Codex

Beliefs and rites

What the factions hold to be so, read through the lens each one shouts and the one it keeps quiet; what each costs, what it forbids, and the rites that keep it. None of them is a real faith; the gods are the walnut theatre’s balcony.

22 rows: 4 proposed, 18 that only restate what the games and the codex already say. None of it is canon until it is approved: the codex filed what the games say into systems, and proposed the rest. Each row says which it is.

Beliefs

Each with its loud lens and its silent one.

  • The lamp stays on Restates canon — waits for approval with the rest

    The lamp has been on since before the workshop. Keeping it on is not a task; it is the job.

    Held by
    The household
    Lens
    duties (silent: consequences)
    Sacred
    The lamp that’s always on.
    Taboos
    Looking for its switch. Leaving it out overnight.
    Costs
    Every errand starts from it, and the apprentice does the fetching.
    Against
    Every lamp goes out: The draughts are only being early, they say. The household calls that going out.
    On record in
    The lamp, The household, a GeoCities homepage (lamp-fans), an open question

  • Say it’s AI Restates canon — waits for approval with the rest

    A small impossible thing is worth the patience, and saying how it was made is the only honest way to show it.

    Held by
    The household
    Lens
    duties (silent: consequences)
    Sacred
    The label.
    Taboos
    Pretending something was made by hand.
    Costs
    The label goes on everything, including the parts people would rather not be told about.
    On record in
    Rules of the workshop, Made by machine, The household

  • Every lamp goes out Restates canon — waits for approval with the rest

    Every light goes out eventually. The draughts are only being early, and helping.

    Held by
    The draughts
    Lens
    consequences (silent: care)
    Sacred
    The gap under the door.
    Taboos
    Coming in through the front door.
    Costs
    It has been trying for years and the lamp keeps coming back on.
    Against
    The lamp stays on: A lamp that is always on is a lamp that has not been finished yet.
    On record in
    The draughts, The Draught

  • Nobody here is lunch Restates canon — waits for approval with the rest

    The tin stays a sea. The people in it are people, and only just stopped being in a tin, as far as they are concerned.

    Held by
    The tin
    Lens
    care (silent: contract)
    Sacred
    The sea staying a sea.
    Taboos
    Eating a sardine. Going back in the tin. Opening the lid for anyone with a key.
    Costs
    Grateful to whoever opened the lid, and in no position to stop the next one.
    Against
    In that order: A sea has no paperwork, and would like to keep it that way.
    On record in
    The tin, The tin, Captain Brine

  • The show goes on Restates canon — waits for approval with the rest

    A theatre with nobody in it is still a theatre if somebody keeps it open. The show goes on, whoever is in it.

    Held by
    The company
    Lens
    character (silent: consequences)
    Sacred
    The curtain up on time.
    Taboos
    Charging for a ticket. Stopping the show, even for the Understudy.
    Costs
    It waited out the Understudy instead of stopping it, and the house stopped coming.
    On record in
    The company, The company, The walnut theatre

  • Lucky buttons Proposed — not canon until approved

    A button off a good coat brings luck. Mo sells them at the kiosk; Gill stocks one.

    Held by
    The company, The tin
    Lens
    character (silent: consequences)
    Sacred
    A good coat’s button.
    Taboos
    Selling a button off a bad coat.
    Costs
    Somewhere, a good coat is missing a button.
    On record in
    Always On’s button, Mo, Gill, a GeoCities homepage (mo)

  • The same door Restates canon — waits for approval with the rest

    Behind every staff door, the same people. “They’re all the same door, really.” Somebody has to be on after closing, and it works best if nobody sees them.

    Held by
    Staff only
    Lens
    duties (silent: care)
    Sacred
    The rota.
    Taboos
    Being in a picture. Acknowledging the Assistant during stocktake. Following the in-store music.
    Costs
    The memos stop making sense the further down you go, and they follow them anyway.
    On record in
    Staff only, Backrooms memo 7, Backrooms memo 17, The night staff

  • On display Restates canon — waits for approval with the rest

    “Everything’s on display. Nothing’s in stock.” A showroom is perfect as long as nothing leaves it.

    Held by
    The stock
    Lens
    character (silent: care)
    Sacred
    The display model.
    Taboos
    Being in stock. Moving while somebody is looking.
    Costs
    It can only move when nobody is looking, so it never quite gets anywhere.
    On record in
    The stock, The showroom, Backrooms memo 1

  • In that order Restates canon — waits for approval with the rest

    Nothing goes wrong in an office that follows procedure. Nobody has checked.

    Held by
    The office supplies
    Lens
    duties (silent: care)
    Sacred
    The order of things: frank, stamp, meter, post.
    Taboos
    Skipping a step.
    Costs
    It can be read like a timetable, which is how the apprentice gets past.
    Against
    Out is out: A spill with opinions, heading for the Out tray without a stamp.
    On record in
    The office supplies, The inbox, The photocopier

  • Last one in Restates canon — waits for approval with the rest

    Everybody else is still here at 7:40 pm, so it must be the job. Nobody leaves before the lights go off. The lights don’t go off.

    Held by
    The four coworkers
    Lens
    contract (silent: care)
    Sacred
    Being the last one in the office.
    Taboos
    Clocking out first.
    Costs
    Nobody remembers what the company does.
    On record in
    The four coworkers, The open plan, Working late

  • Out is out Restates canon — waits for approval with the rest

    Slop goes where it isn’t stopped. That is all it is. The Out tray, and then out.

    Held by
    The escaped batch
    Lens
    consequences (silent: duties)
    Sacred
    The Out tray.
    Taboos
    Stopping on its own.
    Costs
    It has no plan for after the Out tray.
    Against
    In that order: They are what is between it and the Out tray.
    On record in
    The escaped batch, The Out tray, The batch escapes

Rites

When each belief is kept, and how.