James Rodriguez

I'm going to ask the obvious question.

Are we sure this isn't just seeped deprivation and unfamiliar environment playing tricks?

That was my first hypothesis, Emily replied.

But the consistency of the reports and multiple independent confirmations suggest otherwise.

David couldn't contain himself any longer.

I think I know what's happening.

He pulled out his own tablets, scrolling rapidly through botanical reference images.

This morning, I found these growing just beyond our perimeter.

He displayed photographs of small, pale fungi clustered at the base of a tree, taxonomically similar to psilocybin as to corum, but with structural differences.

Many fungi in this family produce psychoactive compounds, specifically those that induce auditory and visual hallucinations.

Emily leaned forward.

That actually aligns with my historical research.

She switched to a different file on her tablet.

I've been comparing the limited records of this region with what we're experiencing.

She turned the screen toward us.

The document showed scanned pages from what appeared to be a ship's log dated 1807.

Dutch trading vessel documented an indigenous tribe living here 200 years ago.

They called themselves over to the tribe apparently vanished sometime between 1807 and 1825 when the next documented European contact found the island uninhabited.

Thomas frowned.

What happened to them?