Blue Box of Mystery

It started out like any other day. Who’d have thought it’d end up so differently?

A man was walking his dog in the suburbs early in the morning, as he always did. The dog sniffed everything, marked a few trees as they walked, not giving a care to the world. Then all of a sudden it started running, trying to chase down a cat. The owner was pulled after it, cursing loudly and trying to regain control over the animal that was headed into an alley after the feline. That alley was where they found it.

It was roughly the size of a telephone booth, but dark blue. The edges and corners were lined with light blue, and the front had what appeared to be a white door with a numerical pad in the middle of it. Except instead of numbers, it had a whole lot of odd symbols on each button. The mysterious object also had yellow lines running all over it like wires. The man dared not touch it. He even pulled his dog away, and called the police instead. Sirens could be heard soon enough, and a few cop cars pulled up to the alley to examine the object. They tried to figure out what it was, but failed. They somehow managed to find out that it was probably not a bomb, at least. People from the media sniffed out the news of course, and were present to take some photos. With the help of some construction workers, the police put the object onto a truck and took it to their headquarters. From there, it was soon transported to the nearest research facility so trained scientists could figure out its purpose, and how to potentially open it.

By then, the news about an object of unknown origin was already on the television and internet. People started speculating about what it was. Some said it was a time travel device left behind by some careless future-person. They justified the theory with the fact that the box was big enough for a person or two to fit inside comfortably. Others said it’s a device sent by aliens to test humanity. If we can open it, we prove ourselves worthy of intergalactic attention. There even was an article by someone who claimed that the object is obviously from an ancient civilization with advanced technology, judging by the symbols on the front. Clearly, it was activated recently and hence appeared on the surface. And how many ancient civilizations do we know of that had highly advanced technology? Just one, Atlantis! The article was convincing, but even so, not many people subscribed to it.

There was just one problem, and the scientists found it quickly. The box was locked. Presumably, a code was required that must be entered via the keypad on the front. They started working on hacking software they can use to break the code. Until then, an x-ray image was released to the public which simply showed an empty space where the inside of the box should be. It was completely blank. The scientists reasoned that the box is protected from x-rays in some way to prevent looking into it without opening it up. People of course thought differently. Some people believed that the object was akin to Pandora’s Box. Only misery waits once it is opened.

People went crazy over the object. Those who believed in the aforementioned theory started voicing their opinion, even going as far as to revolt against opening the box. Uprisings happened all around the world. “Do Not Open Pandora’s Box!” they proclaimed. They swarmed to town halls and police stations, demanding they put an end to the research. While they couldn’t stop the scientists, their reaction got worldwide attention, making the atmosphere around the object tense and even frightening to some degree. Is the box really heralding the end of the world? Should it even be opened?

There was no stopping the research though, and before long the scientists announced that they’ve broken the code to open the box. Cameras were set up in the laboratory for the world to see the moment of the grand reveal.

Viewers all over the world watched, holding their breath as a white-coat walked up to the box. He slowly pressed seven buttons on the keypad, one by one in a specific order. A click could be heard as the door opened up. The scientist grabbed onto it and carefully swung it wide open.

The cameras zoomed in on the inside of the object. People all around the world saw what lied hidden within it until now.

Everyone could see with their own eyes that the box was completely empty.