Organ of a Lost Priesthood

Description

This device, reminiscent of a miniaturized church organ, is another enigma among the heirlooms bequeathed to Tim by his Uncle Mitch. Like many other Shoemaker family artifacts, it represents a seemingly impossible feat of information processing forged by the same guild of remarkable artisans in the 17th century. The organ itself is programmable – a bit akin to a player piano or an old Jacquard loom producing patterns on fabric – by means of instructions from punch cards produced by a companion device. Suitably enough, the output here is sound, and thus the code or signal engendered by this organ could be stealthily recorded in the same way as sheet music. Some of the device’s carvings and design carry quasi-religious overtones, as if in conscious reference to a priesthood that was lost to the pages of history.