The great technological leap in optical lens systems such as the microscope in the nineteenth century made the exploration of the microcosm a common pursuit among the scientifically minded, who often became interested in a particular theme and added to the body of knowledge. Timothy Prus has edited together some of these historical explorations and recast them as a play that unfolds through a series of nineteenth-century microscope slides. Each slide holds a specific dramatic moment, and together they tell a story about what happens between the appearance of humankind and its passing away.