Once upon a time, there were Earthlings. They called themselves that because they always could feel the earth under their feet.
"Hi, Earthling," they greeted each other gleefully
There were neither too many of them nor too few - but just enough not to get extinct among the vastness of space. Nobody knew where they came from finding refuge on a genial planet abundant with animals and plants.
Still, the Others, unwilling to share, had allotted to the Earthlings an expansive stretch of an arid wasteland. And the Earthlings not being vicious or cunning or belligerent just decided, "Well, we can handle that,"
And they did. They plowed the rocky soil foraging mineral resources; they crafted tools and intelligent mechanisms nobody knew before.
And they engaged in trade, reclaiming what the Others refused them, meat, and fish, and fruit, and vegetables.
And they had dug a channel branching from the everlasting river and winding through their land, so they wouldn't be short of water.
There was a lad living among Earthlings, unremarkable, no better or worse than anyone else. He rejoiced in the sunshine and marveled at the wispy luminance of stars at night.
And he didn't shun arduous work, toiling in mines and forges. And, after a while, he got enthused by the workings of elaborate machines, tapping into the wisdom of his seasoned companions.
All in all, he was a precocious fellow, as the saying goes, "the future is holding on people like that."
Once in the evening, he sauntered down the street along the merchant stalls, tired though content with the working day well spent and eager to continue tomorrow. And he saw a fair maiden of magnificent beauty.
"How come I haven't met you before," he inquired puzzled.
The girl lowered her gaze and shrugged noncommittally. Later, imbued with mutual sympathy, they eloped to rendezvous every evening, occasionally lounging entire nights high on a cliff, contemplating stars. They marveled about leaving this planet and discovering another, the one that would belong solely to them.
Back then, the life of Earthlings was simple and inane. They lived according to simple unspoken human principles, unspoiled by intricate creeds or glamorous religions. They believed in mutual support and that the darkness is always followed by sunshine. And spiritual weaklings conferred with the intelligent mushroom.
(Once you nib on it, you are deluded with such a confounding jumble of appearances that you can debate it with sagely elders into perpetuity, seeking for the pointers concerning the rest of your life. Such a magnificent mushroom, with a scarlet cap strewn with white dots.)
Long story short, the maiden gave birth to a baby boy. Since weddings weren't invented just yet the lovebirds just built a cabin and settled there.
The boy grew up holding his father as a role model, could handle the crafts, or solve a befuddling task in his mind, all by himself
Only, over time, his father started noticing that he was getting more and more pensive and absentminded, refraining from capering with other boys, indifferent to the dainty treats brought from the fair.
"What's wrong with you?" His father inquired finally
The youth was reluctant but finally budged under the incisive parental glare.
"Questions"
"Questions?"
"Yes, questions that don't have answers to. Why do we persevere on this arid land while out there, outside the zone, there are woods, and glens, and game, and fertile plains? Why is this area cordoned off, as if we are wicked and those outside are good? And the main thing, why don't we try to change all this?"
