Terra Metropolis

Speculative biology is simultaneously a science and form of art in which one speculates on the possibilities of life and evolution. What could the world look like if dinosaurs had never gone extinct? What could alien lifeforms look like? What kinds of plants and animals might exist in the far future? These questions and more are tackled by speculative biologists, and the Speculative Evolution welcomes all relevant ideas, inquiries, and world-building projects alike. With a member base comprising users from across the world, our community is the largest and longest-running place of gathering for speculative biologists on the web.

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Terra Metropolis; The Future of Urban Sprawl
Topic Started: Jan 1 2016, 10:22 PM (12,958 Views)
Sheather	Jan 1 2016, 10:22 PM Post #1
Posts: 5,953 Group: Admin Member #999 Joined: Mar 13, 2013 Gender: Male Nationality: United States Favorite Quote: if tidepods are so good then why isn't there a tidepods 2 ~ Martin Also known as: Dylan	~~~ The year is 2600. At present, after several centuries' of rise and then gradual fall, there are almost 8 billion people on our Earth, as society has spread to cover the Earth from pole to pole on every continent over the last few tens of thousands of years out from their ancestral Africa through Europe and Asia, to the Americas, and across the sea to Australia and countless islands. Antarctica came last, its true settlement only made possible in the last two centuries, when the formerly ice-bound southernmost continent was finally left habitable by a warming climate thanks to the enormous carbon emissions of the industrial age. This world, once temperate, is today predominately as warm and tropical as it's yet been since the Eocene, yet there are are no virgin rainforests left to show for it - at least of of any significance. Over the last six centuries, we have gone through the sixth major mass extinction in our planet's long history. We saw the seas emptied of life to fill our dinner plates and the jungle cleared for lumber, the casual destruction of thousands of species indirectly and hundreds more extinguished with calculated slaughter. We'd bring some back, at least in some variation, and realizing our grave errors too late, engineer superficial copies of the rest - even, once we had the technology, organisms that vanished before we set foot upon this Earth - but for most life would never be as it was before the dawn of man. It would still be centuries again before the world as a whole was ready to make the efforts needed to try and rebuild some semblance of the wilderness of the planet we'd scraped dry for our selfish needs, to give the majority anything more than an artificial captivity to call home, and change would only come after the darkest of days. War, famine, and societal collapse took many lives, but from the ashes we rebuilt again. In the end, we could never restore it to its former identity; too much was lost, unable to survive in the new world we built around theirs - or the opposite may have been true, ecosystems so altered by introduced organisms for so long that they adapted and become dependent upon the lifeforms that once threatened their existence. Our world is now a new one, far from perfect, but no longer one set upon a seemingly unstoppable path towards its utter obliteration. We are a species that, for all our faults, is here to stay - but that no longer means we can't share our world in a sustainable way. Through a combination of nature's timeless resilience to adversity and our newfound power to modify the very foundations of life as we know it to help it along, Terra Metropolis is the future of us all. The experimental colonies aside, we as a species are all bound to this little blue marble - Earth, our home - but one which we've only recently learned as a species requires as much attention going in as resources being pulled out to ever hope to be sustainable in the long run. As man and nature both learn to live side by side and with mutual give and take, not with a parasitic relationship neatly divided and single-sided, a new and promising chapter in the book of life begins today. Table of Contents First Update: Crafting a New Earth Second Update: Narratives - New York City and Syndyllia, Australia The Canopy, the Jungle, and the Understory: Layers of the Future City The Whillawhisper: a gliding cat, and the beginning of an ethical divide. Was man ever intended to hold the power he now carries- the power to design new life? Pigeons of Terra Metropolis: Part 1 Pets of the Future: The House Fox A Strange Success Story: The Urban Thylacine Today and Tomorrow: A world that can only go forward. Life in a New Era: The Varying Limits of Freedom for Man and Beast Glow-trees: The Future of Illumination The South Texas Delta Pets of the Future: The House Hippo
	The Gaiaverse \| Eden \| Terra Metropolis \| Life of the Sylvan Islands \| Other Spec Evo \| Sheatheria \| Serina \| The Last Dinosaur A Wholesome and Good Thing \| Sam \|

Replies:
revin	Jan 2 2016, 03:50 PM Post #16
Leonardo da Vinci at his finest Posts: 905 Group: Members Member #1,466 Joined: Jun 22, 2014 Area of expertise: Xenobiology Nationality: United Statesian Gender: Attack helicopter (please use the pronoun heli)	Sylvan Jan 2 2016, 03:27 PM It probably would in reality, but doesn't here. Too many variables to really say, but since nothing outside of Antarctica ecologically interacts with those dinosaurs and they don't have a major effect on the environment only minor differences should occur.
	I tend to get dis– Hey, look, an elephant! Potentially an elephant Fire into Ice, a project about life on a rogue planet ejected from our own Solar System. Check it out! My spec evo YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/speculativeevolution With personal experience as a raven, I am a major proponent of conserving all corvid species at all costs. Save the endangered Mariana crow here. Please don't click. Seriously, what did I tell you? Come at me bro, come at me. That's it. I've REALLY had it now. One last chance to redeem yourself, or you will be burned in atheist hell, whatever the hell that means. This game is like Russian nesting dolls. Sorry, a bit of a tangent. Or should I say, a cosine? MWAHAHAHAHA trigonometry joke distraction. <insert octagon here>STOP</insert> Yer gold lies right around the corner. Or, you know, you could have clicked the "save the crow" link and found out without playing this game. Hey look, an elephant! Wait, didn't I already use that? Dragon this way… --> … and not the good kind. Please, seriously don't click this. Oudated meme warning! SECURITY BREACH I wonder who's actually reached this point. Okay, fine, here's the treat for those who seriously just wasted all their time doing this. Here it is. Just wait… Aha! Here! Erm… here! I promise. Seriously. Pinky promise. This is it. Just don't be surprised if it's a bit underwhelming. Well, someone ought to have a rick roll in their signature, and it might as well be me.


LittleLazyLass	Jan 2 2016, 04:14 PM Post #17
Proud quilt in a bag Posts: 8,639 Group: Global Mods Member #1,463 Joined: Jun 18, 2014 Area of expertise: Alternate Universes Nationality: Sorry, but why do you want to know aboot my nationality, eh? Uh... sorry, that was rude of me. Sorry. Favorite Quote: "you know you're a nerd when you search Wookieepedia for porn" Also known as: You can call me Little; full list of old names found through profile. Gender: Trans Questioning (see link in sig; feminine pronouns)	revin Jan 2 2016, 03:50 PM Sylvan Jan 2 2016, 03:27 PM It probably would in reality, but doesn't here. Too many variables to really say, but since nothing outside of Antarctica ecologically interacts with those dinosaurs and they don't have a major effect on the environment only minor differences should occur. Not entirely the same subject, but more or less the last time we had this discussion it didn't end well.
	totally not British, b-baka! You like me (Unlike) I don't even really like this song that much but the title is pretty relatable sometimes, I guess. Me Forum user Uncanny Gemstar drew what is supposed to be a me. Thanks! Spoiler: click to toggle As they walk in, they're greeted by a small, poorly kept pathway leading to a poorly constructed Japanese-style gate. Behind this, a small field made up of corn, rice, wheat, potatoes, among other plants is contrasted by large piles of books, as well as a few rather out of place looking laptops. Off in the corner, a small woman, with long, striped, and strikingly colorful socks, no shoes, unremarkable denim shorts, a large, fancy black coat, arm warmers, glasses, a tuque, and somewhat unkempt, mid-length blue-and-pink-streaked red hair, is rummaging through a trash bin, located behind a sign saying "employees only". She continues this for a while (walking behind a wall to change her outfit now and then), until one of her visitors coughs. Startled, she looks up, apologizes, and grabs a handful of textbooks and novels before daintily running off to join them. What, you want me to tell you what these mean? Predenterra The (Lost) Lost World The Standing World Read First Clarifications on my sex and gender Sorry if I come off as rude, I don't put much thought into word choice sometimes. I'm also super prone to editing my posts, sometimes multiple times, in the minutes following posting. For the love of god, take my posts from my earlier days on the forum with a grain of salt. I was not particularly knowledgeable or mature back then. Some of them are so cringe-worthy I can't even bring myself to look at them. Words Maybe Great Words Words To Spec By It would have to be something extremely alien, pushing the limits of our imagination. But those are always my favorite kinds of life. ~~The Words of The Xenologist Words To Live By Ignorance is never insulting if you're willing to learn, we're all ignorant about most things. ~~The Words of Lamna Words I Live By Yeah, and even if you don't agree with creationists on that concept, that doesn't mean they can't be decent people. I have friends who are creationist (possibly even young earth) that I get along with fine in general life. I don't think they're right of course, but that doesn't make them intellectual degenerates. ~~The Words of forbidden3 Member Quotes jman123 Ass-breathing fish-lizards? Sounds like a punk rock band Sheather "Holy fucking shit a toilet paper roll! Our favorite thing!" Urufumarukai Tyrannosaurus aquastronka Kamineigh Myo, if you don't stop reading the YouTube comments... Lamna Are you saying what I think you're saying? Sheather bathes in cum? Cephylus And last night I dreamed I was blowing up a Kindergarten with a grenade launcher for no particular reason... revin Oh, and of course more people get killed by selfies than by sharks. Of course. Parasky SHEEEEAAAAATTTTTTHHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!! whachamacalit2 The smell of rotting flesh really kills my appetite, surprising, but the visual appearance of corpses makes me hungry. Is that weird? Ebervalius I mean, let us say I'm a genderfluid blurflux demi-romantic woman who is sexually attracted to men, but only if they are Melanesian and have a voice like that of Nicholas Cage. Okay, so what? trex841 When I first saw that picture, I thought you were dissecting a condom. Mr Mysterio All hail Robo-Stalin. Peashyjah Seems like everything in this project is now dead. Stealth Rock Seagulls are pretty much trees, right? Watcher We all must finish chapters of our lives to go on to the next. Sometime this means leaving behind versions of ourselves that don't want to die. Yiqi15 For April fool's, we had to make an orgasm that resembled a human foot. Flisch im the black market CaledonianWarrior96 He was a skater birb, she said tweet you later birb Most People at Some Point Quotes Some dude called plucas1 from Youtube comments Funny, isn't it, that our world needs Clark Kent a lot more than Superman. Xenoblade Chronicles Even though he is our creator, that does not afford him the right to take our lives on a whim. But that is the thinking of a homs. He is a god. Such morals cannot apply to gods. So you think we should just shut up and die?! If that is the fate decided by a god. You are mistaken if you think we will simply accept such a fate and wait to die. We'll never stop fighting. Not till the end. To Zanza, the outcome is the same. Thus your logic is flawed. Hades - Kid Icarus Uprising When freaky aliens give you lemons, make freaky alien lemonade. Kid Icarus Uprising But Souls are delicious. They're like bacon - they taste good on anything. But if you eat them, you completely remove them from existence! They can't move on or... or be reincarnated! Huh. I never really gave it much thought. Besides, what do you mean by reincarnation anyway? You know, being reborn as someone or something else. Which means different body, different memories, different experiences, yes? So isn't being reborn as "something else" the same as being "removed from existence"? I... I... eating souls isn't right! That depends on your definition of "right". All living things survive by eating other living things. So what? You're a god. You should be above all that! Gods are above living things, which doesn't necessarily mean we care about them. Some Dude on BBC Two You are being shagged... by a flightless parrot. Stuff http://imgur.com/gallery/Tshu9


Tartarus	Jan 2 2016, 07:29 PM Post #18
Prime Specimen Posts: 1,774 Group: Members Member #705 Joined: Feb 1, 2012 Gender: Male Nationality: Australian	I'm intrigued to see this project return. Just one thing though: In the original project it started out as 2 million years in the future, then got revised to 12,000 years in the future. Now you say it is the year 2600- less than six centuries from now. While I can see a lot of restoration of ecosystems (and even de-extinction, as you say is now a part of this spec project) I don't see even remotely enough time for any of the wildlife to evolve into future fauna adapted to the new urban environments. Will this project be moving further into the future to see the wildlife evolve, or is the project now more about us restoring the environment than about future evolution?



Sheather	Jan 2 2016, 07:31 PM Post #19
Posts: 5,953 Group: Admin Member #999 Joined: Mar 13, 2013 Gender: Male Nationality: United States Favorite Quote: if tidepods are so good then why isn't there a tidepods 2 ~ Martin Also known as: Dylan	It is sufficient time for behavioral and minimal physical adaptation in most animals, but the project is centered on the latter; it is a speculative exercise in rewilding in a novel environment.
	The Gaiaverse \| Eden \| Terra Metropolis \| Life of the Sylvan Islands \| Other Spec Evo \| Sheatheria \| Serina \| The Last Dinosaur A Wholesome and Good Thing \| Sam \|


Velociraptor	Jan 2 2016, 11:12 PM Post #20
Reptile Posts: 1,107 Group: Members Member #1,383 Joined: Mar 21, 2014 Area of expertise: Alternate Evolution Nationality: American Favorite Quote: Life, uh, finds a way. Gender: Amniote	Sylvan Jan 2 2016, 03:27 PM but there would prove some very adaptable survivors that can today still hark back their ancestry to the historic zoo in the Sylvans Also, seeing as this is only set a few hundred years in the future, am I correct in guessing that the gliding cats are no longer canon?
	Unnamed No K-Pg project: coming whenever, maybe never. I got ideas tho.


malicious-monkey	Jan 3 2016, 02:14 AM Post #21
Spec Ops Posts: 2,344 Group: Members Member #912 Joined: Dec 27, 2012 Gender: Female Area of expertise: Xenobiology Nationality: American Favorite Quote: I didn't get where I am by having reasonable goals	Who needs gliding cats when you have gliding Yee Qi
	"My recommendation would be to just draw things now and draw good things later." - Nanotyranus Ilion: an illustrated tour of a tidally locked planet Spoiler: click to toggle malicious-monkey.deviantart.com sunriseonilion.wordpress.com supermalmoworld.tumblr.com Redbubble - Ilion art prints and more Commissions are OPEN


Sheather	Jan 3 2016, 04:55 AM Post #22
Posts: 5,953 Group: Admin Member #999 Joined: Mar 13, 2013 Gender: Male Nationality: United States Favorite Quote: if tidepods are so good then why isn't there a tidepods 2 ~ Martin Also known as: Dylan	There is a gliding cat in the project's logo.
	The Gaiaverse \| Eden \| Terra Metropolis \| Life of the Sylvan Islands \| Other Spec Evo \| Sheatheria \| Serina \| The Last Dinosaur A Wholesome and Good Thing \| Sam \|


Lycaon	Jan 3 2016, 05:08 AM Post #23
All hail Odin! All hail the Allfather! Posts: 2,496 Group: Members Member #1,105 Joined: Jul 1, 2013 Nationality: If you ain't Dutch, you ain't much. Favorite Quote: I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. ~ Evelyn Beatrice Hall Also known as: OM	I'm confident that ~~Sheather~~ Sylvan will find a plausible explanation for it, so just wait and see :p Also, I'm intrigued by the premise, and can't wait to see more! Edited by Lycaon, Jan 3 2016, 05:09 AM.
	Lamna Winners don't do maths. The true meaning of hypocrisy Macgobhain which gives even less incentive to even come here Macgobhain this forum has turned out very sad Mac again I think this place has totally devolved from its original state, and it's genuinely disappointing I think you can guess who by now Because behind these messages on this board are real people who, by their writing, seem to be very unhappy. Yup it's him I am not the anime villain you all think me to be Maccie Mac you guys aren't the most agreeable lot Last one I swear you guys should take a little time to reflect on what it has become?


Beetleboy	Jan 3 2016, 07:50 AM Post #24
neither lizard nor boy nor beetle . . . but a little of all three Posts: 3,700 Group: Members Member #1,776 Joined: Oct 2, 2015 Gender: Male Area of expertise: Future Evolution Nationality: British Favorite Quote: In the absence of proper data, speculate wildly. Also known as: Jacob, JurassicJacob, Beetle	As much as I am excited to see what this project has in store for us, you do seem to be ignoring the very advice that you gave to me. You told me that people would take more interest in my projects if I didn't have so many, and now you have 6. That's far more active projects than I have, I have just 3.
	~ The Age of Forests ~


malicious-monkey	Jan 3 2016, 09:07 AM Post #25
Spec Ops Posts: 2,344 Group: Members Member #912 Joined: Dec 27, 2012 Gender: Female Area of expertise: Xenobiology Nationality: American Favorite Quote: I didn't get where I am by having reasonable goals	If it works for him, it works for him.
	"My recommendation would be to just draw things now and draw good things later." - Nanotyranus Ilion: an illustrated tour of a tidally locked planet Spoiler: click to toggle malicious-monkey.deviantart.com sunriseonilion.wordpress.com supermalmoworld.tumblr.com Redbubble - Ilion art prints and more Commissions are OPEN


Beetleboy	Jan 3 2016, 09:17 AM Post #26
neither lizard nor boy nor beetle . . . but a little of all three Posts: 3,700 Group: Members Member #1,776 Joined: Oct 2, 2015 Gender: Male Area of expertise: Future Evolution Nationality: British Favorite Quote: In the absence of proper data, speculate wildly. Also known as: Jacob, JurassicJacob, Beetle	Fair enough, and having 'lots' of projects works for me too, I was just wondering why he gave me that advice if he then goes onto ignore it himself. No offence to him whatsoever, he has some very inspirational projects indeed.
	~ The Age of Forests ~


Sheather	Jan 3 2016, 10:10 AM Post #27
Posts: 5,953 Group: Admin Member #999 Joined: Mar 13, 2013 Gender: Male Nationality: United States Favorite Quote: if tidepods are so good then why isn't there a tidepods 2 ~ Martin Also known as: Dylan	I've been around for three years, half of those six have been around for more than a year (and all three of the most recent tie together). I didn't mean you shouldn't have a lot of projects, just that since you're relatively new, maybe not a ton in just a few months time. It seemed like you were posting new ones every few days and then not doing much with some of the older ones.
	The Gaiaverse \| Eden \| Terra Metropolis \| Life of the Sylvan Islands \| Other Spec Evo \| Sheatheria \| Serina \| The Last Dinosaur A Wholesome and Good Thing \| Sam \|


Sayornis	Jan 3 2016, 11:09 AM Post #28
Neotenous Posts: 796 Group: Members Member #1,676 Joined: Apr 23, 2015 Gender: Female Nationality: Californian Favorite Quote: "I am going to write a little Book for Murray on orchids and today I hate them worse than everything." - Charles Darwin Gender: Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things	Sylvan Jan 2 2016, 01:32 PM Sheatheria and Serina may or may not be relevant to the same universe, but even if they were, they are worlds still unknown to man. I remember an illustration of human explorers getting attacked by Skystriders, and a text post about a man and his dog exploring Sheatheria. Have those been decanonized along with some of the species? Anyhow, this project looks awesome and the way you've tied it into a coherent whole with your other works is fascinating. Gliding cats are such a logical idea that I'm kind of surprised they haven't actually evolved.
	The Library is open. (Now under new management!) Dr Nitwhite Aug 19 2016, 07:42 PM As I said before, the Library is like spec crack.


Beetleboy	Jan 3 2016, 11:25 AM Post #29
neither lizard nor boy nor beetle . . . but a little of all three Posts: 3,700 Group: Members Member #1,776 Joined: Oct 2, 2015 Gender: Male Area of expertise: Future Evolution Nationality: British Favorite Quote: In the absence of proper data, speculate wildly. Also known as: Jacob, JurassicJacob, Beetle	Quote: It seemed like you were posting new ones every few days and then not doing much with some of the older ones. Well, the reason why I haven't done much with the older ones is because of the amount of implausibilties in them. Anyway, sorry for derailing the topic. I'm also sorry that I seem to have made a bit of a name for myself as someone who has a short attention span and spends little time on projects. I do not wish it come across that way, and I am going to make sure that I change that. I am going to carry on working on my current projects, and I will not abandon them. Anyway, please do continue with this great project. Edited by Beetleboy, Jan 3 2016, 11:29 AM.
	~ The Age of Forests ~


Sheather	Jan 3 2016, 11:36 AM Post #30
Posts: 5,953 Group: Admin Member #999 Joined: Mar 13, 2013 Gender: Male Nationality: United States Favorite Quote: if tidepods are so good then why isn't there a tidepods 2 ~ Martin Also known as: Dylan	Sayornis Jan 3 2016, 11:09 AM Have those been decanonized along with some of the species? Yes, definitely, and for some time now, those were mostly just for fun at the time.
	The Gaiaverse \| Eden \| Terra Metropolis \| Life of the Sylvan Islands \| Other Spec Evo \| Sheatheria \| Serina \| The Last Dinosaur A Wholesome and Good Thing \| Sam \|


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