Q: I downloaded IOS 9 and the Iphone failed to load the software properly and now is effectively dead- refusing to be restored and not allowing me in to view serial no so I can contact help on-line. What do I do?

Could you better describe "effectively dead"? What do you see on the screen? When you say, "it will not restore", what happens when you attempt to restore? As far as the serial number, that is also on the box the device came in, or if you have synced/backed up the device in iTunes, you can recover the serial number there by hovering the mouse pointer over the backup listing. See this support document for assistance in viewing your serial number. Find the serial number of your Apple hardware product - Apple Support