Discover the story behind JungleBay—How a group of young apes survived the unthinkable, against all odds, and forged an unbreakable community on JungleBay Island. Written by: seacasa Produced by: seacasa, @DonZaher619, & ghostload Contributing artists: @EstellaGfx @evelyn_john1 @_seacasa The platforms eliminated royalties from secondary sales—the only current income source for this community-driven project. We created JungleBay Origins to add new firepower toward our growth efforts and proliferation of JungleBay. We hope you enjoy this epic saga. JungleBay Collections: OG: https://opensea.io/collection/junglebayapeclub the memes by junglebay x mfers artists: https://opensea.io/collection/the-memes-by-junglebay-x-mfers-artists JungleBay Gold Cards: https://opensea.io/collection/junglebaygoldcards Lore part 1: The Beginning. Flashback: 2 Years Ago Somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle, a fortress-like animal research facility called "Bright Horizons" rests on a cliff; it overlooks a rocky and unforgiving shoreline. At the base of the shores, armed guards and military boats monitor the perimeter 24/7. A vicious pandemic has captivated the world in the worst way possible. Governments are in disarray, and unprecedented budgets have been allocated toward finding a cure for this problem that seems to grow more destructive each day. Entire cities are locked down, businesses shuttered, millions of people too afraid to step outside of their homes. Leadership at Bright Horizons Research Facility have been given carte-blanche permissions and resources from world governments—whatever necessary to find the cure. Regardless of pre-existing cruelty laws, budget constraints, or experimental guidelines—those in power abandoned their consciences, capitulated to fear. The researchers, led by Dr. Anton Disdiq, have ordered a shipment of apes—8,000 apes to be specific, to be used for experimentation and “development". The apes have now been at the facility for 3 weeks. They’ve come to realize that they only have each other for comfort, every day they come face-to-face with the unknown. Somehow, though, they are able to hold on to hope, no matter what. There is power in shared struggle, power in community. When time is not in your control, and you are survivors, you find a way to persevere, together. —— Lore part 2: The Trip. A couple weeks ago Dr Disdiq and his research team decided to discard the apes. The relentless experimentation and sick concoctions they’d administered resulted in the apes being imbued with new abilities that rendered them unmanageable. The apes, after several months of confinement, torture, and fear, decided nothing could be worse than their current situation. This spurred the most recent mayhem that forced the researches to abandon their ape trials. They didnt have the capacity to euthanize and dispose of thousands of apes at once, so they locked them in barrels, loaded them onto an old carrier ship, and set them toward the deep ocean, without a captain or a prayer. Four nights later, a storm roared atop the trapped apes. They peered through holes and cracks in their barrels with unified glares of fear and hopelessness. There was a calmness amidst the mayhem as they awaited the inevitable. As lighting and thunder snapped like a whip, a giant wave shook underneath the barrels. The impact of the water knocked a few barrels over opening the cracks to where some apes were able to break free before the boat began to sink. The apes who escaped furiously rushed to free their compadres, as the silhouette of a gigantic ship faded into the deep below them. They clung onto shards of wood for dear life , many carrying other apes who had been knocked unconscious or injured in the commotion and impact. As the tides mercilessly pulled them from the capsized boat. Eventually, the storm dissipated. Slowly, the shoreline appeared on the horizon, and the apes mustered every ounce of remaining energy toward that beach. Finally, they washed onshore, battered and drained. Barely alive. Their eyes met lines lines of fruit trees, exotic fruits, and shaded resting places. At that point they did not know, but they had just stumbled on what would later be dubbed ‘Jungle Bay Island.’ —— Lore part 3: The Island It’s been a year since the boat carrying our apes capsized and washed them onto the shores of this deserted island. Since then, the apes have banded together to begin developing what they’ve affectionately dubbed “Jungle Bay”. It is their safe-haven; their refuge. They triumphed against all odds, surmounted unthinkable hardships. While some of their beloved brethren did not make it to this point, their spirit is still very much intact with the community. What we’ve seen is apes of all skillsets collaborating and contributing to transform a once barren island into a paradise: -Shout out to our chef apes who have worked tirelessly at building out the delicious ‘Grub Hub’—while it’s no 5-star restaurant, the food they prepare with love and expertise every day leaves no ape unsatisfied. -Our Army Helmet and Samurai Helmet Apes have planted defensive traps around JungleBay Island’s perimeter and constructed makeshift weapons to ensure our community has options and is fully prepared for if/when any intruders are bold enough to try and breach our shores. -Our Captain’s Hat, Pirate Hat, and Viking Helmet Apes have begun building a giant boat that will enable us to expand the JungleBay footprint if our community continues to grow. This is just a brief recap of events, for the record. All of this brings us to what happened last night:. At approximately 11:47pm, our community was enjoying a celebration under the moonlit sky. Our DMT Apes put together a bonfire that boomed 30 feet into the air, the pounding of drums and music filled the air, it was the first time we were all able to take a break and reflect on all that we had accomplished, to remember those we had lost along the way, and share excitement for what lies ahead. While the apes circled the bonfire, the air grew thicker—a rise humidity palpable. Collectively the apes paused to look up as a neon glow became visible. What they saw was in fact out-of-this-world. A brilliantly bright meteor careened from the heavens, the apes a gasped out of both marvel and helplessness and it fell closer. They watched as it finally smashed into the far side of the island, a mere two or three miles from where they stood. Upon impact they heard a thunderous explosion, they felt warmth on their faces and tears slowly falling from their eyes. Almost immediately following the sound, the ground began to shake furiously. Looking at one another, paralyzed momentarily, all they could do was breathe. Finally, the sounds and shakes subsided. But from their vantage point, they could see a neon pink/purple glow rising from the other side of Jungle Bay Island. That is where we find ourselves, more to come... ------ Lore part 4 The morning after the meteor had collided into the far side of jungle bay island, the lab coat apes descended the 500 foot deep crater now at the crash site. Plumes of neon smoke billowed from the lodged, still glowing, foreign ball of rock shard, now inextricably fused with Jungle Bay. The labcoat apes carefully retrieved samples from the pools of luminous goo that had formed around the impact zone. After transferring the unidentified substance back to their makeshift laboratory as safely as possible, they began running experiments to try and determine if there were potential threats or benefits to the mysterious goo. One of the Lab coat apes grabbed a piece of fruit for a quick snack as he observed an ongoing experience. As he went to take a bite, the fruit slipped out of his hands and fell into a container of goo at his side. It splashed into the bucket and immediately began to pulse and glow. This piqued the interest of all of the labcoats as they gathered around the supernaturally glimmering fruit. Looking for a new item to test, one of the labcoats spotted a cockroach in the corner of the room; he plucked it up and dropped it into the goo. Upon contact the insect burst from out of the liquid twice the size that it had been previously, it was also pulsing luminous hues, and twice the size as it had initially been. One thing was for sure—this liquid is powerful. The labcoats held a meeting with the 3 councils, representatives from the beach, jungle, and mountain tribes all attended to discuss next steps. Each of them went back to their respective groups to see if any of the apes would volunteer to be test subjects, to determine whether this goo, which they’ve named “Jungle Juice”, could be of used to benefit the entire community. Surprisingly, there was no shortage of volunteers. By this point, these apes were survivors; they understood what true sacrifice and real building entailed. The council leaders made their selection for test subjects and they all met at beach campfire. The Jungle Juice ceremony was facilitated by the based DMT apes. As drums pounded in the background, the apes clinked beakers, and drank their shots of Jungle Juice. All of a sudden, their physical features began to take new shape, then a flash of light connected with their heads from the heavens, as if they had just logged into an entirely new plane or dimension. Something in them had just changed, on an atomic level. There was no question: they were no longer apes, they were now Atomic Apes. The implications of this would have lasting impacts for the entire island. More to come.