The Mountains Of Madness
CHAPTER VII (Part 1)

The full story, as far as it is outlined, will soon appear in the Miskatonic University's official newsletter. Here I will sketch only those high lights that stand out in a shapeless, rambling manner. Myth or otherwise, the statues tell of the arrival of star-headed objects to the newborn and lifeless earth out of the cosmic space — their arrival, the, and the arrival of many other such foreign entities at certain times began a spatial pioneer. They seem to be able to traverse the interstellar ether on the broad membranous wings of — thus strangely confirming some curious hill folklore, which was long ago told by an ancient colleague. They have lived under the sea a lot, built fantastic cities and fought fiercely with nameless enemies using elaborate devices that use unknown energy principles. Clearly their scientific and mechanical knowledge far surpasses that of humans today, although they make use of their broader and more complicated forms only when required. Some statues state that they have passed mechanical life stages on other planets, but have receded after finding their effects emotionally unsatisfactory. Their preternatural organizational toughness and the simplicity of natural desires make them specifically capable of living at high altitudes without the special fruits of artificial manufacture, and even without clothes except for the occasional protection against the elements.

Under the sea, first for food and then for other purposes, they first created life on earth — using substances available according to long-known methods. More elaborate experiments come after the destruction of various cosmic enemies. They have done the same on other planets; have produced not only the necessary food, but certain multicellular protoplasmic masses are capable of forming their tissues into all kinds of organs while under the influence of hypnosis and thus form ideal slaves to do the heavy work of society.  This thick mass is without doubt what Abdul Alhazred whispered as "shoggoths" in his fearsome Necronomicon, although even the mad Arabs were not hinting that there was on earth except in their dreams who had chewed on certain alkaloid potions. When the star-headed Old Ones on the planet have synthesized their simple food forms and bred a good supply of shoggoths, the, they allow other groups of cells to develop into other forms of animal and vegetable life for sundries; wiping out anyone whose presence becomes troublesome.

With the help of the shoggoth, whose expansion can be carried out to lift tremendous loads, the small and low-lying cities under the sea grew to become vast and forced a maze of stones unlike those that then rose to land. Indeed, the highly adaptable Old Ones have lived a lot on land in other parts of the universe, and may retain many of the traditions of land-building. When we studied the architecture of all these sculpted palaeogean cities, including the corridors that were dead before we crossed, we were impressed by a strange coincidence that we have not tried to explain, even for ourselves. The tops of the buildings, which in the actual city around us were of course weathered into shapeless ruins centuries ago, are clearly displayed in reliefs; and it shows large groups of needle-like towers, fine finials at the tops of certain cones and pyramids, and tiers of thin horizontally-toothed discs that cover the cylindrical shaft. This is exactly what we have seen in this terrible and amazing mirage, that was thrown by a dead city where such celestial line features did not exist for thousands and tens of thousands of years, he said, that looks in our unknown eyes across the mountains of unexpected madness when we first approach Lake's ill-fated impoverished camp.

The toughness of those things is almost incredible. Even the fierce pressure from the deepest seabed seemed powerless to injure them. Very few seemed to die at all except by violence, and their burial places were very limited. The fact that they covered their bodies vertically flattened with five-pointed mounds formed a thought in Danforth and I who made a pause and a new recovery was needed after the statues revealed them. The creatures multiplied through the spores of — like the vegetable pteridophyte as Lake — suspected but due to their incredible toughness and longevity, and consequently the lack of replacement needs, it was not, they did not encourage the massive development of new prothalli except when they had new territories colonized. Young people are becoming adults quickly, and receiving education is clearly beyond any standard we can imagine. The prevailing intellectual and aesthetic life greatly evolved, and produced a powerful set of customs and institutions that I will describe more fully in my upcoming monograph. These vary slightly according to the marine or terrestrial dwellings, but have the same base and essence.