plans from the pages of the Arcanum, which they found to be a more than adequate base for their calculations, despite its age. But at Cyrus' insistence, all of the calculations were checked time and time again before a single post was laid.
Special workshops were constructed or bought to house the many individual sections of the project - Cyrus purchased a factory for the metalworkers and had special workshops and studios built by his contractors for the glassworkers and etchers. Cyrus visited and inspected each of the projects in turn, on a rotation, as well as employing five men specially for the task of overseeing progress and making bi-monthly reports on all aspects.
The construction progressed slowly but with the utmost accuracy in its every step. It was five years before the metal framework was in place, wrought in iron and set in solid stone. Two more years were needed for the proper installation of the door mechanisms, the levers, and the sheet metal lockdown doors, as well as the formation of the masterpiece of engineering at which all Cyrus' contracted engineers marvelled - the machine, the cogs of the Ocularis Room. And once all of that was in place, then the glassworkers set about the installation of the etched glass panels. Construction and installation was ongoing for almost nine years.
At night, when the workers had left the 'house', Cyrus walked silently in its corridors. He read from the book, speaking soft prayers over the panels of etched glass. Soon it would all be in place. Soon. Soon his every dream would come true. There was just one small hitch.
The machine had no power. But that was the next thing on his list.
***
Construction began on Cyrus' new property in March 1982.
Originally he had meant it to be the site of his mausoleum - Cyrus had always been just morbid enough to consider death without becoming too concerned, and this consideration had led him to the conclusion that his family needed a mausoleum. His mother's, father's, grandparents' and by this time a couple of aunts' and uncles' ashes were residing in his home, in sombre yet tasteful urns that were all sitting in a locked closet.
The plan was to build a magnificent structure in the image of the Kriticos family mausoleum back in Greece. It would have a domed roof and magnificent marble columns, red marble flooring and a chapel with an altar for their family to pray in. He would commission artists to paint scenes of the Passion, Resurrection and Ascension of Christ, and fill it with the most beautiful religious objects that he could lay his hands on. His mausoleum would be perfect, a sanctuary out in the clearing by the woods where the morning sun would glint on the golden dome and glitter on the dewy grass. It had been his dream since he was a child, to own that land for eternity.
Of course, once he had stumbled across the Arcanum, Cyrus' plans were immediately altered. If all went to plan, he would never need a mausoleum to be buried in.
Construction began in March 1982. Contractors were hired from all over the world and paid enormous sums to come to America to work on Cyrus' eccentric project. French glassmakers and a Spanish glass-etcher were amongst the first to arrive, along with a team of seven Russian metalworkers and a company of New England architects with their own firm of land excavators who started work immediately on the foundations and the basement.
The architects were given photocopies of the pages of the book, complete with English translations of the Latin text which accompanied the figures, all of which Cyrus had prepared himself. They crew their plans from the pages of the Arcanum, which they found to be a more than adequate base for their calculations, despite its age. But at Cyrus' insistence, all of the calculations were checked time and time again before a single post was laid.
Special workshops were constructed or bought to house the many individual sections of the project - Cyrus purchased a factory for the metalworkers and had special workshops and studios built by his contractors for the glassworkers and etchers. Cyrus visited and inspected each of the projects in turn, on a rotation, as well as employing five men specially for the task of overseeing progress and making bi-monthly reports on all aspects.
The construction progressed slowly but with the utmost accuracy in its every step. It was five years before the metal framework was in place, wrought in iron and set in solid stone. Two more years were needed for the proper installation of the door mechanisms, the levers, and the sheet metal lockdown doors, as well as the formation of the masterpiece of engineering at which all Cyrus' contracted engineers marvelled - the machine, the cogs of the Ocularis Room. And once all of that was in place, then the glassworkers set about the installation of the etched glass panels. Construction and installation was ongoing for almost nine years.
At night, when the workers had left the 'house', Cyrus walked silently in its corridors. He read from the book, speaking soft prayers over the panels of etched glass. Soon it would all be in place. Soon. Soon his every dream would come true. There was just one small hitch.
The machine had no power. But that was the next thing on his list.
***