36. Prologue II

O sweet muse,
You have shown me so much.
The creation of the cosmos,
How the galaxy started to spin,
I met the Forge Master
He showed me how he shaped the molten earth.
You showed the rise of oceans
Gave me the recipe for life.
Because of you I saw the glorious animal explosion,
The triumphant rise of plants and fish.
How fun it was to watch the reptiles build their saurian empire and conquer.
How humbling it was to see their decline.
I then saw the rise of the mammalian empire.
I heard the primitive drums at the dawn of man
As they walked across the continents
Building blessed and cursed ancient jewels
Along ancient waterways.
Now, gentle muse,
Guide me further into history.
Lay me to rest at Homer’s feet
Where he will tell of his wondrous tribe of marble men
And guide me into the deep, dark future.
O, my muse, you have shown me so much.
Yet there is still much more to see.

21. The Triassic: The Rise of a New Empire

On strong back legs of Plateosaurs and Ceolurosaurs

The dinosaurs built their powerful empire.

They were the noble ancestors of great kings.

Claiming the land as their own.

Walking through mighty forests of

The Post Permian aftermath.

Surveying their kingdom with strong eyes,

Sharp teeth

And swift foot.

They knew

One day

They will be great.

The small Ceolophysis

Who ran among the ferns

Dreamt of that day

When others would tremble at his descendants’ mighty roar

And fear the name of the tyrant king.

He knew the prosauropods

Towering over him

Eating the tops of trees

Would meet their match

In the new Eden that is to come.

17. The First Conquerors

Plant your roots in the soft soil.

Spread your branches to the sky.

You are the first to reach land.

New territory!

Rejoice!

Let the others figure it out.

You will be the foundation of the new world.

The symbol of a new order.

Stretching to the sky like green flags in the sand.

Spread your seeds and build an empire.

They grew tall as trees,

Taking in Carbon Dioxide,

Expelling Oxygen.

Seedless plants grew strong in the soil.

They pushed inland as the mosses stayed near the shore.

The planet became a lush green wonderland.

An Eden.

The first colonizers were quiet.

They whispered their dominance

As the wind blew through their leaves.

They didn’t need to be loud.

The first conquerors found that there was a price for this success.

The elements.

Storms uprooted them.

Fires burned them.

Droughts dried them out.

Hold fast my friends.

You’ll go far.

Evolve.

You’ll do great things.

Because whatever comes your way

Whether it be insects

Mammals

Or storms

You will survive

Bringing new life to the world.

10. Oxygen!

For eons there was war.

New chemicals to kill competition

New weapons in ever expanding microbial arsenals

Then a crazy idea came around.

Oxygen!

They took in the  chains of Carbon Dioxide.

Broke the bonds of ions.

Turned green.

Oxygen was released.

The plant-animal was born.

Some moved,

Some flagellated,

Others stayed put,

Building structures on the ocean floor.

A new atmosphere was formed.

Stromatolite lumps grew in the shallows.

An ozone layer.

It wasn’t all good though.

The gas was poisonous.

It caused extinctions.

The survivors used the die off to their advantage.

They consumed the gas

Expelling Carbon Dioxide.

From the crucible of the Big Bang came the womb of nebula.

From the womb of nebula came the forge of planets.

From the forge of planets came the brew of life.

Now Atom and Eve have a choice.

Move on or perish.