The Library of Babble
Location: Mechanus
Language is infinite. It can say any number of things, whether they be true or false. Sometimes, what is said makes no sense, but it is still said. Nowhere is this more strongly evoked than in the Library of Babble.
Hearsay: The Library of Babble is said to contain not only every book that will ever be written, but ever book than can ever be written. It is the storehouse of infinite knowledge and infinite falsehood.
Some say it’s all screed, that the library serves a purpose similar to that of Thoth’s Lie-brary (see the Musée Arcane — coming soon): to lure scholars into wasting their lifetimes searching for non-existent lore. But search they do, and, if the Library does indeed contain infinite wisdom then all wisdom exists already, and simply must be discovered. Those who study in the Library of Babble believe and hope this.
Description: From the exterior, the Library is not exceptional, except in size. Seemingly built within one of the biggest axles of Mechanus, it cannot be directly accessed. In order to enter, the most precise of teleportation spells can land a body into its halls. Though numerous travellers have seen the great rod from the exterior, few have realised that it was hollow.
Within the axle, the ‘landscape’ is utterly alien. A tower of seemingly infinite height stretches as far as the eye can see, both up and down, though no part of the tower touches the walls of the axle. Without walls, the tower is simply a series of free-floating platforms, connected only by a small spiral staircase which runs, in theory, along the entire tower. The platforms, the staircase, and the furniture of the Library are seemingly immune to damage, and cannot be destroyed.
Each platform is an octagon about 40′ across. On either side of the octagon are doorways, one which leads to a set of small cots and lavatories, the other leading to the spiral staircase. The centre of each octagon is dominated by two or three research tables, with uncomfortable chairs for at least six people at a time. Two orbs dimly illuminate each octagon, though not very well. The remaining six sides of the octagon are lines with a railing and are covered with narrow shelves (5 to a side), each holding 32 books.
The books themselves are very simple, written in a mysterious but efficient orthographic language of 25 characters (22 letters with no capitals, a period, a comma, and a blank space). Each book is exactly 410 pages long, with 40 lines to a page and 80 characters per line. The miracle of the library is that is (again, in theory) contains every possible combination of the letters possible. Thus, the number of books is beyond the calculation of any save the moignos, who have no name for such incredible sums (graybeards calculate the number exceeds 10 to the 150th power). Thus, every possible book exists, even such priceless creations as the Book of Keeping or the Factol’s Manifesto. Indeed, the Factol’s manifesto existed here long before it was written in Sigil.
The Library is populated by solitary scholars who spend their lives searching for knowledge in the Library. Some have children, and the birth to death ratio is just stable enough to maintain a population of about one scholar for every three or four octagons. There are a number of quasi-sects who wander the Library, each holding its own theory about the nature of the Library, but none are devout enough to qualify as full-blown sects. Their philosophies range from the destruction of all false books (because the books can easily be thrown over the railing into the infinite void) to searching for the book that explains the secret organisation of the Library.
Special Properties: First off, there is the wisdom of all knowledge in the Library, though there are very many more books of gibberish (or babble, if you will). Also, for every book that is accurate, there can be many millions of books that are subtly or blatantly false. Because Mechanus eliminates all language barriers, anyone can study in the Library (if they can get in), but there are, without a doubt, books announcing that Duke Rowan Darkwood married the Lady of Pain tomorrow, and other ridiculous lies. The idea, of course, is not that all knowledge is true, but that all things, truth and untruth, can be known.
Detect Lie and other spells that detect falsehood fail here, whether the lie is read in a book or spoken by a person. Because of this, and the relative privacy of some area, criminals often come here to negotiate. The fiends have a number of their own scholars on the Library, as do the celestials. Oddly, the modrons ignore the place, acting as if it did not exist.
Oddly, because the place exhibits no creativity because everything’s already been done), there are no connections between the Library and the Infinite Staircase. One or two portals to Sigil have been mentioned, but their definitive location has never been documented.
Remember, also, that if anyone or anything goes over the railing, if will have eternity to fall. People falling over the side will die before they hit the bottom (if a bottom even exists), but the dangers of reaching for a railing while falling at terminal velocity are obvious. Still, those cast over the edge of the railing are sometimes seen again, though getting lost among the infinitely repeating octagons is disturbingly easy.
Source: Belarius. Author’s note: This idea was originally developed by Luis Borges in the short story entitled ‘The Library of Babel,’ and has simply been reformatted to fit the Planescape theme. By the way, this library, I calculated, is at least 10 to the 143rd power light years tall. Food for thought, eh?