Third Floor Society

Note: Theories on the real existence of a modern Third Floor Society is considered speculation and should be ignored. Why don't you read the Survey Flags page instead?

Theme camp which originally appeared at Alchemy (2014) and each subsequent event through Alchemy (2019), after which it merged with Memento Moebius to form t3mpcamp.com.

Antiquity

Sometime after the fall of Carthage (146 BCE), there arose the widespread belief that much of the Carthaginian aristocracy had fled to the city of Genoa, which also having been a Phoenician colony had strong cultural ties to Carthage.  Genoa was under the rule of the Roman Republic, and thus the Carthaginian practice of Moloch worship was strictly banned.  Genoa, prior to Trajan’s reform, also had a strict building limit of two stories so that nothing would block the view of the temple of Hercules to the north of the city.  Thus there were rumors that the lights that dotted the roofs and attics at night were in fact a “Society of the Third Level” (or IIISOC in Latin) where the cult of Moloch met.  The Third Floor Society was rumored to kidnap the children of the Romans and offer them to the winged messengers of Moloch, who would carry them back to their dark god as sacrifices.  Several inquisitions were held by the governor, promising to root out the cult, but solid evidence was never found.

Committees

Geomantic Survey Corporation (unaffliated)

"For clarification, the "Third Floor Society Geomantic Survey Committee" oversees general flag education and planning, while the "Geomantic Survey Corporation" is a separate organization that produces and places the Flags."

The Seven Pillars

The Third Floor rests not upon the first or second floor, but on the seven pillars of virtue. Seven, if counted by their capitals, but only six as counted by their bases. All pillars are intact, and none obviously lack a base. The discrepancy is puzzling.

The first is Persian Rhetoric, that an idea that only ever been considered a single state of mind has not truly been considered. It is demanded for good friends to come together and debate, then for the state of mind to change, then for the debate to continue. This should be repeated without end, for consensus cannot be truly reached until it is considered in every possible state of mind. Thus the third floor demands constant inebriation.

The second of the pillars is the Airhorn, deafeningly loud. Silence is the the essence of Sin, and it is for the virtuous to fill the silence with noise, music and loud debate. In this the airhorn is the ideal to which we should all strive. The airhorn does not allow for awkward pauses, for cruel words or evil thoughts. Within the euphoric roar of the airhorn we are reduced to a single state, at once wide awake and without care in the world. It is our sigil and sign, our god and our ideal. There can be no silence on the third floor.

The third pillar is Walkability. At three or four stories, one can still walk comfortably down to the street, and from a window you can still feel part of the street scene: you can see details in the street - the people, their faces, foliage, shops. From three stories you can yell out, and catch the attention of someone below. Above four stories these connections break down. The visual detail is lost; people speak of the scene below as if it were a game, from which they are completely detached. The connection the to ground and to the fabric of the town becomes tenuous; the building becomes a world of its own: with it own elevators and cafeterias.

The fourth Pillar is the future, obviously.

The fifth and sixth pillar are reserved.

The seventh pillar is a 4 inch hollow pipe column filled with lightweight concrete. It is attached to the floor with a Simpson CB68 6x8 Column Base - G90 Galvanized w/ 48” sonnet tube below grade. It is dressed with stain-grade Douglass Fir 2x8’s with a 6 inch RB 76 crown mold or similar and ¾ inch neck mold to match. Contractor to confirm compliance with local codes.

Between the seven pillars span the Twenty-One arches of Enlightenment, which form three groins from which hang the Lanterns of Philosophy. Above this are the Joists of Good Intent, 16 inches on center maximum, which support the ¾ Inch Tongue & Groove OSB decking of Opportunity. Above the Cork Underlayment of secrecy finish flooring is as specified on finish plan 2/A4.0. It is only on such noble and stable foundations that we can stand our society.