Reverse engineering an alien relic would not be an easy matter. In fact, it could literally take decades or even hundreds of years. Here are some potential types of relics and the scientific challenges we might face in reverse-engineering them:

Advanced Propulsion Device

What it could be: A component of a spacecraft, like an engine capable of faster-than-light (FTL) travel, antigravity, or wormhole generation.
Features: It might be compact, emit unusual energy signatures (e.g., exotic particles or radiation), or be made of materials we can’t identify.
Science Challenges:

Physics: Understanding how it bypasses or manipulates Einstein’s relativity (e.g., warping spacetime or using negative energy).Materials Science: Deciphering alloys or metamaterials with properties beyond our current periodic table or manufacturing capabilities.Energy: Harnessing or replicating its power source, which could involve zero-point energy, fusion, or something entirely unknown.Communication Device

What it could be: A quantum entanglement-based communicator or a device using subspace signals for instantaneous galaxy-wide messaging.
Features: It might lack recognizable inputs (e.g., no buttons, responding to thought or exotic frequencies).
Science Challenges:

Quantum Mechanics: Decoding non-local communication that defies light-speed limits.Information Theory: Interpreting alien data encoding or languages, possibly multidimensional or non-linear.Biology/Neuroscience: If it’s thought-controlled, understanding its interface with a potentially alien nervous system.Energy Generator

What it could be: A small, self-sustaining power source, like a micro black hole generator or a dark energy converter.
Features: It could run indefinitely without fuel we recognize, emitting no waste or heat in a way that violates thermodynamics as we know it.
Science Challenges:

Thermodynamics: Reconciling its operation with our laws of energy conservation.Cosmology: If it taps dark energy or manipulates spacetime, we’d need to rethink our models of the universe.Safety: Containing or replicating it without catastrophic side effects (e.g., creating singularities).