electromagnetic fields, intense damage could have been done to those on board the Eldridge and indeed to anyone
in its vicinity. One would prefer to think that the Navy wouldn’t cover up such a mishap, but the monkey-business
presently going on with Project Sanguine [see Runes #III-3, review of #17F] makes one wonder. #20H is definitely
not a ‘nut book’, but rather a careful, logical recounting of the author’s long and often frustrating efforts to uncover
the truth [or lack thereof] behind what has become one of the more famous legends of Outer Limits-type research.
#20H is reviewed in Runes #IV-2. [See also the fictionalized but very well done film The Philadelphia Experiment
(Thorn EMI VHS cassette #TVA-2547, 1984).]” T.E. Bearden [in #20K]: “Reversing or lowering the
electrogravitational charge is controlled by biasing the ground potential on the ensemble pattern transmitters,
which can even be on-board the vehicle itself ... You can float metal ... You can even ‘dematerialize’ or ‘teleport’ it.
The Philadelphia Experiment may have ben real after all. If so, the test ship and its personnel were ‘blasted’ into this
strange realm ...”
20I. Tesla: Man Out of Time by Margaret Cheney. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1981. (TOS-3)
(TRP-3) MA: “Few turn-of-the-century scientists are more colorful, accomplished, and controversial than Nikola
Tesla, the inventor of radio, pioneer of alternating current, namesake of the Tesla Coil, colleague of Einstein, and
all-around ‘mad scientist’ par excellence. This lively biography, basis for a Tesla profile in Runes #I-2, not only tells
his tale but also raises many questions [and proposes some answers] about the nature of electromagnetic energy.
Extensive notes and recommendations for further reading & correspondence are included.”
20J. The Command to Look: A Formula for Picture Success by William Mortensen. San Francisco: Camera
Craft Publishing Co., 1945 [originally published 1937]. (TOS-3) (TRP-3) MA: “Although ostensibly a manual for the
most enticing layout of photographic work, this small book was held by Anton LaVey to be among the most crucial
for an appreciation of the artistic and audio/visual principles employed in the early Church of Satan and Order of
the Trapezoid. It prescribes three elements for the CTL: impact, subject interest, and participation. It further
suggests four types of visual patterns which contribute to the CTL: the diagonal, the S-curve, triangular
combinations, and the dominant mass. In Runes #IV-3/May 1986 Stephen Flowers V°/GM reviews CTL in detail.
Its principles were invariably utilized in Anton LaVey’s own artwork [examples in #6M, #6N and Satanis: The
Devil’s Mass].” DW: “The connection between Mortensen and the ‘obscene angles’ of Frank Belknap Long & H.P.
Lovecraft was made in the short story ‘The Sorcerer’s Jewel’ by Tarleton Fiske (Robert Bloch) in Strange Stories
magazine (Feb 39). ‘Mortensen, of course, is the leading exponent of fantasy in photography; his studies of
monstrosities and grotesques are widely known.’ The story, one of the hidden roots of the Order of the Trapezoid, is
reprinted in Mysteries of the Worm by Robert Bloch (2nd Ed. 1993, Oakland: Chaosium - see #7J).”
20K. Fer-de-Lance: A Briefing on Soviet Scalar Electromagnetic Weapons by Thomas E. Bearden. Ventura:
Tesla Book Company, 1986. (TOS-4) (TRP-4) Bearden: “Scalar electromagnetics is an extension of present
electromagnetics (EM) to include gravitation. That is, it is a unified electrogravitation, and, what is more
important, it is a unified engineering theory. Its basis was initially discovered by Nikola Tesla. Western scientists
are familiar only with directed-energy weapons where fragments, masses, photons, or particles travel through space
and contact the target to deliver their effects. However it is possible to focus the potential for the effects of a
weapon through spacetime itself, in a manner so that mass and energy do not ‘travel through space’ from the
transmitter to the target at all. Instead ripples and patterns in the fabric of spacetime itself are manipulated to meet
and interfere in and at the local spacetime of some distant target.” MA: “This spiral-bound book can be ordered
directly from the TBC. Write to them at P.O. Box 1685, Ventura, CA 93002 for a current price list. Bearden is a
retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel with 29 years’ experience in air-defense systems. He holds a Master’s degree
in nuclear engineering, and is presently a senior scientist with a major aerospace company.”
20L. The Power of Maps by Denis Wood. NY: Guilford Press, 1992. (TOS-3) Patty Hardy IV°: “The science
and history of cartography illustrate all the subtlety involved in the objectification of experience: Beneath the cool,
compromises.”
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20M. Number Words and Number Symbols: A Cultural History of Numbers by Karl Menninger. NY: Dover,
1992. (TOS-3) Patty Hardy IV°: “Number is one of the most powerful tools humans apply to their experience, and
like language itself is often taken for granted. Cross-cultural and historical inquiry can hint at the strengths,
weaknesses, and limits of the tools we have inherited.”
20N. Keys to Infinity by Clifford A. Pickover. NY: John Wiley & Sons, 1995. (TOS-3) DW: “An introduction to
very large and infinite numbers, fractals, vampire numbers, leviathan numbers, and other mind-stretching ideas.
Chapter 6 is a discourse on the probable future history of computing, fractals, and the nature of Nepthys co-written
with myself. Clifford is an IBM Fellow at the T.J. Watson Research Center. For his computer graphics work he
received first prize in the 1990 Beauty of Physics Competition.”
20O. The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan. NY: Random House, 1996.
(TOS-3) Robert Moffatt IV°: “This is a spirited defense of the scientific method and skeptical thinking. The occult
world is the standing target for people wanting to sell bad thought for money. The Setian needs to be armed against
the forces of ignorance which pursue such exploitation. As Sagan remarks, ‘Those who have something to sell, those
who wish to influence public opinion, those in power, a skeptic might suggest, have a vested interest in discouraging
skepticism.’”
* * *
F20A. The Philadelphia Experiment. New World Pictures/Thorn Video #TVA-2547, 1984. Michael Pare,
Nancy Allen. Executive Producer: John Carpenter. MA: “No one was more surprised than I to see Hollywood pick up
the Philadelphia Experiment as the subject for a science-not-so-fiction movie. Though advertised and represented
as sci-fi, PE reeks with references to the actual (?) event, with the U.S.S. Eldridge correctly named and even a
spoken reference to ‘Project Rainbow’ - the reputed code name for the actual PE. Portrayals of the PE occur only at
the very beginning and very end of the film; in the middle is a purely dramatic-license romance to give the movie
something to take up 2 hours with. [Don’t waste time with Philadelphia Experiment II.]”
F20B. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. 1919. Werner Krauss, Conrad Veidt. MA: “The first and most famous of the
interwar German Expressionist films, containing highly-distorted representations of rooms, streets, and buildings.
The effect of these distorted sets upon the viewer is startling, illustrating the degree to which we depend upon our
instin
cts for normal/Euclidean geometry for our sense of order and mechanism in the cosmos.”
F20C. The Golem. 1920. Paul Wegener. MA: “Hans Poelzig, an Expressionist artist & architect who had
designed Berlin’s Grosses Schauspielhaus for Max Reinhardt in 1919, combined the non-Euclidean angles and
planes from Caligari with his own expertise in lighting to create sets that seemed to writhe and crawl with a life of
their own, so much so that the humans - and even the Golem - seem mere acessories to the more insidious drama of
the houses and streets of the Prague ghetto.”
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Category 21: The Future
Die Zukunft
as of February 26, 2003
An effective magician must be able to move within and influence the fourth dimension as well as
the first three. Such skill involves understanding and applying the principles which define and govern
past periods of focus within the time-continuum, together with both passive analysis and active
manipulation of the future. Time-Magic as employed by the Temple of Set may involve either Greater
Black Magic techniques [referred to as Erotic Crystallization Inertia (ECI) techniques by Anton LaVey;
see Runes #II-6] or Lesser Black Magic technology. The following selections include some of the more
sophisticated futurological thinking in conventional society - as well as a few experiments-gone-wrong
from The Outer Limits [“There is nothing wrong with your television set ...”]
21A. The Future by Gerald Leinwand (Ed.). NY: Pocket Books #671-80316-6-195, 1976. (TOS-2) MA: “An
anthology of selected readings concerning the future, selected by the Dean of the School of Education, City
University of New York. Included are articles and extracts by such futurologists as Asimov, Orwell, Huxley, Clarke,
Kahn, Reischauer, Toffler, and Skinner. Most of the contributions discuss developments of the near future which
can be interpolated more or less reliably, but there are some long-range speculative essays as well. A good
introductory work.”
21B. The Last Days by Anthony Hunter. London: Anthony Blond Ltd, 1958. (COS-3) AL: “A fairly scarce work
from England which explains the workings of the prophets of doom who prey upon their followers’ fears that the
world will end, tidal waves, earthquakes, etc.”
21C. Mankind at the Turning-Point by Mihajlo Mesarovic and Eduard Pestel. NY: E.P. Dutton & Co., 1974.
[Deutschland: Menschheit am Wendepunkt, Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart, 1974 (WU: 24/14815)] (TOS-3)
MA: “This is the second major book sponsored by the Club of Rome [the first being Meadows’ The Limits to
Growth]. It expands upon and updates the data in Limits and responds to critics. Far more sophisticated than the
sensationalist ‘doomsday’ books that sprang up following the appearance of Limits (which Raghavan Iyer, author of
#16F and a member of the Club of Rome himself, told me was deliberately sensationalized in order to ‘shock’ the
public - which of course it did).”
21D. War in 2080: The Future of Military Technology by David Langford. NY: William Morrow & Co., 1974.
[Deutschland: WU: B-39-249] (TOS-3) MA: “Langford is a physicist and science-fiction devotee [#7D], and he
applies his skills in both areas in this excellent work. Topics treated include fission & fusion bombs, concepts of
nuclear warfare, death rays (lasers, grasers [gamma-ray lasers], antimatter projectors, particle beams), orbital
battlegrounds, geological warfare, ecological warfare, and human & non-human warfare in space. A good theoretical
background study for #22N. For a specialized discussion of space warfare probabilities and possibilities, see also
Space Weapons/Space War by John W. Macvey (NY: Stein & Day, 1979.”
21E. The Next Ten Thousand Years by Adrian Berry. NY: Mentor Books, 1974. [Deutschland: Die grosse
Vision, Econ-Verlag, Düsseldorf, 1975] (TOS-3) MA: “This is definitely long-range! An optimistic challenge to the
‘doomsday’ books that followed Limits to Growth, and a scientific scenario for survival within the Solar System with
technological aid. Well-argued, with consideration given to the many influential factors. Nevertheless Berry seems
excessively confident in the ability of the masses of humanity to cooperate in egalitarian ‘master plans’.”
21F. Foundation/Foundation and Empire/Second Foundation by Isaac Asimov. NY: Avon Books, 1951.
[Deutschland: Das galaktische Imperium, Deutscher Bücherbund, Stuttgart, 1981 (WU: 31/11530)] (TOS-4) MA:
“Brilliant trilogy of the future, based upon Asimov’s concept of ‘psychohistory’. This concept and others introduced
in the text inspired certain aspects in the original design of the Temple of Set. In late 1982 Asimov published a
sequel to the original trilogy - Foundation’s Edge - which I reviewed in Scroll of Set #IX-3, which in turn was
commented upon by Asimov. The series was merged with Asimov’s robot series [cf. #15D] in Foundation and Earth
(NY: Doubleday, 1986), in which the ultimate justification for mankind’s galactic unification is considered to be the
eventual invasion of the Milky Way Galaxy by denizens from other galaxies. [Too late, Isaac - see #22N.]”
21G. Metropolis by Thea von Harbou. NY: Ace Books #441-52831-125, 1927. (TOS-5) MA: “An Expressionistic
portrait of a negative utopia in which humans are controlled by machines - save for one Black Magician (Rotwang).
The novel from which Fritz Lang’s classic UFA film was made, and the basis for many electronic/audio-visual ritual
techniques employed by the Church of Satan and further developed by the Temple of Set. A King in Yellow of
science-fiction, preserved today through the personal efforts of Forrest J Ackerman. To understand Metropolis in
the context of German Expressionist cinema, see The Haunted Screen by Lotte E. Eisner (Berkeley: University of
California Press, 1973). [See #F21A.]”
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21H. Political Science and the Study of the Future by Albert Somit. Hinsdale, Illinois: Dryden Press, 1974.
(TOS-3) MA: “This is a theoretical text with accompanying case studies, and it is primarily valuable for its
explanation and illustration of various social forecasting techniques, including: social physics (ideological theories,
logistics curves, Kondratieff cycles), economic forecasting, demographic extrapolation, technological change,
structural certainties, operational codes, operational systems, structural requisites, overriding problems, prime
movers, sequential development, accounting schemes, scenarios, and decision theory. Another good introductory
work without social science emphasis is Edward Cornish’s The Study of the Future (Washington, D.C.: World
Future Society, 1977).”
21I. Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology by K. Eric Drexler. NY: Anchor Books, 1986
(paperback 1987). (TOS-3) Patty Hardy IV°: “Nanotechnology is a fledgling field of engineering that involves
manipulation of matter on a molecule-by-molecule basis. This book is addressed to laymen, and ponders the limits
of human ability to transform the natural order. This is the science perfected by the Krel in Forbidden Planet.
Drexler’s analysis of possible responses to technologies of radical risk, ‘Strategies and Survival’, is worth skimming
even if one is not interested in nanotech itself. Setians with training in physics or chemistry may want to seek out
the published version of Drexler’s doctoral dissertation. Drexler is a graduate of MIT and a Visiting Scholar at
Stanford.”
21J. A Quick & Di
rty Guide to War by James F. Dunnigan & Austin Bay. NY: William Morrow, 1985+.
[Deutschland: WU: B-56-805] (TOS-3) MA: “This heavy-duty paperback is subtitled ‘Briefings on Present and
Potential Wars’, and that pretty well sums it up. As depressing as it is to admit, the world continues to move away
from international peace and cooperation and closer to a kind of ‘tolerable/continuous state of war’, and - by
geographic area - this book provides ‘intelligence briefings’ to tell you what is most likely to hit the fan where [if it
isn’t already doing so]. Regularly updated, so look for the latest edition. This project is an attempt by the authors to
overcome the short-sightedness of most press coverage, and to tell you about things before they happen. Jammed
with facts and data: political forecasting of the most substantive kind.”
21K. Futurehype by Max Dublin. NY: Penguin, 1989. (TOS-2) DW: “This book shows not only the short-
sightedness of prophecy but its use as a way of ruling institutions. Dublin charts the rise of futurologists and the
profound effect prophecy has on politics, business, education, the military, and the health-care system. The Setian
has learned not to follow the RHP religious prophet, but also needs to see how futurologists may similarly limit
social choices.”
* * *
F21A. Metropolis. UFA, 1926. (10-2030) Fritz Lang, director. (LVT-5) MA: “See discussion under #21G
above.” James Lewis VI°: “Lang’s silent film remains one of the early and best of those with a Black Magician.
Rotwang’s machinations are a King in Yellow of the cinema. Audiences then were not prepared for the world with
which Rotwang would have replaced their own. Already wages were insufficient for the needs and wants of most; the
thought of a robotic army able to take over the city of Metropolis was an unpleasant reminder of that which could
happen to themselves. The story ended with the defeat of Rotwang, and all through a chance happening, that of
Maria’s escape from his dark old house into the freedom of the city’s streets. Had she not made the escape, the
robotrix would have triumphed and it may be that its admirers would have rallied to save her from the angry mob of