Martian Chronicles

Catalog Caelorum:
Relics of the First Threshold

"The Heavenly Catalog"

***

SCRIBAL CATALOG ENTRY 073-K — Fractured Oxygen Regulator Fragment
Saint	Elias Koenig, Anchorite of Dust
Designation	Tier I Relic (Contact with Lunar Breath Seal)
Preservation Status	Stabilized in Martian vacuum vitrification capsule
Material	Lunar-grade composite, regolith abrasion scoring
Storage Location	Sanctum Aonia Reliquary, Mare Acidalium Quadrangle, Mars
Viewing Conditions	Visitors must observe a 108-second silence before approach. Soundproof gallery chamber with mirrored ceiling simulating Earthrise. Relic suspended over lunar regolith within a sealed crystal dome.
Inscription	“This is the piece that held against the void. Do not speak here. Let the silence hold.”

SCRIBAL CATALOG ENTRY 074-A — Ration Wafer Fragment, Communion Series
Saint	Ayesha Patel, the Gatherer
Designation	Tier I Relic (Contact with First Off-World Ritual)
Preservation Status	Suspended in lunar-vacuum stasis with archival glass
Material	Compressed nutrient wafer, carbon matrix, ritual fracture line intact
Storage Location	Sanctum Aonia Reliquary, Mare Acidalium Quadrangle, Mars
Viewing Conditions	Only displayed on Sol 3, Month of Earthlight, during the Feast of the Threshold. Illuminated with lunar-spectrum light simulating Shackleton Crater conditions. Presented beside a hydrogel ampoule and digital transcript of Log Entry 47.
Inscription	“She broke no bread to feed, but gave presence.” “First offering. First communion. First liturgy beneath a black sky.” “Do not bow. Sit with her memory.”

SCRIBAL CATALOG ENTRY 000-X — Glass Bead (Uninscribed)
Saint	The Silent Thirteenth
Designation	Tier ∅ Relic (Associated via Apocryphal Tradition)
Preservation Status	Held in stasis field, never touched, never described
Material	Unetched glass; no internal refraction; composition anomalous
Storage Location	Sanctum Aonia Reliquary, Mare Acidalium Quadrangle, Mars
Viewing Conditions	Visible only during the 108 seconds of ceremonial silence each orbit cycle. Chamber kept in near-darkness; no text or iconography permitted within line of sight. A placeholder EVA suit stands beside the case. Its nameplate is intentionally blank.
Inscription	“No record. No witness. No offering but presence.” “This relic may or may not be what it seems. It remembers who we forgot.” “Observe. Do not inquire.”

***

Footnotes