Artifacts and their Impact on History

Artifacts and their Impact on History
Since the beginning of mankind, artifacts have been created and used by successive generations. The Warehouse system has on file countless cases and artifact usage “incidents”. While many of these events proved minor, other cases have resulted in historically significant changes. To the public’s knowledge, the involvement of artifacts is either unknown or highly suppressed. Many of the artifacts in the Warehouse database, collected and missing, have helped cultivate great thinkers and leaders, bring about social change and disasters, cause conflicts and inspire popular culture.

One of the most justifiable reasons for the Warehouse’s existence is that when in covetous hands, artifacts can wreak large scale havoc. Many wars, coups, revolutions and assassinations have seen the involvement of artifacts. The first artifact collected, the Minoan Trident, was the original weapon of mass destruction. It previously leveled the mighty civilization of the Minoans and inspired Plato’s tale of Atlantis’ destruction. When used, it could cause massive earthquakes, worldwide volcanic activity and a global ice age if activated in the correct spot. Its immense power was the reason why Caesar invaded Egypt and the Regents sanctioned the abandonment of Warehouse 2. As time progressed, equally destructive objects, both manmade and artifact-born, were created and warranted the need for an expert response team.

Other historical cases of artifact use for political overthrow include Balthasar Gérard’s Pig Bladder, Baron Samedi's Top Hat and Magellan's Astrolabe. The bladder was meant to be a flotation device to help the assassin escape the home of Dutch resistance leader William the Silent. Gérard completed his task, but the guardsmen captured him and the bladder was never used. Two hundred years later, it found its way into England and the hands of John Bellingham. A midshipman, he was imprisoned for a year in a Russian prison for unpaid debts. He returned to England in 1809 and three years later, after constant refusals of compensation by the British government, took matters into his own hands. Bellingham strapped to himself the pig bladder and successfully assassinated then Prime Minister Spencer Perceval. He was quickly apprehended and hanged after his trial. Perceval’s murder remains the only successful assassination of any British Prime Minister.

Baron Samedi’s Hat follows a somewhat different route. Baron Samedi is regarded as the head of the Guédé family of Loa (Haitian Vodou spirits) and is also the Loa of resurrection. It was known to have been on Haiti at least until 1791, when the Haitian Revolution began. All the slaves on the island had rebelled and taken up arms against their former masters. One of the early leaders in the revolution was Dutty Boukman, who performed religious rituals to encourage rebellion. He also acquired the hat and used its powers to re-animate the dead, pushing the populace towards revolt. The effect was indisputable, as the revolution ended with the new country of Haiti, the only nation founded by a mass slave revolt, and the second colony to declare independence in the western hemisphere. Boukman was killed later the very year the revolution started, while the current location of the hat remains unknown to this day.

One of the most infamous historically impactful artifacts used was Ferdinand Magellan's Astrolabe. Magellan was a Portuguese explorer whose expedition force was the first to travel completely around the world. However, Magellan himself did not complete the journey, as natives killed him when he reached the Philippines. It drifted until its use December 3, 1792 by French lawyer, politician and anti-royalist Maximilien Robespierre. He repeated the day to perfect his speech arguing for the execution of the deposed French king. Robespierre got exactly what he wanted. Unfortunately, he was unaware of any downsides until his execution seven months later. Robespierre’s actions accelerated the uprising during the French Revolution. In particular, the Reign of Terror happened under Robespierre’s direct orders and resulted in the state executions of thousands of French citizens.

In 1887, Irish nationalists failed to assassinate Queen Victoria during her Golden Jubilee. Their plan was thwarted by former Warehouse 12 and Scotland Yard agent William Melville, who was experienced at foiling anarchist attacks. The group had managed to obtain both Apollonius of Tyana's Amulet and Julius Asclepiodotus’ Shield Boss through unscrupulous sources. The shield boss belonged to a Roman prefect in Britain who reclaimed control of the isle from the charlatan king under the guise of fog. Apollonius, on the other hand, was a philosopher and contemporary of Christ who approved of the killings of rulers for the good of the common people. The nationalists planned on surrounding the immediate area with fog and using the amulet to cause “a distant, but sure death to Her Majesty”. However, they did not expect interference from a third party and were unable to complete their goal. If they had succeeded, the event would likely have negatively changed the largest empire of the time and its relationship with the Warehouse.

Although event altering, the effects of most politically misused artifacts pales in comparison to the cataclysm causers. These artifacts, like the Trident, can unleash massive negative energy and create natural disasters.

One destructive item was Anaxagoras' Krater. An ancient Greek philosopher who brought philosophy to Athens, he was later banished from his city.. Anaxagoras’s main idea was that the mind was an ordering force that separated materials apart; his wine-mixing vase was imbued with this idea. It can cause shifts in the tectonic plates, leading to localized but devastating earthquakes. It was activated in 1693 and caused a 7.4 magnitude quake that decimated the Italian island of Sicily. At least seventy towns and cities were destroyed in either the quake or subsequent tsunami, killing 60,000 residents. According to a contemporary account, "It was in this country impossible to keep upon our legs, or in one place on the dancing Earth; nay, those that lay along on the ground, were tossed from side to side, as if on a rolling billow." The extensive damage caused by the quake resulted in mass reconstruction of the island; many of those buildings still stand today.

A more famous artifact caused disaster was the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. It buried the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum beneath magma and pumice, their victims preserved in layers of ash. The eruption was caused by greedy Pompeii banker Lucius Caecilius Iucundus, an enemy of Warehouse 3. He ransomed the city’s safety in exchange for the Caretaker role, or he would activate the Santorini Event Pumice Stone. The stone was the remains of the island of Thera, after the Minoan Trident erupted the local volcano and wiped out the Minoan civilization.

Other artifacts have had more constructive histories, inspiring inventors, artists, writers and even urban legend. For example, Edward John Dent was an English watchmaker famed for his accurate timepieces, which brought him to the attention of the British government. The House of Parliament requested him to create the clock mechanism for their newest project, Big Ben. By this time however, Dent’s personal goals of perfecting the chronometer overshadowed his committed projects and he died shortly afterwards. He passed the work on to his stepson Frederick, along with his chronometer. It allowed for great feats of skill but caused deep-set arrogance and insanity. Unfortunately, it was stolen and used by the designer of the clock tower, Augustus Pugin. Although it helped him complete the project, it also helped cause his early demise.

The first wheel, one of mankind’s earliest inventions, was discovered by Warehouse 5 but somehow lost. It remained unaccounted for until the Italian Renaissance. It was found owned by of the son of a lutenist, who later grew to become one of the most eminent and controversial names of science in the era. By the 1620s, records report the wheel had been taken, but the effects still continued, as he published works until his health declined in 1638. Galileo Galilei, had pioneered the fields of astronomy and physics, defying religious authorities and house arrest. His body of work has been fundamental in shaping the course of science and inspired countless scientists for over three centuries.

Various artifacts have hugely impacted the worlds of literature, art and film. They are too numerous to list, so only a few will be briefly discussed. One malachite ring somehow reached the fingers of comic book artist Bill Finger, who used it as inspiration for the DC hero Alan Scott, the original Green Lantern. A rather large pearl made its way to California in the 1940s; the result was the John Steinbeck novel, “The Pearl”. Another artifact, Walter Halloran’s Crucifix, was used during the exorcism of the teenager Roland Doe. Its usage was first described in a book and then transferred to the big screen in the film “The Exorcist”. Somehow, the cross also managed to reach the movie set and caused the mayhem of the famous story, twice.

Although most artifacts are contained without incident, some become so noteworthy, their stories are passed on for generations as myth and folklore. Two of the most wildly known tall tales in American culture are those of Pecos Bill and Santa Claus. The first is a cowboy of incredible stature, who was supposedly raised by coyotes, rode a widow-making horse and lassoed a tornado. The latter’s image has changed over the years from a folkloric Viking and Dutch figure into a jolly, bearded man pulled by a sleigh of reindeer. One feature that has been present in every incarnation is his desire to give gifts to all who deserve. The two figures did not exist exactly; regular people used artifacts and the myth was passed on. Pecos Bill’s lariat was crafted from Anasazi rope that can grow to great sizes, while an Eskimo jingle harness helped the original Santa, Saint Nicholas, spread goodwill.

Many of the previously stated events possess a different story than the one told to the world. Some of them occurred due to the gathering of many different artifacts, and a cover story was needed. Many of these groups inspired various media such as literature, animation, television and even video gaming. Some, like those from the novel “Inferno”, can release a powerful effect when combined together. Others, like the ones recovered from “Alice in Wonderland”, were used as the basis for individual characters. However, most groups possess only a shared event, where they were all featured in one work (e.g. Kingdom Hearts, Twilight Zone) or were collected by one person (e.g. Subhas Chandra Bose).

Departures from recorded history also apply to people that have been secretly involved with the Warehouse. Many killers and criminals have had scuffles with the organization and have even been bronzed, such as Jack the Ripper during Warehouse 12. Agent Wells apprehended him for using his artifacted lantern to hypnotize his victims immobile before killing them. Marie Guichon, the inspiration for Red Riding Hood, possessed a cloak that gave her longevity and the ability to turn into a wolf like creature. When the Warehouse took it, she waited for centuries to get it back and cause as much mischief as possible. New Englander Winslow Homer was a renowned painter for his American landscapes and maritime scenes. In reality, he used one of his own artifacts to embed neighbors and strangers into his artwork.

Finally, the complete impact of some artifacts will never be fully known. Ibn Battuta's Besom was used to erase explorers and storytellers from existence so Battuta could pass their adventures off as his own. Because of the nature of the effects, the full amount of people it was used on and how often will likely never be known. Likewise, a particular flying carpet does exactly what it says. However, its actual effect of distorting space has caused various space-time/atomic incidents. Many of them have been deliberately unrecorded or altered. Strangely, both of those artifacts reside within the Dark Vault for security reasons.

Artifacts with Historical Consequences

 * Aegean Sails: From the father of Thesus, slayer of the Minotaur. Thesus accidently sailed home with black sails, which signified his death; when Aegeus saw them, he killed himself in grief. They later caused the deaths of Tristan and Isolde, lovers in Arthurian legend.
 * Enrique Gaspar y Rimbau’s Cast Iron Box: A time travel machine whose complete origin and properties are unknown. Was collected by Warehouse 12 and helped inspire agent H.G. Wells to create her own successful machine. She later published her accomplishment in a novel.
 * William Wymark Jacobs’ Monkey Paw: Author of “The Monkey’s Paw”, which detailed his plight with his acquired artifact. He wrote it so someone more seasoned could properly contain it and get it away from him.
 * Silap Inua Totem: Originally belonged to the Inuit people in the Arctic Circle. Later stolen during one of Robert Peary’s expeditions and brought back to the United States, where it was collected in 1947.
 * Louis the XIV's Scepter: It belonged to the longest serving European monarch, who instated an aristocratic monarchy that lasted until the French Revolution. The scepter was made from “two golden statues of Ahura Maza and Angra Mainyu, the deities of good and evil in the Zoroastrianism religion”. They possessed artifact qualities, which allowed the staff to create a duplicate of the king. The clone was imprisoned and given the new identity of Eustache Dauger, where he was disguised with an iron mask. The rumor started to spread in the 19th century, so agent Alexandre Dumas wrote a cover story, “The Three Musketeers”.
 * Richard the Lion-hearted's Armor: Richard I was King of England when he fought in the Third Crusade to retake the Holy Land. He fought against his Muslim equal, Saladin, and was known by his enemies and soldiers as “Richard the Lionheart” for his valor in battle. His armor was parted out and some of it has been relocated over the centuries. Pieces have been found at the battles of Kinsale and Khotyn and in the possession of Enzo of Sardinia, Stephen F. Brown and Jack Churchill. All parts caused chivalry in battle and a preference for melee weaponry.
 * Julius Asclepiodotus’ Shield Boss: A piece off a Roman shield, Asclepiodotus was a prefect when the false emperor Allectus ruled. His naval fleet reclaimed control of the British Isles when they were concealed by fog. It was one of the artifacts used in the failed assassination attempt of Queen Victoria.
 * Santorini Event Pumice Stone: The remnants of a cataclysmic eruption that destroyed the island of Santorini. It activated on Mt. Vesuvius, triggering an eruption that buried the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
 * Niccolo Paganini's Father's Birch Rod: Exact origin unknown. Used by Paggini’s father on Niccolo from an earlier age, increased his musical talent exponentially. Warehouse 12 agents reported the rod allowed for an abnormal connection between the two. Paggini’s father was “alive well past his supposed death”, while Niccolo was gravely drained of energy. The link was cut and the two quickly perished.
 * Walter Halloran’s Crucifix: One of the many artifacts to have encountered “spirits” during their creation. Its power to exorcise one teen grew, allowing that released soul to wander about and cause trouble. It was used in the writing of the novel “The Exorcist” and later made its way on set during filming of the movie.
 * Desiderius Erasmus’ Bookmark: One of the few belongings confirmed to have been from the Dutch humanist. Erasmus was a stronger believer in free will and equal treatment of others. In the 1970s, Henry Kissinger found and used the bookmark during peace talks in the Cold War.
 * First Wheel: One of the first inventions of mankind. Can cause revolutionary ideas, which helped Galileo make many new scientific discoveries.
 * Baron Samedi's Top Hat: From one of the important figures in the Vodou practice, has resurrection properties. Reached the New World in time to help accelerate the Haitian Revolution.
 * Ferdinand Magellan's Astrolabe: Was used on the explorer’s (almost) circumnavigation around the world. Could allow the user to repeat the day, but caused a dark side to overtake them from within. French statesman Maximilien Robespierre acquired it. The result was the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution. The Order of the Black Diamond, based within the Vatican, found it a short time after and now protects it to this day, even after the “incident” with the Warehouse and the sweating sickness.
 * Flames of Passion: A fireplace that traveled the European continent before being collected in Greece in the 1800s. It increases sexual pleasure and seems to possess some mild form of sentience. Previous owners included Casanova and Catherine II.
 * Chalice of Dionysus: The personal drinking vessel of the Greek god of wine, Dionysus. Water that touches it is instantly transformed into a highly intoxicating wine. Roman emperor Constantine the Great converted himself, his empire and the artifact to Christianity. He renamed what was previously called Bacchus’ Chalice into the Holy Grail, one of the most legendary artifacts of the world.
 * Anaxagoras' Krater: Ancient Greek philosopher who believed the mind was a force meant to separate and categorize matter. The krater could later on shake the earth, which caused the Sicilian Earthquake of 1693.
 * Jingle Harness: This harness was fashioned by Eskimos to create a realistic experience of flight after the customary consumption of hallucinatory mushrooms. The harness could make any vehicle fly and was used by Saint Nicholas to spread wealth, helping begin the legend of Santa Claus.
 * Nicholas Owen’s Mallet and Chisel: An English Jesuit who constructed priest holes across England to hide priests from anti-Catholic persecution. His constructions were so well hidden, it may never be known how many he actually built. The hammer and chisel emulate this, creating secret cavities and doorways for people to hide within. This was one of the artifacts found by Subhas Chandra Bose, who used it to escape his house arrest.
 * Edward John Dent's Chronometer: Owned by one of the main contributors to Big Ben during its construction. His task was to create an accurate timing mechanism, but he died before he could start the job. The chronometer was eventually stolen by fellow designer Augustus Pugin, who used it to complete his work but helped cause his early death.
 * Minoan Trident: A powerful artifact with worldwide destruction capabilities when misused correctly. Witness to the eradication of the Minoan culture, it can cause a global ice age capable of destroying human civilization.
 * The Pearl of the World: A pearl of rather large proportions and unnatural shine. Documented to have reached 1940s-era California, which likely helped author John Steinbeck write his novel “The Pearl”.
 * Ross Bagdasarian Sr.'s Witch Doctor Mask: Used by entertained David Seville, creator of Alvin and the Chipmunks. Plays the tune “Witch Doctor” while in sync to a flashing light show. It possibly comes from a previously unknown tribe, as the mask has been dated to be over 200 years old.
 * Thunderstone Axe: Fell from the sky in 12th century England. Originally meant to be given to Henry the Second, it was intercepted by Richard the Lionheart. There, he observed it create a lightning strike and kill several soldiers. Fearful of its powers, Richard locked it within the Tower of London until it was re-discovered by Anne Boleyn.
 * Apollonius of Tyana's Amulet: Apollonius was a wide-traveled philosopher who approved of the killing of state leaders for the common good. Allows the user to kill leaders/rulers from a distance. Retrieved from the failed assassination attempt of Queen Victoria.
 * Balthasar Gérard’s Pig Bladder: The floatation device meant to help Gérard escape after assassinating the Dutch resistance leader. Slightly alters probability to allow the user to successfully assassinate someone, but afterwards get caught. Was found by John Bellingham and used upon British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval.
 * Anasazi Rope: Weaved into a rope from the native plants in the American Southwest. Is extremely strong and can change size with ease. Someone turned it into a lasso during the American expansion period west, and it spread the legends of Pecos Bill.
 * Guy Fawkes' Gunpowder and Gun: Guy Fawkes was a conspirator to overthrow Protestant ruler James I and replace him with a Catholic leader. His task was to place explosives under Westminster Palace, but he was apprehended due to an anonymous letter. When fired in an office of government, it will explode and cause extensive fire damage throughout the building. Thomas Adlson found the artifacts in 1834 and used them to complete Fawkes’ job. He was captured and bronzed two days later.
 * Geronimo's Skull: The remains of legendary Apache leader Geronimo, who attacked both Mexican and American forces when they killed his family members. As popular myth surprisingly confirms, Geronimo’s skull was stolen by the Skull and Bones, a secret society within Yale. It was retrieved by undercover agents posing as students.
 * Star Jelly: A pool of extraterrestrial material, arrived in a meteorite crash near Philadelphia in 1950. It is electrically charged and will attack any living creature to try and absorb its electrical pulses. It is now safely stored with the Samhain Sector and is fed every few days so it does not go hunting in the stacks. However, the case was not properly contained, as eyewitness reports were collected and used to create the film “The Blob”.
 * Reception Bell from the Hotel California: It is known to have been in The Eagles song “Hotel California” and can trap the ringer in an escapable hotel. However, agent Draco suggests that the bell has a more ancient origin, possibly dating back to the Lotus Eaters of Homer’s epics.
 * Pope Clement VII’s Zucchetto: A member of the influential Medici family, his rule was marked by the looting of Rome by the Holy Roman Emperor’s forces. After six months of imprisonment, Clement escaped from his own city. The zucchetto now can create exits and backdoors in the structures of walls, allowing for stealthy escape. This was one of the artifacts used by Subhas Chandra Bose to escape his house arrest sentence.
 * Caucasian Eagle Automaton: A large, bronze eagle crafted by Hephaestus to deliver punishment to Prometheus. Able to identify patterns and learn movements, it is powered by a complex system of clock mechanisms. It will attack a person and leave them barely alive so it can return to its “guest” hours later. The eagle was inert until it was accidently activated during the move to Warehouse 4. It flew across the globe unhindered and started legends about giant predatory birds, including the Roc, Ziz and Thunderbird. Its last nesting spot was in the Himalayas, until agents captured and deactivated it in 2014.
 * Ibn Battuta's Besom: An old broom that belonged to a Moroccan explorer who traveled widely. Contrary to “the truth”, it is thought Battuta actually traveled nowhere. He would listen to adventurer’s stories and then sweep them out of existence, passing their stories of as his. This makes it extremely hard to discern how many people he affected, as the besom erases said person from existence.
 * Daedalus' Slate: Inventor of the labyrinth meant to contain the Minotaur, he was then locked up by the king. He fashioned a set of wings to fly himself back to the mainland. However, his son Icarus did not follow his instructions and crashed into the ocean during their escape. Can recreate the legendary labyrinth, which is used during mass artifact disturbance. It directly helped create another artifact with similar properties, the Cretan Labyrinth Archway.
 * Eccentric Tree Seeds: The seeds will grow in bizarre and abnormal ways, taking on odd shapes and unusual biology. One packet was used to create a grove of bent trees in Nowe Czarnowo, Poland. Another may have been the inspiration for the Dr. Seuss children’s book, “The Lorax”.
 * Malachite Ring: Came from an unknown source, it projects green energy constructs from the stone. It was used by comic writer Bill Finger to create the Green Lantern Corps.

Artifact Groups
Various artifacts can be grouped together by their normally calm or familiar behavior with each other. Most of these groups do not possess the same abilities, but were sometime brought together all at once. When this happens, there is usually a cover story for their meetings.
 * Nomura Leaks Incident: Video game designer Tetsuya Nomura is contacted by a rookie Warehouse agent. Nomura is given information regarding 64 artifacts he could use in his upcoming game, Kingdom Hearts. The Warehouse fires the agent and convinces Nomura the ideas are his own, but cannot be sure he was the only person to see the messages. The Warehouse is now wary of dealing with the gaming industry and has been considered one of the worst leaks of the 21st century.
 * Twilight Zone Artifacts: Writer Rod Serling had been exposed to artifacts before and even helped with a case. He was given clearance for the Warehouse and cast the Regents an idea. He would create a show of sci-fi and fantasy and base the plot or characters around the effects of an artifact. This would subconsciously expose the public to important information about artifacts and help them accept the impossible as real. Many artifacts were located through the show, which prompted reboots to help prevent widespread artifact use.
 * Alice in Wonderland Artifacts: After the Carrol-Liddel incident, Warehouse agents wrote '”lice's Adventures in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There” to cover up any artifacts at the time. Many of the artifacts now reside in the Grimm Sector due to their shared story.
 * Subhas Chandra Bose: Bose was an Indian nationalist who tried to enlist the Axis powers for help in gaining independence. He was a skilled artifact locator and was extremely close to finding several powerful artifacts, including part of the Minoan Trident. Warehouse agents were authorized to use any artifact they could to crash Bose’s flight. He was then bronzed, his collected artifacts taken and his notes used to locate several more artifacts.
 * Legends of the Hidden Temple: An educational children’s show in the 1990s, where contestants competed physically and mentally to retrieve the “lost artifact” in the temple and win prizes. In reality, the show was a large artifact ring, where many of the props were actual artifacts. It was busted by Artie and was one of the largest mass retrievals of the last few decades.
 * Dante's Inferno Artifacts: Warehouse 8 Regent Dante Alighieri discovered nine artifacts with destructive power when brought together, which could open a portal to a demonic dimension. Dante wrote each artifact to a corresponding ring of hell in his book “The Inferno”, which was the first time a literary cover was used.
 * The Disney Vault: Originally, these artifacts were stored off-site, as the effects could easily cause mental impairment in agents and were hard to keep neutralized. Former agent Walt Disney gladly consented to storing them in Disneyland, hidden from the public eye. These artifacts could also cause heavy waves of inspiration, and would periodically leak out. This unintentionally helped his writing, editing and design members create movies for the company. In 2013, it was discovered the Vault had been accessed by an unknown organization. They did not manage to steal any of the artifacts, which were quickly relocated back to the Warehouse for better protection.