Хребти божевілля
VII
Loads,however,weredrawnbybeastsofburden—Shoggothsunderthesea,andacuriousvarietyofprimitivevertebratesinthelateryearsoflandexistence.
Thesevertebrates,aswellasaninfinityofotherlifeforms—animalandvegetable,marine,terrestrial,andaerial—weretheproductsofunguidedevolutionactingonlifecellsmadebytheOldOnes,butescapingbeyondtheirradiusofattention. Theyhadbeensufferedtodevelopuncheckedbecausetheyhadnotcomeinconflictwiththedominantbeings. Bothersomeforms,ofcourse,weremechanicallyexterminated. Itinterestedustoseeinsomeoftheverylastandmostdecadentsculpturesashambling,primitivemammal,usedsometimesforfoodandsometimesasanamusingbuffoonbythelanddwellers,whosevaguelysimianandhumanforeshadowingswereunmistakable. Inthebuildingoflandcitiesthehugestoneblocksofthehightowersweregenerallyliftedbyvast-wingedpterodactylsofaspeciesheretoforeunknowntopaleontology.
ThepersistencewithwhichtheOldOnessurvivedvariousgeologicchangesandconvulsionsoftheearth’scrustwaslittleshortofmiraculous. ThoughfewornoneoftheirfirstcitiesseemtohaveremainedbeyondtheArchaeanAge,therewasnointerruptionintheircivilizationorinthetransmissionoftheirrecords. TheiroriginalplaceofadventtotheplanetwastheAntarcticOcean,anditislikelythattheycamenotlongafterthematterformingthemoonwaswrenchedfromtheneighboringSouthPacific. Accordingtooneofthesculpturedmapsthewholeglobewasthenunderwater,withstonecitiesscatteredfartherandfartherfromtheantarcticasaeonspassed.
