Thoth Codex

The **Thoth Codex** is a xenoarchaeological artifact belonging to the Forefather Civilization that was found during routine excavations on a moon within the Ntr rogue planetary system. Being heralded as the "Rosetta Stone" to the lost ancient alien civilization, it is currently being held in the star system of New Rome by Julien Exploratory, a subsidiary of Monatoga Holdings, and is being prepared to be transferred in a multi-trillion note deal between the corporation and analytical elements of the Coalition of Congressional Republics.

It is hypothesized by researchers that the Codex is some sort of sociocultural or political artifact of high importance, as it is the only known xenoarchaeological artifact of the Forefathers to showcase a large amount of their written language, in addition to showing what seems to be the intragalactic positions of nearby star systems over sixty million years ago. For this reason, it is one of the largest centers of Forefather research and scientific attention.

## Description

The codex comes in the form of a 120 meter tall by 96 meter wide by 2 meter thick stele of golden sheen obsidian, with one of its wide rectangular faces engraved with a series of scripts that may be indicative of the Forefather language. This block, which has been perfectly preserved for approximately sixty five million years, is embossed around the edges and was found standing within a three hundred meter wide circular sanctum.

The script that the codex displays consists of vertical, horizontal, and diagonal lines at various different intersections, and is arranged in an overall diagonal format. However, xenolinguists are unable to determine which corner the script starts at, as each corner sports an initial few characters that quickly blossom towards the center. Within the upper, lower, left, and right voids avoided by the words are circular engravings that have been determined to sport the local astrographical locations of nearby star systems sixty five million years ago.

## Hypothesized origin

The Thoth Codex was hypothesized by xenoarchaeologists to have been produced sixty five million years ago on another world; the moon that the stele was found within did not sport any form of volcanism or machine able to form such a continuous spread of sheen obsidian. Due to the astrographical symbols present on the object in conjunction with miscellaneous signs and the large degree of writing, it is also thought that the stele was used as a "marker of control" for the Forefather Civilization over the local stellar space. With the stele being hosted within a lunar sanctum, many theorize that it sported a high degree of sociocultural and/or political importance to the Forefathers, thus enforcing the "marker" outlook.

## Discovery

The Ntr rogue planetary system was found in 2655 from routine interstellar exploration missions by the Coalition within the outer Periphery. The first signs of non-natural structures within the system were detected following corporate drone survey missions under Julien Exploratory in 2657, spurring an immediate opening of xenarchaeological interest. These non-natural structures included labyrinthian formations on the moon of Ntr and remnants of orbital infrastructure around the rogue jovian planet of Ntr itself.

Ground missions onto the moon, labelled Thoth, began in 2658 following approval from the Coalition government. These ground missions, chiefly composed of Julien Exploratory assets but also accompanied by Coalition government supervisors and advisory staff, explored the labyrinths of Thoth; by late 2658, they had located a large sanctum in which a massive golden obsidian stele was placed.

The stele was hoisted by anti-gravity technology of an unknown make and origin five meters off of the ground, standing at 120 meters tall within an overall 300 meter wide room. Xenoarchaeologist and chief supervisor for the mission, Florentino Talavera, noted that its imposing size and ability of floatation through unseen methods "imposed a deep sense of dread in all present... it [the Codex] humming with an indescribable aura".

The Codex quickly became the center of the xenological world that focused on the Forefather Civilization - this was because the Codex was the only object that sported any notable volume of the written language of the Forefathers. Due to the need to explore further into the alien complex and the nearby threat of the Meran War imposing a possible terrorist or pirate incursion into the secretive planetary system, both Julien Exploratory and the Coalition began preparations to move the massive codex in 2661. However, lulls in the Meran war and disagreements in funding of the movement and transaction of the Codex between Julien Exploratory's owner, Montaga Holdings, and the Coalition government delayed the movement of the stele for thirty years. In 2691, renewed talks began with an uptick in Meran insurgencies in the stellar region, and in 2695 it was delivered to the star system of New Rome. By 2698, it is expected to be delivered to the Core.