In Keiths words. “Using this photo (below) as inspiration, write a short story, flash fiction, scene, poem; anything, really; even just a caption for the photograph. Either put it (or a link to it) in a comment or email it to me at keithchanning@gmail.com before 6pm next Sunday (if you aren’t sure what the time is where I live, this link will tell you). If you post it on your own blog or site, a link to this page would be appreciated, but please do also mention it in a comment here.
Go on. You know you want to. Let your creativity and imagination soar. I shall display the entries next Monday.”
The photo.
The Excavation by John W. Howell © 2021
“Everyone, please be careful. We have been working at this site for over a year.”
“I hear you have turned up nothing but this one artifact.”
“That is correct. It appears the civilization disappeared without a trace.”
“Except for this one artifact.”
“Quite true, Ambrose. We are almost certain others will be found, but so far, this is all the evidence we have that anyone existed here before.”
“So, how would you describe the artifact, professor.”
“You can see for yourself that it is green and make out of a substance that is hard and clear.”
“Do you have a guess as to its age?”
“It is tough to determine since we would have to take a piece of it and then do a dating process. However, given the low level of technology, I would put this object in the twenty-first century, say around 2021.”
“Wow, professor, that was five thousand years ago.”
“I know, er, what was your name again?”
“Tantius.”
“Ah, yes, Tantius, the son of Truntious. It is over five thousand years. You see, back then, humans used to walk around with sustenance in containers. These were made out of silica and were a very crude method of portability compared to our standards.”
“Why did they need to carry sustenance, Professor.”
“No one is sure Tantius. They had a term for it. They called it carry-out.”
“Wasn’t that what helped make them extinct?”
“Well done, Ambrose. Yes, their carry-out finally did them in. Unfortunately, they did not know how to dispose of these containers, so their rivers and oceans finally ran dry with the magnitude of the waste.”
“Yet this is the only artifact.”
“It is a little poetic, isn’t it? I suppose we will never know where all the dross finally went. However, we should be thankful that it is gone.”
“What are you going to do with this artifact?”
“We will wrap it and carefully transport it back to Tandox. They can study it more there and will be able to lift the traces of matter that will identify the last user of this container.”
“What then?”
“The matter can be used to replicate the user for further study.”
“I would love to see that. They say humans only had two eyes.”
“Yes, Tantis. They were definitely inferior to our race. If they hadn’t eliminated themselves, they would be no match for us. Unfortunately, we only have sketchy descriptions of them, but they seemed to be ill-equipped for survival. Well, are we ready to head back to the classroom?”
“Speaking for myself, this has been a fascinating discussion. I could really go for some lunch.”
“Lovely, Tantis, thank you. We have some fresh dung waiting for us when we get back, which I’m sure you will enjoy.”
