Ficlets

The Time Capsule (2)

The cylinder hissed as Darth Kirk unscrewed its lid. When Kirk lifted the lid off, a gust of wind from the canister brushed back his hair.

Kirk reached into the canister and came up with a handful of paper. Documents and photographs, which would be catalogued later at the archive. Other items included a tiny mannequin, labeled “Mattelâ€?, a stone with the words “pet rockâ€? hand-painted, another stone covered in white leather with red stitching (someone named Rawlings must have loved his pet so much that he provided it with clothes). And something none of them had seen before.

It was a disk, 3 cm across, yellow and made of polymer. There was a small hole in its hub, and three bent arms projected from the hub and spiraled around it.

“What is it?â€? Worf asked.

“Scan it,â€? Kirk said, handing her the disc. “See if you can find a reference.â€?

Worf did as she was told and ran the image of the disc through her computer.

“I think I have it,â€? she said moments later. “It’s something called… a swastika?â€?

View this story's 7 comments.