The people did not understand Adam's words.
Even the chieftain of the tribe did not understand. But sometimes, language is not necessary.
Adam's finger pointed out of the cave, toward the night sky not yet illuminated by fire, toward the sea of stars that humans had not yet touched.
The people followed Adam's finger.
The starry sky. The starry sky. The same unchanging starry sky. Why get excited about it? They couldn't fly in the sky like birds, let alone reach those untouchable stars...
"Go there!"
Adam repeated, but this time it was more like a roar, an attempt to drag these people trapped in darkness toward the far side of the world. "We... we go there!"
Dreams are born from every great attempt.
Adam was making such an attempt, sharing his dreams with them.
Understanding this nearly foolish illusion, the people were momentarily stunned, then panic spread through the group.
They shouted and cried for help, as if the end of the world was approaching.
They had never been so deluded before.
Perhaps among other races, there were those who gazed at the stars, but in the end, that sky was unreachable. Better to think about how to hunt more beasts and gather more berries, so the tribe's flame could burn longer...
Adam stared at them.
These beast-like people did not dare meet his gaze, looking frightened and terrified.
Adam knew they would need time to adapt.
So he began a new attempt.
This time, he did not forcefully draw their gaze to the starry sky, but instead planted his roots in the muddy earth.
Facing the fearful crowd, Adam said soothingly, "The starry sky is indeed very far from us. I am too impatient. I should think about the most urgent matters first."
"Fire!"
"Next, I will show you how to make fire!"
As soon as he spoke, Adam took things from his pocket: weeds, fallen leaves, twigs, a board...
Yes, this was a completely different method of making fire compared to the mechanical session (lighter) in the style of Prometheus. This was fire born from drilling wood, like the Flint Clan.
The right materials and the right strength would spark a flame.
The first fire. The first flame. The first bonfire raised by human hands appeared before them all. The fear and anxiety caused by Adam's illusions on their faces began to subside.
Humans fear darkness. This fear is innate, remaining with the living. It is fire that gives people hope to overcome fear.
It brings warmth and light beyond the sun and moon. But once the fire went out, they could only wait for another random gift from the gods.
But now Adam had brought fire. Fire that everyone could kindle.
The flame burned brightly under the shelter of the natural stone walls.
The people watched this fire. The warmth and light dispelled fear and darkness, and also gave them courage.
The strongest chieftain of the tribe lowered his head and muttered in shock, again and again:
"It's fire..."
...
Even as Adam roasted game over the fire, he did not forget to observe the people.
Suddenly mastering how fire was created—the people living in groups were shocked by such a change.
This was an experience they had never had before, and it seemed to tell them that nothing was impossible.
Perhaps the starry sky was not so far away.
In the first ten days, the people did not dare make fire, afraid of bringing unknown dangers. But when night came, the strong desire for knowledge was about to awaken. Someone involuntarily made an attempt.
Trying did not mean success.
Some failed, doubting whether fire could be controlled by others, and fell into panic.
Some succeeded, and fire was born in their hands.
They rejoiced and celebrated, holding the burning torch high in the dark cave, shouting joyfully to their companions.
They discovered that this man-made fire was no different from the fire born when thunder struck a giant tree. It could give them the same power, allow them to roast raw food, dispel cold and darkness, and teach ferocious beasts to feel awe.
They were gradually changing...
But Adam felt these changes were not enough. Far from enough.
He began to teach them language and words, hoping they would no longer have to point fingers to express something.
This could not be achieved overnight. It was destined to be a long process to give people language.
But it was worth it, because language is very complex. It could make human thinking more sophisticated, facilitate the transmission of emotions between each other. Joy, anger, sorrow, happiness—all could be expressed with simple words.
A day passed. A month passed. A year passed...
After Adam carved 730 marks on a giant tree, after the sun had risen 3,650 times and set 3,650 times, Adam finally deeply integrated language into the genes of this race.
Ten years ago, people could not have imagined what language would look like. Ten years later, no one wanted to think about what it would be like without language.
Under the chieftain's guidance, the tribe's people offered the existence of fire and language to him...
They called him a god.
["We go there!"]
The Adam who created flames. The deafening roar. The hand pointing to the starry sky.
The chieftain would never forget that scene, especially after learning to think further through language, becoming increasingly curious about the distant and boundless starry sky.
"What will we do to fly into the starry sky?"
People without birds' wings could not even soar in the sky, so how could they fly to the stars?
He could not imagine it.
...
...
"Neos, do you think humans can travel among the stars?"
Neos did not want to speak. He was just a man born in Anatolia, a child who only knew how to herd sheep. At most, he gazed at the bright starry sky when he couldn't sleep at night.
Perhaps tens of thousands of years from now, he would become an Emperor, begin the battle to unite Terra, lead humanity to the stars, and play that infinitely sorrowful cosmic gamble that only the greatest race and the greatest leader of this universe could undertake...
But now, he was just a shepherd boy.
He didn't care about the starry sky above his head. He only cared about whether his sheep could eat enough grass quickly, and whether his mother could get more meat when he returned home.
So he didn't want to deal with his fellow shepherds, but people could never bear loneliness and would always find a topic.
"Neo, have you ever heard that the barbarians in the north who don't even know how to make fire are learning to make fire?"
"Oh."
"They say that gods... gave them fire."
"Oh."
"And the gods they believe in hope to reach the sea of stars. Neo, don't you think that's ridiculous? Even eagles can only fly in the sky. Humans don't even have wings. How could they fly to the stars?"
"What did you say?"
The laziness in Neos's eyes disappeared. He looked at his partner more seriously than ever before and spoke word by word: "Say that again!"