Zara and her father Isaac echoed within a cavern.


    “Pappa! Look!”


    Isaac picked up twigs and fanned dirt. “Oh my …”


    “What is it, Pappa?”


    Stolen story; please report.


    ”Us …”


    ‘But how, Pappa?”


    Isaac perched upside down. “Come here, I’ll explain …”


    “That’s us, before the transmutation.”


    “What?” Zara twitched her ears.


    “Their food became scarce, so they designed animals like us.”


    “Good!”


    “No, Zara. They disrupted the food web. Predators died, releasing pathogens.”


    “What happened?”


    “Legend says a great thinker developed a way of survival.”


    “Us?”


    “Exactly!” Isaac squeaked. “Let’s go eat supper.”


    They both clicked and flew out of the cave.