疯狂山脉

Thestoryisrecalledinafirst-personperspectivebythegeologistWilliamDyer,aprofessoratArkham'sMiskatonicUniversity,inthehopetopreventanimportantandmuchpublicizedscientificexpeditiontoAntarctica.Throughoutthecourseofhism.77mi.ccexplanation,DyerrelateshowheledagroupofscholarsfromMiskatonicUniversityonapreviousexpeditiontoAntarctica,duringwhichtheydiscoveredancientruinsandadangeroussecret,beyondarangeofmountainshigherthantheHimalayas.Asmalladvancegroup,ledbyProfessorLake,discoverstheremainsoffourteenprehistoriclife-forms,previouslyunknowntoscience,andalsounidentifiableaseitherplantsoranimals.Sixofthespecimenshavebeenbadlydamaged,whileanothereighthavebeenpreservedinpristinecondition.Thespecimens'stratumplacesthemfartooearlyonthegeologictimescaleforthefeaturesofthespecimenstohaveevolved.SomefossilsofCambrianageshowsignsoftheuseoftoolstocarveaspecimenforfood.WhenthemainexpeditionlosescontactwithLake'sparty,Dyerandhiscolleaguesinvestigate.Lake'scampisdevastated,withthemajorityofmenanddogsslaughtered,whileamannamedGedneyandoneofthedogsareabsent.Neartheexpedition'scampsite,theyfindsixstar-shapedsnowmoundswithonespecimenundereach.Theyalsodiscoverthatthebetterpreservedlife-formshavevanished,andthatsomeformofdissectionexperimenthasbeendoneonbothanunnamedmanandadog.Themissingmanissuspectedofhavinggoneutterlyinsaneandhavingkilledandmutilatedalltheothers.Dyerandagraduatestudent,namedDanforth,flyanaeroplaneacrossthemountains,whichtheyidentifyastheouterwallsofavastabandonedstone-city,alientoanyhumanarchitecture.FortheirresemblancetocreaturesofmythmentionedintheNecronomicon,thebuildersofthislostcivilizationaredubbedthe"ElderThings".Byexploringthesefantasticstructures,themenlearnthroughhieroglyphicmuralsthattheElderThingsfirstcametoEarthshortlyaftertheMoontookformandbuilttheircitieswiththehelpof"shoggoths"—biologicalentitiescreatedtoperformanytask,assumeanyform,andreflectanythought.Thereisahintthatallearthlylifeevolvedfromcellularmaterialleftoverfromthecreationoftheshoggoths.Asmorebuildingsareexplored,theexplorerslearnabouttheElderThings'conflictwithboththeStar-spawnofCthulhuandtheMi-go,whoarrivedonEarthshortlyafterwards.Theimagesalsoreflectadegradationoftheircivilization,oncetheshoggothsgainindependence.Asmoreresourcesareappliedinmaintainingorder,theetchingsbecomehaphazardandprimitive.Themuralsalsoalludetoanunnamedevillurkingwithinanevenlargermountainrangelocatedbeyondthecity.ThismountainrangeroseinonenightandcertainphenomenaandincidentsdeterredtheElderThingsfromexploringit.WhenAntarcticabecameuninhabitable,evenfortheElderThings,theysoonmigratedintoalarge,subterraneanocean.DyerandDanfortheventuallyrealizethattheElderThingsmissingfromtheadvanceparty'scamphadsomehowreturnedtolifeand,afterslaughteringtheexplorers,havereturnedtotheircity.DyerandDanforthalsodiscovertracesoftheElderThings'earlierexploration,aswellassledscontainingthecorpsesofbothGedneyandhismissingdog.Theyareultimatelydrawntowardstheentranceofatunnel,intothesubterraneanregiondepictedinthemurals.Here,theyfindevidenceofvariousElderThingskilledinabrutalstruggleandblindsix-foot-tallpenguinswanderingplacidly,apparentlyusedaslivestock.Theyarethenconfrontedbyablack,bubblingmass,whichtheyidentifyasashoggoth,andescape.Aboardtheplane,highabovetheplateau,Danforthlooksbackandseessomethingwhichcauseshimtolosehisownsanity,impliedtobetheunnamedevilitself.DyerconcludestheElderThingsslaughteredthesurvivorsanddogsonlyoutofself-defenseorscientificcuriosity,thattheircivilizationwaseventuallydestroyedbytheshoggothsandthatthisfurtherentityhaspreyedontheenormouspenguins.HewarnstheplannersofthenextproposedAntarcticexpeditiontostaydistantfromthesite.