The Moon Pool · Chapter
Endnotes explained
The endnotes provide scholarly references, technical explanations of Murian timekeeping and communication globes, and observations on Murian religion, biology, and the Yekta.
What happens
The endnotes provide scholarly references, technical explanations of Murian timekeeping and communication globes, and observations on Murian religion, biology, and the Yekta. They also include editorial notes by W. J. B. and W. T. G. that connect the narrative to real-world science and folklore.
Themes in this chapter
Science vs. the Supernatural
Goodwin attempts to explain Murian phenomena (time dilation, communication globes, Yekta poison) through scientific principles like relativity, wireless telegraphy, and hydroid biology.
Lost Civilizations and Ancient Wisdom
The endnotes detail Murian timekeeping, religion (Thanaroa, Siya and Siyana), and advanced technology, emphasizing the sophistication of this subterranean civilization.
Forbidden Knowledge and Pride
Goodwin's detailed analysis of Murian secrets—from atomic motors to the Yekta's poison—reflects the pursuit of dangerous knowledge.
Characters to notice
- Dr. Walter T. Goodwin
Author of the endnotes; provides scientific and ethnographic commentary on Murian culture, technology, and biology.
- Rador
Mentioned as an exception among soldiers for his reverence for the Ancient Ones.
- Lakla
Referenced in relation to her control over the Yekta and her explanation of their effects.
Key passages
“Later I was to find that Murian reckoning rested upon the extraordinary increased luminosity of the cliffs at the time of full moon on Earth—this action, to my mind, being linked either with the effect of the light streaming globes upon the Moon Pool, whose source was in the shining cliffs, or else upon some mysterious affinity of their radiant element with the flood of moonlight on Earth—the latter, most probably, because even when the moon must have been clouded above, it made no difference in the phenomenon.”
Goodwin later discovered that the Murians measured time by the increased brightness of the cliffs during Earth's full moon, likely due to a connection between the radiant element and moonlight, as cloud cover didn't affect it.
Explains Murian timekeeping based on lunar-linked luminosity.
“Unquestionably there is a subtle difference between time as we know it and time in this subterranean land—its progress there being slower. This, however, is only in accord with the well-known doctrine of relativity, which predicates both space and time as necessary inventions of the human mind to orient itself to the conditions under which it finds itself.”
Goodwin asserts that time passes more slowly in Muria, consistent with relativity theory, where time and space are mental constructs for adapting to one's environment.
Discusses time dilation in Muria relative to Earth.
“The hearing-talking globes utilize both these principles, and with consummate simplicity. The light with which they shone was produced by an atomic 'motor' within their base, similar to that which activated the merely illuminating globes.”
The communication globes work by combining wireless tuning and the interchangeability of light and sound vibrations, powered by an atomic motor in their base.
Describes the technology behind Murian communication spheres.