The box

It was a simple plastic box only six inches square on each side. An old man was holding it in one hand as he spoke to his eldest grandchild.

“Make sure you keep this safe my boy,” he said, “the family have looked after it for generations now. This box and its contents were the pride and joy of my great grandfather and should always be kept in the family and handed down to the younger generation when they are old enough to look after it properly.”

The earth turned while the climate slowly became hotter and hotter.

Another old man was now passing the box to his grandson. The plastic had become scratched and cloudy with the passing of the years, but his message still had the same import.

“Keep this box safe lad, it has always been in our family and must be guarded carefully. Pass it on to your son when he is old enough to understand.”

The seas rose at an alarming rate as the polar ice caps melted, then the power failed. Fossil fuels had all been consumed long ago. The once conveniently placed cooling water supplies had risen and overwhelmed the power stations that they had once served. Plagues began to decimate the population, as the technology required to sustain healthy modern life failed with the loss of power.

A parody of the old ways remained in those areas served by creaky old wind turbines, but repairs were rapidly becoming impossible as knowledge died in direct proportion to the high death rate.

On one of these islands of intermittent power, an old man was passing a box made from an unknown material to his eldest son. It was only a hand span square on each side but he treated it with great reverence.

“Guard this box against all comers my son. The knowledge and power locked inside, are the reasons our village survives today and its ownership will make you the new head man when I die.”

In the course of time the last wind turbine ground to a halt, the few remaining crops failed and the population reverted to the ancient role of hunter-gatherers. The tribe who controlled the destiny of the box was now a people who engendered fear and reverence amongst all others. There had been several attempts to take the box by force, but all had failed and its reputation as a powerful talisman grew.

The headman had taken his eldest son into the heavily guarded cave where the box was kept. “This box contains all the knowledge of man my son. When the time is ripe mankind will recover the earth for its own use once again and the priests tell us that this knowledge if wisely used will make you a god amongst men”

The waters were still rising as the planet continued its orbit around the sun. The ‘box’ tribe had long ago found their way to a continent and continued to climb upwards to ever higher ground. It was as well that they did so. A vast ice asteroid smashed into the earth wiping out most of the remaining population, at the same time releasing a huge quantity of water onto the shattered planet. The earth was now drowning rapidly in cosmic terms. If there had been any observers present they would have seen the ‘box’ tribe following the remaining animal population as they all moved higher and higher to avoid the rising water. There were just enough animals left to keep the dwindling human population alive. By this time there was no other dry land where any land animals could live.

The high priest of the ‘Boxers’ called his son to the holy place on the mountain top. The remaining fifty members of the tribe gathered round to watch the ceremony.

“I have little time left to me,” said the priest, “this talisman has been our guiding light through all known history. It is now your responsibility to care for it.”

The boy took a pace forward and reached out to take the box from the priest’s shaking hand. The box was damp and slippery, as was the rest of the world in those days. A concerted scream of anguish from fifty throats tore through the drizzling rain as his hand slipped and the box fell, bouncing down the mountainside into the sea.

Sinking rapidly into the darkness of water six miles deep and carrying the last hopes of humanity with it, was the box containing the last complete set of Harry Potter DVD’s