Beyond the Surface
While The Trowel is used for initial contact and identification, the Microscope is used for deep analysis. It is where the archaeologist asks: "Why was this made? How was it saved? What invisible systems did it rely on?"
Under the Microscope, a file is no longer just content. An image file reveals its camera settings (EXIF), the software used to edit it, and the date it was created. A piece of code reveals the technical constraints of its era—the bugs it had to work around and the libraries it depended on. This is Forensic Materialism in practice.
Triage and Insight
The Microscope is essential for accurate triage. It is what allows us to distinguish between a healthy Vivibyte and a doomed Umbrabyte. By looking at the "internal organs" of the software, we can predict when its external dependencies will fail.