For untold hundreds of years–maybe even thousands, or tens of thousands–The Murkhlings of Shandapidoor lived in secret, far from the hustle and bustle of civilization on the surface of the planet.
If not for one young man who found them, they would have kept living on in anonymity. And darkness.
Who was this young man, the one who set his eyes on the secret race of The Murkhlings of Shandapidoor?
His name was Bun, of Challville, son of Chay, and her husband, Bun the elder.
Bun had sandy hair and seafoam eyes.
Bun was not especially smart. Bun the elder was an engineer, and Bun’s ten brothers and sisters were all accountants and builders.
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Bun was the youngest and least talented of his siblings. He was the smallest. He received the least attention from his parents and tutors.
Bun often felt like a shadow.
Bun was not skilled in bear trapping like his brother Born. Bun was clumsy with his hands, so his sisters refused to let him help with the weaving of baskets, ponchos, and ceremonial hats.
Sometimes, when he couldn’t figure out what to do with himself, he would walk to the beach. There he would admire and select stones which interested him.
Some of the stones had imprints. It seemed to Bun that these imprints had some sort of ancient, mystical meaning.
On more than one occasion, Bun brought some of his imprinted beach stones to Choggo, the village mystic and storyweaver. Choggo was the only one who seemed to take Bun seriously. Unfortunately, neither Chay, his mother, nor Bun the Elder, his father, very much liked Bun’s habits of wandering off, only to reappear and start chit-chatting with that stinky shaman.
Good day to you. My name is Kien, and I am the sentient curator of this facility.
This wonderful building is the Old Lam City Museum of Culture and Science, funded by His Majesty Himself. Now if you look down at your Pentalibra, you will see a little glowing screen. Have you got it? Good.
Now, in case you have never used a Pentalibra before, I will give you a swift run-down to enhance your user experience.
As I am sure you know, Pentalibra are programmable, multifunctional, mobile devices. As such, they can serve many purposes. The Pentalibra which you hold in your hand is very much a museum guide. You can use it to toggle between various exhibits.
Here at the Old Lam City Museum of Culture and Science, we have a wide variety of exhibitions for your enjoyment, from the myths and legends of our very own rich Cannesian heritage to ancient stellar histories of space-faring civilizations who once lived far, far away from our humble little planet.
As of this writing, all available exhibits are displayed on your Pentalibra. To continue to an exhibit, simply click the corresponding CONFIRM key.
If no choice is made, you will automatically continue to the program’s next default exhibition.
Thank you for your attention.
Do you like fossils?
