The Apocalypse Box
An Apocalypse Box is an object with mysterious origins and purpose, though it is known to possess a personality and can divulge information dating back thousands of years. There are said to be six Apocalypse Boxes and that the previous owners of all but one have ended up murdered.
History[]
In 2265 Matthew Gideon won an Apocalypse Box from a man called Jenson in a poker game. Jenson claimed "It gives you an edge. It knows things no one else knows." though he later warned "you have to be very careful because... it lies. Not all the time. Just enough." before stopping mid-sentence as if hearing something and running out into the street where he was hit and killed by an oncoming skimmer.[1]
In 2267, during the Excalibur mission, the box secretly provided Gideon with several clues to possible candidates for a cure to the Drakh plague, though mostly the leads proved to be dead ends.[2] At the end of 2267, Gideon was shot and killed by a sniper on Mars and for a time, his consciousness was trapped inside the box.[3]
Behind the Scenes[]
- The voice of the Apocalypse Box was provided by Gary Cole, foreshadowing Gideon's consciousness being trapped inside for a time.[2]
- According to J. Michael Straczynski, the Apocalypse Box would go on to play a significant role later on on the show and that for a time, Gideon would become "trapped" inside the box following his death during the season one cliffhanger ("End of the Line").
- Furthermore, in an interview given early on in Crusade's production, Straczynski revealed that the Apocalypse Box is one of a set of six - and that everyone who has ever owned one has died "under mysterious and, usually, hideous circumstances." Perhaps more disturbingly, Gideon's ownership of the box was planned - by two separate individuals; one who wanted to get rid of it, and another who wanted Gideon to have it. Galen would have eventually found out about the Box, confronted Gideon with knowledge of its dangers, and most likely attempted to take it - not for his own use, but to dispose of it.[4]