the wire

a squirrel clinging to a skinny tree branch. "fairly simple processes can explain nature's wonders." the squirrel leaps onto a telephone wire "take this wire. sculpted over millions of years by repetitive migratory paths. we have understood this for centuries." a bipedal creature in a hooded sweatshirt and headphones strolls past beneath. "the ground-walkers. common in these parts. their prehensile trunks excrete waste." the squirrel roots through a trashcan the ground-walker tossed a sandwich wrapper into. "an acceptable source for sustenance." two adult and two baby pigeons interrupt from above. they are seated on the telephone cable. "you're wrong about the wire. its usefulness and geometric elegance could not have evolved by chance. the gods designed it to benefit us." the tallest pigeon regurgitates into the beak of the smallest. "we pay homage to them by barding in each other's mouths." tallest pigeon: "barf tastes good." squirrel, chewing on the discarded hamburger sack: "do you guys have any nuts?" pigeon: "gross no"
Fragment recovered from region colloquially known as Danimals Kingdom. Few records from the area survive beyond local legends of obscene animal experimentation. Ruins of scientific facilities strewn with adorable bones present potential leads to uncovering the truth of these stories, but a reliable conclusion cannot be reached at this time.

fordite standards

 

A skeleton approaches in the distance, behind it a backdrop of factory ruins. A hovering cybernetic torso observes worker bots unloading a multi-colored mineral in an assembly line. The skeleton approaches the torso, hitting a vape. Torso: hello. caution. dangerous machines. you do not appear to be alive. do not disrupt their work, and they will not attack you. miners repeat same subroutine until fordite is depleted. when miner is depleted, miner plunges into volatile pool.
We see a rusty worker bot begin to sink itself into a pool of bubbling green muck. Skeleton: why. We see the worker's sad face as it simmers and melts into the glop. Skeleton: why do they plunge into the volatile pool? Torso: heard you first time.
Analysis: probable first encounter between subject observed interacting with temporal anomaly and cybernetic traveling companion. Fordite mineral suspected basis for local currency.