Messages to Azathoth: An Unreliable Trigger

Peter decided in Nocturne in Black and Gold that Diana should include plot elements in Cinereous Skies that could be interpreted as references to objects in Vermeer's painting, The Astronomer.

Warning for spoilers to Nocturne in Black and Gold and Cinereous Skies

The White Collar team believes that during Neal's virtual reality brainwashing, the painting was programmed to act as a trigger. At some point in the future, news will come of the theft of The Astronomer. When that happens, if the programming was successful, Neal will be subjected to a flood of fake memories designed to make him modify his behavior. The team is attempting to make Rolf wonder if memories of The Astronomer are already beginning to leak through. If that were to happen, Rolf could conclude that firing the trigger would have unwanted consequences.

The references begin with the astrolabe found in Lavinia's office. There's also an astrolabe in Vermeer's painting. Later in the story, Mozzie discusses his and Lavinia's interest in antique astronomical instruments. Phineas uses an antique device to configure the wormhole on Merope and he describes another antique device called a compendium which was used by Laban Shrewsbury to contact Celaeno. But the main references to the painting are contained in the riddle on the armillary sphere.

The celestial globe in The Astronomer displays parts of several constellations including the Serpent, Dragon, and the Lion. In Nocturne in Black and Gold, Peter reflected on making a puzzle out of them to bedevil Rolf. Diana acted on his suggestion to create the script inscribed on the armillary sphere. Neal's translation of the Celaenian lines is "Seek the answers to your questions in Lyon. Go to the lion's lair on the hill that prays and place your hand on the tuft of his tail. The serpent flies overhead."

I've listed the puzzle elements below along with some of their possible meanings.

• Lyon: "The hill that prays" is an expression used for the Fourvière district in Lyon, France. Lyon is one of the towns where Heinrich Agrippa lived. It can also be viewed as a veiled threat since Interpol is headquartered there.
• Lion: The symbol for Lyon is lion and there are lion statues throughout the city. Extensive Roman ruins are found on Fourvière hill and the Romans also used lions in their art. Lion could also refer to one of the two lion constellations in the night sky: Leo and Leo Minor (or The Small Lion). Klaus had given Neal the nickname of Lion Cub. Has the cub grown up and now become dangerous or is there a new king of the jungle who's placed the cub under his protection?
• Serpent: There are two snake constellations: Serpens (The Serpent) and Hydra (The Water Snake). Hydra is very close to the name of the criminal syndicate Ydrus. Snakes feature in the code names of the group. The phrase "Serpent flies overhead" could be a warning to Rolf and Klaus about the danger of associating with Ydrus. It also could be interpreted as an allusion to Python, the code name of the head of Ydrus.

What will Rolf make of the references? What message will he think Peter is sending? How will he react? The answers are coming in the sequel to Nocturne in Black and Gold—Harlequin's Shadow.

Cinereous Skies on Archive of Our Own
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