Stories from PARALLEL CALIFORNIA

Athanasius Kircher’s map of the Farallones (which he referred to as Atlantis)

   The End of The Farallones

   Eames Demetrios
   Special to the Mirror

   Part 5
   Last week, we touched on the role of the Branciforte in the founding of Greater Mar Vista. The Branciforte were the inhabitants of the Farallones, a huge island (some have called it a minor continent—but it is doubtful it was ever that big) off the coast of present-day San Francisco. The name Farallones derives from the Branciforte word, “farallon,” which means Land of Brilliant Ones in the Branciforte tongue. (In Spanish, it means “cliffs” and thus the word itself was an important building block in the Cognate Alliance—but more on that in a future installment). After the destruction of the Farallones, there was the so-called Branciforte Diaspora during which the people of the Farallones found new homes, mostly along the California coast and in the Channel Islands. However, the most significant population centers were created in present day Santa Cruz and, to a lesser extent, present day Santa Monica.
   The Branciforte are considered by some to be one of the most advanced hunter-gatherer societies this planet has ever seen. Some argue that they were not true hunterer-gatherers because of their semi-domestication of the water mole (the huge sea mammal which tunneled through water). After all, the pipeline of fresh water that came out to the Farallones from the bay was actually a tunnel left by a water mole. Nevertheless, most of this water was used for plumbing, domestic needs and their legendary fountains rather than agriculture. Furthermore, most of the food eaten in the Farallones was fish harvested from the sea and some naturally occurring plants on the land (as well as seaweeds).
   Today the Farallones are a small cluster of rocky islands that all together comprise just over 200 acres (less than a third of a square mile) about 25-30 miles from the Golden Gate. As researchers attempted to understand the parallel history of this area, they were often stumped by the notion that an area so small could support such a society. But as they explored the historical record and sifted through oral histories, they found that previous researchers had dismissed important archival documents as being too fantastical to believe. However, the dogged Mauritius Frontage (best known as the Director and public face of San Francisco’s Museum of the Revolution) uncovered the map accompanying this article hidden in plain sight in the museum’s archives.
   It shows that the existence of the Farallones was well known to explorers, even though Athanasius Kircher (who drew this map) insisted on using the latin term Atlantis to identify their land. But, to put it bluntly, if the island was once this big, how did it get so small?
   Frontage and his team of researchers have recently tied together numerous different strands of evidence including the discovery of radioactivity in the Gulf of the Farallones.
   The Branciforte had a legend, the legend of Labierta. Branciforte folklore often deals with the difference between brilliance and wisdom. Frontage argues that because of how advanced the Branciforte were, they had to be acutely conscious of the arrogance that came with that.
   Labierta was the last ancient queen of the Branciforte. And she was one of the most brilliant of the most brilliant. And according to legend she one day ordered that the rocks and pebbles on the beaches fly through the air and move at her command. And at first, of course, they did not, but she and her high priests worked and talked and conjured, until one day she gathered her people into the great square at Maintop and, sure enough, the rocks and pebbles flew around like insects at her command. And the people were very impressed, but Farqhr, the leader of her council, said, “O Labierta, you have dazzled us all with your brilliance, but be wise and careful and know that it is enough.” And she agreed.
   But a little while later, Labierta ordered that the largest boulders in the land fly through the air and move at her command. And at first they did not, in fact they didn’t even move a little bit, but she and her high priests worked and talked and conjured, until one day she gathered her people once again into the great square at Maintop and, sure enough, the biggest boulders in the land were moved around like little toys at her command. Labierta cried, “Even the most giant boulders of our land are the subjects of our people.” And the people were very impressed, but Farqhr, the leader of her council, said, “O Labierta, you have dazzled us all again with your brilliance, but be wise and careful and know that it is enough.” And she agreed.
   But soon she was anxious again and she asked Farqhr. Would it be all right to move little things? And he asked, like the grains of sand? And she said: smaller still, the things that we do not see. And Farqhr looked very afraid and said no, for the littlest things can be the biggest. And she agreed, but he saw in her eyes that she did not. As Farqhr left the palace, he quickly gathered his family and their friends and families and they all went down to the sea, tied their monikoos (a monikoo was a kind of underwater capsule) to their water moles and began to prepare for departure.
   Sure enough, Labierta ordered her wise men to work and conjure and she announced to her people that they controlled even the tiniest things the universe. She gathered them all. Meanwhile, Farqhr’s family was ready and he ran to Maintop where the people were gathered. He cried to Labierta, do not show the people your power. “O Labierta, you have dazzled us all again with your brilliance, but be wise and careful and know that it is enough. The greatest power is restraint.” But this time she did not agree and she ordered her guards to seize him, but he was trained in powerful arts and soon escaped back to his family at the shore. As he did, Labierta’s demonstration began and at first the tiny things did obey, and the people applauded, but gradually a warmth began to spread from the demonstration area. And it got hotter and hotter and the people were afraid and began to run. Farqhr and his folk got into their monikoos and dove beneath the water as they felt the heat come towards them. Finally as Labierta was, screaming, consumed in flame, a massive explosion obliterated the Farallones, leaving only what we see today: the ragged remnants of a one vast land And indeed, to this day, as Frontage has shown, radiation levels remain unusually high there.
   Farqhr and his descendants became the Branciforte Diaspora, settlers of many parts of pCalifornia. Today, Frontage and others believe that Labierta and her sages actually cracked the mysteries of the atom and were destroyed in the subsequent explosion. It is an impressive and tragic measure of their civilization.
   NEXT WEEK: The Great Devil’s Den Earthquake and Fire
   To see previous installments and ancillary materials, visit www.pcalif.com.