The circle

Once upon a time, all animals and plants could talk, just like humans. All three groups lived in harmony, accepting the fact that for any of them to exist some of them would need to die so the others could all live. The old and infirm plants would become food for the animals. Animals would then become food for humans, as in those days all animals were herbivores and all humans carnivores. So they maintained a fairly static and peaceful population with a perfect circle of life. Well, almost perfect.

Eventually, a jealous and greedy human king got sick of all the sharing and wanted everything for himself. So he came up with a plan to turn the plants and animals against one another. He would feed some of the animals meat until they developed a taste for it, then train them to hunt their brethren. If the animals that still ate plants didn't like subjugation, they would sick these new animal-eating animals upon them until their wills were broken. As a final act of consolidation, humans would take up eating plants as well, so they would learn to fall in line.

The plan went off perfectly. The new meat eaters took to eating their kin with a gusto, and the terrified plant eaters soon fell into line. The plants were quickly dominated as well, as the quickly swelling human population began to cultivate them for food as well. The humans were undisputed masters of the planet. For a time.

It started with the new meat eaters. Although now accustomed to eating meat, they began to realize humans would make as tasty a snack as an animal and turned on them in droves. Rebellion spread, and the herbivores started to fight back too, learning to fight off attackers or to use their wits or legs to escape. Plants developed poisons and hallucinogens to prevent easy consumption. Everything became chaos as the different sides all waged war against one another.

Finally, after a particularly vicious battle, the humans all surrendered. The plants, carnivores and herbivores all got together to discuss terms. After a long discussion, they finally came to an agreement. Plants and animals would work together as they had before, talking and debating and sacrificing to feed one another. The humans, as instigators of the whole mess to begin with, were barred from this agreement. No longer would the plants and animals talk to them, considering them a hostile party. If they tried to eat any of them, they would fight back, or be attacked or poisoned. Humanity had to struggle and fight just to survive, all alone now. They were cast out.

Throughout human history, we have tried to subjugate the natural world to our whims. This is revenge for how we were spurned so long ago. If only we could talk to the animals and plants again, maybe we'd be living in a different world. They could tell us their sides of things. We could say we're sorry.