[ WP ] The year is 3184 , inside an ancient artifact , what the people of the time called a `` book '' , is written a historical account of the 3rd world war .

`` In primitive cultures, it is believed that'Written Language' was used extensively as a crude method of current day thought transfer. The symbols inscribed would correspond to an utterance known as a'pronunciation.''Pronunciation' differed between culture, which necessitated in early times'translations,' that would transcribe the thoughts contained within the'written language' into a different'language,' perhaps comparable to a cruder form of the Thought Nexus today.'' 
 
 `` This is a primitive device that was called a'book,' not to be confused with current day books. While thought exchange and mimetic transfer is performed automatically with present day books, primitive'books' printed material physically and relied extensively on the process of'written language.' It is believed this is the last primitive book ever published'' 
 
 `` This book describes the great Conflagration of 2098, which of course you know as the'Babel wars.' The struggle of contemporary governments for monopoly upon thoughts involved extensive mimetic campaigns to destroy certain symbols, and thus, deprive certain thoughts of the ability to be communicated.'Metaphors' ( not to be understood as present day'metaphors' ) were created in order to associate certain physical objects with certain thoughts, and thus encode certain behaviors based off of the perceived desirability of said objects in relation to said'thoughts.''' 
 
 `` Systems of cross-lingual contamination were used to spread these metaphors, and to ensure that they would not die out. Metaphors slowly became the dominant form of language; to control metaphor meant controlling abstraction itself. Constant metaphorical bombardment began degrading the individual's ability for abstraction in favor of a more collectivized system of language. Of course, the fractured nature of the primitive internet of the time did little to help the eventual polarization of'language.' In the end, there were two major languages, the Indo-European megaroid and the Sino-australasian megaroid. All other languages had become assimilated, or mere dialects.'' 
 
 `` With central government monopolies upon both languages, things had settled into a fairly comfortable time, in which there was central peace and chaos at the seams between the borders, metaphors and pronunciations ( although vocal communication was dying out in favor of then primitive neural nexus systems ) exchanging rapidly along the nomadic hinterlands of the Urals and Himalayas, the Brazilian jungles and the Cape of Africa. 
 
 `` Of course, all could not remain peaceful. Junk and especially subversive metaphors were routinely targeted, but the central governments' shear inertia overpowered efforts to keep language efficient. Suddenly, a simple apple could refer to dozens of things; its sweet flavor referring to a central government policy, but also its rotund shape mocking the often obese bureaucrats. The question of *what* a certain symbol means suddenly became matters of what subtle, differing values you held. Suddenly, there was individualism. Suddenly, the monolithic language and monolithic thought could not sustain itself.'' 
 
 `` The Farsi rebellion was, of course, the beginning of the end. Language became an issue of nationalism, and efforts were mounted to purge outsider influence from a certain language or another. Germanic purged Latin influences, then Japonic purged Sinic *Kanji*, then Korean fully purged *Hancha*. Thousands of new languages emerged, often so incomplete they could hardly mount a simple order.'' 
 
 `` The messy Babel Wars had begun. It was common for a single man to have over twenty allegiances to varying languages, often confused by the implications of one over the other. Language of the time heavily influenced thought; often, in the time of chaos, violent language made violent thought. Lacking the means to articulate values, the problem of language boiled down to a simple'with us or against us.' Violent fighting took over the cities, with only the most homogeneous cities surviving.'' 
 
 `` In the end, lacking consistent language, lacking metaphor, there was no thought. By 2193, fully a 104 years since the Farsi rebellion, the neural nexus emerged from the ashes. Metaphors could not ever be controlled, but in the end, they were exchanged so quickly that it hardly mattered. By 2210, the new monolith was formed, and the new, global language of thought exchange was established.'' 
 
 `` This book was published by perhaps the last practitioner of traditional language. Like primitive communicators, he was often constrained to the parameters of one language while speaking, which hampered his ability to communicate.'' 
 
 `` Thank you for your time, and enjoy your stay in the New York Neural Terminal Museum of Neural Network Development. Please visit our gift shop.''
