Orrery
The orrery in Moonglow is a mechanical device designed to track the movements of the planets and moons in the Britannian planetary system. It appears in Ultima VII.
Description[edit]
It is unknown when the orrery was constructed, save that it was built in the two centuries following the Gargoyle War – possibly in conjunction with the reconstruction of the long absent Britannian Observatory soon after the conflict's end. Its architects are unknown, although the magician Ephemerides and the clockmaker Troy had both discussed constructing a similar machine during the time of the Avatar's quest to end the Gargish invasion.[1][2] By the time of the Avatar's quest to destroy the Black Gate, the completed orrery helped observers to calculate the impending conjunction of the planets in an astronomical alignment – a mystic event which the forces of the Guardian hoped to exploit that they might launch the red titan's invasion into the realm.
The orrery follows a geocentric theory of planetary movement, which eventually gave way in Britannian scientific consensus to a heliocentric theory by the late Age of Armageddon. Ultimately, however, the exact nature of the star system was never conclusively established, and it is unknown which of these competing views best described the behavior of this world's motions.
Lore[edit]
| “ | Phearcy had nothing more useful to say. However, he did offer to give me a free meal if I could tell him why Zelda brightens up when someone mentions Brion, the man in charge of the observatory. In fact, Brion is someone with whom thou shouldst speak, for his orrery is currently tracking the pattern of Britannia's alignment with other celestial bodies. – from Key to the Black Gate (Ultima VII)
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Trivia[edit]
- In Ultima VII, the Avatar may obtain an orrery viewer to observe the orrery from afar, so as to track the time remaining until the alignment of the planets.[3]
- The orrery does change constellations whenever one of the generators is destroyed.
- At least one of the states in which the orrery can be found is wrong. Humility is the outermost planet. However, in one constellation, it is Spirituality, which is not correct.
- To actually enter the orrery building, one needs the spell Telekinesis to flip the otherwise unreachable switch that lowers the drawbridge.
References[edit]
- ↑ Ephemerides. EtherealSoftware. Ultima VI. "moons, stars".
- ↑ Troy. EtherealSoftware. Ultima VI. "Felucca, moons, Sosaria, Trammel".
- ↑ Brion. Underworld Dragon’s Ultima VII transcript. Ultima VII. "crystals, have crystal, want crystal".