Chapter 1View OnlineBuried TreasureChapter 1Where do we come from? It’s a simple question with no real answer. The sarcastic would say your parents, but that doesn’t really answer anything. Where did they come from? And their parents before them? There has to be some starting point. Every story has a beginning, so what is ours? This is the one question that I cannot seem to answer, nor let go. Most are content to go on about their lives, never worrying about such things. I am not one of those. This question keeps me awake at night, nags at me during every waking moment. It’s there in the back of my head during every conversation, taunting me. Daring me to keep searching. We couldn’t have just appeared from nowhere. There has to be a beginning to the story, a discernible point at which we began. It is this mystery that has become my driving force. The sole reason I continue on. I have devoted my life to the past, searching for something that seems impossible to grasp onto. The further back I dig, the further away the solution seems to be. That was, until a month ago. That’s when the tomb was discovered. A construction company had been excavating a hill in the countryside in preparation to make a new storage cellar of some sort, when they hit a solid sheet of metal. Of course, their work could go no further at that point. They had neither the tools nor the experience to deal with something like that. Once word got out, the Equestrian Royal Museum dispatched a crew to investigate. We’ve found strange panels like this in the past, but never so large. I was chosen to lead the crew, overseeing excavation and ensuring proper protocol when handling artifacts. We began digging away immediately, quickly realizing this find was rather different. The others had been single panels, often broken at the edges. This was a whole piece, and seemed to go down further into the ground. It took us nearly a week to remove the earth from around the strange object, but what we found was more than worth the effort. It was incredible. A hundred feet on any side, in what appeared to be a perfectly seamless cube. Though the metal was tarnished from its lengthy entrapment under the soil, it still gleamed in the sunlight. There seemed to be no welds anywhere on it, no apparent signs of tooling. It was as if it had formed that way, a perfect gleaming cube of silver metal. After we had cleaned off the revealed surface we found that it was without any signs of aging at all. I will admit I spent more time than may seem rational staring at the artifact. It seemed as if it had come from another planet. Nothing in nature could be so perfect, so smooth and unblemished. Had I known what it was hiding, I would have ordered it buried and its location struck from the maps forever. Alas, hindsight makes fools of us all, and my lust for truth had blinded me until it was far too late.
Chapter 2View OnlineBuried TreasureChapter 2Even now, knowing what I do, I must admit that it was a thing of rare beauty. Its surface seemed to both absorb and reflect the sunlight, as if a deep pool of water. I found myself caressing its surface when the others weren’t around. I told myself I was inspecting it, but I knew I had become enamored with this strange object. I couldn’t look away. It had a hold on me unlike any other. For once, the question in my mind ceased its incessant mocking and fell silent. It too seemed cowed by the relic. It seemed as if a piece of space itself had landed here before us, beckoning me to unlock its secrets. And yet, for all the time I spent before it, it remained a mystery to me. There was no way we could move the antiquity we had unearthed. Even with its immense size, it hid well its weight. Cranes and machinery were of no match for its considerable mass, and so it was decided that we would leave it where it lie and instead build around it. A hastily constructed shelter was built around the cube, protecting it, and us, from the elements. I had no concerns about the weather, but was glad that with the lighting installed I could observe it at any hour. By the second week, I had all but stopped sleeping, spending my time walking around it, trying to find any signs of a seam or inscription. Eventually I became frustrated by the lack of progress, and in a fit of rage I kicked the side of the cube. Not a scratch. Not even a blemish. The only thing that appeared to be affected was my own leg. And still I persisted. I was consumed. Possessed. It was as if everything in my life, all of my questions, everything would come into view if only I could unlock the mystery of the cube. In a rare moment of rest, an idea occurred to me. We were only seeing five of the six sides of the artifact. I bolted from my bed, calling out for a work crew. Within the hour they had begun to dig tunnels under the cube, bisecting the area supporting it into four pieces. Slowly and carefully they dug outward, placing beams of iron to brace the weight. I feared that the beams would not support the immense weight of the cube, but not for the workers safety, I am sad to say. No, I feared that if it were to fall, I would never have the chance to look upon the final portion of what had become my obsession. When they had finished, I stepped down under the massive bulk now looming over me and began to inspect. It seemed to be the same as the other sides had been. Perfectly smooth, seamless, beautiful. Without realizing it, I began brushing away at the dirt still clinging to the underside. That anything should mar its polish seemed almost sacrilege. I scrubbed as if something had taken hold of my mind, not stopping when the others came down to inquire as to my actions. They tried to get me to leave, to rest, but I paid them no heed. I felt I had to finish. The cube had to be clean. Perfect. Gleaming. And then I felt it. Almost imperceptible. I stopped my scrubbing, staring at the surface above me. A groove. It was as thin as a single hair, but it was there. I reached up and began to follow it, tracing its path with my hoof. Again, a perfect square. Five feet on each side. This was it. I called for a light to be brought down. Once illuminated, the seam was obvious. And there, at the exact center of the square it formed, was a small discoloration in the otherwise endless silver. A darkened patch, in the shape of a perfect circle. Without thinking, I reached up to touch it.
Chapter 3View OnlineBuried TreasureChapter 3A hollow click sounded out. The panel above me began to descend slowly. I stepped back, staring in awe at the development before me. Nothing supported it as it lowered to the ground, as if it were a piece of paper drifting slowly downward. It settled on the ground below with a gentle thud, and then silence. The hole was darker than night, as if light was unable to enter within. Like a fool, I stepped onto the plate to get a better look. It began to rise back up towards its place in the cube, taking me with it. The others screamed for me to step down, but I was mesmerized. I could almost see something inside. Within seconds the plate I was standing upon had resumed its rightful place, sealing me within its dark reaches. A flash of light blinded me momentarily. As I slowly opened my eyes, I began to make out shapes within the confines of the artifact. Slowly the room came into focus. It seemed larger on the inside than was possible. The room lacked the polished magnificence of the cube as well. It seemed rather dingy in fact. It was brightly lit, but spots of rust pocked the metal floors and walls, paint peeling on the odd furnishings that occupied it. A dull hum reverberated all around, seeming to come from everywhere and nowhere all at once. A voice called out from across the room, startling me. I turned to see a… I don’t know how to describe it. It was almost like a window on the wall. Images flitted past within it, showing me images of things I couldn’t understand. Words I couldn’t read. A female voice, sounding oddly hollow spoke. “It has been four hundred thousand, three hundred and sixty years, nine months, and six days since last activation.” I walked over to the strange window, where the voice had seemed to emanate from. “Greetings doctor. How may I help you today?” The strange voice from nowhere asked me. “What are you?” “I am the Archival Storage and Computation Interface. Or ASCI if you prefer.” “Asci? Where are you? Why can’t I see you?” “What ever do you mean doctor? I am right in front of you.” “The window?” “There are no windows on this floor doctor. Are you feeling alright?” It was too much for me to handle. Disembodied voices, strange machines, that constant hum droning on. I sat down, my knees too weak to support me. “Is there anything I may help you with, doctor?” “Why do you keep calling me that?” I asked, my head beginning to ache. “It is only proper to refer to you by your title. If you prefer, I will use your name instead.” That voice. There was no emotion behind it. No inflection. As if it… Weren’t alive. “What is this place? What am I doing here?” I asked, trying to make some sense of the situation I had found myself in. “This facility houses the genetic research division of Sentinel Industries. You have been tasked with creating a new life form for commercial sale. Did you not read the file I sent you?” “Genetic…” I looked at the strange window, the illegible words flowing over it like a stream. “Please, I don’t understand any of this. I’m not this doctor you seem to think I am.” “I do not understand, doctor. My scanners show you as Dr. Edward Robinson, Sentinel Corporation employee.” “Just tell me what’s going on here.” “Very well doctor. Please draw your attention to the screen in front of you. I will begin the briefing shortly.”
Chapter 4View OnlineBuried TreasureChapter 4The words rolling across the window disappeared, replaced by the picture of an immense building of glass and metal. A male voice began to speak. “Welcome to Sentinel Industries, where imagination is only the beginning! Here at Sentinel, we work tirelessly day and night to bring you the very best in everything from food to medicine, and even pets!” Images of strange creatures were shown within the window. Standing on two legs, hairless save for their heads, most of them wearing bright white coats. The image changed to show cats and dogs being picked up by the strange creatures, handed to smaller ones. “Yes, we here at Sentinel care about you, and your family! But don’t just listen to me! Here’s Dr. Robinson, head of genetic research.” The window changed yet again to show another of the strange creatures. He seemed pale compared to the others. The hair upon his head was dark brown, and he wore odd glasses on his face. “By modifying the genetic code of ordinary animals, combining it with human and primate DNA, we have begun to create a new kind of animal unlike anything the world has seen before.” The image changed to show various creatures. Some I recognized, others were foreign to me. But in the center of the image was something that made my blood run cold. A pony. But not quite. Something about it was off. The eyes lacked intelligence, as if it had no mind. Before I could speak, the voice continued. “We have tested our process on a variety of animals, but the one that showed the most promise was the common pony. We have yet to fully understand why, but it seems to be the most receptive to the gene therapy.” Another image of the pony appeared in the window, this time alone. “After months of testing, this simple animal showed an amazing jump in intellect. We have been able to teach it to use tools, and it appears to understand our speech.” The image changed yet again, showing the pony moving small blocks around the floor of its room, arranging them in piles. “We are confident that within the next year we will have the capability to mass produce these creatures, making them easily available to you, our valued customer.” The window went dark for a moment before the flow of strange text resumed its path. I couldn’t speak. Gene therapy? Customers? Was this it the truth?? I tried to rationalize what I had seen, tried to believe that it was all some sort of a trick. A prank the others were pulling on me. But what I had seen couldn’t possibly have been a trick. It was the truth. The answer I’d been seeking for so long. And now that I’d found it, I no longer wanted it. There is a beginning to every story, and I’d found ours. We were created, bred, modified. We were playthings for a species long gone now. We were toys. I must have sat there in that strange room for hours, the dull hum fading into the background as my thoughts consumed me. Do I tell the others? How would they react to this knowledge? Eventually, I stood up and walked back to the panel that had brought me here. As I stepped onto it, the disembodied female voice bid me farewell. A flash of light. The panel descended from the silver cube, bringing me with it. I had been gone for nearly a day. The others asked me where I had been, what I had seen, but I gave no answer. I lied, saying I had no recollection. I walked slowly back to the surface and stared at the gleaming cube lying before me. It no longer seems so beautiful. My reflection in its surface seemed false. I called for it to be covered again, and though the others thought me mad, the look in my eyes was enough to convince them. I will never breathe a word of what I witnessed that day. I made it perfectly clear that the artifact was not to be disturbed again, and left the museum’s employ. I think I would prefer something less… exploratory with which to finish out my days now. I no longer need to seek for answers. I have tasted the truth, and it is a bitter fruit.