The Time Capsule
*Beep* Initiating Start-up. Date is: December 10th, 5,013 CE Earth Calendar.
Protocol: Museum Tour; Time Capsule. Standby…

Welcome to The Museum’s Time Capsule Chamber. I am Mira, and you are all in for a real treat. The Museum is the site of preservation for all the cultural marvels developed since the beginning of our 100 year voyage, but it wasn’t always this way. In fact, for several years, we didn’t even have art. For thousands of years, our society on Earth was divided between the Military and the Artisans, selected in childhood for the role they would eventually fill. There was no need for any other, for all manual labor and food production was automated, except for Strategy and Culture, and it had been determined that the two shouldn’t mix. On a dark day, we perfected Unmanned Warfare, leading to the Great War. The surface of Earth was destroyed, and the only surviving humans were in Site 1, the vector for a planned colonization route, now the last bastion of Humanity. The Great War left us without any art or artists, and we were forced to begin our grand trek without a culture, sense of identity, or a way to express ourselves, until the day we discovered a small radio signal that led us to a secret satellite, the Time Capsule, a remnant of an age thousands of years ago. Thanks to the finds we keep here in the Time Capsule Chamber, we were able to save ourselves and all of humanity. Come follow me, and I’ll show you some of our greatest achievements.

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The Time Capsule Chamber is a circular room and is divided into two primary chambers; the room you are in, which houses the artifacts themselves, and an outer ring that has been quartered into four rooms for the purpose of studying the four artifacts. Yes, everyone, in addition to the Time Capsule Chamber being the central part of The Museum, it is also a school. It used to be that only children had any artistic inclination and so study here was compulsory, but now that the culture has been renewed, anyone can choose whether or not to participate. Even you can choose to after the tour, if you wish!


Let us go to the large central column, the Historic Display, where we hold the artifacts. Unfortunately, we only have holograms and digital copies of them, since the originals have long-since been lost, but it’s a miracle that even these are left. They are the Tale of Genji, Madonna with the Long Neck, Chopin’s Black Keys, and Spirited Away. Their data was found in a primitive data storage device known as a ‘U.S.B. port’, but with our superior technology we were able to extract the data and display it with these holograms. The original device and the Time Capsule are held in a vault in the center of the Historic Display next to the data-core, which holds millions of back-up files for the artifacts. As we move around the Chamber, the artifact will be to your left with a small description underneath it with information about the author and the history. The room corresponding to its study will be to your right, which you can observe through the two-way mirror and intercom system we have installed. Please do not disturb the students as we embark on our tour of ancient history. If you wish, after the tour is concluded, you may buy a copy of the artifacts for a mere cost of 200 Credits. Now, off we go!


The first piece we have is the Tale of Genji, written by Murasaki Shikibu in roughly 1010 CE. This was actually the first recorded novel, and was also the first recorded novel written by a woman. In this story we have the archetypal protagonist and antagonist, along with a story arc and a theme. It is also important as it provides some insight into the society of an ancient society, along with a subtle critique of that society. We want to use this story to encourage freedom of expression as well as drawing influence from the society in one’s work. To your right, there is currently a reading. They are using the format of the story to not only write stories, but also poems and songs.<br><br>
The next piece is Madonna with the Long Neck, made by Parmigianino in 1535. We did not alter this painting in any way. Prior to holographic technology and even computer technology, there were ‘painters’ who created art with materials and a hard surface. Note the realistic appearance of the woman and baby, and the clear distinction between foreground and background. According to the historic archives, this was indicative of works of art from the Renaissance, as extrapolated from descriptions of lost works of art such as The Last Supper and the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Like those paintings, there is much influence of Iconography, where a symbol is inlaid into the painting; here is iconography of the religion Catholicism. However, as you may have noticed, there are several severe distortions, such as the baby being bloated to the size of a small child, the extreme small size of the man in the background, and the long neck and fingers of the woman. According to the Time Capsule, this was done intentionally and was indicative of the Mannerist style, a subset of Renaissance painting styles. In this style, painters would exaggerate features and flatten the overall painting to convey certain emotions. The baby is large because he is seen as important and is the center of attention. The woman’s neck and fingers are long to convey a sense of grace. Now, if you look to your right, you will see that there is a painting session where they are dissecting individual aspects; some are making things based on Realism, some based on Iconography, some based on Mannerism, and some a combination of the three.


We now have arrived at the third artifact in the Chamber. This is a holographic music sheet containing Black Keys, a musical piece by Chopin written between 1829 and 1833. The piece itself was meant to be used to help tutor students, so it has many practical uses for today’s musicians. As it came with a recording of the song, we were able to decipher the music sheet and use it as a template for further written music. Black Keys was a highly innovative piece for its time, as the Time Capsule describes pieces prior to Chopin as being basic and clunky, while this piece allows for a much more flowing style. It was played entirely on Black Keys, hence the name, and so requires much more precise movements as they are higher and thinner. Along with the song was a new style of finger positioning to allow a rolling wrist motion and allow greater finger mobility, allowing the piano player to play much more complex melodies. However, perhaps more significant than the piece itself is the set it once belonged to, the Etudes. They were written during a tumultuous time in Chopin’s life, when his homeland was embroiled in a failed uprising. The Revolutionary Etude was a piece that most highly represented this, and according to the Time Capsule, it was infused with many emotions and represented the Romantic Era, where art and music were more evocative of emotions. In the study room, that’s actually what they’re working on; making a song that is inspired by an emotion.


And now we are at the last, and perhaps most important artifacts in this room. This is Spirited Away by Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. This movie managed to bring many things together. It is packed with symbolism, drew influence from many different cultures, has a strong moral lesson, and is also a strong template for effective storytelling in general. Because it utilizes many elements available in the previous artifacts, study here is typically assigned to older students. From this film, we are able to see some insight into the once-predominant Eastern and Western cultures and how they were able to be brought together to make something beautiful. In the study room, they are currently drafting up characters for a story. They are encouraged to look into their own family and cultural history. A result of this form of teaching has led to a resurgence in many different cultures that were once lost.


One of the most important things brought here is the ability as well to combine these art mediums and lessons together to make something greater. Music can be combined with poems to make lyrical songs, film can be combined with music to evoke more emotions, there can be a wide variety of artistic styles in films, and many more combinations.<br><br>
That concludes our tour. Thank you for your patronage, and I hope you have learned something today and obtained a greater appreciation for art and culture.