The Dark Tower Companion: A Guide to Stephen King’s Epic Fantasy (53 page)

A shrine in the lobby of 2 Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza. The marble floor gives way to a patch of earth surrounded by velvet ropes. The garden contains
dwarf palms and other plants. In the middle of the square is the rose that represents the Dark Tower in Keystone Earth. The building was built around the rose—it wasn't transplanted from the vacant lot. The sign over it reads, “Given by the Tet Corporation, in honor of Edward Cantor Dean and John ‘Jake' Chambers. As White over Red, thus Gan wills ever.”

H
OGAN
, T
HE
(5, 6, 7)

See
The Dogan
.

H
OLMES
D
ENTAL
I
NDUSTRIES
(C
ORPORATION
) (2, 5, 6, 7)

The company formed by Dan Holmes to exploit his inventions pertaining to capping teeth. It also produces dental floss, toothpaste and mouthwash. Holmes handled the financial side of the business until his first heart attack in 1959, when he gets his accountant, Moses Carver, more involved. Eddie comes up with a plan to merge the company with Tet Corporation and use its assets to thwart Sombra and North Central Positronics.

I
NSOMNIA
(7)

A novel by Stephen King published in 1994. The Calvins believe it is King's most important book outside of the Dark Tower series. Its red-and-white cover indicates its significance. It mentions the Crimson King, Ed Deepneau and Patrick Danville. Moses Carver gives Roland a copy, but he passes it on to Irene Tassenbaum, afraid that it might be a mind-trap.

J
AFFORDS
R
ENTALS
(6)

Realtor who leases lakefront cabins in Bridgton, Maine.

K
ANSAS
C
ITY
M
ONARCHS
(4, 5)

A major league baseball team in the world ravaged by the superflu.

K
EFLEX
(2, 3)

An antibiotic. Eddie takes some from Balazar's stash and Roland takes more from Katz's Drug Store. They use it to rid Roland of the infection from the lobstrosity wounds and to rid Jake of the infection from the spider bite he received while crossing back to Mid-World. Roland pronounces the word “cheflet.”

K
EYSTONE
Y
EAR
(7)

1999—the year when Stephen King is supposed to die and the year where Mia goes to have her baby. Also the year John Kennedy Jr.—the son of the last gunslinger in Keystone Earth—died and the year that King wrote Ted Brautigan into the Dark Tower story.

L
OOK
H
OMEWARD
, A
NGEL
(1, 5)

A novel by Thomas Wolfe. The ghostwood box containing Black Thirteen contains symbols from this book: a leaf, a stone, an unfound door.

M
AGNIFICENT
S
EVEN
, T
HE
(5, 6)

An MGM movie directed by John Sturges, an Americanized version of Akira Kurosawa's
Seven Samurai
. Eddie makes the connection between the movie and their adventures in Calla Bryn Sturgis.

“M
AN/MAID OF
C
ONSTANT
S
ORROW
” (5, 6)

A traditional American folk song. Susannah Dean sings it at Calla Bryn Sturgis and hears a busker singing it near the Dixie Pig. She first heard it in the Hungry i in 1962, sung by a white blues-shouter named Dave Van Ronk.

M
ARLOWE
(7)

Stephen King's Welsh corgi. Also known as the Snoutmaster.

M
ICROSOFT
(5, 6, 7)

A computer hardware and software company started by Bill Gates. Jake sees its logo in the Dogan near Calla Bryn Sturgis. Eddie tells Calvin Tower and John Cullum to invest in their stock to grow Tet Corporation's assets. Shares that cost fifteen dollars in 1982 are worth more than thirty-five dollars in 1987.

M
ID
-W
ORLD
R
AILWAY
C
OMPANY
(3)

The company that owns and operates Charlie the Choo-Choo in the book of the same name.

M
ILLS
C
ONSTRUCTION
(3, 4, 5, 7)

A construction partner of Sombra Real Estate. They plan to build Turtle Bay Luxury Condominiums on the vacant lot.

M
Y
U
NDERSTANDING OF
T
RUTH
(3, 4, 5)

The theme for Jake Chambers's final essay in his English Composition class. It counts twenty-five percent toward his grade. The paper, which Jake does not remember writing, contains many Mid-World references, including things that will happen in the future, called forth by the touch. Mrs. Avery gives him an A+ and provides a detailed (but misguided) interpretation of the essay's allusions. When Stephen King sends Jake a message, he labels it “This is the truth.”

P
IMSY
(7)

Odetta Holmes's pet. Eddie uses the fact that Moses Carver told her she could visit the grave so that John Cullum can convince him to join Tet Corporation.

P
ISTOL
(7)

One of Bryan Smith's rottweilers.

R
IDDLE
-D
E
-D
UM
!
(3, 4, 5, 7)

A book of riddles that Jake Chambers gets at the Manhattan Restaurant of the Mind. Its subtitle is
Brain-Twisters and Puzzles for Everyone
. No author is credited. The cover is torn and mended with tape and features a boy and a girl with question marks over their heads. The answers have been ripped out of the back of the book.

R
OSE IN THE
V
ACANT
L
OT
, T
HE
(3, 5, 6, 7)

The Dark Tower's representation on Earth. Though it is fragile, if properly protected it can be immortal. When Jake first sees it, it is growing near a clump of alien-looking purple grass that may be splashed with paint. Though the rose opens for Jake, he can tell it is ailing. Inside, he sees a sun glowing and then realizes that it is not just one sun but many—perhaps every sun. Eddie sees all the great things that have ever happened and every near miss. Its singing voice promises that all things might be well again. As the Tower weakens, it is what holds everything together, although it is weakening, too. If it dies, the Dark Tower will simply fall. To protect it, Tet Corporation builds a roped-off garden in the lobby of 2 Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza where it can receive direct sunlight. It sings and makes people happy. Eddie theorizes that the rose is Stephen King's twin and that it is taking care of one of the two remaining Beams.

R
OSSCO
(7)

A brand of appliance in worlds other than Keystone Earth. Joe Collins's electric stove is this brand.

'S
ALEM'S LOT
(5, 6)

A book written by Stephen King and published by Doubleday in 1975. Roland finds a copy on Calvin Tower's shelf of valuable books with a penciled price of $950 on the flyleaf. The church on the cover reminds him of Our Lady of Serenity in Calla Bryn Sturgis. Tower says it is valuable because the name of the priest is misprinted on the price-clipped dust jacket. There are only 7,500 copies of the first edition, most sold in Maine. The book is the key to one of the biggest mysteries the
ka-tet
faces.

S
ERGIO
(5)

The store cat at Manhattan Restaurant of the Mind. Probably named for Sergio Leone, director of spaghetti Westerns starring Clint Eastwood.

S
HOOTER'S
B
IBLE
(2)

A catalog of guns and ammunition. Roland consults a copy at Clements Guns and Sporting Goods to determine what kind of bullets to buy for his revolvers.

S
KÖLPADDA
(5, 6, 7)

The Swedish name given to the scrimshaw turtle, a
can-tah
that Susannah finds in a secret pocket of the bowling bag from the empty lot. It is identical to the metal sculpture in the pocket park near the Black Tower. It has the power to mesmerize and hypnotize people. The turtle's head pokes halfway out of its detailed shell, which is marred by a scratch that looks like a question mark. Its eyes are tiny black dots that look alive. Its beak has a wedge-shaped crack and the carving has a feeling of age. Susannah dropped it outside the Dixie Pig for Jake and Callahan to find. After using it to enchant the low men and vampires, Father Callahan drops it. What happens to it afterward is unknown. Roland senses that it's gone by the time he passes through.

S
OMBRA
G
ROUP
, T
HE
(3, 4, 5, 6, 7)

A closed corporation that includes Sombra Corporation, Sombra Enterprises and Sombra Real Estate Associates. A branch of North Central Positronics in Keystone Earth, incorporated in the Bahamas, with offices in New Delhi, New York, Chicago, Detroit, Denver, Los Angeles and San Francisco. They
specialized in high-tech, real estate and construction. Their Real Estate Division wants Calvin Tower to sell them the vacant lot, supposedly to build Turtle Bay Luxury Condominiums. Their Detroit division, with offices on the thirty-third floor of the Tishman Building, uses a promise of grant money to the Lighthouse Shelter to lure Father Callahan out of hiding. Tet Corporation was created to drive them out of business, which they hope to do by 2030.

“S
OMEONE
S
AVED
M
Y
L
IFE
T
ONIGHT
” (5, 7)

A hit single by Elton John. Father Callahan hears it repeatedly after he leaves 'Salem's Lot.

T
AKURO
S
PIRIT
(4, 5, 6, 7)

Automobile brand in the non-Keystone versions of Earth.

T
ET
C
ORPORATION
(5, 6, 7)

A company that Eddie Dean invents in 1977 to represent the
ka-tet
's interest in the vacant lot. Also known as the firm of Deschain, Dean, Dean, Chambers & Oy. Eddie and Roland get John Cullum to enlist the help of Moses Carver and Aaron Deepneau to merge Tet with Holmes Dental to create a company with sufficient resources to go head-to-head with Sombra Corporation and North Central Positronics. Their headquarters are on the ninety-ninth floor of 2 Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza. Marian Carver became president in 1997 after Moses Carver retired, at which time the corporation was worth ten billion dollars. The corporation believes its work will be done by 2030. Susannah Dean and Eddie Toren join Tet in 1987.

T
ODASH
T
URNPIKES
(5)

Eddie's name for the roads that take Father Callahan from one version of America to another.

T
OPEKA
C
APITAL
-J
OURNAL
(4)

Newspaper in Topeka in the reality where the superflu devastated the world.

T
UBE
-N
ECK
(4)

Name for the superflu in the Midwest.

W
ATERSHIP
D
OWN
(3, 7)

A novel about rabbits by Richard Adams, who also wrote a book about a bear named Shardik.

T
he history of All-World—sometimes called Mid-World, though that is technically just one region of Roland's planet—is steeped in mystery. One reason for this is the scarcity of paper and books. Very little of Mid-World's history has ever been written, and much of what has been recorded is regarded as legend rather than fact. The Dark Tower, the most important part of creation, is thought to be a fairy tale. Residents of Mid-World are blind to the presence of the Beams that support it, even though one runs through Gilead.

Much of what is “known” about Mid-World's history comes from the mouths of demons who have existed since creation. Considering the source, some of this can be considered suspect. However, here is what is generally believed to be true.

In the beginning was the Prim, a primordial soup of magic that the Manni call the Over. It is also called the greater Discordia. The Beams rose from the Prim on the airs of magic. Gan, the personification of the Dark Tower, originated at the point where these Beams intersected. As he grew, so did the Tower, with each new level producing another universe. Gan uttered the word “hile” and set time in motion. In other accounts, he tipped the world with his finger, which began time. In some legends, Lady Oriza gave birth to the first humans after Gan created the universe, though no one explains where she came from.