See You Many Times Research Unit

Dear temporary co-researcher,

This time-capsule holds a collection of traces gathered in an attempt to reconstruct and revive an obscure research project, code-named "See you many times!", that delved into the multiple dimensions of Time.

Due to the subject of the research and the fragmented state of the materials, the authors of this research are still uncertain. What remains uncertain as well, is whether it took place in the past or in the future.

Most things we know about this research have been reconstructed by deciphering a log/diary of one of the researchers, that was found on a microfilm packed together with three magnetic drives, a small library, a collection of minerals, another collection of broken electronic materials, and a fluidics hourglass.

The documents found inside the magnetic drives, though, were produced with a technology developed at least 30 years after the magnetic drives and cellulose microfilms had become obsolete. The function of the hourglass is unclear too, given the atomic-clock precision that was probably already available.

From our reconstructions, the research tried to relate three different time scales:

• the micro-time of computer processes — the super-fast cycles happening constantly in digital infrastructures, continuously synchronized to super-precise frequencies;
• the macro-time of geological formations — the crystals and minerals inside all electronic devices, the physical substrate that makes all computation possible, and the exploitative, environmentally destructive methods used to extract them;
• the capitalist-time of work and labour — the production rhythms of societies and individuals, and the time-networks and infrastructures required to keep global activities in sync.

In/on/around/ this shelf you will find:

• The materials recovered from the obsolete magnetic drives, reformatted into two Material-Sticks for digital use — one contains pictures and movies, the other contains texts;
• Paper versions of the same textual materials, provided for archival and backup purposes. As we now know, paper is likely to outlast digital supports, being better suited to survive magnetic storms;
• The word-for-word transcription of the diary/log of one of the researchers, as it has been recovered. No successful attempt has been made yet to translate the dates into the current UTC-standardized calendar;
• The recovered researcher's library, as it was found;
• The collection of minerals, including an experimental box to analyze minerals through sound;
• The collection of broken electronic materials, including a microscope to zoom in;
• The recovered fluidics hourglass — unclear what time scale it relies on, as it's not synchronized with standardized UTC time, and the cause of its fluctuations remains unknown. It might have been used to give rhythm to the research;

We hope you can help us shed light on these materials.

Yours,
The "See you many times" Research Unit.

Recovered Artifacts