Immortal Brick of Don't Wake the Dead
The Discovery
It was roughly 76 years ago now, when a young archeology student, let’s call him Joe, was digging up a site not too far away from Wasteland Capital. This was in an area called Don’t Wake the Dead, due to its proximity to Graveyard. It was here where Joe and his fellow students and professors would spend countless hours digging up large areas with nothing but spoons. A tedious and mind numbing task, that would be greatly rewarded should an important historical artifact be uncovered.
And so, the proverbially average Joe took his spoon to continue digging at the site one day, not knowing that it would be him on that day who would uncover one of the most sought after and mythical artifacts our civilization knows of. Joe was digging and digging, not really expecting any significant results, when his spoon hit something hard under the layer of dry dirt.
“What could it be?” he thought while quickly brushing away the dirt with his fingers. He recovered a rectangular, brick-shaped, dark blue object from the ground. It was the brick shape that later gave the object its name. It was relatively small, one could easily fit it in one’s pocket, and it appeared to be made of plastic or a similar material.
Joe called his professor who was supervising the students’ work from nearby to show him his find. The professor, prof. Samuel took the object in his hands. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped as he was turning the object in his hands and closely examining it.
“Could it be…? Is it possible..?”
Prof. Samuel rushed from the site to City of T@Ö#Ä3 to show the new discovery to his colleagues.
Descripton
This is roughly how the story of discovery of Immortal Brick of Don’t Wake the Dead goes. But what is so special about this item that made prof. Samuel rush from the site? It’s a small plastic object, approximately 115 x 51 x 12mm in size weighing about 85g. It’s dark blue in color, perhaps navy blue, with some interesting features in the front. A greyish line circles what appears to be a small yellowish-green screen, and five small holes above it. Below, there are 12 greyish buttons with writing in them. Another small label with writing can be found above the screen as well. This writing seems to be the ancient alphabet that has since fallen out of use, but it’s still well known among historians. Each button seems to have a number and three or four letters of the alphabet. Two buttons on the bottom left and right have symbols * and #, respectively.
So what is this strange item? It became clear very soon that this is an ancient communication device, a type of a primitive mobile phone. But as prof. Samuel already suspected, this was no ordinary mobile phone.
Old Tales
Tales have been told since the ancient times of a mobile phone so powerful, so indestructible, that it was virtually impossible to break. People shared pictures throughout the entire internet of the damage the phone could do to all sorts of surfaces or objects it was dropped on. Even decades after the technology advanced and people switched to newer and better phones, the tales of this legendary indestructible phone wouldn’t die down. Even now, when the millenia have passed, the legend of this incredible ancient mobile phone is still alive and well in people’s minds. Since the moment people of Wasteland have found the first remnants of the old civilization, they’ve been hoping to find one of those in the ruins or buried in the ground. They’ve been digging and searching for centuries, until this day.
Research
Now, with the device in their hands, prof. Samuel and his colleagues couldn’t wait to see if the device still works all this time later. They were examining the device and pressing different buttons until they noticed a long black button on top of the device. They all held their breaths when prof. Samuel pressed the button and held it for a few seconds. Surely enough, the screen would light up as everyone gasped in amazement. The device then got passed around the room for everyone to see it and examine its menus. The simplistic ringtones echoed through the room, the last owner’s high score in snake was 1126 points, the device broke the toe of prof. Brandon when it slipped out of his hands while handing it to prof. Sharon, an expert on ancient technology, who teared up while reading the last messages on the phone. They were no more than mundane messages of the last owner sharing tidbits of their day and making plans with friends, but it offered a truly unique window into a life of an ancient person. And what was most amazing about the device, after all these years it was still at 93% battery, confirming the device’s longevity that was talked about in old tales.
For all present, it truly was a humbling and awe inspiring moment to be in the presence of such an ancient artifact last held by someone long gone, who was living in a different long gone world, looking through texts, saved phone numbers, set alarms and more of someone who lived a life, hardly imaginable to people of modern era.
Upon further examination, transcripts of all the messages were made, and photos were taken of all the menus and screens of the device. Through weeks of these examinations the battery life dropped down to 86%, at which point the researchers decided to turn it off to conserve energy, until they figured out how to recharge it at least.
Significance
To this day, the discovery and research of this fascinating device is considered the most important archaeological and technological achievement. Being so well preserved and in working condition after all these years, it offers a truly amazing view into the past, what people were like, how they communicated and lived their lives. Though there still are other preserved writings and files from the past, this is the only time modern people could view the messages of an average person communicating with their friends and family.
The indestructible nature of this legendary artifact is something that still baffles scientists. This level of resilience didn’t seem to be replicated again in any device from past to present time. It stands as a testament of ancient people’s capability and technology that was more advanced than thought before. Researchers to this day try to figure out what makes this ancient device so resistant to any damage and passing of time. Many try to emulate this and incorporate its properties into new devices people use every day.
Where can you find “Immortal Brick of Don’t Wake the Dead” today?
Today this truly remarkable evidence of the ancient humans’ ingenuity and intelligence, dubbed “Immortal Brick of Don’t Wake the Dead”, is displayed at the museum of ancient technology in City of T@Ö#Ä3, alongside copies of transcripts and photos of data found on it.
Here, it found its home among other fascinating pieces of the past technology, such as 3D printed save button, portable tape player, a strange furry creature with a menacing stare and a beak that was possibly kept as a pet by some people, and a type of a portable console that came with a cartridge for a game that evidently featured a plumber as the main character. This must have been a much more exciting profession back in the day. Alas, none of these, or other devices featured in the museum, seem to be functioning anymore.
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