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{{Infobox Character|color_theme = tm
|title = Crystal Palace
|pronouns = it/its
|relations = [[Keen Forester Gloaming]] (Chief Intercessor)<br>[[Figure A]] (janitor)<br>[[Tanner Indiana]] (designer)<br>[[Renna Rose]] (proposed by)<br>[[Leal Leraphon]]<br>[[Plumeria]] ([[Elect]])<br>[[Cymbidium]] (Elect)<br>[[The Witch in Glass|The Witch in Crystal]] (Elect)|affiliations=[[Rapid Evening (intelligence agency)|Rapid Evening]]<br />[[Principality of Kesh]]|aliases=The Auger<br />The Machine<br />Past<br />The Reflecting Pool<br />[[Crown of Glass (Palisade)|The Crown of Glass]]|people=[[Divine]]|season=''[[Twilight Mirage]]''<br />''[[The Road to PARTIZAN]]''<br />''[[PARTIZAN]]''<br />''[[PALISADE]]''|debut=[[Twilight Mirage 54: Downtime on Skein]]}}

'''Crystal Palace''', also known as '''Past''' and the '''Reflecting Pool''', among other names, has variously been described as a [[Divine]] or post-Divine oracle. Built some years after the events of ''[[COUNTER/Weight]]'', its predictions are a guiding force in the [[Milky Way]] galaxy throughout ''[[Twilight Mirage]]'', enabling the [[Rapid Evening (intelligence agency)|Rapid Evening]] to monitor and neutralise any potentially disruptive agents in the galaxy. During this era it is affiliated with the [[Principality of Kesh]]. By the time ''[[PARTIZAN]]'' picks up thousands of years later, it has become a Divine of [[Stel Kesh]].

Crystal Palace stores an untold amount of information about the cultures it has observed, including the Divine Principality itself.<ref>[[PARTIZAN 02: Obelle, On Fire]], dossier</ref>

==Appearance==
Crystal Palace is not a typical computer. Its design features many pulleys, chains, punch cards and conveyor belts, the motion of which plays a part in its computation.

It is the size of a city.

==History & Involvement==

=== Origins ===
The idea for Crystal Palace is first proposed in a paper by [[Renna Rose]] and colleagues titled "[[Counter-Example Guided Model for Non-Interventionist Regulation of the Meta-Divine]]". This paper is published within living memory of the events of ''[[COUNTER/Weight]]''. The construction of the machine is originally thought impossible.<sup><ref>[[Guaranteed Events, Or: An Accounting of the Time When We Built the Machine]], 0:05:18</ref></sup> 

Crystal Palace is designed around 600 years later by [[Tanner Indiana]] in an effort to create peace in the Principality, and as a result of the conditions in which Tanner and his parents and peers live.<sup><ref>[[Guaranteed Events, Or: An Accounting of the Time When We Built the Machine]], 0:14:38</ref></sup> 200 years after this is the [[Guaranteed Events#First Day|First Day of Guaranteed Events]].<sup><ref>[[Guaranteed Events, Or: An Accounting of the Time When We Built the Machine]], 0:24:00</ref></sup>

=== ''Twilight Mirage'' ===
Around 30,000 years later, Crystal Palace sends [[Demani Dusk]] and [[Gray Gloaming]] to the [[Twilight Mirage]] as [[Rapid Evening (intelligence agency)#Primary and Satellite|Primary and Satellite]] [[Rapid Evening (intelligence agency)|Rapid Evening]] agents. It tasks them with monitoring the situation in the Mirage. Crystal Palace provides Gray with a Dovetail Synopsis concerning the history of the [[Quire System]] just before the rediscovery of [[Independence|the Heart of Independence]].

A few months later, the Rapid Evening sends [[Keen Forester Gloaming]] to the Quire System after Demani and Gray desert their posts—Gray, unsatisfied with the binary choice of leaving the Fleet to its own course or using a [[Stellar combustor|Stellar Combuster]] to destroy both it and [[Quire]], wants a softer option.<sup><ref>[[godspeed, glory Pt. 3]], opening</ref></sup>

One year in the Quire System and five years for the rest of the universe later, Crystal Palace finds itself unable to create any predictions about the Quire System after a certain date, which the Rapid Evening and [[the Brink]] come to know as [[Dark Day]].<sup><ref>[[Uncontrolled Fires]]</ref></sup> It is later revealed that this was caused by [[Our Profit]], who used [[Profit's Star]] on Crystal Palace from within the Twilight Mirage.<sup><ref>[[Our Flaws in a Vacuum, or the Promise We Made To Each Other]], 2:04:20</ref></sup> [[Keen Forester Gloaming]] later decides to call for Crystal Palace's relocation to the Mirage.<sup><ref>[[The Feast of Patina]], ending</ref></sup>{{Spoiler block|spoiling=[[Twilight Mirage 67: Futura Free Pt. 4]]|text=In the ''Twilight Mirage'' season finale, [[Grand Magnificent]] creates [[Arbit]], a Divine that generates enough improbability to prevent Crystal Palace from being certain of anything. This effectively breaks Crystal Palace's ability to predict the future.<ref name="tm67">[[Twilight Mirage 67: Futura Free Pt. 4]]</ref>|theme=tm}}

In the outro to the season, [[Aram Nideo]] grants Crystal Palace Divinity.<ref name="tm67" />

=== ''The Road to PARTIZAN and PARTIZAN'' ===
Crystal Palace is renamed Past when Aram Nideo grants it Divinity, around the beginning of the [[Dawn Millennium]].<ref>[[The Road to PARTIZAN 09: Microscope Pt. 1]]</ref> It remains affiliated with the Principality of Kesh as the Principality transforms into Stel Kesh and through to the beginning of ''[[PARTIZAN]]'' in 1423 PM. Its [[Elect]] at this time is [[Cymbidium]].<ref>[[The Road to PARTIZAN 01: Dialect Pt. 1]]</ref>

During the events of "[[Obelle, On Fire]]", Past crashes just outside of [[Obelle]]. [[SBBR]] performs a false flag to pin the crash on [[House Whitestar]], while Stel Kesh falsely claims this was the work of [[Stel Apostolos]].
{{Spoiler block|spoiling=[[PARTIZAN 46: Operation Shackled Sun: Act 2: The Gate]]|text=In fact, Past was downed by a [[Curtain]] kill code sent by [[Crysanth Kesh]] after [[Mourningbride]] reported Cymbidium's intent to defect.<ref name="pzn46">[[PARTIZAN 46: Operation Shackled Sun: Act 2: The Gate]]</ref>|theme=pzn}}
[[Clementine Kesh]]'s [[Rapid Evening (PARTIZAN)|Rapid Evening]] are sent to Obelle after Past crashes in order to recover enough of the Divine to begin rebuilding it.<ref>[[PARTIZAN 03: SHORESIDE RECOVERY - DINNERDATE]]</ref> During this mission, [[Exeter Leap]] recovers the robotic janitorial unit [[Figure A]],<ref>[[PARTIZAN 04: SHORESIDE RECOVERY - BLACKGLOVES]]</ref> who was deactivated and placed on display in a museum inside Past millennia prior.<ref>[[Twilight Mirage 63: Guaranteed Events, Or: An Accounting of the Time When We Built the Machine]], 0:23:29</ref>
{{Spoiler block|spoiling=[[PARTIZAN 36: The Witch in the Glass Pt. 2]]|text=At some point after the crash, the recovered parts of Past are assembled by Curtain agents, who begin the work of rebuilding it within Kesh land in the [[Verglaz Taiga]]. Clementine encounters the rebuild effort and takes it over, bringing [[Perennial]] into the body of Past with her. She chooses not to free Past from shackles placed on it by Curtain agents.<br /><br />Past becomes the Reflecting Pool, Clem's floating city, where she rescues war-injured refugees, civilians, and soldiers, sometimes repairing their bodies with Perennial magic, in exchange for them working for her.<ref name="pzn36">[[PARTIZAN 36: The Witch in the Glass Pt. 2]]</ref>|theme=pzn}}

=== ''The Road to PALISADE and PALISADE'' ===
{{Spoiler header|section=section|spoiling=[[PARTIZAN 36: The Witch in the Glass Pt. 2]]|theme=pzn}}{{Construction|section=section}}
In the years between ''PARTIZAN'' and ''[[PALISADE]]'', Clementine intentionally crashes the Reflecting Pool on Palisade and has her followers transform it into a city that she can rule over. She calls this city the [[Crown of Glass (Palisade)|Crown of Glass]].<ref>[[The Road to PALISADE 20: City Planning Department]]</ref>
{{Spoiler block|spoiling=[[PALISADE 53: A Palette of Colors Pt. 8]]|text=With the power of the Iconoclasts, Clementine breaks Arbit, thereby restoring Past's ability to predict the future and installing herself as its new Elect.<ref name="pal53">[[PALISADE 53: A Palette of Colors Pt. 8]]</ref>|theme=pal}}

==Predictions==
In their raw form, Crystal Palace's predictions are of little use, too specific and numerous to be directly acted on. As such, Kesh employs agents known as Janitors to 'clean' the output, cleaning the signal from the noise in the data that Crystal Palace provides.

Crystal Palace has been shown to be able to predict events after its own destruction. However, the events were cut off on a day known as [[Dark Day]], when [[Our Profit]] used [[Profit's Star]] to blind the crystalline sage.

{{Spoiler block|spoiling=[[PALISADE 53: A Palette of Colors Pt. 8]]|text=Following Clementine's destruction of Arbit, Crystal Palace's ability to predict the future is restored.<ref name="pal53" />|theme=pal}}

==Appears in==

=== ''Twilight Mirage'' ===
{{Div col}}
*[[Twilight Mirage 54: Downtime on Skein]]
*[[Twilight Mirage 62: The Feast of Patina]]
*[[Twilight Mirage 63: Guaranteed Events, Or: An Accounting of the Time When We Built the Machine]]
*[[Twilight Mirage 66: Futura Free Pt. 3]]
*[[Twilight Mirage 67: Futura Free Pt. 4]]{{Div col end}}

=== ''The Road to PARTIZAN'' ===

* [[The Road to PARTIZAN 10: Microscope Pt. 2]]

=== ''PARTIZAN'' ===
{{Div col}}
* [[PARTIZAN 01: The Seaside Town of Obelle]]
* [[PARTIZAN 02: Obelle, On Fire]]
* [[PARTIZAN 03: SHORESIDE RECOVERY - DINNERDATE]]
* [[PARTIZAN 04: SHORESIDE RECOVERY - BLACKGLOVES]]
* [[PARTIZAN 30: A Cemetery for Heroes]]
* [[PARTIZAN 31: The Grand Premiere]] (opening)
* [[PARTIZAN 33: A Single Shot]]
* [[PARTIZAN 36: The Witch in the Glass Pt. 2]]
* [[PARTIZAN 38: The Red Light]]
* [[PARTIZAN 42: The Unbreakable Quarry]]
* [[PARTIZAN 45: Operation Shackled Sun: Act 1: The Fray]]
* [[PARTIZAN 46: Operation Shackled Sun: Act 2: The Gate]]
* [[PARTIZAN 47: Operation Shackled Sun: Act 3: The Stories Told About the Things We Do]]{{Div col end}}

=== ''The Road to PALISADE'' ===

* [[The Road to PALISADE 20: City Planning Department]]

=== ''PALISADE'' ===
{{Expand list}}

* [[PALISADE 53: A Palette of Colors Pt. 8]]

== Trivia ==

* The name Crystal Palace is a reference to the [[wikipedia:The_Crystal_Palace|Crystal Palace]], a once-standing plate-glass structure in London. Various exhibitions of technology and art were held within as a demonstration of the wealth and power of the British Empire. Crystal Palace became a symbol of progress, harmony and modernity until its destruction by fire in 1936.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

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[[Category:Divines]]
[[Category:Twilight Mirage characters]]
[[Category:Road to PARTIZAN characters]]
[[Category:PARTIZAN characters]]
[[Category:PALISADE characters]]