~angel

Coughing, the professor retired the dusty piece of cloth. The mistery was revealed:

S A T O R
A R E P O
T E N E T
O P E R A
R O T A S

"This is the oldest magic square known to mankind", said the professor, "It's something that has been written on walls since the early days of Rome. It was somewhat like a talisman."

"Like a HOME SWEET HOME crappy banner?", said Fabrizio.

"Not really. It's a palindrome; whatever direction you read it, it reads the same", said the professor.

"Well, HOME SWEET HOME is also a palindrome in a word-by-word basis", said Fabrizio.

"Shut up your fucking mouth", said Franz. "So, what does it mean? Is it really what we were looking for?".

"The meaning is not clear; it may say 'Sower Arepo keeps the wheels working' or 'Sower Arepo maintains the work with effort'", said the professor while wiping his glasses.

"Who the fuck is Arepo?", shouted Fabrizio.

Franz sighed. "Can we do anything with it? Is it any kind of meaningful message for us, or it's just another red herring to keep us busy while the creatures from the deep get closer, another pompous but inane pseudo-cultural reference that keeps the plot stalled?"

"You don't appreciate the hidden meaning", said the professor, somewhat offended. "This is very notable, you can even read it boustrophedon and it keeps the meaning. It's really magic. It's like the even older greek text ΑΒΛΑΝΑΘΑΝΑΛΒΑ, the one that means 'You are our father'".

"I bet on pompous but inane pseudo-cultural reference, Franz", said Fabrizio.

"I'm about to kill you two fuckers and keep moving alone", Franz said.