| "Tony Loquasto" | |
| Fictional Character | |
| "Manuscript Tradition" Science Fiction Set in the 23rd Century | |
| Type of Appearance: | Direct |
| Nationality: | United States (born on Faraday) |
| Religion: | Unknown |
| Date of Birth: | Before 1400 |
| Occupation: | Custodian, Author of Non-Fiction |
"Tony Loquasto" was the final alias used by a denizen of the planet Faraday, who first arrived on Earth around the year 1400.
The denizen awoke from cryogenic freeze as his pod was headed towards Earth; he knew there was an emergency, but never learned what actually happened. He was also the only survivor of the trip. When there wasn't a rescue mission, he concluded that his planet had suffered a devastating war. He was soon surprised by how short-lived humans were.
Landing in Italy, the alien took up residence there, and created a manuscript to cope with his situation. The manuscript contained drawings of flora and fauna of his home, as well as writings in his native language. Over the course of the centuries, the alien lost control of the manuscript. Like a number of immigrants, the alien arrived in the United States in 1893, hoping for a better life, which he mostly did find.
The alien's manuscript was purchased by Wilfrid Voynich in the early twentieth century, and it became a very public mystery. The "Voynich Manuscript" and was donated to Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale in 1969. When the author learned that the Beinecke had the manuscript, he took a position as a janitor there in the 1980s. Using the name "Loquasto", the alien worked as a custodian at the Beinecke until 2219, hiding his identity by claiming to be various descendants of the original custodian. He even maintained the same house in West Haven, Connecticut.
In the late 21st century, the U.S. sent a space crawler to Loquasto's home planet. It arrived there in the 2170s, and began collecting data, including evidence that its people had indeed fallen into a devastating war. One such denizen smashed the crawler. The data arrived on Earth in 2219. While viewing it, Dr. Feyrouz Hanafusa, the incumbent curator of the Beinecke, saw pictures of flora that she remembered from the Voynich Manuscript. As she reviewed it, the alien, using the name "Tony Loquasto" appeared. When Hanafusa confronted him, Loquasto told her his story.
While they spoke, images showing Faraday's dead civilization, and the crawler's destruction had been broadcast. The second to last image showed the base of what had been a statute, including writing identical to writing in the Voynich Manuscript. People across the country recognized the significance, and began contacting Hanafusa. Realizing his risk, Loquasto disappeared after he burned his house down to cover his tracks. The manuscript remained officially a mystery. While Loquasto's story became public knowledge, only Hanafusa ever really believed it.[1]
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