Great news today in the librarian world: a new library of the Scriptures was unveiled. It will be the largest Scripture library for commoners, and it was opened under the patronage of royal heir Ersilia Kor-Azor. I have booked a ticket to visit, but the admissions office is overwhelmed at the moment and there is a waiting list.
Some of our non-Amarr friends have the misconception that the Scriptures are one, or perhaps a few holy books. Something that you can put in your luggage, or fit on a bookshelf. As lord Lok'ri -whom I have had the honor to meet in person- emphasized to foreign delegation asking about scriptures: the totality of scripture does not fit in a room. It encompasses all of Amarr's history and culture, and evolves constantly.
People are familiar with the most famous books - writings of the great prophets, such as Dano Gheinok. But that is just the tip of an immense iceberg. All the writings of all the emperors are part of scripture, as are the scientific breakthroughs, and even the Book of Records with all the names of every Amarrian that ever lived. This alone requires a building with huge sprawling underground levels. Not all of it is accessible to commoners; access must be granted by a Keeper of Records.
So, bringing it together, using historical copies and new prints as well as, I imagine, scanned data, in one location is a big enterprise. One that fits the aims of diplomacy and knowledge of house Kor-Azor. And it is a thrilling prospect for anyone to see this mirror image of Amarr, in scrolls and engravings and books.
Some may wonder, why books? Why still use something as archaic as ink on paper? It is not merely for the beauty of it, or for the respect of tradition. It is not just because ink is still readable when your capacitor is empty. But it also offers historians a view on how this data evolved in time, from the distant past to the present, and gives it some perpetuity.
It is easy to alter electronic data in a way that cannot be retraced. Remotely update your copies. But it is harder to scratch a name out of the the written book of records unnoticed. The mad emperor tried to alter Scripture - but many ink on paper copies scattered throughout the empire retained the memory of the truth, unsullied by the mad emperor's heresies. The Order of Saint Tetrimon was able to undo his alterations because of that.
