A deviation split our primate past
and catalysed the rise of modern man.
Inquirers scan a triple epoch span
to piece together how it came to pa**:
A sentry's vision, thanks to an upright stance,
a language sharp enough to share a plan,
a hoard of weapons tooled by strong-thumbed hands
and fire, the coup de grâce, the master blast.
But one essential foible antecedes
this suite of sk**s and moved us to escape
our cousins' fate: an unappeasable need
and will to engineer our future state.
Inherent restiveness sufficed to seed
triumphant man, the discontented ape.