General Science Fiction posted February 12, 2021


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In a museum far, far away...

The Exhibit

by CD Richards

"And so, dear patrons, we've now reached the final display in our Alien Antiquities exhibition -- Homo Sapiens. This species was present on the third planet of the Sol 2317 system in the Milky Way galaxy (commonly referred to as "Earth") for approximately 200,000 years. The last known specimens, just under eight billion of them, disappeared, along with 95% of the planet's biomass, some 350 years ago.

"The first item is a component of all their primitive transportation devices and is widely regarded as the most important invention of the species, along with the inclined plane and the plastic burger. I give you... the wheel!

"This second artifact is a puzzle. The end piece is made from timber and, as you can see, is roughly triangular in shape. Attached to it is this long cylindrical barrel; some specimens have two. The spring-loaded device on the undercarriage appears to be designed to release a projectile of some form down the barrel, though the purpose of such a device remains unclear.

"Finally, we have this example of a primitive communication device. What makes this item so important to our exhibit is the fact that it was one of the final inventions produced by Homo Sapiens. The first example of such a device is believed to have been created less than 50 years before the Extinction Event. Ladies and gentlemen, we present... the cellphone."




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