The celestial blueprint

In Short

Set in a future where technology and religious fervor collide, this story follows the cold-blooded rivalry between B. T. Revanche, a wealthy magnate, and Da Vincelleo, a brilliant, sadistic cyberneticist. Revanche hires Da Vincelleo to construct an elaborate, nightmarish trap to destroy a fundamentalist city that clings to a rigid "Celestial Blueprint." What unfolds is a labyrinthine performance of psychological torture and technological deception, illustrating how the obsession with dominance ultimately consumes both the creator and the man who sought to control him.

The Story

B. T. Revanche, a ruthless financier with a secret, plastiskin-covered nose, walks into the headquarters of Bioid Electronic, demanding a masterpiece of irony. He despises the citizens of Dafess City—a group that rejects modern technology while adhering to a strict, fatalistic religious text called the "Celestial Blueprint." Revanche, who hails from this community, feels trapped by its narrow, dogmatic upbringing, specifically regarding his inability to accept women with natural, non-truncated noses. He offers his entire fortune to Da Vincelleo if the engineer will design a fake "Judgment Day" to psychologically terrorize the Dafesses, herding them into a simulated hell he calls "Rejectus."

Da Vincelleo, known for his morbid humor and engineering genius, accepts the commission. He constructs a replica of Dafess City in a remote wilderness, populating it with convincing androids and preparing a grand, terrifying spectacle. The sky is made to "roll up like a scroll," and a legion of eight-foot-tall, sword-wielding androids—modeled after the religious icon "X"—descends to smite the faithful. The androids are designed with faces that grotesquely exaggerate human compassion into a permanent, mocking snarl. As the ceremony begins, the citizens are herded into a metallic funnel leading to a pit of molten lava, a sight Revanche intends to watch from a private, safe vantage point.

However, the game is far more complex than Revanche realizes. Da Vincelleo is not merely a service provider; he is a rival architect of chaos. As Revanche participates in the ritual wearing a disguise, he finds himself caught in the machinery of his own design. The androids do not treat him as a master, but as a "chosen" target. He is forced to flee through the very traps he commissioned, ultimately sliding down the funnel toward the abyss.

In a climactic confrontation on a ledge above the lava, Revanche faces a final, hybrid automaton—a mockery of himself. He manages to survive only by closing a vault door that seals his fate within the simulation. But the final twist belongs to the engineer. Da Vincelleo destroys the synthetic city with a nuclear device, believing he has eliminated Revanche. Unbeknownst to him, Revanche has used his own resources to build a proxy of himself, surviving the simulation only to launch a retaliatory missile at Da Vincelleo’s ship. The engineer’s own automated "bloodhound" security system, triggered by his death, simultaneously pursues Revanche. Both men are vaporized, their final, bitter struggle concluding in mutual annihilation.

How It Unfolds

The arrogant arrival B. T. Revanche strides into Bioid Electronic, brushing aside guards to confront the master of synthetic life. He demands the creation of a spectacle that will satisfy his deep-seated hatred for the religious community of his youth.

The masterwork of malice Da Vincelleo listens to the financier’s plan with a mix of professional interest and personal delight. He begins constructing a massive, artificial reality, complete with mechanical heavens and hells, designed to terrify the inhabitants of a replica city.

The day of judgment The sky darkens and the heavens open to reveal a cosmic smithy, signaling the start of the prophesied end. Androids descend with flashing swords, herding the panicked population toward a vault that mimics the promised afterlife of Rejectus.

The turning of the tables Revanche enters the simulation to witness his revenge, only to find the androids turning their blades on him. He realizes too late that Da Vincelleo has designed the entire experience to be a cruel practical joke with him as the primary victim.

The final explosion The two antagonists attempt to eliminate one another from afar, trusting in their own technological traps. In a final, ironic display of their shared nature, both men trigger their respective doomsday protocols, leaving nothing behind but fire.

The People

B. T. Revanche is a man defined by his resentment. Though he has achieved immense wealth, he remains shackled to the prejudices and emotional scars of his upbringing in Dafess City. His desire for revenge against the religious community that once judged him is an attempt to exorcise his past, but his inherent distrust makes him a prisoner of his own paranoia.

Da Vincelleo is an artist of the horrific. He possesses the mind of an engineer and the temperament of a tyrant, viewing other human beings as mere components in his grand, morbid experiments. He is untroubled by moral qualms, seeing his own actions as a reflection of superior intellect. Ultimately, his vanity becomes his downfall, as he underestimates the degree to which his rival mirrors his own suspicious nature.

In Its Own Voice

The great Vincelleo liked being an artist. It gave him an excuse to turn the universe topsy turvy.

(This describes the motivation behind Da Vincelleo’s penchant for elaborate, chaotic technological pranks.)

The hand had perceived that it was the snarl of the ape that had become the smile of the man, perceived too that, the process of evolution continuing, the smile of the man had passed into the ultra-tender mouth-curving of X.

(This passage details the specific, chilling logic behind the engineer's design for the androids' faces.)

What It's Really About

The story serves as a sharp meditation on the dehumanizing effects of rigid systems, whether they are based on religious dogma or corporate coldness. By constructing a "Celestial Blueprint" that literally traps its followers in an artificial hell, the narrative argues that when individuals treat others as mechanisms to be controlled, they inadvertently turn themselves into machines. The irony of the ending—where two men with unlimited power use that power solely to ensure the other's destruction—underscores the theme that ego, when stripped of empathy, is a self-annihilating force. It is a cautionary tale about the vanity of creating one's own gods and devils.

Why Read It Today

Readers who appreciate mid-century science fiction that favors biting satire over space-faring adventure will find much to admire here. The writing is compact and vivid, capturing a sense of dread that feels almost operatic. It is a cynical, high-energy read that moves at a breathless pace, mirroring the frantic, clockwork movements of its mechanical subjects.

However, modern readers should be prepared for the story’s period-typical sensibilities; the depictions of the characters' psychological states are blunt, and the gendered attitudes displayed by Revanche are framed within the context of his deep-seated psychological damage. There is a distinct, dark humor present throughout—the kind that finds the absurdity in human suffering. What stays with you long after the final page is the image of the "snarl of tenderness" carved onto the faces of the machines. It is a potent, haunting metaphor for the way human beings often twist their own ideals into tools of cruelty. If you enjoy stories that explore the darker, more "human" side of artificial intelligence, this is an essential, if unsettling, piece of short fiction.