The Great Ape Civilization
The air was thick with the scent of earthiness and decaying leaves, another perfect day in the land of the Great Mycelium. Tall trees cast everything in a thick shade as it sprawled in all directions.
There was a luminescent glow pulsing out of the mud from the Historical Society. Here, the Fungikin pursued knowledge with a deep sense of curiosity. They knew the planet was five billion years old. There was so much history and so many unknown questions about the past.
There were two figures sitting in the library, where they studied artifacts of history. Today there was a new collection of peculiar artifacts. Zyylaria, a seasoned historian known for their… out-of-the-box thinking, held up the strange, smooth substance.
“Mycelia preserve us,” whispered their studious companion Morel.
“I’ve never seen a material so smooth like this,” Zyylaria admired. “It must be artificial.”
“An anomaly to be sure. A strange formation of hardened sap. Some insect secretion perhaps.”
Zyylaria shook their body, causing the bioluminescent patterns to flicker. “No this bears all the signs of deliberate creation. This structure is too complex and purposeful to be some accident of nature.”
“What purpose would it have served?” Morel asked with deep skepticism.
“I have been studying this idea for some time now. I believe that this is evidence of a prior civilization. Imagine a species that once flourished on this planet, as we do now. This may be a trace left behind of their existence.”
“A bold claim. But do you have any evidence?”
“Yes, I have been collecting a number of anomalies to bolster my claim. Come over here.”
Zyylaria gestured towards a collection of other artifacts laid out carefully on a mossy table. There were fragments of strange metals, intricate patterns carved into stone, and remnants of what were claimed to be complex tools.
“These are echoes of a forgotten past. A civilization that came before us mastered technology and shaped their environment. I believe they were warm-blooded apes, based on the kinds of creatures with the appendages to use these tools. Their bodies probably contained internal-only organs, maybe only able to sense the change in the air and certain wavelengths of light. It does not seem like they were able to communicate as we do, so they probably used a mix of sounds and gestures to approximate our great Mycelium network.”
“There could not have been a civilization here. It vanished without a trace? With only a few strange remnants? No vast structures or complex machinery?”
“Yes, that’s a good question. Perhaps… perhaps their civilization was ephemeral. There could’ve been a short period of thriving and then some unknown catastrophe befell them.
“Or perhaps… they ascended to a higher plane of existence, leaving behind their mortal bodies entirely. Then all we’d have left would be a few fragmented clues of their former glory.”
“You are certainly a creative person. But without concrete evidence… I mean you have fragments, but you’re stringing them together.”
“Then we shall seek out that evidence,” Zyylaria said determined. “We will dive deeper into the Earth, letting no stone go unturned. We will pursue this ancient civilization and unlock as its secrets.
“I’m not going to lend you a hand. Blood? Apes? I have my career to think of. I can’t be going down anthills on unsubstantiated claims.”
“Fine. I don’t need your help. I’m not worried about my place in the rings of academia. A skilled historian pursues the truth no matter where it leads. And in doing so, perhaps we’ll gain a deeper understanding of our own place in the world.”
I’m fascinated by the Silurian Hypothesis, which posits that an advanced civilization lived on the planet eons before humans. I think it’s untrue, but an interesting idea. Will future civilizations, fungi that have gained sentience, have such a curiosity about their own past?