Devolution
by Edmond Hamilton
Scientists in the woods of North Quebec are in search of clues to man’s glorious path “up” the evolutionary chain. The story begins with a review of known evolutionary theory and questions about the role of mutations in achieving evolutionary branching and new species. Events take an unexpected turn when they encounter visiting jelly-like creatures. The creatures are enraged to find that their descendents have “devolved” into the simple lifeforms, such as man, that now litter the world.