The Martian Backup (·𐑥𐑸𐑖𐑩𐑯 𐑚𐑨𐑒𐑳𐑐, also known as The Archive, the Lutèce Backup, the Martian Archive or simply Backup) is a device created by Human colonists on Mars after the extinction of the human race on Earth in 2119, an event known as the Death of Earth. It contains a comprehensive collection of human knowledge and culture, including millions of books, several billions of petabytes of recordings, media, music, shows, games, messages, and other writing. The backup was designed to be decoded by other life forms in the event that humanity is discovered by extra-terrestrial civilisations in the future.
The creation of the Martian Backup was spurred by the realisation that even those who had managed to escape to Mars were not immune to the eventual extinction of the human race. As such, the colonists on Mars made it their mission to assemble a comprehensive archive of all human knowledge and culture in order to preserve it for future generations, both Human and xenote.
In -15, the Martian Backup was discovered by a joint exploration group consisting of Tallisites and Navareans. The group was conducting a survey of the outer reaches of their galaxy when they stumbled upon an object of unknown origin on a xenote planet that contained the ruins of an advanced civilisation similar to Tallisites. Upon closer inspection, they realised that they had found the Martian Backup, a device containing the sum of all human knowledge and culture.
The group brought the Backup back to Tallis, where it was carefully studied and decoded over the course of several years. The information contained within was a treasure trove of knowledge and cultural artefacts, allowing the Tallisites and Navareans to learn about the history and culture of Earth and its people. The discovery also led to a renewed interest in space exploration and the search for other intelligent life forms in the galaxy.