me_irl

The monkeys realize they can power contraptions using the heat from combustion. After widespread adoption, they find out that the result of this process is slowly destroying their home at an increasing rate. The monkeys ignore the destruction, because the monkeys have created a system that replaces work with a token, and monkeys hoarding tokens having seized control of the central monkey systems, stopping any other monkeys from addressing the destruction of their home.

The Monkeys with the most, are also the most afraid, because they fear no longer having tokens, and of being treated like they treat token-less monkeys. So the hoarding monkeys cheat and lie and steal until they're so powerful that even committing terrible crimes doesn't get them in trouble with other monkeys, so afraid monkeys are of those with the most tokens.

So quietly, and without notice, the day comes and passes, when if they were going to stop the destruction, if they were going to save their world, they would have had to have acted on that day.... but they didn't. Because the token-having monkeys made sure that no other monkeys were allowed to stop them. And so they continued destroying their only home, until it was too late, and they all ended up dying of starvation, thirst, and exhaustion, while the planet they were on went about it's day, hoping that a newer, more intelligent kind of life would emerge.