Disclaimer/spoiler warning: Written after TMAGP ep. 35. Spoilers for all of the Magnus Protocol until this point. Also spoilers for the Magnus Archives.
I base all of these ideas on the tria prima theory I explained in an earlier post, so go read that for context.
Lesser Disclaimer: If any of these theories seem half-baked, the reasons are three-fold: 1. Alchemy has a lax scientific framework and the writings are obscure by design (for secret-guarding reasons), so the ideas are somewhat muddled and difficult to parse. 2. I know that Alex's system is highly specific, so he must have found/created a way to reconcile the inconsistencies into a coherent system that also lends itself to the needs of the podcast. Since I'm working backwards from the podcast towards the system, I know I'm bound to miss something. 3. I simply don't think I have all the pieces of the puzzle yet, but I'll make do with what we have.
Briefly on quintessence or aether
Aether or quintessence is the elusive fifth element. It's said to be the perfect and pure essence that fills the universe beyond the highest elemental sphere (fire). This is kind of where things become muddled, because people have had various interpretations of its nature. Some say it only exists outside the Earth, while others think that it's everywhere, though not directly interacting with the elements. Some see it as the world soul or anima mundi, the life force and source of all human thought and imagination. Aether is perfect and unchangeable, but some think it can be created by taking the source of all elements, prima materia, and perfecting it by cleansing it from its imperfections through transmutation. The physical manifestation of the quintessence is known as the Philosopher's Stone, and the transmutation process is known as the Great Work, or Magnum Opus. The Philosopher's Stone can be used to transmute anything into its ultimate, perfect form (most famously lesser metals into gold).
The symbols for the Magnum Opus (including the Philosopher's Stone) and aether are embedded into the logo:
Prima materia is another confusing can of worms, but some seemed to think the most fitting material is a form of mercury (the metal) that consists of the purest form of Sulphur, Salt and Mercury: "Hence the philosophers have said that this same Mercury is composed of body, spirit, and soul, and that it has assumed the nature and property of all elements." (Paracelsus, The Aurora of the Philosophers)
Now onto the actual theories.
The Institute and their Magnum Opus
We know that the Institute was concerned with completing their Great Work at the turn of the millenium. To this end, they planned to hold an exhibit at the newly constructed Millenium Dome, so that they could harness its power for their project. We also know that one Mr. Kennings expressed concerns about the timing, location and concept of the project. The location was already turning into a locus (ie. it was metaphysically poisoned and out of balance). The turn of the millenium was considered appropriately transformative, but he was worried that the Gregorian calendar was too culturally specific to be universally applicable, and also that people's attitudes leaned towards the fearful and the ideas of stagnation. Therefore, the output of the Dome would also be unbalanced.
Based on this, it's apparent to me that their Magnum Opus was supposed to be a universal transmutation of the entire world. They wanted to tap into the mercurial ideas of the future and the sulphuric feelings about it and use them to guide the entire planet through the transmutative process into ascension. So that we might all become the pure, perfect, unchanging, celestial matter: quintessence. If Jonah Magnus of TMA wanted to make a new world, I can't see why the Magnus Institute of TMAGP wouldn't want the same.
What's particularly worrisome about this is that I don't think everyone's intentions were pure. Kennings seemed to think that Dr Welling tried to account for balance in his calculations, but do we know that they weren't skewed on purpose? What if, inspired by Magnus himself, Welling decided that fearful feelings would aid the transformation better than hopeful ideals? And wouldn't those properties then manifest in the end result? Although I don't see how the stagnation would help anyone, since it would hinder any sort of transformation. The locus itself was (according to my tria prima model) low on sulphur, which would further harm any efforts at transmutation. You cannot transmute without fire. Either way, I'm keeping a close eye on Dr Welling. I think he was and crucially continues to be bad news.
Other alchemical experiments
We know that the Institute ran a program for "gifted children", though we don't currently know the real purpose of it. We also know that they have been collecting supernatural statements and cursed objects, which they evaluate in terms of their viability as a subject, agent or catalyst. They have also been known to incarcerate people, and Sam witnessed one failed human experiment (interrupted in the middle of what appeared to be the citrinitas stage of a transmutation, where the solar light is manifested from within).
I believe all of the above were done in preparation for their own Magnum Opus. They needed subjects, predominantly Salt, to undergo these experiments and transmutations. They needed agents, ideally Mercury, to impress upon these subject, to make them malleable, and perhaps even use as the material for their Great Work. And they needed catalysts, mostly Sulphur, to fuel and guide the transmutation. The dimension hopping guy from episode 17 ranks low on all, since in the end he's just a guy. The lucky/unlucky dice rank "none" on subject, "low" on agent and "medium" on catalyst. That also makes sense, because their ability to cause change is the most promising part. The pier (or whatever's in the fog) from episode 33 once again ranks low on all, and they state that its acquisition would be too risky. I also think it might be quite difficult to manage, hence the low potential.
I can't really speculate what they needed the children for, though they would probably also fit in one of the three categories. Maybe they wanted to test the idea of tapping into people's thoughts and feelings for a source of power, sort of as a prototype for their Work. It could explain why Gerry doesn't remember much from those times. But this is the purest of speculation.
The Archivist is a catalyst
I currently have two competing theories for the origin of the Archivist.
It somehow made it through a rift from another dimension where the Fears have manifested. The Institute and their Outreach Centre caught it and locked it up.
Inspired by Magnus's "research" on what happens when you feed your colleague to a Victorian taxi, the people at the Institute went on to alchemically make a creature that transmutes fear. And then they locked it up.
Be it as it may, in the metaphysical reality of TMAGP, the Archivist is the perfect catalyst for the perfect material. Think about it: fear is as close as you can get to that "pure mercury", the intersection between body, spirit and soul. It is the physical sensations, the shivers, the quickening pulse, the tangible reactions of the body. It's also the ideas or concepts, it's "the Vast" or "the Web" or "the Desolation" or any number of things you can think of. And finally, it's the soul, the feeling, the need to react, the conscious experience of being afraid.
And what does the Archivist do? It drinks it all up, and it separates it into parts, and it manifests it into reality as water, starvation, broken lenses or knives. It transmutes the incorporeal idea and experience into the very corporeal thing that kills you. It is pure Sulphur, a hungry fire constantly looking to be satiated, and while feeding it catalyses a transmutation in the victim.
I think they (or at least, Dr Welling) were thinking of using the Archivist as a catalyst for their Great Work. Maybe that's why he wanted there to be more fear in the output. Honestly, Dr Welling has become quite the boogeyman in my mind, and I wouldn't be surprised if he were to play an integral part in the future.
Times Welling Has Been Mentioned, followed by my thoughts
Spoilers up to ep 28, "Interruptions".
Ep 17, Saved Copy. Case dated 30th Nov 1997.
This is the Darrien Darrien case, the doppelganger that comes out of the Oxford Outreach Centre and kills his "better" self.
"Mutare Materia" translate to "Change Matter". Interesting that its worded as "incarceration". and what exactly does the whole "subject, agent, catalyst" thing imply?
This case is filed by Celia.
Ep 21, Breaking Ground. Case dated 4th Jan 1998.
The case touches on the Millenium Exhibition and the construction of the Dome, and we discover this "Dr Welling" believes Y2K to be significant to their plans.
An aged doppelganger of a construction worker emerges from a wall, grabs the younger, and pulls him into the dirt wall.
This case is heard by a suspicious Alice, snooping on Sam's computer and accusing it of giving him the case on purpose.
EDIT: also the mention of metals in the earth the worker gets pulled into
"he turned and walked over to a nearby ditch ... I could see the tell-tale indications of heavy metals in the earthen edges of it"
Ep 28, Interruptions. Case dated 17th August 1998.
And then we have Sam's statement, in which he interrupts a man, presumably Dr. F Welling by the name on the door.
"There was an old man in a tweed suit stood muttering in front of a table and on the table was a person. I couldn’t see their face but they were naked and pale and still. "
Sam doesn't see the corpse well- so it may be someone insignificant or it may be another doppelganger, as seems to be a theme.
"Beside the table was a pile of weird machines and strange shaped beakers bubbling and hissing and whirring. Large chunks of stone and metal hung slowly twisting in the air and the sickly yellow light seemed to come from everywhere."
Strange science things, likely Alchemy related, and chunks of stone and metal hung in the air. I do wonder what metals as this is likely also Alchemically significant...
Here begins my more ramble-style thoughts so beware~
SO! Welling has a whole "Change Matter" research program named after him. I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS (is he the head of it? or is it just run based on / related to his research? Did Welling experiment on Darrien?)
all mentions of him take place in the 3 years prior to the Magnus Institute burning down....
What exactly went wrong in his interrupted experiment? taking into account the context of Alchemy + "Change Matter", what did he do to his muscles, skin, etc that forced them still while his bones came free? why did he tear away at himself? (or, why did something else tear away his flesh? did a part of him fight to be free, like the voice found in ep 22, Mixed Signals?)
Going back to the Viability as Subject, Agent, Catalyst thing. Is the body Welling uses more viable to be used as a subject for some reason? Could the rocks and metals used be classed as catalysts, if they are helping perform this experiment/ritual in some way? (the dice in ep 9, Rolling With It, had Medium viability as catalyst... and they caused a LOT of things. is it catalyst vs the world around them, or is it catalyst vs the person that interacts with them? how much it affects the mind?)
Anyway, I'll cut myself off there before my thoughts get even more jumbled, just wanted to compile those mentions of Welling after I heard him mentioned in ep 21 during my full relisten (preparing for the Finale! how wild)
