AtDDtA(15): Imum Coeli

[Dave Monroe]

   "At Candlebrow U., the crew of the Inconvenience would find exactly
the mixture of nostalgia and amnesia to provide them with a reasonable
counterfeit of the Timeless.  Appropriately, perhaps, it would also be
here that they would make the fatal discovery which would bring them,
inexorable as the Zodiac's wheel, to their Imum Coeli." (AtD, Pt. II,
p. 406)


"nostalgia and amnesia"

Main Entry: nos·tal·gia
Pronunciation: nä-'stal-j&, n&- also no-, nO-; n&-'stäl-
Function: noun
Etymology: New Latin, from Greek nostos return home + New Latin
-algia; akin to Greek neisthai to return, Old English genesan to
survive, Sanskrit nasate he approaches
1 : the state of being homesick : HOMESICKNESS
2 : a wistful or excessively sentimental yearning for return to or of
some past period or irrecoverable condition; also : something that
evokes nostalgia

Main Entry: am·ne·sia
Pronunciation: am-'nE-zh&
Function: noun
Etymology: New Latin, from Greek amnEsia forgetfulness, alteration of amnEstia
1 : loss of memory due usually to brain injury, shock, fatigue,
repression, or illness
2 : a gap in one's memory
3 : the selective overlooking or ignoring of events or acts that are
not favorable or useful to one's purpose or position

Main Entry: time·less
Pronunciation: 'tIm-l&s
Function: adjective
1 archaic : PREMATURE, UNTIMELY
2 a : having no beginning or end : ETERNAL b : not restricted to a
particular time or date <the timeless themes of love, solitude, joy,
and nature -- Writer>
3 : not affected by time : AGELESS

Main Entry: in·ex·o·ra·ble
Pronunciation: (")i-'neks-r&-b&l, -'nek-s&-, -'neg-z&-r&-
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin inexorabilis, from in- + exorabilis pliant, from
exorare to prevail upon, from ex- + orare to speak -- more at ORATION
: not to be persuaded, moved, or stopped : RELENTLESS <inexorable progress>

Main Entry: ora·tion
Pronunciation: &-'rA-sh&n, o-
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin oration-, oratio speech, oration, from orare to
plead, speak, pray; akin to Hittite ariya- to consult an oracle and
perhaps to Greek ara prayer
: an elaborate discourse delivered in a formal and dignified manner

Main Entry: fa·tal
Pronunciation: 'fA-t&l
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Latin fatalis, from fatum fate
1 obsolete : FATED
2 : FATEFUL <a fatal hour>
3 a : of or relating to fate b : resembling fate in proceeding
according to a fixed sequence c : determining one's fate
4 a : causing death b : bringing ruin <a fatal attraction to gambling>
c : causing failure <a fatal design flaw>

http://m-w.com/dictionary/


"the Zodiac's  wheel"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zodiac


Imum Coeli

406; In astrology, the Imum Coeli (Latin for "bottom of the sky"), IC,
is the point in space where the ecliptic crosses the meridian in the
north, exactly opposite the Midheaven. It is said to refer to our
roots and also to the least conscious part of ourselves. It symbolizes
foundations, beginnings in life, what may have been experienced
through parental inheritance and homeland influences, need for
security and relationships with the home and family life;

http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=I

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imum_Coeli

Situated on the cusp of the Fourth House (6 o'clock position), the
House of Home and Family, the Imum Coeli (or I.C. for short) is the
point of the Zodiac at which issues of security and foundation
converge. The Sign that rests at the Imum Coeli in your astrological
chart, then, reflects your approach to attaining security. If planets
come near this angle in an astrological chart, efforts of those
planets are concentrated on sustenance and comfort. A very private
point in a chart, the efforts made on behalf of the planets near the
I.C. may be unfairly ignored. For example, if the Moon falls near the
I.C. in someone's chart, they seek emotional connections through their
family relationships.

http://www.astrology.com/aboutastrology/interpreting/angles/ic.html

"counterfeit of the Timeless"

Thematic. Whole sentence seems the sharpest indictment of  'the
Academy' as exemplified by Candlebrow U.

"fatal discovery"

Note the contrast with "fateful discovery" on p.398.

http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=ATD_397-428#Page_406

"'The Big Boys'll rubber-stamp it as usual, and maybe help us to find
out what they don't want us to know.'  He would recall these words in
days to come with a certain bitterness, the little band by then having
embarked on a journey of fateful discovery which each in his own way
would come to wish he had not set out upon." (AtD, Pt. II, p. 398)


What "fatal discovery" DO they make, and why does it "bring them ...
to their Imum Coeli"?  Why is this "inexorable" (noting perhaps
etymological link to "oracle")?    What do "nostalgia and amnesia ...
provide them with"?  Is there a homecoming here?  A "selective
overlooking or ignoring of events or acts that are not favorable or
useful to one's purpose or position"?  And note "Timeless" vs. all the
"time travel" here as well ...