[ OT ] Sunday Free Write : Leave A Story , Leave A Comment - The Dark Gift Edition !

# # The Tale of a Race Long Gone 
 It was on a planet long gone, but never forgotten, that they first began to rise. They had nothing. They were simple creatures; bipeds with no overtly noticeable survival traits. Unlike us, or the rest of the known sentient races, their only strength was their intelligence. 
 
 My brothers, let me tell you the story of the humans. 
 
 Let me tell you the tale of those fragile, weak creatures that rose above all others, great and powerful regardless. 
 
 Their weakness was their strength. It was that which gave them the motivation to push themselves to constantly to be better. It is those who have nothing who push themselves to gain everything, and so they learned. Simple survival adaptations at first, which led to securing their place at the top of the food chain. Now, at this point, many other races have simply settled down, wanting nothing more out of life. Humanity, however, did n't see it that way. Contentment was n't for beings such as them. Where the other races saw the possibility of a good and happy future, the humans saw a world in need of advancement; a world that still needed improving. They never stopped pushing themselves to be more than they were. Some say that unity is strength, but - odd as it may seem - it is disunity that gave humanity its passionate hunger for knowledge. They constantly competed amongst each other, striving to be the best. First, they took small steps, but then took steps in leaps and bounds. After mastering the complex and intricate arts of inter-planetary travel, instead of waiting around to be found by others, they took it upon themselves to accomplish the noble goal of finding another intelligent species in the universe. 
 
 They found us instead. 
 
 How surprised they must have been, I wonder, when they happened upon us. They expected to find another competitor: somebody who would challenge them like never before. Instead, they found an ‘ intelligent ’ species that had been stuck scribbling in the dirt for millennia. 
 
 They could easily have enslaved us and taken advantage of their superiority, as has happened countless other times among themselves and other races alike. Instead, they extended their hand of friendship of knowledge to us, raising us up to heights we had never dreamt of before. I think somewhere in the recesses of their minds, they saw us as they saw themselves, if they had not strived as they did. They saw the truth, and it scared them. The thought of living for a tomorrow the same as today was quite literally `` alien'' to them 
 
 Through them, we learned the secrets of life itself, slowly at first, but soon we outgrew our lethargy and accelerated at unbelievable paces. When the time came, humanity brought us next to them as their brothers, and left in search of the next adventure. They never stopped looking forward into the new day. Life was an adventure meant to be lived. 
 
 We are not alone. By their end, humanity had aided several species in their own journeys. All of us here today share that one common bond; a bond forged through love and labor. And it is today, as brothers, that we come together today to mourn the passing of the last world of the humans. 
 
 There was a saying among that race- “ I ’ m only human ” they said. The used'Only human' as an explanation of their flaws. Today, to be called like one akin to a human is the greatest compliment one can receive. 
 
 Let us not forget those who loved, gained and lost alike. Let us not forget those who brought us from nothing and gave us everything. Let us not forget their greatest teaching, the lesson that we can be more than we are today, and that others are no exception to that rule. 
 
 In their last days, a decree was passed, requesting our aid in one last project. They asked us to take all the knowledge of their home world, and themselves, and create a new world, in a new solar system where humanity may once more rise and flourish again. And when their time came, that we would embrace them just as they did us. Even at the end, they wished for the chance to improve themselves more than they had already, to have tomorrow ’ s children surpass the ones of today. 
 
 Today, we mourn not the passing of a race, but celebrate its rebirth. 
 
 -***Speaker Semiv ’ s speech at the 1st Congress of Species*** 
 
 I posted this on HFY this week. I hope you like it! 
 
 Critics, harsh and loving alike are welcome!
