Backpack
17.25” x 13.25” x 6.25″ (43.8 cm x 33.7 cm x 15.9 cm)

The backpack found within the Maddox Ark houses the whole of the Ark’s personal effects – a folder containing school work, a coin purse, and toy and food canister. Constructed of black nylon, the backpack was tagged with evidence-style identification of the type found in the Meyer, Thousand Oaks, and Eureka Arks.

The backpack’s decoration – a doubled skull with the words “THAT’S AN ORDER” floating over a field of rifle cartridges – provides a glimpse of youth culture in the PZ.^a The doubling effect has lead arkologists Bruce Hawser and Jennifer Suarez to draw links to objects originating in the Great Lakes and Southeast Zones, where the motif features prominently.^b

^a Hark-Jimenez ZH. Identity and Obligation in the Zones. 2014. New York: Davis and Dawes Press.
^b Hawser BK and Suarez JR. Conjoined futures: Understanding twin symbolism in zone finds. Liminal. 2006. 12(4);Suppl2-5.

Button
1.75” diameter (4.4 cm diameter)

The button seen on Maddox’s backpack relates to the CATtack line of toys apparently popular in the Pacific and North Central Zones.^a

^a Nuit GH. Toys in the Western Zones. J Ark Research. 1989. 20(12);2303-2313.