I was lying on the rocky beach of Ta’Xbiex a few weeks ago (sadly, alone; Ash was still in Poland finishing her job) when I thought: what if animals continued to develop, evolve, adapt to their surroundings after centuries and centuries of isolation? Would they be able to talk like humans?

This, minus the speculation of talking animals, was discussed on an episode of the Joe Rogan Experience. Animal genera in Australia, as it is widely known and proven to be a source of genuine fear, are quite different than their counterparts in other parts of the world.

This was an amusing idea. I jotted some notes about the social and scientific impacts this would have if genuinely talking animals were discovered.

It became apparent that I did not have enough knowledge of science-impacting-society to fully conceive a full story with; I didn’t have a conclusion in mind for this kind of story. During the drafting phase, the narrative of the story shifted from an amusing “what if” tale to something themed on a fascinating utterance from Jesus.

The words of Jesus from Luke 19:40 has for a long time held my attention:

“And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.”

The question driving the story then became this: how would the world look when no one called on the Lord, followed the Lord, or even acknowledged the Lord?

I believe that, one way or another, someone, or something, will call on the name of the Lord. Whether or not this is what Jesus exactly meant at that moment his disciples were urged to keep quiet by the religious authorities, the idea of a world completely absent of worship was haunting; it’s a scenario I wanted to explore.

And, yes, my stories to have a knack of including talking animals.

Please enjoy (or critique; whichever: Even the Stones Will Cry Out