Welcome To Dreadwood

Ancient Knowledge

It had been a few generations since the nuclear war had ended, leaving the planet in destruction and ruin. Before the war, people had become dependent on artificial intelligence to build their world for them. When the war was over, people did not have the knowledge to recreate civilisation. They had now become nomads, wandering from one place to another on foot.

As a group of surviving people wandered through the post-apocalyptic world, they passed many grand architectures that now lay on the land as desolate wasteland. As nightfall approached and daylight vanished, they decided to spend the night in the ruins of a building. The darkness brought danger and vicious creatures out into the world, those seeking to hunt.

Huddled within the ruins of the building, the group discovered a staircase leading underground. They decided that staying below ground would be safer during the night, as the creatures lurking outside would not venture underground.

The group descended the stairs one by one until no one was left above. As they stood together underground, the area was suddenly filled with light. It was night; how could there be such bright light at this time?

As each of the group members' eyes adjusted to the brightness, they saw that they were standing in a room untouched by the war. Books, one after another, filled the walls of the room. They had only heard of such a place through stories passed down from one generation to the next. They were standing in a library.

Against each wall were bookshelves with a vast array of books. The group members each pulled out a book and inspected it. Each page of the books had been perfectly preserved. Some of the books were written in a language that was familiar to them, and others were in languages that were unfamiliar. As they continued to scour through each page of the readable books, they discovered that the books held the key to rebuilding civilisation as it once was before the war.

Near each row of bookshelves, a series of large glass panels stood in a row. One of the panels lit up, and a man appeared. The group hurriedly approached the man, realising that he was only within the panel.

"Who are you?" asked a member of the group.

"I am the keeper of this library, the artificial intelligence librarian," responded the man. "How may I assist you?"

The librarian was a remnant of the past, the last connection to the world that was lost to humanity.

"This library, how did all the books survive when all digital knowledge was lost in the war?" asked a member of the group.

"With the knowledge that I have, during the war, all forms of technology were destroyed. People during that time had been absorbed into technology mentally. They had forgotten about books. A few people decided that if something went wrong during the war and technology was destroyed, at least the knowledge of civilisation could survive in the form of books. They gathered the few books that were available and hid them here underground where no one would come looking for them. No one really cared about books when all knowledge was digital," said the librarian.

"What do the books contain that make them so valuable?" asked the member of the group.

"Everything that someone needs to rebuild civilisation - engineering, medicine, agriculture, law, science, everything that is fundamental to society," answered the librarian.

"What is your purpose in this world?" asked the group member.

"To guide you all in the rebuilding of civilisation," said the librarian. "I was installed with knowledge that was not found in the books, digital knowledge of the digital world. If you desire to create a fragment of the digital world, I am here to guide you."

"We would like to start with building architecture and begin agriculture," said the member of the group.

"Section 8 of the bookshelves," said the librarian. "The bookshelves are numbered."

As the days passed, the group frequently visited the library to read the books and follow the instructions. The librarian came to their aid whenever they requested help in understanding the text within the books. The group together had built a building that could withstand nature. They were on the verge of rebuilding civilisation one stone at a time.