The tribe of primitive homo-erectus awoke to a chilly day. What was the temperature? These men, women, and children did not know, because temperature was beyond their primitive comprehension. They had a language of sorts, a combination of primitive words and gestures that only made sense to that particular tribe. The women huddled with the children in a cave, next to the warmth of the fire, and the men went off to hunt. Their target was a long extinct grazer with horns and hooves. Kao, the elder of the tribe, at age 31, led the hunt. The men followed the trail, smelled the dung, and quietly came across a herd.
Lomma, the mother of the tribe, left the cave to look for berries. After a long search, she could not find any. Her empty skull bucket being a testament to that fact. She was worried about the beating she would receive if the meat from the days hunt was not garnished with a plant of sorts. The tribe have come to believe fiercely that animals were to be eaten with a plant. If not, terrible things might happen to them. In fact they might not eat that night, if the hunt was successful or not. She decided to search a little farther than what she was comfortable. When she was just about to give up, she found mushrooms at the base of a tree. They were tantalizing, although they were not the familiar to her.
Kao and the men approached the cave. With them they carried the fresh kill, it will last them a week. It came at a price though, they had lost TooToo. As the biggest hunter, TooToo was always a little brash during the hunt. When the animal was cornered, TooToo surged ahead of Kao to deliver the killing blow but was met with a thorough gorging from the animals horns. They cut off TooToo's head to bring back to his family. Kao was wondering if the tribe would ever survive once he was gone. The young were big but not bright. TooToo's mother wasn't too bright herself, he was wondering if there was a connection.
Lomma had the mushrooms in her skull bucket when the men arrived. She saw that they had her son's head with them. She was not saddened for she had not evolved that emotion yet. But she did know it was just a matter of time before TooToo got his. He, like her other children, was gunning for top hunter. But for some reason they kept getting killed. When they gave his head to her, she noted how big it was. It would make a good skull bucket.
The feast that night was comforting. The tribe was half starving before the hunt, but now, all appetites were satiated. Now came time for her mushrooms. She passed the skull bucket around. Kao gave Lomma a look of suspicion when he saw the mushrooms. She urged him to eat. He grabbed one as did all the tribes people. It was tasty. A while later, everybody was in good spirits. Something magical was happening. What it was they interpreted as normal, what the great elk lord was giving them, as lights and patterns bounced all around them. No one thought about the mushrooms, or their effects, their brains were to primitive to make the connection.
Somehow, the cave got warm. Even away from the fire. Kao, thought he should fuck Lomma, to give her another child. As the elder, he felt responsible for her loss. Little did he know that he was one of the few who felt guilt amongst the tribe. Maybe tomorrow, he thought in his own simple terms. He looked over at her slightly sagging breasts and thighs. Maybe tomorrow. Kao fell asleep.
"Kao!"
Lomma was shouting. Pogo, the brains of the tribe, shook Kao awake. Kao looked at Pogo who pushed him towards Lomma.
"What?", he shouted.
Lomma points to TooToo's head. Kao inspects. No, he could not believe his eyes. TooToo's head was looking around and fully alert. Lomma screamed. Kao, although ready to flee, was trying to think what to make of it. He pushed Lomma aside and waved his hand infront of TooToo's head. TooToo's eyes followed his gesture. Kao was puzzled.
"TooToo?"
TooToo made eye contact. That made Kao flinch. He threw a fur blanket over his head and looked around. Everybody was looking at him. Waiting on what he did. He looked back and shrugged his shoulders. The shrugged shoulders being the most ancient prehistoric gesture to symbolize befuddlement. He sat as if the weight of the world was too much for his elderly shoulders.
He reached under the fur blanket and grabbed TooToo's head. Everyone gasped. He held it forth. TooToo's eyes were full of fear. Fear unlike any they had seen before. Kao turned the head and faced it. Eyes connected, then he turned it towards the fire and then back. TooToo looked unsure at first but then agreeable. Kao tossed TooToo's head into the fire. Lomma screamed and reached to grab it. Kao held her back. They watched in silence as TooToo's head burned.
Then a burst of light appeared and there was another cave exit. But there was warmth on the other side. The tribe entered, and found themselves in a tropical paradise. But something was wrong. The insects were much larger. And they saw some strange animals run by. TooToo came out from behind some bushes. He jumped up and down, looking at his new body and smiling. The elk spirit had really come through this time, Kao thought with astonishment. Lomma started to run to her fifth child. But she stopped in her tracks. TooToo followed her eyes up to a gigantic beast next to him. The last thing he saw. The beast, the largest any of the tribesmen had ever seen by far, swiftly bit TooToo's head off of his new body.
And thus, the cavemen found themselves trapped in the age of dinosaurs.
Millions of years later. Sarah Pool, the foremost creationist scientist of the 21st century, makes a startling discovery. Dinosaur bones with the bones of homo-erectus inside their bellies. The world would never be the same. Or more the same than ever. One way or the other.
