The work of making rubbings and preserving records of the written materials in the shelter lasted an entire day.
Faced with these extremely important research materials, which would be nearly impossible to reproduce once lost, the technical experts sent by both Typhon and Cecil displayed the utmost seriousness and caution. Not only did they record the symbols carved into the floor, but they also overlooked neither the patterns on the central round platform, the cracks in the floating fragments nearby, nor the details of the two ancient scholars' clothing. Over the course of that full day of work, these foremost scholars in their respective fields practically copied the entire shelter space, down to the smallest detail, on the level of "information." If they ever wished to recreate this shelter someday, these records containing every detail could even allow them to make a replica indistinguishable from the original.
Taking things to such lengths might have seemed excessive, but it was necessary—because no one could predict when, in what field, or in what way the information recorded in this shelter might prove useful in the future. Sir Scott's legacy to the world might have been nothing more than a decipherment of alien writing, but this incredible shelter space itself... was also a startling "legacy."
And before the scholars completed their work, everyone obeyed Gawain's orders and did not touch any device within the space, especially the "crystalline cube" on the central round platform.
The Crystal Cube was clearly the key to maintaining this space. Tampering with it rashly could very likely cause the space to close prematurely. Naturally, it could not be touched before all the materials had been recorded, but once the documentation was complete, Gawain and the others still intended to take it away.
There had been an alternative proposal: