‘Silo’: What Are Relics & Why Owning One Can Get You Killed?

We’re more than halfway through the first season of ‘Silo,’ and by now, we’re aware that something shifty is going on in the 144-level Silo that more than 10 000 people call home. Their world is drastically different than ours because Silo is the only environment they ever knew, and pretty much everything that came before Silo existed is either guarded as a secret or illegal to own. It’s impossible to erase all existence of the world that came before the Silo, and this is where relics come in. The objects are referenced in almost every episode, so we’ve decided to explain their meaning in a bit more detail. Now let’s see what relics are and why it’s dangerous to own them.
Relics are objects from the past, and they sometimes even predate the Silo itself, ranging from harmless items such as PEZ dispensers to dangerous items such as hard drives. In theory, some relics are ok to own as long as they are cleared with the Juidical, but in general, owning relics is frowned upon and can even lead to death punishment since every relic is a danger for uncovering the truth about the past and the outside world.
Now that we’ve covered what relics are in short, it’s time to analyze them in a bit more detail. If you’re interested in more, stay with us and keep reading!
Relics led to the deaths of former Sheriff Holston & his wife, Allison
Ever since the first episode of Silo, it’s obvious that there is a great conspiracy taking place, and most of the people in Silo are aware of that, but only some of them decide to act upon these hunches and knowledge. One of them was George Wilkins, Juliette’s former deceased boyfriend.
George uncovered what appeared to be a hard drive, and when Allison visited him, her primary concern was that it was a relic and an extremely dangerous relic since it possibly contained information about the world “before” the rebellion and Silos took place.
Allison and George explored the contents of the hard drive until Allison “went insane” and asked to be sent out to clean to find out whether her suspicion that nothing is really wrong with the outside world is correct.
Her husband, Sheriff Holston, followed her to her grave since he was also convinced that the world outside was not poisoned.
And this was our introduction to the world of relics, and they are extremely important but also extremely dangerous. Why? It’s easy. They are a threat to the status quo.
Where do relics come from?
Some relics come before the time of the Silo, meaning that people circulate them among themselves generationally, as was the case with George’s ‘Travel Guide for Kids’ depicting the outside world, and some relics are uncovered by accident as the people dig through the Silo. Some are found in the trash during recycling since people are not always aware that the piece of junk they “inherited” is a highly illegal item.
In the latest Silo episode, we learned that George Wilkins was part of the Silo’s relic black market. He had several highly illegal relics, and all current relics that we know exist in the Silo currently can be connected to him in one way or another.
He gave Juliette the watch; she repaired it. However, it’s important to note that the watch is not dangerous as it can’t reveal anything about the past, except for what kind of technology people used.
The second relic is the hard drive. This was the most dangerous relic we’d seen so far in the show since it contained valuable but fake information about the outside world, and this is what drove Allison to be convinced that the outside was perfectly safe.
The last relic that the show focused on in the latest episode was a seemingly ordinary PEZ dispenser. Half of the people in Silo would consider such an item junk and wouldn’t understand its use since I highly doubt that PEZ candy is part of their regular diet.
Still, the Juicidal considered that relic dangerous enough to be cataloged as “illegal” and “dangerous” in the database. Its last owner was George Wilkins until it resurfaced in an apartment that belonged to Douglas Trumbull, who turned out to be the killer of Deputy Marnes and Mayor Jahns.
The investigation into the origin of the PEZ dispenser led Juliette to discover a vast network of relic smugglers, leading her to George’s ex-girlfriend, who revealed that she always bought relics for George.
Near the end of the episode, Regina Jackson gives Juliette the most dangerous relic so far, a magazine with pictures of forests, beaches, and dolphins. Which begs us to question why regular and everyday objects such as PEZ dispensers, magazines, and hard drives can result in being sent to clean?
People start asking questions when they own relics
Relics are, in the current world of the Silo, a threat to the status quo. The current system is doing its best in its efforts to erase every possible memory and thought about what might be outside and what was before the Silos. Keep in mind that the residents of Silo have no idea what happened to the planet. They are unaware that there is a wide world out there, and they have no idea that they are taking part in a very twisted and sick experiment.
Owning relics makes people start asking questions, why are we here, and what’s outside? This is confirmed by the fact that every person who came into contact with relics eventually started asking those questions and started doubting the officials in Silo. Most people in Silo are too afraid to handle relics and don’t want to even be near them since the punishment for owning and not reporting relics can be quite high. Owning an extremely dangerous relic that has information about the “before time” can result in the owner being sent out to clean.
We will see more relics in the rest of the episodes, and the hard drive referenced several times will play an important role in Juliette eventually finding out the truth.