A reader's companion

House of Leaves

Mark Z. Danielewski, 2000 — Chapter XVI

Chapter XVI (pp. 370–383) — no spoilers past page 383
← Chapter XVAll chaptersChapter XVII →

I. Facts and samples (pp. 370–377)

A numbered table of facts, the lab analysis of the wall samples, and pages blacked out by spilled ink.

370

proposition noun

A statement that can be true or false.

In the book
1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 XVI When mathematical propositions refer to reality they are not certain; when they are certain, they do not refer to reality.
370

Albert Einstein (epigraph)

real

Einstein (1879–1955), the physicist of relativity. The line comes from his 1921 lecture “Geometry and Experience”: mathematics is certain only when it does not describe reality.

It opens a chapter that tries to describe the house with facts and numbers.

In the book
1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 XVI When mathematical propositions refer to reality they are not certain; when they are certain, they do not refer to reality. — Albert Einstein Up until now The Navidson Record has focused principally on the effects the house has had on others: how Holloway became murderous and suicidal, Tom drank himself into oblivion, Reston lost his mobility, Sheriff …
370–371

The table of “incontrovertible facts”

invented

Zampanò numbers the facts like a scientific report (1.0 No light … 11.2 Only one body was recovered). The Roman numerals on the right tell which of the explorations showed each fact.

The dry list sums up the whole house so far, from the silence to the deaths.

In the book
Examined then from as objective a point of view as possible the house offers these incontrovertible facts: No light.
370

incontrovertible adjective

Impossible to deny or argue against.

In the book
Examined then from as objective a point of view as possible the house offers these incontrovertible facts: No light.
370

altimeter noun

An instrument that measures height above sea level.

In the book
Compasses do not function there. vil 6.1 Nor do altimeters.
370

ashen adjective

Grey like ash.

In the book
Vil-XI Walls are uniformly black with a slightly 1, IV-XIl ‘ashen’ hue.
371

metamorphosis noun

A complete change of form.

In the book
9.2 Some have suggested the dull roar or Vl ‘growl’ is caused by these metamorphoses.
371

purge verb

Clear out completely; get rid of.

In the book
V-XIII 10.0 The place will purge itself of all things, IX-XIl including any item left behind.
371

boric acid noun

A weak acid used in labs and as an antiseptic.

In the book
In lush colour, Navidson captures those time-honored representations of science: test tubes bubbling with boric acid, reams of computer paper bearing the black-ink weight of analysis, electron microscopes resurrecting universes out of dust, and mass-spectrometers with retractable Faradays and stationary Balzers humming in some dim approximation of life.
371

ream noun

500 sheets of paper; “reams” means a very large amount.

In the book
In lush colour, Navidson captures those time-honored representations of science: test tubes bubbling with boric acid, reams of computer paper bearing the black-ink weight of analysis, electron microscopes resurrecting universes out of dust, and mass-spectrometers with retractable Faradays and stationary Balzers humming in some dim approximation of life.
371

Lab equipment: electron microscopes, mass spectrometers, Faradays and Balzers

real

A mass spectrometer sorts atoms by weight to find what a sample contains; a Faraday cup is its detector, and Balzers was a Liechtenstein maker of vacuum equipment. The images show science as clean and certain.

In the book
In lush colour, Navidson captures those time-honored representations of science: test tubes bubbling with boric acid, reams of computer paper bearing the black-ink weight of analysis, electron microscopes resurrecting universes out of dust, and mass-spectrometers with retractable Faradays and stationary Balzers humming in some dim approximation of life.
371

mass-spectrometer noun

An instrument that sorts atoms by their mass to find what a sample contains.

In the book
In lush colour, Navidson captures those time-honored representations of science: test tubes bubbling with boric acid, reams of computer paper bearing the black-ink weight of analysis, electron microscopes resurrecting universes out of dust, and mass-spectrometers with retractable Faradays and stationary Balzers humming in some dim approximation of life.
371

Krups, Oasis, Homer Simpson and his brother Herbert, a Garfield mug

real

Everyday details of the lab lounge: a Krups coffee maker, a poster of the British band Oasis, The Simpsons on TV (Homer's half-brother Herb appears in two episodes of 1991–92), and a mug of the cartoon cat Garfield. They make the lab feel human.

In the book
Still in order to make sure all this apparatus does not come across as too sterile, Navidson also includes shots of the life-support system: a Krups coffee maker hissing and bubbling, an Oasis poster taped to the vending machine, Homer Simpson on the lounge TV saying something to his brother Herbert.
371–372, 378

Dr. Mel O'Geery, petrologist at Princeton

invented

An invented geologist who studies rocks (petrology) and analyses all the samples, from A near the door to XXXX from the bottom of the stairs. His report is precise, but he finds only “a nice range”.

In the book
As a favor to Reston, petrologist Mel O’Geery, up at the Princeton geology department, has agreed to donate his spare time and oversee the examination of all the wall samples.
371

petrologist noun

A scientist who studies rocks and how they form.

In the book
As a favor to Reston, petrologist Mel O’Geery, up at the Princeton geology department, has agreed to donate his spare time and oversee the examination of all the wall samples.
372

igneous adjective

Formed from cooled molten rock (magma or lava).

In the book
“What we have here is a nice banquet of igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic samples, some granular, possibly gabbro and pyroxenite, some with much less grain, possibly trachite or andesite.
372

sedimentary adjective

Formed from layers of sediment pressed into rock.

In the book
“What we have here is a nice banquet of igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic samples, some granular, possibly gabbro and pyroxenite, some with much less grain, possibly trachite or andesite.
372

metamorphic adjective

Changed from an older rock by heat and pressure.

In the book
“What we have here is a nice banquet of igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic samples, some granular, possibly gabbro and pyroxenite, some with much less grain, possibly trachite or andesite.
372

The rocks: gabbro, pyroxenite, trachyte, andesite, limestone, marl, amphibolite, marble, siderites, aerolites

real geology

Real rock types. Gabbro, pyroxenite, trachyte and andesite are igneous (from molten rock); limestone and marl are sedimentary; amphibolite and marble are metamorphic. Siderites and aerolites are old names for iron and stony meteorites. See the glossary.

In the book
“What we have here is a nice banquet of igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic samples, some granular, possibly gabbro and pyroxenite, some with much less grain, possibly trachite or andesite.
372

gabbro noun (geology)

A dark, coarse-grained igneous rock.

In the book
“What we have here is a nice banquet of igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic samples, some granular, possibly gabbro and pyroxenite, some with much less grain, possibly trachite or andesite.
372

pyroxenite noun (geology)

A coarse igneous rock made mostly of pyroxene minerals.

In the book
“What we have here is a nice banquet of igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic samples, some granular, possibly gabbro and pyroxenite, some with much less grain, possibly trachite or andesite.
372

trachyte; andesite nouns (geology)

Fine-grained volcanic rocks.

In the book
“What we have here is a nice banquet of igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic samples, some granular, possibly gabbro and pyroxenite, some with much less grain, possibly trachite or andesite.
372

marl noun (geology)

A soft rock or earth of clay mixed with lime.

In the book
The sedimentary group is fairly small, samples F through K, mainly limestone and marl.
372

amphibolite noun (geology)

A dark metamorphic rock rich in amphibole minerals.

In the book
The metamorphic group predominates with traces of amphibolite and marble.
372

siderite; aerolite nouns

Old names for an iron meteorite and a stony meteorite.

In the book
But this group here, it’s composed primarily of siderites, which is to say heavy in iron, though you also have aerolites rich in silicon and magnesium oxides.”
372–376

“[2 pages missing]” and the pages of Xs

invented

Pages of solid Xs with a few words showing through: “techniques”, “nucleosynthesis”, “volcan…”, “metamor…”, “abeced…”, “(spoken language versus the lang…”, “geo…”. Only the footnotes survive in full.

In the book
But this group here, it’s composed primarily of siderites, which is to say heavy in iron, though you also have aerolites rich in silicon and magnesium oxides.” [2 pages missing] Oe ee 337The actual sum is never made clear in the film.
372 fn 337

Tena Leeson, “The High Cost of Dating”, Radiogram

invented

An invented article about what Navidson paid for the tests. The title puns on “dating” (romance, and radiometric dating of rocks).

In the book
… siderites, which is to say heavy in iron, though you also have aerolites rich in silicon and magnesium oxides.” [2 pages missing] Oe ee 337The actual sum is never made clear in the film. Tena Leeson estimates Navidson's contributions were anywhere from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand.
373 fn 338–339

Radiometric dating and Table 1 of half-lives

real

Real science: radioactive “parent” isotopes decay into “daughter” isotopes at a fixed rate (the half-life), so their ratio shows a rock's age. Carbon-14 works for thousands of years; rubidium-strontium and uranium-lead for billions. One half-life in the table is blacked out.

In the book
inexpensive undertaking, and while the university has agreed to fund most of it, apparently Navidson also had to throw in a fair amount himself.397 Setting out all the sample bottles on a long table, Dr.
373 fn 339

isotope noun

A form of an element with a different number of neutrons.

In the book
… a few hundred years to 50,000 years ago), potassium-argon (for dates ranging from 100,000 years to 4.5 x 10° years ago), rubidium-strontium (from 5 x 10’ to about 4.5 x 10° years ago), lead isotopes (from 108 to 4.5 x 10° years ago) as well as fissiontracks (a few million to a few hundred million years ago) and thermoluminescence dating (used to date clay ttery).
373 fn 338

thermoluminescence noun

Light given off by a heated mineral; used to date pottery.

In the book
… x 10’ to about 4.5 x 10° years ago), lead isotopes (from 108 to 4.5 x 10° years ago) as well as fissiontracks (a few million to a few hundred million years ago) and thermoluminescence dating (used to date clay ttery).
373 fn 339

half-life noun

The time for half of a radioactive substance to decay.

In the book
39Table 1: Parent Isotope Daughter Isotope Half-life Carbon-14 Nitrogen-14 5730 Potassium-40 Argon-40 XXXXX Rubidium-87 Strontium-87 4.88 x 10!° Samarium-147 Neodymium-143 1.06 x 10!!
373 fn 340–341

The Big Bang, “infinite destiny”

real

The Big Bang is the start of the universe from a state of infinite density about 13–20 billion years ago (the 1990s estimate). A footnote corrects the typo “destiny” to “density”; the slip is a small joke about fate.

In the book
… 3.5 x 1010 Thorium-232 Lead-208 1.4 x 10!0 Uranium-235 Lead-207 7.04 x 108 Uranium-238 Lead-206 4.47 x 10° 340Scientists estimate the universe unfolded from its state of infinite destiny*4!—a moment commonly referred to as “the big bang” —approximately 1.3-2 x 10!”
373 fn 338

radiometric dating noun

Finding the age of a material from the decay of the radioactive atoms in it.

374 fn 342

micrometeorite noun

A very small particle from space that reaches the Earth.

In the book
With a few exceptions, most meteors are younger. Micrometeorites, however, with high levels of deuterium, suggest evidence of interstellar material predating our solar system.
374 fn 342

interstellar adjective

From the space between the stars.

In the book
Micrometeorites, however, with high levels of deuterium, suggest evidence of interstellar material predating our solar system.
374 fn 342

The age of the Earth; Tera; Mackinnon and Rietmeijer

mixed

The Earth is about 4.5 billion years old. Fouad Tera's 1981 paper on galena lead and Mackinnon and Rietmeijer's 1987 study of interplanetary dust are real science. Deuterium-rich dust can come from before the solar system.

In the book
See F. Tera, “Congruency of comformable galenas: Age of the Earth” /2th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, 1981, p.
374 fn 342

Bebblestein and Polinger; Particle Exam; DESY, HERMES, HERA

real labs, invented scientists

DESY is a real particle physics lab in Hamburg, and its name is pronounced “Daisy”, like Navidson's daughter. HERA was its electron-proton collider and HERMES an experiment on nucleon spin. The two scientists and the book are invented.

In the book
See also those particle age-related studies carried out by Klaus Bebblestein and Gunter Polinger, published in Physics Today, v.48, September 1995, p.
374 fn 342

“Wave Origin Reflection Data Series”, the VEM™ Corporation

invented

An invented theory and company. The initials of the series spell W-O-R-D-S, a hidden joke in a footnote about data.

In the book
Bebblestein and Polinger have also written extensively on the recent though highly speculative claim that accurate algorithms must now exist which are in keeping with Wave Origin Reflection Data Series as currently set forth by the VEM™ Corporation.
374 fn 343

Berkeley Geochronology Center; Paul Renne

real

A real research institute that dates rocks, and its director, the geologist Paul Renne. The citation points to a real 1994 issue of Science.

In the book
343(BGC) Berkeley Geochronology Center.
374 fn 344

Canyon Diablo meteor crater, Arizona

real

Meteor Crater near Canyon Diablo was made by an iron meteorite about 50,000 years ago; it is about 1.2 km wide and 170 m deep.

In the book
34One must not forget the crater created by a meteor in the Arizona desert 50,000 years ago; Canyon Diablo with a diameter of 1207 meters and a depth of 174 meters, 345Internal isochron measurements of Rb-Sr ages have shown the Norton County meteorite in the Aubrite group …
374 fn 345

isochron noun

A graph line used in radiometric dating to find a rock's age.

In the book
34One must not forget the crater created by a meteor in the Arizona desert 50,000 years ago; Canyon Diablo with a diameter of 1207 meters and a depth of 174 meters, 345Internal isochron measurements of Rb-Sr ages have shown the Norton County meteorite in the Aubrite group to have an age of 4.70 £0.13 Ga (1 Ga= 10° years).
374 fn 345

Norton County and Krähenberg meteorites; D. W. Sears; Bailey Reims

mixed

Norton County (an aubrite that fell in Kansas in 1948) and Krähenberg are real meteorites. Derek Sears's The Nature and Origin of Meteorites (1978) is real; Bailey Reims's book seems invented. The note says some samples may be older than the Earth.

In the book
… created by a meteor in the Arizona desert 50,000 years ago; Canyon Diablo with a diameter of 1207 meters and a depth of 174 meters, 345Internal isochron measurements of Rb-Sr ages have shown the Norton County meteorite in the Aubrite group to have an age of 4.70 £0.13 Ga (1 Ga= 10° years).
375 fn 346

Robert T. Dodd, Meteorites: A Petrologic-Chemical Synthesis

real

A real 1981 textbook. The quote defines “formation age” and “metamorphic age” and cites real work: Clair Patterson (1956) dated the Earth and meteorites to 4.55 billion years, and Papanastassiou and Wasserburg (1969) dated early meteorite history.

In the book
Dodd, Meteorites: A Petrologic-Chemical Synthesis (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981).
375 fn 346

chondrite noun

A common type of stony meteorite with small round grains (chondrules).

In the book
Dodd also explains on page 161: “A chondrite’s first isotopic equilibration is usually called its formation.
375 fn 346

accretion noun

Growth by the slow gathering of material.

In the book
What parts of this brief high-temperature history were occupied by chondrule formation, accretion, and metamorphism has been and remains unclear, for it is not always easy to tell which stage a articular isotopic system records.”
375 fn 347

Meteoritics, the Meteoritical Society

real

A real scientific journal. The footnote copies its long subtitle and the full list of editors, a joke on academic citation.

In the book
447 Meteoritics: Asteroids, Comets, Craters, Interplanetary Dust, Interstellar Medium Lunar Samples, Meteors, Meteorites, Natural Satellites, Planets, Tektites Origin and History of the Solar System, Derek W.
376 fn 349

The Editors: seventeen pages vanished

invented

The footnote stops mid-sentence in a line of dots. The Editors say the rest, and seventeen more pages, are missing from Johnny's manuscript.

In the book
… map, which though simple, nevertheless still BHOWS: THAC Wn eee este ee By areue ete Sa! efarasa dude at aGararasetésiereth, wor are, nile ere wa 8 Inexplicably, the remainder of this footnote along with seventeen more pages of text vanished from the manuscript supplied by Mr.
376 fn 350

Johnny: a bottle of German ink, “4001 brillant-schwarz”

real product

Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black is a real German fountain-pen ink. Johnny admits the Xs are his fault: a cracked bottle he put on the pile soaked through about forty pages. The footnotes survived on green index cards.

In the book
On top of this particular chapter I stupidly placed a bottle of German ink, 4001 brillant-schwarz or something.
376 fn 350

hairline crack noun

A very thin crack.

In the book
Anyway, there must have been a hairline crack in the glass because all of the ink eventually tunneled down through the paper, wiping out almost forty pages, not to mention seeping into the carpet below where it spread into a massive black …
377

A blank page

invented

Page 377 is empty. The main text starts again in the middle of the scene.

II. Results and Johnny (pp. 378–383)

O'Geery's result, what critics make of it, Johnny's fears about his own mind, and a short glossary.

378

mull over phrasal verb

Think about something carefully.

In the book
O’Geery mulls this over, takes another sip of his coffee, eyes the samples again, and then finally shrugs,“Not much really, though you’ve got yourself a nice range here.”
378

Rubidium-87 / strontium-87; deuterium; “meteoric”

real

O'Geery's method is real: rubidium-strontium dating gives ages of billions of years. The samples form a timeline, from a few thousand years old near the door to older than the solar system at the bottom.

In the book
“In my opinion Rubidium-87/strontium-87 is the best dating method we have, yielding formation ages anywhere from 4.4 to 4.7 billion years old.
378

Gillian Fedette at “The Radon Conference in St. Paul, Minneapolis”

invented

An invented critic and conference. St. Paul and Minneapolis are really two separate “twin cities” in Minnesota. She says the samples remain “obdurate and lifeless”.

In the book
Paul, Minneapolis: “Not surprisingly, despite [O’Geery’s] analysis, the samples continue to remain obdurate and lifeless.”
378

obdurate adjective

Stubborn; refusing to change.

In the book
Paul, Minneapolis: “Not surprisingly, despite [O’Geery’s] analysis, the samples continue to remain obdurate and lifeless.”
378

“Antarctica?”

real

Most meteorites found on Earth are collected on the Antarctic ice, where dark stones are easy to see. O'Geery's question is a natural guess for a set of meteoric samples.

In the book
O’Geery asks. “ Antarctica?” Primarily thanks to O’Geery’s conclusions, some fanatics of The Navidson Record assert that the presence of extremely old chondrites definitively proves extra-terrestrial forces constructed the house.
378 fn 352

Justin Krape, Pale Micturitions

invented

An invented book; “micturition” is a medical word for urinating, so the title is a rude joke. Krape blames both theories on schizophrenia.

In the book
Others, however, claim the samples only support the idea that the house on Ash Tree Lane is a self-created portal into some other dimension.*5!_ As Justin Krape dryly remarked: “Both arguments are probably best attributed to the persistent presence of schizophrenia plaguing the human race.”352 Keener intellects, however, now regard scientific conjecture concerning the house as just another dead end.
378 fn 351

Blair Keepling, A Lexicon of Improbable Theories; the Hollow Earth

invented book, real theories

The book (Niflheim Press, named after the Norse world of mist and cold) is invented. The Hollow Earth idea is real: John Cleves Symmes Jr. argued in the 1810s–20s that the Earth is hollow; Raymond Bernard's The Hollow Earth (1964) and Norma Cox's Kingdoms Within Earth (1985) are real books.

Zampanò notes that Tom's dropped quarter fell farther than the Earth's radius, so even a hollow Earth cannot explain the house.

In the book
It would seem the language of 3514 Lexicon of Improbable Theories, Blair Keepling, ed.
378 fn 351

ratiocination noun

Reasoning step by step (often used with irony).

In the book
Tracing this implausible theory from the wobbly ratiocinations of John Cleaves Symmes (1779-1829) through Raymond Bernard’s The Hollow Earth:The Greatest Geographical Discovery in History (1964) to Norma Cox’s self-published pro-Nazi piece Kingdoms Within Earth (1985), Keepling reveals yet another bizarre subculture thriving …
378 fn 352

micturition noun (medical)

Urination.

In the book
352Justin Krape’s Pale Micturitions (Charleston, West Virginia: Kanawha Press, 1996), p.
379

gleaned verb

Gathered bit by bit.

In the book
Perhaps for us the most significant thing gleaned from this segment is Navidson’s persistent use of all the data>> to deny the internal shattering 353See Exhibit Three for all test results, including rubidium-87/strontium-87, potassium-40/argon-40, samarium-147/neodymium-143 dating, as well as a complete set …
379 fn 353–354

Exhibit Three and the Zero folder

invented

Zampanò refers to Exhibit Three for all test results. Johnny says it is missing too, apart from a few notes.

In the book
Perhaps for us the most significant thing gleaned from this segment is Navidson’s persistent use of all the data>> to deny the internal shattering 353See Exhibit Three for all test results, including rubidium-87/strontium-87, potassium-40/argon-40, samarium-147/neodymium-143 dating, as well as a complete set of reports on uranium-235 and -238 contents in lead isotopes.35 354pon't worry that thought crossed my mind too.
379 fn 354

Johnny: Dr. Ogelmeyer; “if if were a fifth I'd be drunk”

invented

Johnny wonders what the doctor he saw earlier would have found with tests. The joke plays on a fifth, a bottle of liquor. He then writes a sentence of nested parentheses that he never closes, and ends with “(sic)”.

In the book
Of course if if were a fifth I'd be drunk, which I’m definitely not.
379 fn 354

verbigeration noun (psychiatry)

Repeating meaningless words or phrases again and again.

In the book
… sense of adventure about words (that little “1” making so little difference), appeals to me—ah but to hell with the closing parent )he)see)s) (sic) Before I understood the significance of things like “auditory hallucinations,” “verbigeration,” “word salad,” “derealization,” “depersonalization” I sensed in them all kinds of adventure.
379 fn 354

word salad noun (psychiatry)

A mix of words with no logical connection, a sign of severe mental illness.

In the book
… of adventure about words (that little “1” making so little difference), appeals to me—ah but to hell with the closing parent )he)see)s) (sic) Before I understood the significance of things like “auditory hallucinations,” “verbigeration,” “word salad,” “derealization,” “depersonalization” I sensed in them all kinds of adventure.
379 fn 354

Edenic adjective

Like the Garden of Eden; perfect and beautiful.

In the book
To reach their meaning would require a great journey, which I eventually found out was in fact true, though the destinations did not exactly turn out to be Edenic places full of gold leaf, opal or intricately carved pieces of jade.
379 fn 354

Psychiatric terms and diagnostic systems

real

Real vocabulary of schizophrenia research: auditory hallucinations, verbigeration, word salad, derealization. Kurt Schneider and Gabriel Langfeldt were psychiatrists who defined its symptoms; the St. Louis (Feighner) criteria, Taylor and Abrams, Research Diagnostic Criteria and the New Haven Schizophrenia Index are real diagnostic systems.

Johnny grew up hearing these words about his mother.

In the book
Louis, Taylor and Abrams or Research Diagnostic leave you puzzled.
379 fn 354

dopaminergic adjective

Working through the brain chemical dopamine.

In the book
Look for hyperactivity of dopaminergic systems?
379 fn 354

Dopamine, norepinephrine, MRI of the ventricles, EEG delta activity

real

Real biological tests for schizophrenia: too much dopamine activity, changes in norepinephrine, enlarged brain ventricles on MRI, and unusual slow “delta” waves on an EEG.

In the book
Check for an increase in norepinephrine?
379 fn 354

norepinephrine noun

A brain chemical and hormone linked to alertness and stress.

In the book
Check for an increase in norepinephrine?
379 fn 354

ventricles noun (anatomy)

Fluid-filled spaces inside the brain.

In the book
Or more than likely run an MRI on my brain to see if the lateral and third ventricles were getting larger?
379 fn 354

electroencephalogram (EEG) noun

A recording of the brain's electrical activity.

In the book
Maybe he’d even take a peek at my delta activity on the good old electroencephalogram (EEG)?
379 fn 354

pithed adjective

Killed or paralysed by destroying the brain or spinal cord (as done to lab frogs).

In the book
All I hope for is a moment of rational thought and one shot at action before I'm lost to a great saddening madness, pithed at the hands of my own stumbling biology.
379 fn 354

eviction notice noun

A legal order to leave one's home.

In the book
A couple of eviction notices lie near my door.
380 fn 354

brim verb

Be full to the top (of eyes: full of tears or feeling).

In the book
I remember she had amazing hair, like sunlight, extremely fine and whisked with silver, beautiful even when it was uncombed, and her eyes always seemed to brim with a certain tenderness when I visited.
380 fn 354

caroling adjective

Singing joyfully, like Christmas carols.

In the book
And though most of the time she whispered, sometimes she spoke up and then her voice would sound sweet and full like chapel bells caroling in the foreign towns I’d eventually wander at dawn, echoing down those streets where I'd find myself in the spare light, rubbing my cold hands together, hopping around like a lunatic, waiting for the …
380 fn 354

Johnny's mother's letters; the pan of oil; The Whale

invented

Johnny remembers his mother's hair and voice, and her letters after his father died. One letter confesses that she tried to choke him when he was seven, and then she was taken away to a place Johnny calls The Whale. He now reads his burn scars from a pan of oil with doubt.

In the book
At first I thought she was talking again about the pan of oil she’d accidentally knocked to the floor when I was four but that wasn’t it at all, though in an awful way her confession did change the way I began to view my scars, their …
380–381 fn 354

Taurus 605 .357 and Weatherby .300 Magnum

real

A Brazilian stainless-steel revolver and a powerful American hunting rifle, with “core-locked” bullets (Remington's Core-Lokt). Johnny buys them as a Christmas present to himself and lies in bed with guns, waiting for something outside his door.

In the book
I dug up my Visa, which I still try my best to avoid using, and not only picked up a second gun, this time a stainless steel Taurus 605 .357, but also went ahead and ordered a rifle.
380 fn 354

grain noun

A small unit of weight used for bullets (about 0.065 g).

In the book
More specifically I ordered a Weatherby 300 magnum, along with twenty boxes of 180 grain core-locked rounds.
381

appeasement noun

Calming or satisfying a need.

In the book
He uses his camera to embrace the Princeton laboratory equipment, seek out the appeasement of numbers, all the while never openly reflecting on the very real absence continuing to penetrate his life.
381

Feng Shui and radioactive isotopes

invented

Zampanò compares Navidson's use of lab data to Karen's use of Feng Shui: both are ways to avoid the grief and emptiness the house has caused.

In the book
Similar to the way Karen tried to rely on Feng Shui to mitigate the effects of the house, Navidson turns to the time telling tick of radioactive isotopes to deny the darkness eviscerating him from within.
381

mitigate verb

Make less severe.

In the book
Similar to the way Karen tried to rely on Feng Shui to mitigate the effects of the house, Navidson turns to the time telling tick of radioactive isotopes to deny the darkness eviscerating him from within.
381

eviscerate verb

Remove the insides; destroy from within.

In the book
Similar to the way Karen tried to rely on Feng Shui to mitigate the effects of the house, Navidson turns to the time telling tick of radioactive isotopes to deny the darkness eviscerating him from within.
381 fn 355

Noda Vennard, “Frame Detail”; the atom bomb doodle

invented critic, real university

An invented critic at an invented symposium at the real Technical University of Denmark. She finds the key to the sequence in Navidson's doodle of an atomic explosion in a magazine margin.

In the book
… the way Karen tried to rely on Feng Shui to mitigate the effects of the house, Navidson turns to the time telling tick of radioactive isotopes to deny the darkness eviscerating him from within. Noda Vennard believes the key to this sequence does not exist in any of the test results or geological hypotheses but in the margin of a magazine which, as we can see for ourselves, Navidson idly …
381

thermonuclear adjective

Of the hydrogen bomb, which uses nuclear fusion.

In the book
An_ inverted thermonuclear explosion which reveals in the black contours of its clouds, the farreaching shock-wave, and of course the great pluming head, the internal dimensions of his own sorrow.355 But even if that is indeed the …
381

topology noun

The shape and structure of something; in maths, properties of space that survive stretching.

In the book
… clouds, the farreaching shock-wave, and of course the great pluming head, the internal dimensions of his own sorrow.355 But even if that is indeed the best way to describe the shape of Navidson’s emotional topology, it is still nothing compared to the vision the house ultimately prepares for him.
381

inviolable adjective

Impossible to break, harm or enter.

In the book
Tomlinson observes: That place is so alien to the kingdom of the imagination let alone the eye—so perfectly unholy, hungry, and inviolable—it easily makes a fourth of July sparkler out of an A-bomb, and reduces the aliens of I guess I’m hoping the weapons will make me feel better, grant me some kind of fucking control, …
381 fn 354

figment noun

Something imagined, not real.

In the book
… better, grant me some kind of fucking control, especially if I sense the dullness inside me get too heavy and thick, warning me that something is again approaching, creeping slowly towards my room, no figment of my imagination either but as tangible as you & I, never ceasing to scratch, fume and snort in awful rage, though still pausing outside my door, waiting, perhaps for a word or an …
381 fn 355

Matthew Coolidge and the Center for Land Use Interpretation

real

A real organisation in Culver City that studies how Americans use land, founded by Matthew Coolidge. It really published a guide to the Nevada Test Site, where the US tested nuclear bombs. The second book is dated 1998.

In the book
Also see Matthew Coolidge’s The Nevada Test Site: A Guide to America’s Nuclear Proving Ground (Culver City, CA: The Center for Land Use Interpretation, 1996) as well as Matthew Coolidge’s Nuclear Proving Grounds of the World, ed.
381–382 fn 356

Virgil Q. Tomlinson in Geo; The X-Files, The Outer Limits

invented critic, real magazine and shows

Geo is a real German geography magazine; the article is invented. The X-Files and The Outer Limits are American TV series about aliens and the unknown. Tomlinson says the house makes them look like Sunday comics.

In the book
The X-Files and The Outer Limits to Sunday morning funnies.3*° 356See Virgil Q.
382

Sunday morning funnies noun

The comic strips in the Sunday newspaper.

In the book
The X-Files and The Outer Limits to Sunday morning funnies.3*° 356See Virgil Q.
383

diachronic; synchronic adjectives (linguistics)

Studying language through its history (diachronic) or at one moment in time (synchronic).

In the book
Deuterium: Diachronic: D-Structure: Igneous: Interstellar: Isotope: Linguistics: Metamorphic: Meteors: Morpheme: Nucleosynthesis: Sedimentary: Semantics: Spectrometer: §-Structure: Synchronic: Trace: Glossary A hydrogen isotope twice the mass of ordinary hydrogen.
383

D-structure; S-structure nouns (linguistics)

In Chomsky's grammar: the deep, underlying form of a sentence and its final surface form.

In the book
Deuterium: Diachronic: D-Structure: Igneous: Interstellar: Isotope: Linguistics: Metamorphic: Meteors: Morpheme: Nucleosynthesis: Sedimentary: Semantics: Spectrometer: §-Structure: Synchronic: Trace: Glossary A hydrogen isotope twice the mass of ordinary hydrogen.
383

Zampanò's glossary: geology and linguistics

real terms

The chapter ends with a short glossary that mixes geology (igneous, isotope, nucleosynthesis) with linguistics. Synchronic and diachronic come from Ferdinand de Saussure; D-structure, S-structure and trace come from Noam Chomsky's grammar theory.

The language terms suggest that the lost pages also discussed words and language.

In the book
Deuterium: Diachronic: D-Structure: Igneous: Interstellar: Isotope: Linguistics: Metamorphic: Meteors: Morpheme: Nucleosynthesis: Sedimentary: Semantics: Spectrometer: §-Structure: Synchronic: Trace: Glossary A hydrogen isotope twice the mass of ordinary hydrogen.
383

morpheme noun (linguistics)

The smallest part of a word that has meaning.

In the book
Deuterium: Diachronic: D-Structure: Igneous: Interstellar: Isotope: Linguistics: Metamorphic: Meteors: Morpheme: Nucleosynthesis: Sedimentary: Semantics: Spectrometer: §-Structure: Synchronic: Trace: Glossary A hydrogen isotope twice the mass of ordinary hydrogen.
383

nucleosynthesis noun

The making of atomic nuclei, in stars or in the early universe.

In the book
Deuterium: Diachronic: D-Structure: Igneous: Interstellar: Isotope: Linguistics: Metamorphic: Meteors: Morpheme: Nucleosynthesis: Sedimentary: Semantics: Spectrometer: §-Structure: Synchronic: Trace: Glossary A hydrogen isotope twice the mass of ordinary hydrogen.
383

semantics noun

The study of meaning in language.

In the book
Deuterium: Diachronic: D-Structure: Igneous: Interstellar: Isotope: Linguistics: Metamorphic: Meteors: Morpheme: Nucleosynthesis: Sedimentary: Semantics: Spectrometer: §-Structure: Synchronic: Trace: Glossary A hydrogen isotope twice the mass of ordinary hydrogen.
The summary of this chapter then shows on the contents page.
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