Excavating the truth
Written for: 
brigits_flame, August/September mini challenge 2011
Prompt: Bring To Light
Words: 1267
Rating: PG
Excavating the truth
“Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my pleasure to present our newest archeological findings, which I feel, without wanting to seem pretentious, may revolutionize the way we see the late pre-Corvidian era. Over the past several years, we have had the unique opportunity to excavate this remarkable site and the objects we have found have exceeded all our expectations. They have deepened our understanding of how this pre-historic society functioned, showed how its individual members lived and even brought to light what their religious beliefs were.
I was granted the great honor of overseeing the excavation myself, and I must say that I can’t remember ever being on a site this fascinating….”
At this point, Bele shifted where he was perched and tilted his head slightly towards Varis. “I can’t believe how full of himself old Professor Mungin is,” he whispered. “As far as I can remember, he only turned up at the site a handful of times, and one of those times, it was only to make sure none of us was taking any of the artifacts for ourselves. But of course, he was so very involved in the excavation.”
“…an almost intact structure found during construction work. Now, this in itself is already extraordinary, but in this case, I could also see from the very beginning that the construction lay directly under the M-A boundary, also known as the Mammalian-Avian boundary. Now, as most of you know, when humans became extinct and our ancestors developed intelligence…”
Varis let out a derisive caw. “Yes, I’m certain he’ll be telling us how he crawled through the dirt next, painstakingly brushing the dust off each object single-handedly.” He began preening his grey feathers for a few moments from only the memories of the dust.
“… this flat electronic device was also amongst the objects found in the lower levels. On one side is a mirror-like surface and on the other are the human north-western runes forming the word “iPod”. We also found a toy made from natural fibers, which humans oddly enough carried with them in their foot protection. In a leather container, we found a number of small, round shiny objects, small pieces of paper and thicker plastic. I believe that these…”
“And at the same time teaching us students all of his wisdom, instead of letting us do all the work while he perched in his office, doing Horus knows what. If he had at least been examining what we found or researching the significance of the objects I wouldn’t have minded. But no, Dr. Fitheach did all that work. And of course, none of us gets any recognition. Old Mungin probably wouldn’t even recognize any of us if we flew past him in the air lane.”
Bele nodded vigorously. “I don’t even mind not getting any recognition myself; after all, I’m just a measly student. But Dr. Fitheach definitely deserves more than a little credit. She took care of everything, worked such long hours I don’t even know how she got any sleep and all that on next to no wages.”
…as the center of their daily life was clearly the top level of their nest. In this area, we found what we believe was a replica of one of their gods. As it was surprisingly similar to their motorized means of transportation, we believe their transportation machines were also shaped after this god. The most striking feature of the statue was a mechanism that allowed the humans to wind it up, which caused it to move on its own for short distances. Remainders of yellow pigmentation show that in times of danger, they coated this replica with pigments in order to disguise it, which proves it was of highest value to them.
Nearby, we found a cylindrical metal container covered in the remains of red pigment and some white pigment, spelling out the stylized runes “Cooa-Col”. When analyzed, traces of sugar, phosphoric acid and caffeine where found inside. Since this combination of substances is believed to have been toxic for the human organism, we assume it was sacrificed to their gods. The details…
“But then, it might be to our advantage that we aren’t mentioned in the publication, considering the muddle he has made of it. Sometimes I wonder if there’s even a grain of truth in the conclusions he draws.”
“That’s true,” Bele agreed. “The way he overrode Dr. Fitheach’s conclusions if they didn’t fit in with the theories he’s had since he was our age was truly appalling. I can’t believe how stubbornly he ignores all the new discoveries that have been made since then. Think of all the times Dr. Fitheach politely asked him to consider the newer publications, but he just completely disregarded her. Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was behind those flat, woven objects with pigments covering one side disappearing.”
“Hush boys, I don’t want you to get into trouble over this,” a slightly gravelly voice said from behind them.
Varis and Bele turned around, embarrassed. They stared at the bird behind them for a few moments before finally realizing they were looking at Dr. Fitheach, almost unrecognizable without the usual layer of thick dust covering her black feathers.
“I’m sorry,” Varis offered. “But you know how upset it makes me when I have to listen to this rubbish. Maybe I shouldn’t have come here today. I guess I just couldn’t resist the knowledge that there will be a buffet afterwards.”
Dr. Fitheach let out a soft cackle. “I agree, the buffet may very well be the best about this event, but I doubt that is why we are really here. I think we just can’t help the horrified fascination of seeing what he has made of our efforts.”
“We really should do something about him!” Bele exclaimed quietly. “He can’t just manipulate findings to reflect his personal beliefs without anyone contesting him!”
“I’m sure everything will be revealed at the right time,” Dr. Fitheach tried to appease him. “It’s not worth risking your careers for this.”
…which proves that, despite more recent claims, the human world revolved around the sacred top section of these constructions, where they worshiped the moving metal replica of their god.
All in all, this site offered remarkable evidence for the theory that despite of inhabiting the lower levels of their nests, the higher levels were of great importance. I hope this discovery will finally sway the discussion towards the so-called top-level-theory, as the bottom-level-theory is rendered obsolete.
I thank you all for your attention.”
Varis was about to fly over to the buffet when there was suddenly a loud call in a familiar voice from behind him.
“Professor Mungin, I have a question. How can it be that you explain the importance of the objects you found at the top level by their position in the structure and then go on to use them as an argument that the top level is most important? Wouldn’t it be more sensible to take into consideration that the humans’ limitation to the ground would affect their way of thinking instead of assuming that they are orientated towards heights as we are? Do you think that perhaps the objects that allegedly disappeared from the site could add to a more rounded analysis of the issue?”
Professor Mungin gaped. It was unheard of that the result of a research project was questioned in this way when it was presented. Despite the insolence of the question, it was clear from the way the audience settled back onto the perches that he was expected to answer.
brigits_flame, August/September mini challenge 2011
Prompt: Bring To Light
Words: 1267
Rating: PG
Excavating the truth
“Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my pleasure to present our newest archeological findings, which I feel, without wanting to seem pretentious, may revolutionize the way we see the late pre-Corvidian era. Over the past several years, we have had the unique opportunity to excavate this remarkable site and the objects we have found have exceeded all our expectations. They have deepened our understanding of how this pre-historic society functioned, showed how its individual members lived and even brought to light what their religious beliefs were.
I was granted the great honor of overseeing the excavation myself, and I must say that I can’t remember ever being on a site this fascinating….”
At this point, Bele shifted where he was perched and tilted his head slightly towards Varis. “I can’t believe how full of himself old Professor Mungin is,” he whispered. “As far as I can remember, he only turned up at the site a handful of times, and one of those times, it was only to make sure none of us was taking any of the artifacts for ourselves. But of course, he was so very involved in the excavation.”
“…an almost intact structure found during construction work. Now, this in itself is already extraordinary, but in this case, I could also see from the very beginning that the construction lay directly under the M-A boundary, also known as the Mammalian-Avian boundary. Now, as most of you know, when humans became extinct and our ancestors developed intelligence…”
Varis let out a derisive caw. “Yes, I’m certain he’ll be telling us how he crawled through the dirt next, painstakingly brushing the dust off each object single-handedly.” He began preening his grey feathers for a few moments from only the memories of the dust.
“… this flat electronic device was also amongst the objects found in the lower levels. On one side is a mirror-like surface and on the other are the human north-western runes forming the word “iPod”. We also found a toy made from natural fibers, which humans oddly enough carried with them in their foot protection. In a leather container, we found a number of small, round shiny objects, small pieces of paper and thicker plastic. I believe that these…”
“And at the same time teaching us students all of his wisdom, instead of letting us do all the work while he perched in his office, doing Horus knows what. If he had at least been examining what we found or researching the significance of the objects I wouldn’t have minded. But no, Dr. Fitheach did all that work. And of course, none of us gets any recognition. Old Mungin probably wouldn’t even recognize any of us if we flew past him in the air lane.”
Bele nodded vigorously. “I don’t even mind not getting any recognition myself; after all, I’m just a measly student. But Dr. Fitheach definitely deserves more than a little credit. She took care of everything, worked such long hours I don’t even know how she got any sleep and all that on next to no wages.”
…as the center of their daily life was clearly the top level of their nest. In this area, we found what we believe was a replica of one of their gods. As it was surprisingly similar to their motorized means of transportation, we believe their transportation machines were also shaped after this god. The most striking feature of the statue was a mechanism that allowed the humans to wind it up, which caused it to move on its own for short distances. Remainders of yellow pigmentation show that in times of danger, they coated this replica with pigments in order to disguise it, which proves it was of highest value to them.
Nearby, we found a cylindrical metal container covered in the remains of red pigment and some white pigment, spelling out the stylized runes “Cooa-Col”. When analyzed, traces of sugar, phosphoric acid and caffeine where found inside. Since this combination of substances is believed to have been toxic for the human organism, we assume it was sacrificed to their gods. The details…
“But then, it might be to our advantage that we aren’t mentioned in the publication, considering the muddle he has made of it. Sometimes I wonder if there’s even a grain of truth in the conclusions he draws.”
“That’s true,” Bele agreed. “The way he overrode Dr. Fitheach’s conclusions if they didn’t fit in with the theories he’s had since he was our age was truly appalling. I can’t believe how stubbornly he ignores all the new discoveries that have been made since then. Think of all the times Dr. Fitheach politely asked him to consider the newer publications, but he just completely disregarded her. Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was behind those flat, woven objects with pigments covering one side disappearing.”
“Hush boys, I don’t want you to get into trouble over this,” a slightly gravelly voice said from behind them.
Varis and Bele turned around, embarrassed. They stared at the bird behind them for a few moments before finally realizing they were looking at Dr. Fitheach, almost unrecognizable without the usual layer of thick dust covering her black feathers.
“I’m sorry,” Varis offered. “But you know how upset it makes me when I have to listen to this rubbish. Maybe I shouldn’t have come here today. I guess I just couldn’t resist the knowledge that there will be a buffet afterwards.”
Dr. Fitheach let out a soft cackle. “I agree, the buffet may very well be the best about this event, but I doubt that is why we are really here. I think we just can’t help the horrified fascination of seeing what he has made of our efforts.”
“We really should do something about him!” Bele exclaimed quietly. “He can’t just manipulate findings to reflect his personal beliefs without anyone contesting him!”
“I’m sure everything will be revealed at the right time,” Dr. Fitheach tried to appease him. “It’s not worth risking your careers for this.”
…which proves that, despite more recent claims, the human world revolved around the sacred top section of these constructions, where they worshiped the moving metal replica of their god.
All in all, this site offered remarkable evidence for the theory that despite of inhabiting the lower levels of their nests, the higher levels were of great importance. I hope this discovery will finally sway the discussion towards the so-called top-level-theory, as the bottom-level-theory is rendered obsolete.
I thank you all for your attention.”
Varis was about to fly over to the buffet when there was suddenly a loud call in a familiar voice from behind him.
“Professor Mungin, I have a question. How can it be that you explain the importance of the objects you found at the top level by their position in the structure and then go on to use them as an argument that the top level is most important? Wouldn’t it be more sensible to take into consideration that the humans’ limitation to the ground would affect their way of thinking instead of assuming that they are orientated towards heights as we are? Do you think that perhaps the objects that allegedly disappeared from the site could add to a more rounded analysis of the issue?”
Professor Mungin gaped. It was unheard of that the result of a research project was questioned in this way when it was presented. Despite the insolence of the question, it was clear from the way the audience settled back onto the perches that he was expected to answer.