Church of the Sixth National Bank

[snurri]

Church of the Sixth National Bank
Originally uploaded by Snurri

"Among the many construction projects indefinitely interrupted by the Exile was that of the new Sixth National Bank branch at Harris and Undertow. The foundation had been laid and utility shafts poured, but no walls had been erected; the site stood gray and forbidding behind barricades and fences, undisturbed until 1977, when a band of self-styled explorers led by Morris 'Mustard' Douglass attempted to use the main shaft to explore the city's underside. Mustard's theory was that while the city's outer and (apparently) upper limits were impervious to passage, the same might not be true of the ground far underneath its streets. Having discovered that the main airshaft at Harris and Undertow was--either by design, or due to some undocumented effect of the Exile--unusually deep, and suspecting that some entity or entities had already been using it as passage from below, he was determined to explore and, if possible, to excavate its depths. . . . On January 12, the six-person team descended; what happened to them may never be known. Whatever their activities at the bottom of the shaft, though, it appears that something was opened, or triggered, or released. . . . At about 11 AM, the first 'divine offering' spilled upwards out of the shaft--a column of what at first appeared to be water, but proved in fact to be glittering confetti. It settled down over a sixteen-block area, covering garbage heaps, rusting auto hulks, and sleeping guard dogs. . . . Following the reflective cloud came dozens of multicolored ropes of scarves, unfurling into the sky like a multitude of rope tricks, until taken by the wind; several hundred white doves, all of whom emerged from the shaft flying upside down before righting themselves; and a single white tiger, which spun out of the shaft in a parabolic arc to land on its feet--it soon disappeared into the woods of Geelan Park. (The tiger may have found a mate among the former inhabitants of the city zoo; in the years since there have been numerous reported sightings of white tiger cubs.) . . . After this series of eruptions, the shaft went quiet, only to become active again weeks later. On the night of February 2nd, over the course of about twelve hours, a mass of unusually resilient soap bubbles dribbled over the lip of the shaft and wandered the streets, singly or in pairs. By noon the next day they had all dissipated, but not before (allegedly) repairing a staircase in Dimetown and chasing a pack of wild dogs away from the Trimble Street Bridge School. . . . Since then the shaft (other names have been suggested, but none universally adopted: examples include 'god's tube,' 'Bullwinkle's hat,' and 'the concrete uterus') has offered up various sorts of manna about every three weeks. The gifts (as they are generally considered to be) have ranged from rose blossoms to white rabbits to a blinding torrent of milk. . . . More than one denomination has adopted the shaft as part of its theology, and a few have set up permanent booths on the site. Around the time of the offerings, the entire area is crowded with pilgrims, hungry families, and budding entrepreneurs. Small fortunes have been made selling traps, nets, baskets, and jugs for collecting the various offerings. . . . One small, but noteworthy group which has moved into the area permanently is the Douglass family, which grows wild mustard on the roof of the former condominiums opposite the site." (p.215-6)

Comments

[pnew8.livejournal.com]

Intriguing.

And I love the detail.

[snurri.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Pam!

[experimeditor.livejournal.com]

That, my friend, is good stuff!

[snurri.livejournal.com]

:-) Thanks, Forrest!

[experimeditor.livejournal.com]

No, thank you! Seriously, I really enjoyed that.

[rudi.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the miracles!

(This piece kind of represents the whole series -- occasional eruptions of wonder.)

(Also, "Bullwinkle's hat" would make a great band name :)

[snurri.livejournal.com]

Thank you, Rudi.

Hm, bands. That's one thing I haven't explored much so far . . .