Diviner

"Not everything we dug out of the ground was an antique, my friend. Some of it was quite advanced." "Is this the reason these men...? Hmm?" "Ja. The Red Skull said it may hold the answer... the answer to death itself."

- Werner Reinhardt and HYDRA Officer

The Diviner, dubbed by HYDRA as the Obelisk, is an extraterrestrial artifact that was procured in World War II by HYDRA before being confiscated by the Strategic Scientific Reserve. It was the first 0-8-4.

World War II
"And that, you must never touch."

- Peggy Carter

The Diviner was a highly potent artifact of extraterrestrial origin that was discovered in World War II amongst a cache of objects that included the corpse of a blue humanoid organism. The Diviner was sought after by the Red Skull, who believed it held the answer to death itself. The effects of this artifact were studied by Werner Reinhardt after the death of the Red Skull. It was at that time that Reinhardt discovered a woman who survived its effects. Before they had a chance to investigate this ability, they were forced to relocate.

Eventually, the Diviner, along with the rest of the objects in the cache, was recovered by the Strategic Scientific Reserve, and kept in storage by S.H.I.E.L.D. for the following decades. The Diviner came to be known as the first 0-8-4.

Retrieving the Artifact
"I can't let go!"

- Isabelle Hartley

After the dissolution of S.H.I.E.L.D., the Diviner was stored by the United States Government in a facility supervised by Glenn Talbot. Daniel Whitehall, the HYDRA agent who originally discovered the Diviner in 1945, hired Carl Creel to retrieve it for him. However, a small group of former S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives discovered it first, resulting in a scuffle with Creel. During the altercation, Agent Isabelle Hartley grabbed the Diviner and succumbed to its effects, forcing Agent Lance Hunter to amputate her hand to keep it from killing her. She died anyway, though, when Creel attacked their SUV and then made off with the Diviner.

In an attempt to protect himself from the Diviner's power, Creel turned his skin into rubber, but this did not deter the Diviner's effects, and a piece of it became melded into his body. The Diviner was soon stolen from Creel by Raina, who delivered it to Skye's Father, who seemed to have some knowledge of the artifact and its origin. The man ordered Raina to hold the Diviner, and she was somehow able to grasp it without triggering its potent effects. Instead, the Obelisk glowed a bright orange, displaying the Words of Creation.

Raina was attempting to go to Miami when she captured by Whitehall, who gave her forty-eight hours to bring him the Obelisk or he would personally torture her.

Raina begged Skye's father to let her borrow the Obelisk, but he refused. Eventually, Skye's Father brought the Diviner to Daniel Whitehall at the HYDRA Laboratories. After revealing its true name in its native language, he told Whitehall that not only would he teach him how to use its power, but how to survive it. The Doctor then offered Whitehall an alliance against their common enemy, Phil Coulson.

Weaponized
Whitehall sought to turn the Obelisk into a weapon prior to the arrival of Skye's father; he had his top scientist, Dr. Lingenfelter, work on the project, but she could not duplicate its power using only the skin cell samples of a waitress who was petrified. Sunil Bakshi was the contact person for a group of HYDRA agents who acted as the wait staff at a wedding where they put a chemical in the champagne hoping to duplicate the power. Only a few died from the incident.

Whitehall had a meeting with his scientists, including Jemma Simmons (working undercover for S.H.I.E.L.D.) and Kenneth Turgeon. Simmons told Whitehall that the Obelisk could be weaponized, but only with a sample, since extraterrestrial metals react differently than expected on a cellular level.

The Splinter Bombs were created and used by HYDRA after the alliance was made. Using designs from Vincent Beckers, Toshiro Mori modernized a weapon that could deliver a chemical that petrified, then disintegrated its victim on contact.

"It's All Connected"
"Whitehall didn't even know about the city until I turned him onto it. He thinks the Diviner is just a weapon, he has no idea of its true power. Of what's inside. Oh, there's something inside." "What are we talking about? Tesseract-level power?" "Sure..I don't know what that is."

- Skye's Father and Phil Coulson

Unable to sleep, Skye confided in Phil Coulson that she was upset because everything that is happening seems to be connected. She mentioned the Diviner's connection to her father, HYDRA, the carved symbols, GH.325, and Grant Ward.

Daniel Whitehall was angered when his top scientists told him things he knew about the Diviner since 1945. Skye's Father was brought in and told him that he could edit whatever Whitehall thought he knew about the artifact. He revealed that the Diviner was a key to an ancient city and that he wanted a team to find it.

In Laura Creek, Australia, The Doctor told Phil Coulson that the Diviner had something within it. Coulson wondered if it was similar to the Tesseract; The Doctor had no clue what that was.

Appearances

 * Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
 * Shadows
 * Heavy is the Head
 * A Hen in the Wolf House
 * A Fractured House (mentioned)
 * The Writing on the Wall (mentioned)
 * The Things We Bury