City Gates
Harmonically-based technology is something few dreamed possible;
that the Tinabulans mastered it nearly three thousand
years ago astounds modern-day researchers, some of whom already
pointed to the pyramids as proof of advanced culture ahead
of its time.
In defense of their secrets, the people of Tinabula raised
many fortifications around their city, the most formidable
of which was a gate of brass spires that rose from beneath
the sand when outsiders came near. The spires were hollow
like bells; lines of Tinabulan script ringing their bases
explained which one, when struck, would produce the tone to
lower the gate.
Master Bell
As technically cunning as the Tinabulans were, they used
their amazing knowledge for conquest and domination, rather
than the benefit of mankind. Their obsession with destruction
reflected their own fears that their terrible inventions would
one day be used against them. Steeped in superstition, the
people of Tinabula also proposed that extinction was the destiny
of all weak things — unless Tinabula rose supreme over
all, it too deserved that fate.
From this paranoia sprang the creation of a doomsday device,
which ancient legends referred to as the Master Bell —
the "Sound That Silences All," the Tinabulans called
it, to crumble the city and carry its wonders and glory to
oblivion. A mighty sandstorm covered the Lost City of Bells,
but the Master Bell lay dormant beneath the sands, awaiting
the return of the civilization it was built to destroy.
The Master Bell, just like Tinabula, was no myth — it
was real, disguised as a giant scarab at the city's far wall,
a tower mistakenly thought to be some shrine or fanatical
devotion to a Tinabulan deity. The beetle itself was the bell
clapper, its articulated wings folded over a brass chime eight
stories tall (a metallurgical miracle in its own right). Engraved
script on the bell hints at the location of the bell's main
mechanism, somewhere at the scarab's "head."
A huge staircase led from the city to a trio of grasshopper-shaped
bells at the tower's base. Ringing the first bell would turn
the staircase into a ramp, giving pursuers the slip; the second
would open a hatch into the heart of the Master Bell and the
escape route therein; and the third would collapse the stairs,
isolating the bell tower from the city.
These details come courtesy of the lectures given by archeologist
Katie Dodd, who was instrumental in finding the Master Bell
to stop Thaddeus E. Klang. Brought to life by a blast from
Tinabula's weapon, the Master Bell sounded the death knell
for both Tinabula and Klang's plans for world domination.
Scarab
Guardians
The people of Tinabula were members of a superstitious cult
that worshipped giant scarabs, repulsive and strange insects
said to wander in the desert wasteland. What made the creatures
so appealing is anyone's guess; perhaps the beetles' voracious
appetite struck a chord with the Tinabulans' power-hungry
ways. The resonance was strong enough to elevate the bugs
to the place of deity, as manuscripts of the region attest
to.
Two humongous scarabs flanked the gap in the cliffs around
the city, totems which faced the setting of the sun. These
structures, and the giant scarab-shaped tower facing the sunrise,
were sole survivors of the sandstorm which purged the desert
of Tinabula's presence.
However, legend predicted that another storm summoned by
the ringing of three golden bells would cause the Lost City
of Bells to reappear. The scarab guardians were pivotal to
fulfilling this prediction — they were really machines
whose flapping wings could generate air currents of tremendous
speed. In this manner, the whirling winds would unbury the
city of Tinabula, just as it came to pass after three millenia.
(For more information, please see Ancient and Lost Artifacts
in the "TaleSpin World" section, and Klang's profile
under "Characters.")
Weapon
House
Tinabula's might came from the weapon its people constructed
to subdue their desert neighbors and crush all opposition
to their reign. The ultimate product of Tinabula's sound-based
technology, this machine could turn sonic waves into a force
powerful enough to level armies and wipe out cities. It was
this very power that kept in thrall all the lands between
Tinabula and the horizon.
Unprecedented in the modern era, sonic weapons were long
dismissed as science fiction until Tinabula's evil instrument
fell into the hands of a madman named Klang.
Tinabula's weapon resided in a stone citadel at the center
of the golden City of Bells. An alcove of tall chimes set
in the weapon house's base was actually a musical lock; singing
the correct note raised the weapon platform out of the top
of the tower. Another musical note opened the grate covering
a holding pit in the platform's center, presumably a place
to store prisoners.
The weapon itself consisted of a swinging log and unusually-shaped
brass cones. The platform could rotate 360 degrees at the
pull of a lever, and the cone assembly could tilt up and down
by manual adjustment. All the user had to do was strike a
tympanic plate with the log; the cones focused the impact
vibrations into a stream of sound-wave energy, strong enough
to push walls of sand miles across the desert. A direct hit
could shatter any material known to man.
Above: Be sharp or be flat — the correct note sung
under these bells unlocks the superweapon of Tinabula.
Right and below: The weapon used harmonic principles to
turn the vibrations of a striking log into destructive waves
of energy.
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