Best HFY Reddit Stories: We Called Them Ancients

[@peterwalls-qf7ii]

I am speechless! The mere fact that they dared fills me with awe. They encoded their minds in crystal, in the hope sometime in the future someone would understand the instructions and bring them back!

[@xenozero2128]

It might also be DNA. Minds to raise new humans to act human

[@bgwe1393]

Both, i think. The words decanted and engrams are used. I see this as "building a human body" and "imprinting a mind - backup". Most likely the original body for a specific engram. What a wonderfull story! Spitting in the face of time itself - and winning to say hello :)

[@alganhar1]

@@xenozero2128 DNA does not last that long, Period. Under absolutely ideal conditions DNA is theorised to last around a million years. But, that is last, That does not mean those DNA samples are not degraded. They will be. The oldest DNA samples ever found, and confirmed, are *at most* 800,000 years old, and they are *far* from complete. The oldest hominid DNA samples ever found are around 100,000 years old, and are again incomplete. People have this ridiculous idea that DNA is somehow indestructible. The reality is it is not, in fact DNA due to its very complexity is actually pretty fragile. What keeps it more or less stable in our bodies while we live are the various self repair systems in our cells. Once we die, it degrades, rapidly. Those really old DNA Samples? You know the only reason we were able to determine what organisms they came from? They were extracted from bones (in the case of the Hominid), and Arctic ice preserved plant samples in Greenland (in the case of the 800,000 year old samples) that had already been identified. Identifying the organisms through those DNA samples proved to be impossible, not enough had survived. So if you cannot ID the species through DNA that old, you sure as hell cannot recreate it. And 1 million years is assuming PERFECT conditions. The only way for DNA to last longer is if we invent some kind of stasis technology that literally suspends time. Freezing it is not good enough.

[@xenozero2128]

@@alganhar1 DNA can be written as letters, and you can show what the letters look like with atom structures of the base pairs.

[@pflernak]

What is there to dare? The fact that they did this does not exclude going on to live their lives.

[@ghostofwolfmoonmani3877]

I love the Lovecraft reference used for hope rather then for terror

[@kajek1229]

Explain, I am curious what was used here as a reference. (I know little about Lovecraft but not nothing.)

[@FreeOfFantasy]

The final words, the engraving, is quoting Lovecraft.

[@kanoslayer2735]

@@kajek1229 "That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange eons, even death may die." It's used in Lovecraft as a reference to how all of the Gods in the Mythos have some form of immortally

[@ghostofwolfmoonmani3877]

@@kajek1229 pretty much what Kano slayer said, in the lovecraft mythos the only reason human civilization exists is because most of the great old ones sleep. Great ones such as Nyarlathotep prefer to torment humans then to outright annihilate them. If Cthulhu awakens he drowns humanity in insanity and I quote "a holocaust of ecstasy and freedom" When big daddie Azathoth, (which in universe is Sagittarus A) awakens he devours all reality.

[@Maeshalanadae]

Interesting use of it.

[@spacedragon1175]

"... as I open my eyes for the first time, I see nothing but the cold mist of the tube I am in. Then a limb is pressed against the glass lid, and I let my tears flow, not for sadness but for joy, when I hear "We are here, you are no longer alone."

[@raymondcarter1137]

And afterwards…have you heard the word waving a little black book at the glass.

[@martialme84]

This may be the first one of these stories ever, that was actually well written by someone who understood how language works. This was actually a pleasure to read.

[@bearstarpresents2264]

If we were the first and colonized everything, and there was no life beforehand, that would mean we seeded the galaxy. Terraforming, farming, even the bacteria in our newly created soil. Every planet is a daughter of Earth, and every life form her grandchild.

[@EdwardWester]

The way it's worded, we could easily be the civilization that is narrating the story. It never describes the appearance of the narrator or the ancients. And the rise of both civilizations is vague enough that we could have been either one.

[@dylanherrera5395]

@@EdwardWester ok so i had to read this a few times to understand but one correction, there was the ancient species and the COLLECTION of new species

[@lincolnhodge2371]

This only recently came out kzbin.info/www/bejne/qoOUeYeEqciMrZIsi=kdfuJO1JCARtFj5r

[@scotteggert9820]

They were the First. the oldest of all Life. They Learned hard lessons. Created great Wonders. And Still, they were the First and Alone. They saw the Sparks of Life starting on a thousand worlds and the pre-courses to the Spark on a hundred thousand more. They Knew they had a responsibility to that burning Life that was forming. And they knew they wouldn't be there when it burst forth into the Galaxy at large. So they figured out a way to be here when we were ready. They were the First, Savage, and Wise. We don't know what they will say or do. But they deserve to know that they are not Alone anymore. Flip the switch and may the Divine have mercy on all of us.

[@beingsneaky]

Love the story. As they say "someone has to be the first" is what some people are thinking now are we the first.

[@warrendesonia7924]

FOR THE AUTHOR: VERY WELL DONE. You should get a literary award for this one - Any more on this story line? You did leave an opening for one.... FOR THE NARRATOR: PERFECTLY DONE!!!!!

[@dylanherrera5395]

i love this, the reference to the "fermi paradox" (which is just the question "why dont we see aliens") with the dark forest analogy, and also a - maybe accidental - use of "grabby aliens" theory which tries to explain the aforementioned fermi paradox by stating that we are simply the first lifeforms in the universe

[@DisIzDaName]

I like the idea that the first space faring race could **accidentally** seed life throughout the galaxy. Maybe some jerk named Jerry had a bad case of mud-butt and a malfunctioning waste disposal system he was too cheap and lazy to get fixed. So he just jumps from star system to star system seeing the sights, taking a few pictures, and shooting runny deuces into the void. 5 billion years later half of all life in the galaxy is distantly related to the bacteria he'd contracted from a sketchy taco stand in Tijuana.

[@Bananakingchad]

They’re worlds were seeded by humans because all the worlds had already been terraformed

[@dilaleo1855]

Bruh

[@MichaelDeHaven]

He took something beautiful and ruined it.😂

[@Iluvantir]

@@MichaelDeHaven Yes and no... all that we eat is fertilised by another creatures poops, so... this kinda makes sense. Has a whole new meaning to calling any Xeno a "shit-head", tho...

[@dylanherrera5395]

@@Iluvantir he took a great story, and just ruined the vibe of it

[@jonathanblair5920]

There's a sad theory that this might actually be true for us. That if there are other races advanced enough for communication out there in the galaxy, then at most there is only one or two of them; and we will never be able to find them in the lifetime of the human race. It is very likely that the galaxy will remain very sparse for hundreds of millions of years.

[@alganhar1]

That is more down to the fact that actual FTL travel is probably unlikely. I know there are 'theories', but not one of them has been proven, and in many even the Math is shaky as it relies on assumptions. As a Scientist by trade I despise the fact that these various FTL proposals are called Theories, and not Hypothesis, or pure conjecture. The word Theory in Science has a very different meaning to the same word in the normal day to day English Language! The Milky Way is around 53,000 Light years from edge to edge, and has anything between 100 - 400 BILLION stars, and the Milky Way is a relatively SMALL Galaxy. We live in a township, not a city in Universal terms. There absolutely IS intelligent, sapient, technological life out there. I am convinced of that. And I think there is a fair amount of people of various species having these same kinds of discussions on worlds we can only dream about. None are ever likely to meet because most, if not all FTL options, are the realm of Science Fiction, not Science.....

[@pflernak]

@@alganhar1 If we dont find aliens well make them or become them

[@Netherdan]

@@pflernak a few thousand generations in another system under another star will be enough to render ourselves unrecognizable to one another. PS: doing the math, humanity as a whole is yet to complete the first thousand generations (considering our age at about 12,000 years)

[@EdwardWester]

@@alganhar1 And according to the theoretical life span of the universe, we are really early in it's history. That means that the vast majority of life bearing planets in the history of the universe haven't even formed yet. Even if FTL becomes a thing, we are more likely to be the advence aliens making contact with a plane-bound race than the other way around.

[@idcgaming518]

​@@alganhar1one of those theories was confirmed about a year ago - a scientist found a microstructure that fit the exact description of the theoretical "warp bubble".

[@Gastell0]

There was a research published recently that looked at possible place of our civilisation on timescale of our galaxy and it's placed within earliest stages of possible life forms, this might have been inspired by it

[@davidvincent5701]

This is why we might be first in the galactic city, and what we might have to do in the future.

[@JasonSmith-ww2np]

I got shivers down my spine listening to this. I loved it, you narrated it perfectly. You, my good friend, have earned yourself a subscriber

[@theotherccount4481]

Story got a ruse outta me, good for them, they aren't alone anymore

[@jds1275]

This author is a wordsmith. It was an entertaining and well constructed story.

[@DEMONOFLOVEANDDEATH]

Bless the Narrator Bless the Author

[@johnnycampbell3422]

Nice Lovecraft quote. Well placed

[@Rokr83]

that was beautiful.

[@scott644]

Beautiful, and you did it justice.

[@brianlips8346]

Thanks for the story 😊☺️😌

[@JRRodriguez-nu7po]

Well written. I suppose the story would stir the brief imagination of mortals. As common as the red sea urchin, I smirk.

[@knightoggoldenbow4655]

11:12 this was the moment I just freaked out yeeeeeees.!!!!!!! Truly a fantastic story

[@thegingerbreadman1580]

This is one of my favorites

[@victortahlor4038]

Thank you for the reading

[@yifftoy]

oh i hope the write more this was a amzing tale

[@tylerkahle332]

Loved this!

[@bradwolf07]

My compliments to the author, well done

[@Ral9284]

A more disturbing though isn't "Are we the first?," but "Are we the only ones?"

[@glodityokwana740]

We seeded

[@alexfranz817]

We could not bear the thought of dying alone.

[@kirkbright666]

This was an excellent tale. Very Moving.

[@MrJay_White]

and thats how the flood came to be.

[@rasgrizrevelations4145]

Well shit...so that's how the old ones tricked the previous galaxy to open the rift and allow the dark ones through. Consuming new life and new thoughts to feed their eternal feast, broken only by the long slumber. The herald simply gave them curiosities, planted the seeds.

[@talyn3932]

So... they pulled a Padme. This is why we all need to learn to live ourselves

[@liudasmachina113]

fore the genny and Narrator

[@FloatTheBuizel]

I got a bit teary from the last few paragraphs lol

[@hansdampf640]

very good and very deep,i like this one a lot!

[@theDemolisher13]

So the forerunners left a instruction set so a new race far far far into the future could open a gateway for this past civ to move to their point in time?

[@bobyork6248]

no, they left behind the knowledge needed to Resurrect them

[@theDemolisher13]

@@bobyork6248 Hmmm . . . . eh different method but similar effect hopefully whoever found it is nice enough to not enslave them.

[@pauldiaz9440]

For the algorithm

[@GeorgeOrwell-yz6zx]

For the algorithm and the voice

[@NotAMemeticHazard]

Anyone else feel like giving the algorithm a nickname to confuse everyone new to this channel?

[@robolencca-0126]

@@NotAMemeticHazard Susan

[@puppetmasterey]

@@NotAMemeticHazard Fonzi be praised

[@gamingmoran9597]

@@NotAMemeticHazard ALAGOR

[@jros4057]

So humans are necrons!

[@StaK_1980]

one of the best

[@slimeinabox]

Now this a is good one.

[@ianhogben3472]

the great horror of being alone

[@mbusocele1558]

Awesome story. If humans are the first someone would eventually make multiple planets of humanoid earth animals. Like beastars Manga and probably any life we could tinker with off planet 😅

[@creemoon9546]

we are cosmic fertilizer :(

[@KiithNaabal]

Yeah...the curse of being the first one!

[@jsl151850b]

*THANKS!*

[@JoaoSoares-rs6ec]

and from the shadows a human observes whit a smile like a sheaperd watches is flock.

[@brianrussell2441]

RO RO FIGHT THE POWAGH

[@Mark73]

The ancients are humans, aren't they?

[@Tami_Kat]

For Fonzi!

[@jmoneyjoshkinion4576]

Never mind. For Fonzi!

[@rolandosada8077]

Ohhhh! Good one!

[@KaiHenningsen]

Notice that it never says which of the species, if any, are humans. That is, of course, not an accident.

[@RichardStrong86]

Given that it was posted in HFY reddit, then the implication is that it is the "ancients" that are the humans.

[@mattbrown5511]

Time, space, the very universe does not care. Only the beings in the universe living in it bring meaning into it.

[@brennanlangless8912]

These ancients made an ark ship in a tesseract. (ship in a bottle)

[@Zael_Moonblade]

Skol! To all!

[@johncunningham4820]

.....................and in their Footsteps came.................... Sounds a BIT like the Stargate Ancients .

[@Ian-gk7ne]

Why would you step out of the forest and say NO?? Are we alone and your response was NO!! Why??

[@FrakMunkie]

Did this restart in the middle? Lol

[@brennanchongael9538]

That ancient race are us Humans

[@donniejo8888]

You know, if we didnt already have ships from multiple diffrent alien races i would almost fear us our selves being the butt of the same joke., but i fear the joke is far more elaborate and alot less funny than fiction. every relitive Reality is moving in the same direct with the fast moving currents of fate each missing a truth with the fear of making it to calmer waters no less awoken or grown than when the trip began such is the nature of things i guess i hold my crystal firm in natural faith

[@dennisfordii9737]

"If we didn't already have ships from another ..." ? I appreciate your zeal and confidence and enjoy reading what people have to share but I find myself wondering - have you seen these ships ? How do you know there from .....not here ? Have you experimented on these ships / trying to reverse engineer them ....as a handful of others claim ? There's some old saying that something like " if your looking for something ....you will find it " ..... Each of us decides what we want to believe ie who / where we place our faith .....and that is exactly what it is - faith . Because all the wisdom , knowledge and intelligence we think we have attained or possess is nothing more than faith - deciding who and what we want to believe . I don't mean to make light of all the hard work many people have put in - but it all still comes down to each individuals faith - where we place it to beote precise . I suppose in my smart ... Way im just asking why you believe those things to be true ? Just fyi - I believe there are other entities out there - though I think "in another dimension " is the best way to phrase it. I have not seen , heard or read anything concerning aliens , UFO's , uso's , close encounters , etc etc etc that gives me even the slightest indication of anything "good" / benevolence ! Abductions , kidnappings experimenting , mutilations , fear , anxiety , depression , the list is long and doesn't include anything good or valuable to humans - in my experiences . And far as "life " being found ....it hasn't . Some gas on a planet 160 million light years away that's only produced by mammals .....well .....here.....this we know how ? Oh because it's never been detected until that planet so that means "life"? I know a bit exaggerated and Sorry for being a smart a$$ . I thoroughly enjoy thinking about the possibilities but I guess I'm to closed minded or stubborn , or unimaginative , or practical .....or maybe I'm just dumb - I'll be the 1 st to admit I'm not the brightest crayon in the box ....but I'm in the box (look in one of those crayon sets with 164 colors n you'll find me ! )

[@imgolden5073]

Like #666

[@ThornMu]

Normally I like these, but this one just feels super repetative. I really like about 4 minutes of it.

[@XanthIllion]

Not a Story.