BECOMING AN ANCESTOR

"Gather everyone!"

Everyone quickly gathered after my command, although they found it strange since, normally, they would be going to sleep at this hour.

"Everyone, gather around."

I instructed them to form a circle around me.

I gathered some branches and dry leaves and made a pile with them.

I took a flint stone and a piece of iron that I had obtained from the vein.

I struck them together, and the collision of the two produced sparks.

Before finding the iron, although I could make fire, it was much easier now.

With the sparks, I managed to create a small ember. I then took the ember and placed it among the dry leaves and branches, and with a steady rhythm of blowing, a flame emerged.

From today onwards, the Australopithecus would be unfamiliar with living in the dark, and they began to use fire.

Fire must have been the most important discovery for the human race; without it, we wouldn't have even 10% of what we have today.

Whether for illuminating during the night, staying warm, or cooking food, fire was also essential for our survival since we lack sharp claws or teeth. We had to rely on our greatest weapon, the brain.

With the use of our brains, humans climbed to the top of the food chain on Earth.

With this knowledge, I will make their brains advance faster than before, and one of the things that will help with that is the use of fire.

Everyone, without exception, looked with fear; even Cornelius was scared since fire had never been created out of nothing, and the only memories were of fires in which many died, and those who survived developed a form of trauma.

With the fire lit, some panicked and started to run, and I had to intervene.

"Stop!"

With my shout, they stopped trying to flee but still kept their distance.

"Cornelius."

"Y-yes, sir."

"Come here."

Despite the fear, Cornelius obeyed me.

"I know you're scared, don't worry, everything is fine."

"Is that what hurts?"

"Yes, but only if you touch it."

I gestured to caress the flames without touching them.

"See, no problems, it doesn't hurt if you don't touch it."

"It didn't hurt?"

"No."

"Come, try it, but don't touch."

Cornelius came and stood beside me, extending his hand, but as I instructed, he kept a distance from the flames.

"It doesn't hurt."

"Great, from today on, you will get used to it."

Afterward, I made a few more bonfires, a total of five in the group. Of course, I didn't let them get too close, especially the children.

I noticed that some gathered the courage and did the same as Cornelius. One of them was Marcos, an Australopithecus with an age comparable to around 50 human years. He had seen fire many times before, but this time was different. He never imagined being so close to the fire without any fear.

Obviously, there would be someone without a brain who would touch the flames, even after I told everyone not to touch them. And, of course, it was a young one who had never seen a flame before.

Even human children play with fire, let alone Australopithecus children.

Now it's time to demonstrate my artistic skills.