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The cubes are ancient Devices used by the dwarf population of the Discworld. The cubes are probably millions of years old and no one knows who made them or how they are made in the first place. The cubes can store spoken messages and are activated by some secret code. This code can be a sound, a word, an incident or anything else. However once the cube has been activated it is usualy reprogramed to respond to a spoken dwarfish word and its contents deleted to make room for words, some cubes can store at least ten years worth of sound. Most known examples are now in the possession of dwarfs of high station such as Grags or kings.

Cubes are made of an extremly tough metal which resembles heavily patinaed bronze, they range in size from less than two inches to six inches. They are adorned with green and blue lines, which flicker magically in the dark. They are extremely rare and valuable (even more than gold). Sometimes the cubes can be found underground. The dwarfs use special hearing devices to search for cubes which might be babbling forlornly in the dark for years.

These devices first appear in Thud!.