#49 The Starcophophagus of Mercury Ra

Age: 700 Years

Hidden or Lost: Lost

History: Hundreds of years ago on the planet Arplin, there was a musician like the galaxy had never known. Mercury Ra was the kind of rock star who wanted to heal their world with music. And actually did it. Their music spread a message of peace, love, loss, life, and having fun all delivered on melodies that transcended genres and borders. The songs of Mercury Ra filled stadiums, then embassies, then canyons and beyond, eventually bringing the people of Arplin together under a global utopian order.

Mercury Ra’s songs became history and gospel, but they had begun to feel the slow pull of old age. Still, even after having achieved their goal of bringing peace to the world, Mercury Ra set their sights on an even loftier audience. They would bring their music of peace to the entire universe. And thus the Starcophagus was born.

A massive spacecraft built of precious impenetrable gold, the Starcophagus would be Mercury Ra’s tomb and the vessel of his universal peace. Before death could actually take them, Mercury Ra was surgically dissected into six pieces and entombed inside, each part of their body kept alive under cryo-preservation. Head, arms, legs, and core, each part was entombed in a different part of the ship, protected by a gauntlet of challenges, each representing one of Mercury Ra’s major musical phases. In this way, should any cosmic beings who might intercept the ship try to resurrect Mercury Ra or steal any of the contents of the Starcophagus, they would first have to be exposed to his ideas and prove that their intentions were pure. Among the other treasures held in the Starcophagus were Mercury Ra’s entire music catalog; their Instrumental Armory, which was filled with strange and rare instruments, many of which could be as destructive as any nuke in the wrong hands; and of course the body of Mercury Ra themselves which, if reassembled was rumored to hold The Perfect Note, a sound capable of reshaping reality itself.

When it was launched out into the cosmos during a globe-spanning concert experience, Arplin lit up like an exploding star. The Starcophagus was not set on any specific course, but was meant to sail forever out into the galaxy, continuously broadcasting Mercury Ra’s music, resonating in the key of peace. It’s said to be sailing through the infinite cosmos to this day, simply waiting to be rediscovered.

1. Head of the Dirty Prophet

2. Hall of the Impossible Harmony

3. Left Hand of Groove

4. Cask of the Perfect Note

5. The Dancing Traps

6. Nest of the Sapphire Snake

7. Mercury Ra’s Blue Heart

8. The Melody Engine

9. Right Hand of the Mad Tailor

10. Endless Stages

11. Speaker Cores

12. Mercury Ra’s Unsung Library

13. The Blameless Fires

14. The Armory Instrumental

15. Left Leg of the Electric Eye

16. Right Leg of the Nomad Prince

17. Mercury’s Will

18. The Green Room