The archeologist's pick finally breaks through the last of the makeshift seal over the doors of the ancient, reinforced concrete and marble edifice of a lost civilization. Rays of sunlight reflect from particles of dust, floating in the musty air above the marble floored gallery before him. At last, they have found the intact ruins of an American library!
Soon, the small team of highly educated and motivated men and women pore over the tattered and brittle pages of volumes of history, science, politics, business, industry, and the arts. They are engrossed in translating the magazines and newspapers from the end of the twentieth century, that were somehow preserved. Slowly, as the days and weeks turn to months, they begin to piece together what life must have been like here, in those last days.
They find that this enlightened civilization was exceedingly compassionate, taking excellent care of their children, the sick, and the underprivileged. Minorities and the poor were worshipped and given special privileges. The government had even guaranteed those of their citizens who actually worked, years of leisure time and prosperity after they could work no more.
These scientists marvel at dusty boxes with dark glass fronts and rubber covered metal cords dangling from their backs. These and the other strange machines that they find are familiar icons of a lost technology that they can not fathom. They are amazed at the photographs of other strange machines, as well as the planets and stars, and wonder how that ancient people could have obtained such marvelous things! Even after months of study, however, they find that most of the news publications indicate that this highly advanced society was growing and prospering, even through the very last issues!
They grieve that even after all of this work, they cannot seem to discover what became of these wise and kindly people, or where they might have gone. Perhaps to the stars they speculate, .... and look up to the heavens in wonder.
.
Those few of these last generations who were capable of understanding this, had hidden it from themselves and others for too long, and had neither written nor spoken about it. When the end did come, their societies and economies collapsed simultaneously, suddenly and rapidly and violently. In the chaos that ensued, there was never time to tell the truth, if anyone had cared to, and the death throes of their worlds, to this day remain shrouded in mystery!
