| Simonides of Ceos' Tally Stick | |
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Origin |
Simonides of Ceos |
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Type |
Tally Stick |
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Effects |
Creates an actual roman room to store and retrieve memories |
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Downsides |
Slowly crushes the body from the inside out |
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Activation |
Holding while walking through a doorway |
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Collected by |
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Section |
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Date of Collection |
227 AD |
| [Source] | |
Origin[]
Simonides of Ceos was a Greek poet who created a system of mnemonics designed to improve memory. He had finished crafting a victory ode for a nobleman and had arrived on his estate to receive payment. When he arrived, he was stalled by two strangers who appreciated his work. After their departure, Simonides made his way to the banquet hall to find all the guests had been crushed to death when the ceiling collapsed. He believed the two people who saved him were the mythical twins Castor and Pollux, who he revered heavily in his poem. He reported to be able to perfectly remember who sat where, even though they were disfigured. Simonides used a memory palace, a system where a piece of information would be consciously attached to a location for easier retrieval from memory.
A tally stick is an ancient memory device used numbers, messages and even financial transactions, all the way up to the 1800s.
This artifact was traded alongside James Tilly Matthews’ Air Loom, Smenkhkare's Coffin and Themistocles' Ostracon in exchange for two kidnapped Warehouse 12 agents.
Effects[]
The stick will open up a separate chamber for the user when they rub it and walk through a doorframe. It is only accessible by the wielder of the stick, which acts as a sort of leash. The room possesses a seemingly infinite amount of space and can create additional quarters for the user. Each spot contains an object, ranging from a simple container to a complex artwork. Touching it transfers a copy of a specific memory into the object, which can be reabsorbed with another touch.
When they leave the room, the memory remains inside it. The user will still possess an idea of what the memory is but will be unable to remember specifics, making them unable to give up information under threat. The more alarming downside is that the user’s body will begin to crush and crumple up from the inside out.