The Zero Drive

A Window to the Past and Future of Wexmadios

Overview

The Zero Drive is a matte black decahedron with etched symbols covering each surface. There are 3000 different symbols on said box, with some symbols being of different sizes. The material that comprises the object seems to be of a multi-ore alloy, likely platinum and titanium. Yet, it can fit in the hand of a humanoid sentient.

Scholars have dated it to 20,000-40,000 cycles old. Yet, the object shows no signs of worn use. Tests on the object to evaluate if it can take damage of any kind resulted in little to no effect to its structural integrity.

Symbols

Consensus of the symbols’ origins is that they represent a lost, ancient language. As they can find some symbols in the language of the Qwinpol and other sentient beings, scholars theorize the symbols originate from this progenitor language, being term as ‘Lapixicon’.

This supports the current consensus that the common Wexmadios language for cross-species communications was developed for trading. However, there are scholars that posit that the sentients who used the language may have joined other settlements, and it dispersed the symbols into their respective languages.

This opposing theory was first proposed by Master Kiloi Buropiu, by additionally suggesting an ancient war caused this lost, ancient race to be subjugated by another sentient race and their symbols adapted for their oppressor’s use.

History

The Second Trader Wave (settling from 100 to 150 cycles ago) found it on Lapix Delta-9 single moon, Ion. Looking for deposits of corium and other precious minerals, a team of prospectors uncovered the Zero Drive within Ion’s Futana crater. Accounts of the discovery state that the Zero Drive had attached to the end of the mining drill, and caused the internal motors to increase power. It took the entire team to stop the drill and a team of archeologists to extract the Zero drive from the equipment.

Research

Wexmadios Institute of Advancement, under the Wexmadios Imperial Research Wing, is its current location. Researchers continue to analyze the object and understand how it could cause that drill to go into overdrive. Using recent developments in imaging technology, the researchers of Team Uynton could see a suspended core inside the Zero Drive. Heat signatures show that this may be the source of the mechanisms in place, but further study is required.

It is the hope of the researchers at the Institute to reverse-engineer the Zero Drive for mass production and develop propulsion systems geared for inter-galactic travel.

Item type

Unique Artifact