Chapter 132

William didn't know wonderful things from Outside, so he kind of underestimated history and the former world. There were old sites discovered all the time, coming from vaults, old protected undergrounds, or places forgotten by people and Darks.

Even before the Dawn, people discovered old cities and ruins of many kinds, pouring from thousands of years old history. That meant humanity could have survived countless disasters, yet nothing was worse than this cursed Dawn.

William heard Ellie's opinions and lessons, read many expositions under every exhibition, and hours soon passed away. Animals and beasts or bones became less substantial. What came next was more suitable, since history was written by humans. He uncovered many historical aspects that ranged from the start of the Dawn to many years into the past. The more recent things were, ranging from the eighteenth and twentieth centuries, the more intriguing he was.

This museum had it all. It was a true accumulation and the most comprehensive showdown of this style in this world.

Some exhibitions even depicted humans. Figurines, as Ellie said, wearing old clothes, posing, and handling things of the past. He took that part with doubts and surprise and realized how people looked in the past. It was the same shit. They had common faces and clothes, and some were comparable, if not better than Outside. Though, some parts did shake him up.

In the Federation, things were different. Humanity had changed, and Walkers and the Dawn cracked this society and crumbled the course of history. It was like a different world. It was not enough for William to feel sorry for any of this. He found it a bit shameful. That was it.

So what if he saw animals of the former worlds in flesh and stuffed realities? They looked silly. Bears, lions, and so on, many things about them resembled Darks, but without the hideous parts, and even if they were a bit more majestic, they were animals. Nothing else.

Corruption was the true hateful and vicious point that William thought about, comparing his memories and ideas as he walked around with Ellie.

Soon came objects that humans created throughout history. Those included medieval, ancient, or modern weaponry, simple tools, inventions, and methods of living. He kind of liked weapons and glanced at every last one of them to etch them to his memory. They depicted cultures and there were more of them than he would ever acknowledge.

And it wasn't just about America. Europe, Africa, and Asia were included in these cultures and exhibitions. Kaufman worked with the whole world, and even if he wasn't around anymore, this library lived on as he desired.

Hours followed, and the upper floors seemed as distant as yesterday. Ellie hoped they would come sooner, saying how these exhibitions weren't infinite, albeit they were open and complicated because William was busy and not very quick. Even when Ellie hoped to hurry, she couldn't. She decided to play along because they hadn't even visited sacred rooms or parts when this place connected to the other floors.

“Oh, you should wait and not run away,” Ellie argued, pointing to some exhibition ahead. “There are even some miniatures of the wonders of the world, which is what people called wonders of their creation or this planet over many years. Oh, and they aren't really the point. There are dozens of fascinating items.”

William shifted his sights from weapons and moved his legs. He spent almost two hours on them, so he changed once more and no longer took this place lightly.

He no longer argued with Ellie, who preferred this because it made her lectures easier. She pointed to art and crafted miniatures of the most impressive and popular wonders of the former world, depicting big buildings and statues.

“A pyramid?!” William glanced at the most peculiar one, as well as the biggest. Shaped like four triangles pointing up, its name displayed something old and huge and filled with boundless mysteries.

And something that William heard only from a few strangers, or a few pictures. It was from Egypt, Africa, an enormous land across the ocean filled with mystery and distinct eras and monsters. It wasn't as mysterious as far as Walkers went, but for WIlliam, it was very distant.

A lot got to know over time thanks to Walker's expeditions, or contacts, making many changes known. Africa, known as a land of dust, sand, sun, vast savannas, deserts, and dangers compared to Australia, lived on as before.

Allegedly, many odd Walker settlements and tribes lived there even after the Dawn crashed into Africa, and its current human population was the biggest out of all continents. How true was it? North America couldn't understand it, or know it for certainty. Africa was vast enough to appease this mysterious case of different jungle that was South America. Then, there was Asia with its vastness and mountains.

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Pyramids usually depicted continuous structures of simple geometry and style, ending in the tip that reached for the heavens. There were some even in America, or Europe. Their scale was different like their purposes and cultures originating from thousands of years in the past.

Six feet tall, this one wasn't very smooth, made of countless little squares, and its end had a golden triangular point.

“Yep, this one is Egyptian, or perhaps still is? I doubt the Dawn ended it completely since it is beyond old. Like... what? Four millennia? Three? Few are ever sure about the ages of these things. Limestone can allegedly survive a very long time.”

“Stones can crack and survive more than any of us. It's not alive, so...” William bluntly said and realized how silly he sounded. “Wait... This is from so far away?”

Ellie giggled and further explained. “This is just a model. The real deal is hundreds if not thousands of times bigger than this small thing. Unfortunately, the real deal isn't under our eyes any longer. It is in the danger zones of Egypt and I don't know much about it, as it is as distant as some dreams. Oh, don't even make me start on this. The world is full of wonders.”

“I am not starting anything,” William argued, glancing at it as if it was the real deal. That lasted for a whole minute before Ellie dragged him away. She wanted to show and talk more, or was she curious about his card more? The Statue of Liberty or buildings and constructions didn't matter.

One fact prevailed. There were some doubts about what Burton and Heidi permitted and wanted, and they didn't talk about anything but the upper floors. This left Ellie with some wonder and a couple of choices, as these three floors below the upper floors weren't entirely explored by her, yet their importance with the upper floors wasn't as significant.

What Burton and Heidi had in mind touched on growing subjects of politics, which Ellie mismanaged as she was young and too fervent for her own good. Ellie got clearance for a chance, which left some things here, waiting for her mischief, and Kaufman's card held better clearance than her current one.

Ellie asserted the leading role without hesitation and wanted William to know something nice.

Be it his obnoxious interest in strange things, or his hiding skepticism, Ellie could not help but realize that William was turning better, so her suggestions or lead should be assertive. If not, he would lose himself here and there was nothing good about it.

Weirdly, he didn't dwell on it, since she dragged him by his arm, and he let her do it even if he didn't like it. Even if he wouldn't admit it, he didn't mind going with the flow.

Still, some things Ellie couldn't help but do. It was herself. More hours passed without any visit to restricted connection places that she wanted to see. She kept talking and leading, walking around, and using time as if it were free. Exhibits were too numerous.

William spent hours listening to her explanations and saw how his horizon broadened and mind stirred. Although it wasn't to his satisfaction, his interest in the past landed and would no longer drown. Who knew what he would visit and need in the future? He didn't know, so he harbored loftier hopes and curiosity than he assumed weren't fine Outside.

And the most fascinating things in the restricted rooms remained.

“This world is a vast place. I feel like we are living in the blink of a gap. Humanity has such a wonderful history, yet it is going more than downhill because of Darks. I hate that fact, Will.” Ellie complained to William, who was reading a wall depicting the history of American continents. It was vast, pointing to history that was centuries old and... rather shorter than William had assumed. It seemed America hadn't gotten much to it, but its land was massive.

“Oh? The USA originates from the seventeenth century?” William assumed without listening to Ellie's meaningful words.

She spoke anyway.

“Kind of. The land was long known and in place but this one is about cultural findings and politics and Europe and civilization as a whole. It is about an event of independence. Before that, there was a guy named Columbus who discovered America in the broader globe. Allegedly, that is. There are some records of many further investigations that showed America was full of life and people even before that, and how some sailors saw it long before him. Long before that century. Unfortunately, we don't have a lot of records about those times. Only some brief mentions thought old books or whatnot.”

“That's a shame.”

“Not in the slightest! We have some digital findings that were collected, fixed, and remade throughout the recent decades and years. Some old stuff wasn't usable, either because of wear, destruction, or corrosion. Very little from those is crucial. Any new finds originating before the Dawn are old and mostly physical. Technology can't last forever, but knowledge in other forms and how technology works can, while some vaults kind of lived on anyway. Isn't that wonderful?”

“Sure is. So, what is this one about America?” William said, pointing forward.

“This is the beginning of the United States of America. It started in the seventeenth century and went on until the Dawn, where it struggled, and then... cracked to pieces. Many of them moved on and soon catalyzed into the Federation over the next decades, but they aren't alone. A lot of things about the past civilization end up like this. In history, colonialism, barbarism, and sailing or simple wars are old and numerous. People traveled and established dynasties for millennia, either through power and expedition, desires for riches, and so on.”

“Like this Wikipedia thing, that this exhibition talks about?” William pointed to tables of many sources and their history.

“Oh, that? Nah. I speak about people. That one is about vast digital space to get countless pieces of knowledge and information. It was essentially effortless. People in the past could've learned basically anything as long as they had time, mind, and head ready for it. Places like the biggest encyclopedia in the world would help with that. Now, we don't have it, but it kind of survived, I guess. No, I am not sure. We have a library and books, and people are people. There is no real need for digital space, or large fields, huge factories, or colossal cities. People are smaller in scale, so our needs are different.”

“So.... what is even that big? I get people were countless, but I can imagine it very little. The USA used to have hundreds of millions of people and so many states. That's interesting.”