The central room of the machine
Basileus's machine, as described by Kalina, is a house-like machine "designed by the Devil, and powered by the dead." It physically resembles a mansion with walls made of ectobar glass etched with containment spells, and a central core of huge, mechanical gears and a rotating crest of rings. The blueprints for the machine were written in the Arcanum by the 15th century astrologer, Basileus, while he was under demonic possession. 600 years later, Cyrus built the machine. The machine requires thirteen earth-bound spirits which represent the Black Zodiac in order to work. Once the machine is activated, it will open the Ocularis Infernum. However, it was destroyed before it could gain the thirteenth ghost needed to open the Eye.
Description
The machine was built to resemble a big house, entirely made of sound-proof ectobar glass and iron, some electrical wires still visible from the outside, so as its two upper floors (above the basement). The glass panels that form the house all have protection spells to prevent the imprisoned ghosts from escaping. Some important parts are the machine's center (where the ghosts feed the machine their life energy in order to open the Eye), the fully-protected library, and especially the basement, made of containment cubes that hold the ghosts as prisoners, until the machine is activated.
Connection with the Black Zodiac
The machine was designed to use the Black Zodiac to open the Eye of Hell, and works when thirteen earth-bound souls which each represent the Black Zodiac are fed to the machine's core, sucking their energy.
Function
The main doors into the house are activated by a key inserted into a slot like a credit card.
The machine is activated by a pedal-like switch in the room which holds the machine's core. Once the machine is activated, it will automatically seal all possible ways out of the house and release the captive ghosts from their containment cubes one by one.
Once all of the ghosts have been released, a tape recording of a Latin chant is used to draw all the ghosts to the machine's core, where each one feeds their life energy to the machine. Once the machine has been powered up by all thirteen ghosts, it will open the Ocularis Infernum.
It is also shown that using the controls at the machine's core to reopen the house's exits when the machine is active will cause it to malfunction and explode; and that the rotating crest of rings at the machine's core will, when this happens, protect anyone inside.