[This was conceived as a parody / pastiche of Crowley's Rites of Eleusis. Only a small part was ever written. Follows.]
There are four principal officers, who are not to be named. To conceal their identities, they are referred to below as Alice, Noel, Zoe and Jack. Alice is dressed in white, Noel in grey, Zoe in black, Jack in a fragmented and clashing mixture of colours (assuming octarine dye to be unobtainable). There is also a doorkeeper.
Alice is addressed as "Most Unspeakable,"
Noel as "Warden of the Silver Key,"
Zoe as "Warden of the Trapezoid Stone,"
Jack as "Keeper of the Infernal Flame,"
and the doorkeeper as "Guardian of the Outer Gateways."
The Temple in darkness. Music--Holst's "Neptune," eventually faded into silence.A: (knocks)
N: (knocks)
Z: (knocks)
Spotlights up on A, N and Z.
A: Venerable Warden of the Silver Key, what is the hour?
N: Most Unspeakable,
Z: Most Unspeakable, it is the place where Yuggoth rolls alone in black æthyr at the rim.
A: Since it is so, let us celebrate the Rite of Yuggoth.
(pause)A: Guardian of the Outer Gateways, see that we are not disturbed.
D: Most Unspeakable, I can see that we are all already disturbed.
Spotlight up on J. J recites Lovecraft's "Nemesis."A: Keeper of the Infernal Flame, I direct you to banish the space-marks.
J: (conducts a simple version of Banishing Ritual of the Space Marks, making complete circuit of the room)
A: Venerable Wardens, to your duties.
N: Our duties, Most Unspeakable?
A: (gives the appearance of being asleep, and does not respond)
Z: Brother, do not disturb the rest of Most Unspeakable.
N: Who knows what dreams may haunt the sleep of Most Unspeakable?
Z: Should Most Unspeakable awake, the dream would then dissolve.
with naught thereof remembered, saving that a dream has been.
N: Yet what is there to fear from dissolution of a dream?
[At which point inspiration failed. The general idea is that in the final analysis, nothing happens, but it happens in a very verbose and pompous way, much of it in 14-syllable unrhymed iambics, and with several of the Fungi from Yuggoth sonnets thrown in.]
[A later fragment: A. still apparently asleep.]
N: . . . and pray you never meet me in my myriad other forms.
Z (blanks, looks confused, as if she's just heard the wrong cue).
N (slightly irritated): In my myriad other forms?
Z (picks up script from under her chair, if not reading from it anyway, and searches through as if looking for her cue. At this point all the officers drop out of character and the lines following are spoken in a normal conversational tone. J. cringes, head bowed, right hand covering face with fingers spread out.
Z (eventually): You missed a page.
N: What? (checks script as above).
Z., N. and J. leave their spots and huddle together comparing their scripts.
N: I didn't miss a page. The muppet who printed this (expletive) script missed a page.
J: Crap. Dunno how that happened. Sorry about this, guys.
N: Well, shall we just carry on before people get bored and leave?
Z: I think we should take a break.
A (sits up suddenly): Intermission!
House lights up. A vendor wanders in selling what he claims is crispy fried octopus; either one of the officers or an audience plant gets into an argument with the vendor, claiming that this is really taken from tentacled monstrosities from the outer void.
[desunt cetera]
There are four principal officers, who are not to be named. To conceal their identities, they are referred to below as Alice, Noel, Zoe and Jack. Alice is dressed in white, Noel in grey, Zoe in black, Jack in a fragmented and clashing mixture of colours (assuming octarine dye to be unobtainable). There is also a doorkeeper.
Alice is addressed as "Most Unspeakable,"
Noel as "Warden of the Silver Key,"
Zoe as "Warden of the Trapezoid Stone,"
Jack as "Keeper of the Infernal Flame,"
and the doorkeeper as "Guardian of the Outer Gateways."
The Temple in darkness. Music--Holst's "Neptune," eventually faded into silence.A: (knocks)
N: (knocks)
Z: (knocks)
Spotlights up on A, N and Z.
A: Venerable Warden of the Silver Key, what is the hour?
N: Most Unspeakable,
It is the hour when moonstruck poets knowA: Venerable Warden of the Trapezoid Stone, what is the place?
What fungi sprout in Yuggoth, and what scents
And tints of flowers fill Nithon's continents
Such as in no poor earthly garden blow.
Z: Most Unspeakable, it is the place where Yuggoth rolls alone in black æthyr at the rim.
A: Since it is so, let us celebrate the Rite of Yuggoth.
(pause)A: Guardian of the Outer Gateways, see that we are not disturbed.
D: Most Unspeakable, I can see that we are all already disturbed.
Spotlight up on J. J recites Lovecraft's "Nemesis."A: Keeper of the Infernal Flame, I direct you to banish the space-marks.
J: (conducts a simple version of Banishing Ritual of the Space Marks, making complete circuit of the room)
A: Venerable Wardens, to your duties.
N: Our duties, Most Unspeakable?
A: (gives the appearance of being asleep, and does not respond)
Z: Brother, do not disturb the rest of Most Unspeakable.
N: Who knows what dreams may haunt the sleep of Most Unspeakable?
Z: Should Most Unspeakable awake, the dream would then dissolve.
with naught thereof remembered, saving that a dream has been.
N: Yet what is there to fear from dissolution of a dream?
[At which point inspiration failed. The general idea is that in the final analysis, nothing happens, but it happens in a very verbose and pompous way, much of it in 14-syllable unrhymed iambics, and with several of the Fungi from Yuggoth sonnets thrown in.]
[A later fragment: A. still apparently asleep.]
N: . . . and pray you never meet me in my myriad other forms.
Z (blanks, looks confused, as if she's just heard the wrong cue).
N (slightly irritated): In my myriad other forms?
Z (picks up script from under her chair, if not reading from it anyway, and searches through as if looking for her cue. At this point all the officers drop out of character and the lines following are spoken in a normal conversational tone. J. cringes, head bowed, right hand covering face with fingers spread out.
Z (eventually): You missed a page.
N: What? (checks script as above).
Z., N. and J. leave their spots and huddle together comparing their scripts.
N: I didn't miss a page. The muppet who printed this (expletive) script missed a page.
J: Crap. Dunno how that happened. Sorry about this, guys.
N: Well, shall we just carry on before people get bored and leave?
Z: I think we should take a break.
A (sits up suddenly): Intermission!
House lights up. A vendor wanders in selling what he claims is crispy fried octopus; either one of the officers or an audience plant gets into an argument with the vendor, claiming that this is really taken from tentacled monstrosities from the outer void.
[desunt cetera]
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