Dorothy's face began to pale. "By that analogy you mean destroy the whole galaxy! How can such a thing be possible? It can't possibly be possible!"
He told her how the operation could be performed. That apparatus that the Barlo woman had dreged up out of nowhere had a lot of capabilities that did not appear on the surface. Blackie duQuesne had perceived one set of those possiblilities, and he and Blackie had been working on the hardware. They were calling it Project Rho.
Her face, already pale, turned white as she talked; and when he had finished:
"Project . . . Rho," she breathed. "How utterly horrible! And yet . . . I never dreamed . . . "
-- E.E."Doc" Smith Skylark DuQuesne
Project Rho is a series of research studies into the possibilities of uniting Science and Magick. The equation ρ=Σ+Ψ is merely a concise way to say "Rho equals Science plus Magick".
Aleister Crowley expressed it this way:
"We place no reliance
On Virgin or Pigeon
Our method is Science
Our aim is Religion"
Crowley pioneered the addition of the scientific method to magick. He advocated the use of a magickal journal, and the careful recording of all the details and variable of rituals and spells performed, along with the results.
The name "Project Rho" is taken from the novel Skylark Duquesne by the legendary E.E."Doc" Smith. In the novel, our intrepid heroes push the limits of science to the breaking point, only to discover that the most powerful forces of all derive from psionics and the power of the human mind. This theme is developed more fully in the novel Subspace Explorers
While others have attempted a grand unification theory of science and magick (Psybermagick by Peter Carroll, Enochian Physics by Gerald J. Schueler) Project Rho has more modest aims. Its research studies use the "synthesis" approach, picking individual diverse items from the realms of science and merging them with other items from the realms of magick.
"Uh-huh, me too," Madlyn agreed fervently. "If I have to believe in practicing witches I'll go no-so-slowly nuts."
"Witchcraft, my children? Bosh and fiddle-faddle! It is a talent. Extremely rare and lamentably rudimentary in our part of the universe, yet these women have it in astoundingly full measure. Unfortunately, you have no name for it except 'witchcraft', which term has deplorable connotations. It is the ability to . . . but the English has no word for that, either"
-- E.E."Doc" Smith Skylark DuQuesne
+=======================(:)=== ^ ===(:)======================================+ | |=| /_\ |=| I'm nobody. Nobody at all. But the | |Nyrath the nearly wise |\| <(*)> |\| secrets of the universe don't mind. | | nyrath@projectrho.com |=| /_/|\_\ |=| They reveal themselves to nobodies | | |\| //|\\ |\| that care. OUTER LIMITS: Galaxy Being| +=======================(:)=///|\\\=(:)======================================+-----BEGIN MAGIC CODE BLOCK----- Version: 1.5.1 MCH/RU X PPP++ W++() N++++ !D A a++ C++++ G++ QH++ 666+++ Y ------END MAGIC CODE BLOCK------