The Upper House
The Upper House, demesne of Superior Saturday, consists of a single tremendous tower and four immense "Drasil Trees" (based upon the world supporting World Tree of Norse Mythology, Yggdrasil) which support the Incomparable Gardens above. It is the training center of House Sorcerers and therefore contains the largest concentration in any area of such Denizens. As hinted in previous books, most House Sorcery is worked by means of writing in a medium called "Activated Ink", which contains the substance known as Nothing. The tower is subject to constant rain, some of which contains the text of the Will until the latter is gathered by Arthur. All Denizens therefore carry umbrellas, which are colored according to rank. Inexplicably, the rain does not touch the various documents on which the Denizens write.
The majority of Denizens within the Upper House work at desks situated within large iron cubes having mesh floors and no ceiling. These iron cubes make up the structure of Superior Saturday's tower. A population of Piper's Children (human children brought to the House by the Piper and later appointed to subordinate positions) titled "Grease Monkeys" work the chains which move the Denizens' "offices" according to the changes in an occupant's rank.
The ceiling of the Upper House is actually the floor of the Incomparable Gardens and is shrouded in clouds. Sunday constantly taunts Saturday by parting the clouds only for her eyes, allowing Saturday to see his realm, which she desires and envies. Saturday, for the past (almost) ten thousand years, has been building a tower with her private viewing chamber at the top while the other floors are "slotted in" below. The purpose of the tower is to reach and invade the Incomparable Gardens above, so that she may claim it for herself. Within the Upper House are four large trees, located at the four corners of the Upper House, that are constantly growing at a rate faster than Saturday can build her tower. As these trees grow, the Incomparable Gardens move further upwards, irritating Saturday because they grow faster than she builds. Her sorcerers have calculated that if the Lower House and the Far Reaches fall into Nothing, then the four trees would grow at a pace slow enough for her builders to finally reach the Incomparable Gardens. This implies that she (as Dame Primus had suspected) planned deliberately to cause this to happen.
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Famous quotes containing the words the upper, upper and/or house:
“Every fact is related on one side to sensation, and, on the other, to morals. The game of thought is, on the appearance of one of these two sides, to find the other: given the upper, to find the under side.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“When my old wife lived, upon
This day she was both pantler, butler, cook,
Both dame and servant, welcomed all, served all,
Would sing her song and dance her turn, now here
At upper end o’the table, now i’the middle,
On his shoulder, and his, her face afire
With labor, and the thing she took to quench it
She would to each one sip.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Part way back from Bedlam
I came to my mother’s house in Gloucester,
Massachusetts. And this is how I came
to catch at her; and this is how I lost her.
I cannot forgive your suicide, my mother said.
And she never could.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)