Day 48 – The Archaeologist’s Vault

In a time long gone, archaeology was a real journey into the past culture, via the vault. Similar, if not exactly the same as a “hollow deck” on the space ship “Enterprise the Next Generation”, it allowed a person to travel to the past, to interact with the people and cultural structures there, as if they were real. This “Key” to time travel, was greatly coveted by all intellectual classes, more even than money in it’s various shapes and guises. There was a quality of mysterious rejuvenation about the device, that was not clearly understood, or even scientifically verified.

This strange phenomena became the source of much media “hoopla” and for many years, the “Key” was placed under a strict usage law. It became next to impossible for the “common man” to earn the right to use this device. It was jealously guarded, by a fervent religious cult, who believed that a “redeemer” would enter the earth dimension through it.

What this “redeemer” would do here, was transcribed into a sacred book of writings by the only humans who had successfully returned from a time travel expedition through this “key”.
It was a tragically familiar story. We had all heard of it before. Everyone dismissed it as unrealistically fantastic. The product of an over-wraught imagination. It couldn’t possibly be considered a global threat of any kind. The device had not been studied, therefore it could not be accurately classified, as to the potentiality of it’s functions, or even of it’s misuse.

The “church of the vessel”, as it became known, was a hidden sect, that revealed nothing to humanity at large, about the nature of transformations emanating out of the “Key”. The reason was simple. The prevention of mass public hysteria, needed to be prevented.

The resulting schism that was generated between members of the “church of the vessel” and society, became the source of mass conflict. Entire countries and cultures were destroyed in the misguided attempt to suppress the knowledge emanating from the “Key”. The agents of suppression, were themselves destroyed by their own actions. The Key continued to “emanate” regardless of what mankind devised to close it down. Nothing appeared to be able to control or destroy it.

Those remaining alive, despite it’s “emanation” began to realize that it served as a catalyst for all human and all planetary life”s evolution. The process was escalating with each new generation that was born. The process could not be stopped. The only escape, it was surmised, might be to actually enter the device, and learn to “travel” in whatever way that was meant to be done. Who could be used as a “guinea pig” to test this theory? No one could be found.

Until one day, an element emerged from the device’s centre, which had clearly not existed on earth before. This new element, could not speak or communicate in any way known to man. It did however begin to make a sound, unlike anything heard before. It remained inside the devices illuminated “doors” and did not consume any “food” or water. Those studying it began to suspect that it did not have a “life” that required consumption of an energy source of any kind.

What was it? Could not be determined. The religious sect began to “worship” it as the foretold “redeemer”. This too was considered an hysterical reaction, by the world community leaders. The area in which the “Key” resided was remote from large populations, so it could easily be quarantined. It was camouflaged with large shale embankments that looked from the outside like a small mountain. And it was officially forgotten. All human eyes were deliberately turned to other focus.

A small group of highly austere individuals became the guardians of the physical embankments. No attempts were made to enter the presence of the element, to study or interact with it. No further information could be deseminated about the “Key” or it’s “element” contained inside.

Whether this thing was doing or would ever “do ” anything to interact with the earth was unknown, and unobserved. Finally, the “unthinkable” thought was thought, and the being who thought it, was suddenly present inside the element, fully formed. It appeared, that the element had generated it’s own medium through which it would now speak.