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| Mutant Earth; What if the animals of the future were born in a lab? | |
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| Topic Started: Feb 18 2016, 11:40 AM (3,102 Views) | |
| Beetleboy | Feb 18 2016, 11:40 AM Post #1 |
neither lizard nor boy nor beetle . . . but a little of all three
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 The Introduction The unexpected story of the future begins not how you might think. It does not begin with a hand-waving explanation of how humans go extinct - quite the opposite, in fact. It starts with humans, and perhaps it wouldn't be a stretch to say the story is about humans right from the beginning to its finish. For if we are to think about this story, we must also take into account the effects humans will have on the whole future of the world - some of them rather unexpected. Humans do not like going extinct - nor, for that matter, do many species. Humans, it turns out, are almost a sort of sapient cockroach - not because of their natural skills, but because of their intelligence and inventions. As of the year 2016, the species Homo sapiens makes its way through a world war which killed thousands, and a massive epidemic, fighting them off with peace treaties (as well as nuclear bombs) and medicine. Somehow, humans bounce back every time. They may not have much in the way of natural defence mechanisms, but their technology and sapience win, in the end. 700 years from 2016, in the year 2716, the world has changed, and not neccasarily for the better. 90% of all Earthly terrestrial habitats are covered not by natural habitats, but by cities. The spread of humans came on in an impressive spurt, spreading their cities across the land, coating the Earth like scabs infested with tiny creatures - tiny, yet so influential to not only the world of 2716, but many million years afterwards. The amount of damage to Earth that humans have wreaked is incredible. Rainforests are all but gone - tiny pockets are left, most barely a few miles wide, existing in feable strips on the edges of cities and farmland. Beautiful seas of grass where zebras and antelope once roamed, stalked by lions and cheetahs in the grass, are now replaced by African cities and cattle farms. The oceans are thick with rubbish, matted with plastics that choke sea turtles and dolphins. Microplastics infest the foodchain like parasites, and mats of soiled nappies and broken toys clump together - the only things that thrive here are gulls, which bob along besides the mats of litter, feeding on tiny crustaceans hiding there. The baleen of whales is matted with plastic bags and other litter which has become clogged there, and fish lie dead at the bottom of the ocean, the by-catch of wasteful fishing. Reefs and deep sea areas have been dredged up by trawler fishing, and corals have become bleached and dead. The once glorious Great Barrier Reef is now a pale ghost, inhabited by a few fish and crabs which have clung on to survival. Sharks and turtles lie in folded mats of abandoned netting, the fibers cutting through flesh and skin. Prone bodies of dolphins and porpoises lay still choking on fishing hooks and netting, even in death. The icecaps have disappeared, melted away into the ocean, due to global warming which has only continued with renewed vigour since 2016, causing the sea level to rise. Polar bears are now something that can only be gawped at through the glass side of an indoor enclosure, with large areas to swim in and fake chunks of ice. It may look happy, even natural. But ignorance is not perhaps a good thing, but a fake thing. For this once-mighty creature's wild cousins are gone, and it will never again see real ice. It is born to die in a glass cage. In the vastness of the cosmos, it would be folly to think that Earth is the only planet with life. It seems likely, then, that perhaps there are other sapient beings out there, too. Some scientists always said that eventually, they would find us. Some agreed. Though we never actually prepared ourselves for what is really not a possibility, but an eventuality. In the year 2716, they found us. Were they had come from, or for how long they had been travelling to reach their destination, we do not know. In fact, we know practically nothing about these other sapients. Not their appearance, for they were never seen - they remained in their great crafts, like something from H. G. Wells' War of the Worlds. They were nicknamed The Visitors, with a capital T and V. Humans attempted communication. The ships circled Earth. Watching, constantly watching, but never replying or giving any sign that they recieved, or understood, the messages sent. Finally, one goverment was foolish enough to fire a bomb at one of these ships. Thus was the beginning of the end for humans. The Visitors may have been at first simply curious to find another sapient species, intent on observing and learning more, perhaps even communication in the end, but they took the bomb as a sign of war - though, who wouldn't? Quite what went through their brains at this point we will never know, but it is most likely that they began to consider humanity as a threat. It soon became all too clear that The Visitors were vastly more technologically advanced than humanity, even in the year 2716. Weapons that humanity could not even begin to understand were fired, directed to the biggest, most important cities which would have the biggest effect on the global population. However, the final straw was the Virus. The Visitors were masters of genetic mutation, and they modified this virus to their will. It could mutate faster than any other, mutate into different strains, but it had a sort of evolutionary floodgate: it could not evolve to another host. Once humans were gone, the Virus would wipe itself out - essentially, in spreading, it would kill itself. And so, just like that, humans went extinct. It was not glorious. It was horrific. We did not end fighting, with gunfire rattling away at our enemies. We were unprepared. Humanity ended with a few cowering specimens of a once glorious, intelligent species, huddled in a corner of a ruined, smoking city, half mad from the Virus, before letting out a final, rattling breath, then death consumed them. Blood trickled from dead, unmoving mouths. A species went extinct, just like that, and the Visitors moved on - perhaps returning to their home planet, perhaps to investigate another species, who knows? Humanity might be dead, but a mark of their previous-succesfulness will remain on Earth for millenia to come. But to tell that story, we must go back to before the Visitors arrived, to the mega-cities that covered the Earth, and to humanity's twisted attempts at playing God . . . ~ Well, my plan is to spend a little time looking at the cities, then move on to after humans die out. I'll be looking at different ecosystems, my aim being to focus heavily on plants as well as other organisms. And the name comes from the amount of genetically modified animals that are going to leave ancestors. I: Cities Zoos and Pets - plants, mammoths, beetles, pygmy sharks and elephants, and wing-rats More domestic animals and pets - tarantulas, fancy stick insects, glowing rodents, and dinohens Urban Wildlife - North and South America, the green city of Tierra Espléndida, Africa, India, and Europe The End of Humanity - after the war, the Virus, the wing-rat The New World - feral dogs, bioluminescence, DinoHens 50 Million Years Later Earth's Next Chapter - geography, continental layout II: The British Isles: The Salty Forests
Edited by Beetleboy, Feb 22 2016, 01:36 PM.
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| ~ The Age of Forests ~ | |
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24814017740_c15abd8b31_z.jpg (39.39 KB)| Replies: | |
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| HangingThief | Feb 19 2016, 01:10 PM Post #16 |
ghoulish
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Love the idea of the genetically modified tarantulas. Although, why would the wing-rats be created instead of just domesticating flying squirrels? |
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| Beetleboy | Feb 19 2016, 02:18 PM Post #17 |
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neither lizard nor boy nor beetle . . . but a little of all three
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For the wow factor mainly. |
| ~ The Age of Forests ~ | |
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| Bruno01 | Feb 20 2016, 08:50 AM Post #18 |
Infant
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It's looking very good. If you want "Tierra" and "Espléndido" to match, as Espléndido is an adjective of Tierra, you should change it to "Espléndida". We (the spanish speakers) difference the female and male in the adjectives, and Tierra is female. |
| Hi! I'm friendly! | |
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| Beetleboy | Feb 20 2016, 12:37 PM Post #19 |
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neither lizard nor boy nor beetle . . . but a little of all three
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Thank you! I was using google translate to try and make it, but it isn't the best thing really, and it can make quite big mistakes. I really appreciate the help. To HangingThief - My apologies for the short reply early. I was in a rush. I'll try to answer it a bit better now:
Well, I don't doubt that flying squirrels are kept as pets in areas of Europe, Asia, and the Americas. However, what you have to remember is that these people strive for something stranger, unusual, new, and unique. Anything with a 'wow factor' is something that they want. Hope this helps to answer your question.
Thank you! |
| ~ The Age of Forests ~ | |
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| Beetleboy | Feb 20 2016, 01:13 PM Post #20 |
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neither lizard nor boy nor beetle . . . but a little of all three
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The End of Humanity The war has ended. If it could be called a war - more of a one-sided attack. There was limited time for Earth to retaliate against The Visitors, and even so, they were vastly more technologically advanced than humans. We didn't stand a chance - like a mouse pinned to the ground, faced with a cat. Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. Impossible to fight back - humanity was the mouse, The Visitors the cat. The cat ate us whole, and leaving what was left in a sorry mess on the ground. The major cities lie smoking, in ruin, buildings fallen, glass smashed, burnt human corpses lying in piles. Of course, they targetted only the major cities with mechanical weaponry - they left the Virus to do the rest of the dirty work. It spread across the world, infecting all. There was no escape from the invisible killer. ~ New York The wing-rat, a genetically modified hamster, stirs in its ball of straw and wood chippings. It is shivering, despite it being late spring, still in shock after the screams, the loud booming noises. It curls up tighter, its small brown eyes shut, and its whiskered nose twitches in its restless sleep. Slowly, the wing-rat awakens and sniffs the air tentatively. It can smell smoke as its nose twitches, its whiskers a halo of hairs around its face. Its cage has fallen over from its owner's table, and now lies on its side, the door of the cage having come loose and swinging open. The wing-rat scurries forward tentatively, nervously. It reaches the edge of its cage, sniffs again. It brushes out, over the carpet, still shivering slightly with nerves. A slight scratching noise. The wing-rat turns. Huddled against the wall is the hamster's previous owner: an 8 year old boy with dirty blond hair and freckles. But he doesn't look normal: the boy's face is contorted with either rage or pain (or both), his skin covered in self-inflicted scratches, tufts of hair falling out in clumps, leaving oozing sores. He scratches madly at the wall behind him, peeling away plaster, baring his teeth. His eyes have a wild look, and his irises are too large, barely showing the whites. He has the Virus. The wing-rat is confused: why is its owner acting so strangely? Normally, when it escapes (frequently), the boy will run forward, gently place the hamster back in its cage, whisper soft reprimands, then go back to whatever he'd been doing. Now the sweet, quiet boy has been turned into a wild animal, scratching, growling, mad. He foams at the lips, saliva drips down his chin, and he scratches at his mad madly. Tufts of hair fall out, pus oozes down his face, and his ragged, chewed-up nails drip droplets of blood. The wing-rat, confused and frightened, runs to the opposite side of the room. Slowly, steadily, it makes its way up the table leg, from there up the curtain, and onto the window sill. The glass is shattered, a few jagged shards clinging to the frame. Tentatively, the pet scurries out onto the windowsill, looking out cautiously at the smoking city. Suddenly, raucous cries assault the wing-rat's senses, and a pair of gulls swoop down. They will not pass up on the opportunity of an easy meal. A jagged beak knocks into the hamster before it can react, and it slides sideway off the ledge. It falls - but, of course, its creators gave it an advantage. It spreads out its front limbs, showing the patagium stretched between its digits. Its fall is slowed slightly, and it hits the ground of the street with a slight thud. It picks itself up, non the worse for wear, and scurries off down a drain before the gulls can catch it. |
| ~ The Age of Forests ~ | |
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| Bruno01 | Feb 20 2016, 06:40 PM Post #21 |
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Infant
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No problem! Ask if you need more help! 
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| Beetleboy | Feb 21 2016, 05:34 AM Post #22 |
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neither lizard nor boy nor beetle . . . but a little of all three
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 thank you
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| ~ The Age of Forests ~ | |
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| Beetleboy | Feb 21 2016, 10:53 AM Post #23 |
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neither lizard nor boy nor beetle . . . but a little of all three
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The New World In an abandoned alleyway of London, a group of feral DinoHens peck away at the ground, searching in vain for scraps. One of them pushes itself through a gap in a garden fence and starts to eat the shoots growing in the soil there. It finds a worm, and it munches through it with its small, sharp teeth. One of the other individuals runs forward, displeased by its own lack of worms, and grabs hold of the other end of the prey item, pulling madly. A comic tug of war ensues. The end half of the warm snaps off, wriggling in the DinoHen's jaws, and the other runs off with the larger part, victorious. Suddenly, something bursts out of a shattered window of the house nearby. It is a feral dog, large and dark brown-black, blotched with large lighter patches. It hits the ground of the garden, crushing the bed of roses, and runs forward, snarling. Strings of saliva drip from its jowls. The DinoHens make a run for it, and there is a mad dash as they all try to fit through the small gap in the fence. Feathers fly as two get stuck in the fence, then manage to pull themselves out, but leaving behind some of their plumage in the process. Another dog leaps out of the window, and another, and another: many of these once-pets have come together and formed packs. Some, like these, are few in number - but some can number more than 50 individuals, roaming the abandoned cities, eating anything they can catch. The DinoHens dash down the alleyway; the dogs are following in hot pursuit. These DinoHens, once plump from their pampered home life as pets, have become gamey and fast from their time in the abandoned city. They have to be, to escape dangers such as the feral dogs. They skid around a corner, but one of them isn't fast enough, its foot getting caught in a bit of plastic, slowing it down. Jaws close around it, and it is all over for this DinoHen. The rest of its flock scurry away and out of sight, and the feral dogs fight over the carcass. Night falls, and darkness engulfs the city. The peregrine falcons and gulls roost on rooftops, ledges, and windowsills. Some even nest inside buildings, flying in through smashed windows. Moths flutter to night-opening flowers, and bats emerge from their roosts inside buildings and hollow trees. And tiny green-yellow lights emerge in the darkness. They bob through the vegetation growing up through the cracks in the pavement. They dot the buildings like tiny candles. Glowworms, you might think - but they aren't. These are GlowDents - the genetically modified mice that were once so popular. A long strip of glowing, hairless skin runs along their back, stopping short where the tail forms, but a particularly bright patch appears at the tip of the tail. Unfortunately, the GlowDents' bioluminescence is something of a hinderence. It is a beacon for predators, signalling the presence of a prey item. However, these animals are learning solutions to this problem. They have learnt to sit on their tail, hiding the glowing patch, when a predator is near, in an attempt to hide itself. It may also roll over, tooking its tail under its back, hiding both bioluminescent areas from the would-be predator. To roll on its back is the direct opposite of what all its senses will be telling it do, because this will reveal its soft, vulnerable underbelly. After the war, and the extinction of humans, the GlowDents experienced a decline in numbers, due to their bioluminescence giving them away. However, a new population arose, with the newly-learnt defensive tactics. These animals are mostly nocturnal. When you think about it, this is a risk. At night, its green-yellow light is more obvious, thus giving it away to nocturnal predators. However, it has learnt that it can catch prey items at night. In a short space of time, these animals have become increasingly insectivorous, using their lights to lure small moths, mosquitoes, and midges close enough to grap them with its front paws. However, they are simply not bright enough for them to collect enough insects to completely sustain them, so more than 60% of their diet is composed of seeds and scraps. |
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| Beetleboy | Feb 21 2016, 10:56 AM Post #24 |
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neither lizard nor boy nor beetle . . . but a little of all three
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So, that's our last look at the cities. Now we'll be going to 50 million years later, to look at how life has progressed (including our GM'd critters). |
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| Steampunk FireFinch | Feb 21 2016, 11:43 AM Post #25 |
Shitposter
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I made a Dino-Cock. I'll fix it up and make it look more like a dinosaurian chicken and less like a freaky chicken of weirdness. Do you mind if I did this? I'll also add the primaries, details, shading and etc...
Edited by Steampunk FireFinch, Feb 21 2016, 11:44 AM.
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| Beetleboy | Feb 21 2016, 11:45 AM Post #26 |
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neither lizard nor boy nor beetle . . . but a little of all three
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Not at all. Thank you for doing this! |
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| Sayornis | Feb 21 2016, 11:46 AM Post #27 |
Neotenous
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Anglerfish mice, what a cool idea! |
The Library is open. (Now under new management!)
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| Beetleboy | Feb 21 2016, 11:48 AM Post #28 |
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neither lizard nor boy nor beetle . . . but a little of all three
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Thank you very much indeed! Expect to see more diversification of these guys in 50 million years. |
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| Steampunk FireFinch | Feb 21 2016, 11:49 AM Post #29 |
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Shitposter
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Sorry it looks horrible, but thanks for the thanks  I'll touch it up on GIMP to make it look more accurate and make one on paper to see which comes out better.
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| Beetleboy | Feb 21 2016, 11:51 AM Post #30 |
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neither lizard nor boy nor beetle . . . but a little of all three
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Great! I can't wait to see what the finished version looks like. I am going to be doing some illustrations for this project soon, just haven't got round to doing it yet . . . |
| ~ The Age of Forests ~ | |
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