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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 (3,101 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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| Steampunk FireFinch | Feb 21 2016, 12:03 PM Post #31 |
Shitposter
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Dear God, Jacob I made a monster. Oh well, lets try again. I'll show it what so ever though. 
Edited by Steampunk FireFinch, Feb 21 2016, 12:03 PM.
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| Beetleboy | Feb 21 2016, 12:04 PM Post #32 |
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neither lizard nor boy nor beetle . . . but a little of all three
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Earth's Next Chapter We are now going to skip forward by 50 million years, for the sake of interest - to see what could happen after this period of time. 50 million years is a long time - when one considers that whales came from terrestrial animals to Basilosaurus in the space of 20 million years. South America, once home to magnificent city of Tierra Espléndida, has split off from the rest of the Americas, and has drifted westwards slightly, and turned horizontally so that what was once the southern tip of Argentina now faces south-east, into the South Pacific Ocean. The islands of the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, and nearby islands, are now further away from Mexico. North America has drifted north slightly. Africa has connected with southern Europe, colliding with Spain, Italy, Greece, and Turkey, closing off the Mediterranean Sea. This process has formed the Mediterranean Mountains, a long mountain range which stretches from southern Portugal all the way to Oman. Europe has straightened out slightly into a bit of a more horizontal positition than the Holocene. Part of Africa has also split off: Ethiopia, Somala, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Mozambique. Together they form an island more than twice the size of Madagascar, which is not far away from its southern tip. This new island is called Vaovao, literally meaning 'new' in Malagasy. Australia has drifted upwards, as has Papua New Guinea, while the islands of Sumatra surround Australia's western side. The continent of Antarctica has drifted northwards slightly, but much of it is still tundra. Some parts however, are temperate forest, and Palmer Land - a strip which juts out of Antarctica - is covered in prairies, dry forests, and even has a small patch of desert (the Palmer Desert) at its very northmost tip. |
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| Beetleboy | Feb 21 2016, 12:05 PM Post #33 |
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neither lizard nor boy nor beetle . . . but a little of all three
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Nope, it's these future scientists who are making the monsters. |
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| Steampunk FireFinch | Feb 21 2016, 12:08 PM Post #34 |
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Shitposter
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I used Bernie (My Japanese Bantam Cock. Who has long legs for a bantam, he doesn't live at my house though. Yet.) and Junglefowl photos for reference.
Edited by Steampunk FireFinch, Feb 21 2016, 12:08 PM.
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| Beetleboy | Feb 21 2016, 12:09 PM Post #35 |
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neither lizard nor boy nor beetle . . . but a little of all three
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Those are good references, since these dinohens are becoming gamey and feral after humans have abandoned them. |
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| Steampunk FireFinch | Feb 21 2016, 12:11 PM Post #36 |
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Shitposter
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He had a sharp growth growing once on each side of his beak and he also has GIGANTIC spurs for his size. I cut both for safety reasons. What a coincidence. If he had a long bony tail as well, he would look exactly like a Dinohen. He is also very thin and flighty than most chickens. (Well he is a bantam, bantams are usuallt flighty and thin. But he is one that acts more like a wild junglefowl rather than a domestic pet. Even though he is friendly occassionally with me) Edited by Steampunk FireFinch, Feb 21 2016, 12:15 PM.
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| Beetleboy | Feb 21 2016, 12:23 PM Post #37 |
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neither lizard nor boy nor beetle . . . but a little of all three
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Cool! |
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| Steampunk FireFinch | Feb 21 2016, 12:26 PM Post #38 |
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Shitposter
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Working on the Flying Hamsters. Do they have a Styliform Bone in their wrist or are one of the fingers long and extended? How many fingers does a hamster have, what species are you using and does the patagia strech to the leg or is it like Yis' speculated wing shape? |
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| Beetleboy | Feb 21 2016, 12:36 PM Post #39 |
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neither lizard nor boy nor beetle . . . but a little of all three
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Their wing structure is identical to a bat's. The designers based it on this for ease.
4 fingers on their front paws, 5 on the back.
Syrian hamster.
The patagium stretches to the leg. Remember, though, the wings are small and fold easily into the sides of their body. They are meant for appearance, not function, though they will become better developed as time goes on. |
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| Beetleboy | Feb 22 2016, 08:10 AM Post #40 |
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neither lizard nor boy nor beetle . . . but a little of all three
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I'm working on the British Isles now, 50 myh. I've got some plans for some interesting plants.
Edited by Beetleboy, Feb 22 2016, 10:53 AM.
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| Beetleboy | Feb 22 2016, 01:29 PM Post #41 |
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neither lizard nor boy nor beetle . . . but a little of all three
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The British Isles: The Salty Forests The damp morning air is cool and crisp, shimmering droplets of due clinging to every surface, refracting the light. It is the beginning of summer, and the British Isles will warm, a slow, steady wave of relative heat spreading up from the south. However, these blissful, mild summers will end quickly, replaced by the bitter winter and thick swathes of snow. The British Isles hasn't moved much, in comparison with many other locations - South America, for example, now split off from the rest of the Americas, and drifting on a horizontal, and Africa, colliding with southern Europe, forming the Mediterranean Mountains. However, what was once the United Kingdom has moved - northwards slightly, along with the rest of Europe, as if Africa barelling into Italy and Greece has forced the whole continent upwards. The British Isles now has something of a boreal climate - it has long, bitterly cold winters for much of the year, then a brief, cool to mild summer, which is quickly consumed and replaced by the ice and snow. But for now, the mild summer is blossoming into life, though thoughts of preparation for the long, cruel winter is never far away. The tide is out in the estuary. Muddy banks are exposed, shimmering with dampness, as molluscs and burrowing worms slide through their tunnels. Flocks of mud gulls dip their curved bills into the mud, probing, then sometimes pulling out and throwing back the head, tossing a worm into their gullet. There are trees, too - growing in the mud. They have smooth, grey bark mottled with tiny hazelnut and cream speckles, with thin, bendy branches, ending in bushes of elongated, pale green leaves with serrated edges and a slight shimmering sheen, in an alternate pattern on the twig. But the strange bit are their roots: it is like the tree is on stilts. Their roots are sturdy and difficult to snap, tangling through each other in a supporting structure, before weaving their way down to the ground. Some of the trees are as much as 1 metre above the ground, supported by their aerial root system. These look like mangrove trees - but they aren't. How can they be? Mangrove trees, in the British Isles? That makes no sense, it must be wrong. No, these are in fact willows - and a highly specialized species at that, known as the saltsnap tree. This plant has numerous adaptations to its unique, salty habitat in the thick mud of the estuary. Their first is their ability to absorb air through specialized roots which emerge from the mud, and allow air in like straws. It can also absorb oxygen through its lenticels on the trunk and branches. To minimise salt intake, these trees have very specialized roots, adapted to the salty conditions. Their structure is practically impermable, filtering out salt, and expelling it from the plant using 'sodium leaves'. This occurs when a leaf on the tree is unhealthy - the plant will then direct the salt to this leaf, where it will then die, and fall away, ridding the plant of the salt. This only occurs if a leaf is unhealthy already, and so would more likely than not die anyway, so it is the perfect option for being made a 'sodium leaf'. There are other solutions, too. Not all salt can be expelled using sodium leaves, so the majority is expelled from a gland directly underneath every leaf, called the sodium-discharging gland. This may lead to salt crystals forming around the base of the leaf, but this area is particularly resistant to the sodium, the cells there being able to absorb the salt and storing it in their vacuoles without any trouble. There is limited fresh water in the saltsnap tree's habitat, so it has developed the ability to temporarily close its stomata, preventing too much loss of water vapour. Another problem that the saltsnap tree faces is the lack of nutrients in their envioroment. Here is where the aerial roots come in - not only do they help to keep the rest of the body out of the water, but they can also absorb gases directly from the air around it, instead of from the mud. These plants are dioecious - their flowers (catkins) appear on different trees entirely. Towards the end of the cold winter, the catkins bloom, soft pink in colour, with a fine dusting of yellow pollen. By the time the middle of summer has arrived, the brief pollination season has ended, and the twig holding the catkin will become increasingly weaker. Eventually, it will snap off, and drop onto the mud, to be carried away when the tide comes in and out. The catkin will float, carrying its precious cargo of seeds, which are covered in a protective coating which keeps out the salt. The tide will take it (hopefully) to a new mudbank of an estuary, where it will be left behind in the mud. As the tide goes out, the increasingly dry conditions causes the protective coatings of each seed to break apart, exposing the seed within. What follows is incredible. In the space of a few hours, the seed will display some of the quickest germination known to any plant, Holocene or otherwise. It will send out tiny rootlets to anchor it into the mud, and a long shoot from its top, which will grow up to 3 centimetres per hour. By the time the tide comes in, it can be nearly 10 centimetres in height. It has a protective bark, which prevents the salt from damaging it, but as it grows, this bark will be shed, and the tree itself will slow its growth. At this point the roots will start to lengthen, causing the whole tree to move upwards, though anything above the roots barely grows at all. |
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| Beetleboy | Feb 22 2016, 01:31 PM Post #42 |
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neither lizard nor boy nor beetle . . . but a little of all three
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More information on the Saltsnap Forests coming soon.  Just wanted to get the basic info about the plant itself out of the way. Next we'll see some creatures that live in the forests it creates.
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| Bruno01 | Feb 25 2016, 05:35 PM Post #43 |
Infant
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Wait, are you saying that in 50 million years, my house will be facing north? |
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| Beetleboy | Feb 26 2016, 10:20 AM Post #44 |
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neither lizard nor boy nor beetle . . . but a little of all three
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If your house is facing north-west, then yes. Though it does depend - we can't tell exactly where South America will go. |
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| Bruno01 | Feb 26 2016, 04:27 PM Post #45 |
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No, my error, my house will be facing the south-west. (I think) |
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