A Storehouse of Tools

Archeologists discovered what they believe to be an old civilization that apparently disappeared from the face of the earth. They found evidence of burning on most of the buildings, leading them to the conclusion that there was some sort of violent upheaval that spelled the doom of the society.

As they dug deeper they found some interesting anomalies. There appeared to be an absence of any kind of tools throughout the area. The more they explored the stranger it became. There were no cutting or hammering or digging tools. No farming or building tools. What they did find were crude tools of conflict…clubs and knives and axes.

Most interesting was that there was no apparent way for the people to make a living. What, they wondered, did these people live on? Apparently they had some way of getting food because there were plenty of household relics. The dishes and cups must have been filled with something.

But they were unable to uncover anything obvious that would describe the mundane activities of a people. For all intents and purposes they appeared to be ill-equipped to survive on a day-to-day basis.

Over time the puzzle gained followers in the anthropological community. Together, the field workers and the social scientists continued to work on the dilemma. And then, an even more challenging discovery was made.

High on a hill, in the center of the main town, was a huge storehouse containing tools. Thousands of implements that would normally be found dispersed among the ruins but, in this case, were all in one place. All the things the people needed to live a life were there. And the place was surrounded by battlements and barracks. Obviously well-guarded.

The anthropologists concluded that the tools of trade were considered valuable. A currency of sorts. If one had access to the tools of survival one must have been wealthy. He who had tools had an advantage over he who had none.

The fact that there were no tools in the hands of the general population indicated that they must have been dependent on whomever controlled the tools. Or maybe the general population was cared for by the people with the tools.

It all began to become clear. Here was a civilization that was so well taken care of by those who had tools that the people had no need for tools. As a result, over generations, the people lost their ability to use tools themselves. And they were probably quite happy and even prosperous.

But in their prosperity they failed to realize that they could no longer survive on their own. If their benefactor ever stopped providing tools and laborers they were helpless. And it was too late to do anything about it.

And, then it must have happened. For some reason, yet to be determined, the time of benevolence ended. And the people had no tools of their own. And people had no way to provide for themselves. And they must have become desperate to feed their families.

The battle lines must have been drawn. With no tools and no skills and the benefactor telling them they were on their own the people began to fight for survival. And what was left was what the archeologists discovered in the year 2110.

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