Neanderthal!
an excerpt

Prologue

In the long distant past, when Homo sapiens first began to dominate this planet, Homo neanderthalensis was, for the most part, living a peaceful agrarian life. His lifestyle was that of a hunter-gatherer, much like other hominids that inhabited the same regions. With a build well-adapted to cold climates, Neanderthals had a a robust frame that while short and squat was very powerful. They had a larger braincase and their brains, bigger than those of their human cousins, are believed to have matured at a more rapid rate making them largely invulnerable to the mental disorders prevalent in a brain which develops more slowly. Their large noses were useful for warming the frigid northern air during inspiration, as well as for retaining moisture upon expiration. This is a trait that we also find among Homo sapiens in colder latitudes.

While some Neanderthal bands were carnivorous and others were even driven by near-starvation to cannibalism, those branches of their family tree were short-lived and nonproductive. It is interesting to note that they were never believed to have been very intelligent, despite their large brains. However, this is not surprising given the empirical evidence. It is also not surprising that scientists are not quite sure what their skin was like.

These people did not develop a verbal language, and their tools were primitive. The world thought that they died out, and rightly so. In attempting to defend themselves, they found that they were no match for their adversaries because they did not have the vicious attitude which those (Humans and other Neanderthals) who were attacking them exhibited. Having developed telepathic communication, the survivors knew that they must hide themselves well if they hoped to be safe from pillage and destruction at the hands of their enemies. Therefore, this peaceful band of Neanderthals not only learned to conceal their existence, but to project telepathic illusions which would divert attention from their activities and abodes.

They learned to inhabit caves recently abandoned by their rivals, and they also learned to read the minds of creatures other than themselves. They found they could communicate with animals this way, and realized that this brutal extension of their family tree (Homo sapiens) was the most incredibly destructive and irrational animal on Earth. Therefore, they increasingly set themselves apart, but remained near enough to benefit from the advances mankind had begun to achieve.

They learned to use forces deep within the Earth for their power supply and had all the modern conveniences we have as well as some we will be lucky to see in our lifetime. Their cleanliness, order and peacefulness made everything they did prosper and they had no desires that could not easily be fulfilled.

In addition to other precautions, they established elaborate funeral rituals to dispose of their loved ones so that they might remain undetected. They became so adept at this that they left the impression their race had died out nearly 30,000 years ago. Nothing could be further from the truth.