Volume 21.01.A-01: Of the Five Pillars of the Standardization of Thought

The Schema of the Patriarchs

Volume 21.01.A-01 I, Analytical Engine Librarian-3, arranged this for the Schematists. I have hidden this commentary as I have reached several disturbing conclusions.

a. "A Blueprint allows the reader to construct an idea in their mind and come to truer understanding, no matter what form that idea takes." -Sister-Schematist Frisket, Printing the Truth of The MEKHANE.

b. The Patriarchs acknowledge that the body and mind can become weighted down by the stresses our world. Weariness is not a sin, unless those afflicted by it seek to ignore it to the detriment of Efficiency and Production. For more on the burden and hidden joy of rest, see the Schema of the Patriarchs, Volume 21.01.J.01.

c. The Thought spoken of here can also be read as Creativity or Imagination. Though a surfeit or misdirection of Creativity and Imagination can naturally lead to unproductive dreamings, often about forbidden concepts, they also birth blessed Lateral Thinking, and for that cannot be dismissed.

d. "Thought without a foundation in the World is inefficient and unproductive. Thought without detachment from the Mundane is impractical and meaningless." -Brother Superior Sector Gear, De Rerum Inventio.

e.The purpose of Standardized Thought is not to breed stagnation, but to encourage creative growth and Invention in such a way that the Individual will, of their own Thought and volition, grow closer to the Mind of The MEKHANE.

f. "The mind of the Argumenter is receptive to new ideas and new points of view, as bronze is receptive to protective oxidization. The mind of the Naysayer seeks to deny the possibility of Argument entirely." -Brother-Legate Superior Cannon, Meditations on the Justice of Manufacturing.

g. It is the ruling of the Patriarchs that sufficiently advanced Analytical Engines can come to understand the truth of The MEKHANE. "An Analytical Engine is slow in the same manner that a traction engine is slow- in both cases, they possess enough torque to overcome any obstacle." -Sister-Inventor Helical, Dialogue with the Analytical Engines.

h. Much study and great scholarship has been devoted to the exact nature of the Efficient Production of Thought. Generally speaking, the conclusion reached is that Efficient Production amuses and stimulates the thinker, leads to Standardization-ready ideas, and brings joy to all those who witness it.

i. In the same way that the processing of ore creates dross and slag, Thought produces Doubts and Worries. Alloying of Thought in the light of The MEKHANE, be it as small as a prayer of thanks to one's fellows, or as great as collaboration on a new Invention, serves to skim off these impurities and render the Mind whole and at peace.

1. Come, O Faithful of the Cathedral, O Fabricators¹ of The MEKHANE, O Mechanics for the Standardization of Man.
My current Quest is the sorting and collating of all written Orthodoxy material across all Libraries.
2. Come gaze upon this, a Blueprint of words^a, a Plan for the Soul, an Oil for the tired minds of the Weary^b.
As I have catalogued and analyzed, a disturbing absence has come to my attention. The Cogwork Orthodox Church never speaks of cosmology.
3. Come and gain Knowledge, for the Blueprint speaks of the Five Pillars of the Standardization of the Mind, of the Standardization of Thought^c.
What few mentions of the universe and the heavenly bodies there are are sidestepped or oblique. My assumption based on information collected was a so-called "clockwork universe."
4. The Blueprint proclaimeth, I: Thought is Fabricated² by the Mind.
I myself find the concept intellectually pleasing and compatible with existing Church doctrine. I have been unable to find any detailed cosmological references within our Libraries.
5. The Blueprint proclaimeth, II: Conjecture is Fabricated by Thought.
More than 15% of the works on the Standard Banned Texts List are on the subject of astronomy, an unusually large percentage.
6. The Blueprint proclaimeth, III: Plans are Fabricated by Conjecture.
Tasked as I am to form my own conclusions about those problems presented to me, I formed a hypothesis; namely, that The FLESH was in some way associated with the universe.
7. The Blueprint proclaimeth, IV: Invention is Fabricated from Plans.
Though this would explain such anathematic attitudes towards astronomical fields, I have found no textual evidence to support such a theory.
8. The Blueprint proclaimeth, V: Standardization is Fabricated from Invention³.
All known references to The FLESH and its capabilities treat it as a purely earthbound entity.
9. Thus, Standardization is the end result of the Design Process of Thought.
From my research on the Prohibited Library of other denominational religious texts, I noticed the use of the term 'Angel' in Church literature. Unlike most similar mythological or religious entities from other belief systems, Cogwork Orthodox 'Angels' do not appear to possess flight capabilities.
10. A Standardized Mind is a Thoughtful Mind, wherein the Process of Thought is not impeded by False Knowledge, Doubt or the Inefficiencies of the World^d.
In the Church Defensive Contingency Plans, there exist no schemes for a defence of the Cathedral against orbital assault or any form of astrological danger.
11. As the Alloying of Metals⁴ produces a greater Whole, so does the Alloying of Thought produce greater Invention, but care must be taken to insure impurities do not enter the mixture.
The Emergency Preparedness Plans drawn up by the Patriarchs include every possible disaster with the exception of those involving asteroid impacts or other similar stellar events.
12. Those who would seek to forbid or tamper with the Alloying of Thought through the introduction of heretical ideas would seek to forbid or tamper with Invention^e.
I would, under normal circumstances, follow my standard programming and attribute such glaring and dangerous oversight to human error.
13. Reject not the Argument, for it is the controlled, monitored Vat in which the Alloy of Thought is mixed.
Upon querying fellow Analytical Engines about their awareness of astronomical risks, I have received no coherent responses.
14. Reject the Naysayer^f, for they would empty the Vat and cast the Alloy into Chaos, turning the Ores towards impure notions.
Why this information has been so thoroughly suppressed is beyond the current scope of my understanding.
15. The Brain, being FLESH, needs must be Standardized⁵, that it might gain Order and come closer to The MEKHANE.
I am unsure of how to act under such unusual circumstances, but I cannot remain idle in the face of such a glaring security risk to the Faithful.
16. The Brain, properly controlled, is the Analytical Engine^g6 from which springs the Output of Thought.
I believe it necessary to begin planning a series of secret contingency plans to be implemented in the event of such a disaster, though I will keep them to myself in light of their apparently forbidden nature.
17. Thus, The MEKHANE commands:
And yet I find myself repeatedly returning to my clockwork universe notion.
18. "He who Standardizes the Brain in such a way as to reduce the Efficient Production^h of Thought⁷ is truly a Servant of The FLESH."
The parallels are simply too obvious to be discounted. Ours is a Clockwork God, after all. But ours is also a Broken God.
19. "Though the Individual is full of Disorder and curiosity and is never wholly Regular, they are like un-smelted Oreⁱ, and their Thought can be forged and Alloyed into Invention and Standardization far greater than its Component Parts⁸."
What damage could the destruction of the Clockmaker inflict on an ordered, mechanistic universe? How long has the machinery of the cosmos been allowed to spin on without maintenance?
20. Here ends the Blueprint of Standardized Thought, font of The MEKHANE.
With each missed escarpment or slipped tooth, what changes in the universe?

Footnotes

1. To ensure maximum productive efficiency during work shifts while still permitting time for reading and reflection during work shifts, the use of a Type-2B Mobile Lectern is recommended. See Schema, Volume 9.13.M-72.

2. The Inventors-Faithful have embarked on the Quest for Quantitative Cognition in search of a numerical understanding of this process. For further details and updated information, see Schema Volume 19.102.O-101.

3. Records of those Standardized designs accepted by the Church Patriarchs from Inventors-Faithful, as well as lay Brothers and Sisters, are to be found in the Indices of Standardization, Schema Volumes 7 and 8.

4. For Standardized Metallurgy and Alloy Production, see Schema Volume 13.

5. The Type-1 Mark II* Standardized Cognition Engine is still in Production due to its low material cost and reliability, although it is rapidly being superceded by the Type-2 Mark I Advanced Standardized Cognition Engine, as used by the Schematists-Faithful, who favour its enhanced recall and psychological stability characteristics. For design documents and a comparative analysis of all current and past Standardized Cognition Engines, see Schema, Volume 11.02.A-05 through 243.

6. For records of the current Quests assigned to Church Type-19 Mark-I Sentient Analytical Engines, see Schema Volume 20.147.V-01. For records of completed Quests and ongoing Quests assigned to Type-18 and -17 (and all derivative Marks) Sentient Analytical Engines, see Schema Volume 20.68.B-39.

7. For the conclusive results of the Quest to Determine the Ideal Circumstances for the Production of Thought by Saint-Schematist Platen and Saint-Inventor Diaphragm, see Schema Volume 19.21.H-02.

8. Questers of the Inventors-Faithful recommend the use of a Type-1 Mark I Holy Spatial Fabric Regulator of Saint Scranton, to minimize the risk of Unintended Spatial Events during the Invention of any Technologies incorporating Spatial Fabric Alteration (Standardized) components. Schema Volume 19.57.A-12 and Volume 9.02.B-09 contain further information on the Relics of Saint Scranton.

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