For anyone who wishes to accept it.

In one of my favorite books (Web of Angels, John M. Ford - 1980) the author
posits two types of history-changing artefacts that might be found.

The first type, he names the Antikythera (a reference to the Antikythera
mechanism)

The Antikythera is an artefact which re-defines the technological capabilities
or scientific prowess of an ancient civilization.

The second type, he calls the Ozymandias. An Ozymandias is an artefact
discovered in the ruins of an ancient civilization which could not possibly have
come from that civilization.  The name comes from the poem by Percy Bisshe
Shelley, because "Nothing beside remains"

The existence of an Ozymandias ostensibly points to an even older civilization
of which there is no previous record.

So the challenge, for anyone who cares to attempt it, is to come up with an
artefact of one type or the other and put it in a suitable context.

Regards,
A.D.B.

P.S. Web of Angels is an excellent read, if you can find a copy.  It's arguably
the earliest example of Cyberpunk, prefiguring Gibson by three years, and I love
the idea of the galaxy-spanning computer network, which he calls The Web.

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An Antikythera would be less of a challenge as it is already a reference 
to an existing object, but an Ozymandias... I need some time to ponder 
the possibilities.


-- 
Thomas

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On 6/7/2016 7:45 AM, Thomas de Groot wrote:
> An Antikythera would be less of a challenge as it is already a reference
> to an existing object, but an Ozymandias... I need some time to ponder
> the possibilities.
>
>
A possible future topic for Tena Chep.

I would not mind seeing StephenS' 3D version of an Antikythera. :)

-- 

Regards
     Stephen

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Thomas de Groot <tho### [at] degrootorg> wrote:
> An Antikythera would be less of a challenge as it is already a reference
> to an existing object, but an Ozymandias... I need some time to ponder
> the possibilities.
>
>
> --
> Thomas

An example from existing sources might be the Stargate, or the Iconian Portals
from Star Trek.

A Ringworld or Dyson Sphere could be monolithic examples, perhaps.

Treasure Planet.  A planet-sized mechanism capable of opening portals to
anywhere in the universe.

Regards,
A.D.B.

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hi,

On 07/06/2016 06:51, Anthony D. Baye wrote:
> So the challenge, for anyone who cares to attempt it, is to come up with an
> artefact of one type or the other and put it in a suitable context.

would the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_pillar_of_Delhi count as an
"ozymandia"?  not that Dehli is ruined (yet).

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Stephen <mca### [at] aolcom> wrote:

> I would not mind seeing StephenS' 3D version of an Antikythera. :)

Seconded!

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"Anthony D. Baye" <Sha### [at] spamnomorehotmailcom> wrote:
> Thomas de Groot <tho### [at] degrootorg> wrote:
> > An Antikythera would be less of a challenge as it is already a reference
> > to an existing object, but an Ozymandias... I need some time to ponder
> > the possibilities.
> >
> >
> > --
> > Thomas
>
> An example from existing sources might be the Stargate, or the Iconian Portals
> from Star Trek.
>
> A Ringworld or Dyson Sphere could be monolithic examples, perhaps.
>
> Treasure Planet.  A planet-sized mechanism capable of opening portals to
> anywhere in the universe.

The Mass Relays from the Mass Effect franchise.

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On 7-6-2016 10:41, jr wrote:
> hi,
>
> On 07/06/2016 06:51, Anthony D. Baye wrote:
>> So the challenge, for anyone who cares to attempt it, is to come up with an
>> artefact of one type or the other and put it in a suitable context.
>
> would the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_pillar_of_Delhi count as an
> "ozymandia"?  not that Dehli is ruined (yet).
>

Not any more I think.

-- 
Thomas

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Thomas de Groot <tho### [at] degrootorg> wrote:
> On 7-6-2016 10:41, jr wrote:
> > hi,
> >
> > On 07/06/2016 06:51, Anthony D. Baye wrote:
> >> So the challenge, for anyone who cares to attempt it, is to come up with an
> >> artefact of one type or the other and put it in a suitable context.
> >
> > would the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_pillar_of_Delhi count as an
> > "ozymandia"?  not that Dehli is ruined (yet).
> >
>
> Not any more I think.
>
> --
> Thomas

I had an idea for a precursor portal system composed of crystalline Doorways.
The Doorways are not gates, in themselves, but anchor-points.  The idea was that
there is really only one "Gate" device, which is so advanced that it is not only
sentient, but also possesses Intellectus w/regards to all the anchor points in
the network.

The Doorways themselves aren't built so much as grown.

Regards,
A.D.B.

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On 6/7/2016 4:18 PM, Anthony D. Baye wrote:
> I had an idea for a precursor portal system composed of crystalline Doorways.
> The Doorways are not gates, in themselves, but anchor-points.  The idea was that
> there is really only one "Gate" device, which is so advanced that it is not only
> sentient, but also possesses Intellectus w/regards to all the anchor points in
> the network.
>
> The Doorways themselves aren't built so much as grown.


Reminds me of the portal animation Rune posted a while ago.

http://runevision.com/3d/anims/wormhole_portal.mpg


-- 

Regards
     Stephen

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