Birth of Man

Alright, we've been going for a bit now, and if I'm being honest, the real good stuff happens after the next bit. So, lets just move past it as quickly as we can.

Basically, Charles and Max were trying to figure out what exactly flora could be. It couldn't just be more of fauna, right? So, while they were busy being all intellectual for Charles knows how long the animals down on Earth were figuring some things out. Well, some were. The carnivores and omnivores were figuring out which of the herbivores they could eat.

The herbivores were starving.

Nobody knows why there were ever any dietary restrictions for animals. Probably just a result of Charles's early soiree into mutations.

Eventually, the two creators took notice of what was going on down below. They grabbed the nearest sketch they had come up with and used that as a basis for all plant life.

In reality, the "sketch" was a test paper for some green ink Max had used. One long green streak was the entire basis for all foliage. I suppose it worked out.

Charles got to work typing and copying. Various plants were birthed into the world. Eventually, the whole system reached a balance and all was well again.

For a time.

"Well, turns out this whole creating a world thing isn't so hard after all is it, Max?" Charles asked as he spun around in his chair.

"No, sir. I suppose it just comes naturally to you. However, we're not quite done yet," replied Max as he handed Charles a small note card.

"Hu.. Hum... Human?" Charles read aloud as he held the note card inches from his face.

"Yes, sir. You said you wanted to try something new since this was your first creation. You never said what exactly that was, so I wrote down some strange word that sounded like something you'd use as a name."

Charles sat and pondered this for a moment. Then, he leapt from his chair.

"I love it!" he shouted as he rummaged through the previously neatly stacked pile of finished pages.

He pulled out the page on which he had typed apes into existence. He used some of the copy tape from before and copied the paragraph about apes. He then pasted this writing onto a new page and placed that page in the typewriter.

Over the word ape, he typed "Human". Over the words covered in fur, he typed "much less covered in fur and with a great amount of variation from each to each". He continued this process until he was satisfied with his modified creation. He then copied it once and added a line that specified this copy would be of the opposite sex as he had started doing with the animals.

On Earth, a couple of apes morphed and changed into early humans. Naturally, to the disgust and fascination of the nearby apes. The nearby dogs and cats were immediately enamored with this new creature. The nearby cows suddenly felt quite uncomfortable and insecure for reasons they didn't quite understand.

"Quite strange, sir," Max remarked.

"Yes. Aren't they wonderful?" Charles asked excitedly. Less excitedly, Max nodded his head. Truth be told, much like the cows, Max suddenly felt quite uneasy about Charles's newest creation.

"The best part is still to come," Charles said as he leaned back into his typewriter.

"These humans will be the most intelligent beings on the planet of Earth. They will be fully conscious of their own place in the world. They will be aware of their own mortality. Most importantly, they will have the ability and freedom to create just as their creator has," Charles typed furiously.

Max, as if he was also suddenly given the power of understanding through a magic typewriter, realized where his uneasy feeling came from.

The cows were still not certain.

"Sir, isn't that a bit dangerous? How do you stop them from creating monstrous, destructive things? What will happen to the rest of your creations?" Max asked as he nervously wrung his hands.

"I suppose it is. So was what he just did here today, Max. One mistype and I could have collapsed this whole sector."

Max's eyes widened.

"Don't worry. I made sure that didn't happen, right?" Charles asked in a calming tone.

"The point of this power is that anything can happen. These humans may quickly eradicate and erase everything I've done. They may build on and improve it beyond our wildest imaginations. We can't know." Charles continued.

"And that's a good thing?" asked Max as he stared out at the humans and their new home.

"Absolutely. We did something great here. We built something. You and me, Max. Now it's someone else's turn." Charles responded.

Max was hearing something strange. Charles sounded quite wise and knowledgeable. Which we all know is very strange.

Charles and Max walked over to the window in the humble office. They looked out upon their creation. For eons, they stood there and watched. They watched as humans went through times of peace and times of war. They watched as they built and created. Charles picked out his favorite storytellers. Max picked out his favorite new office supplies.

The Earth was out of their hands now.

So, next time you feel like there can't be a reason anything is happening. You're right. That's the way Charles meant it to be. We're in control of our own lives and we tell our own stories. We were meant to create, destroy, copy and morph just as our creator did. Go forth and do just that.

Oh, and next time you reach for that gallon of milk at the store, think about how weird that poor cow must have felt.

Image Information: Plant Nursery from Wikimedia Commons

Earth from Wikimedia Commons