AlphaGazette #09: Relaxing At the Dawn of Time | SC09 – Aati Roots

Humans have been knocking around the planet for at least three-hundred-thousand years, yet recorded history only covers the last five-thousand or so, which certainly leaves plenty of room to speculate about what our ancestors were up to during the other 98% of the time. Some evidence remains, of course, and more is being unearthed all the time. Cave paintings have been found dating back fifty-thousand years or more, although they are heavily worn, making it difficult to discern much beyond "We were here." Is this the work of the best artist of the day, or children practicing their rudimentary skills? Everyone may not have lived in caves, but little else could have survived an ice age or two.

There is little question at this point, that the Origin of Man lies in Africa, but it's important to remember that two to three-thousand centuries ago, there were no less than eight other human species competing for top spot on the evolutionary tree. Perhaps they all originated there, or not.

Some like to believe that we are from a different planet altogether, what with our weak backs and sensitive skin, traits which are clearly unsuited for Earth. Meanwhile, another lesser-known theory points to the multi-world concept, in which humans stumbled upon hidden portals in their perfectly-tuned Earth, presumably somewhere in Africa, them multiplied through the multiverse like cockroaches. Both theories are equally absurd, but either one could absolutely be true. Then the question becomes, which timeline is the original one, and does it still exist?*

The perfect invisible catalyst, the Aati were designed to spread the seed, as it were. Constantly moving, easily adaptable, non-invasive, they moved from place to place while leaving barely any trace behind. Some probably stayed behind as others moved on to sow the next timeline. Perhaps it is their bone fragments that constitute one of those other lesser-known species.

*Current thinking is that the flow of time is an illusion, and that everything that has happened or will happen already exists, we just can't experience things any other way than through linear time. It follows then that it is the "thread" through time which is unique, unlike "events" which can be experienced along multiple threads.