"When a creature saw lightning strike a treetop and a burning branch fall to the ground, it thought of how to use the fire, how to steal nature's scorching heat…"
"But what the well-dwellers saw were the countless electrons surging into dead wood cells, the violent molecular vibrations that ignited the flames, and the terrifying tremors that climbed the great tree and traveled into the distance."
"As photons from the lightning bolt streaked across their eyes, they saw the powerful current brewing in the atmosphere, the churning of the clouds, the tranquility before the mist gathered, the evaporating water vapor…"
"Nature's verdict was dissected with perfect clarity by their gaze. They saw too much, and so they stopped caring about the branch that had fallen to the ground."
But that branch was the true kindling.
The Fire Thief among the other creatures picked up the branch and lit civilization's first flame.
