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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 (3,098 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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| Torvonychus | Mar 28 2016, 06:45 AM Post #61 |
nani the fuck
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This is good. Maybe will get pinned in another few months. #makefutureevolutiongreatagain |
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Dys, Darwin's Inferno: http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/topic/5949354/1/   Spoiler: click to toggle
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| Beetleboy | Mar 28 2016, 10:43 AM Post #62 |
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neither lizard nor boy nor beetle . . . but a little of all three
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Not for any appreciable amount of time, no. I wasn't planning any sort of future material, though I have no doubt that humanity made many durable and incredible building materials, however, I'm planning for non to last a very long time.
Extinction is a big matter, of course. However, thanks to public gardens, seed storage, zoos, pets, etc, extinctions are not as severe as they may first seem. The icecaps melt thanks to global warming, but will eventually form again as the Earth adjusts. Coral reefs were destroyed by bleaching, however some cold-water corals clung on, and tropical corals were kept in fish tanks and public aquariums. However, the corals kept in fish tanks did not really take over after humanity's demise, being trapped in tanks, only in flooded areas did they stand a chance. Therefore, most corals of this new age are descendants of the cold water corals that clung to survival. As I said, the climate recovers in time, and overall, there are no major effects in the long term. However, despite my research on the matter, I'm not too knowledgeable on it, so feel free to give advice.
Wow, thank you!
I am honoured that you think this. Really makes me happy. 
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| Dapper Man | Mar 28 2016, 04:29 PM Post #63 |
* I am fed up with dis wuurld *
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That'll be cool if it is pinned. Seriously, this is a awesome idea! Can't wait to see more! |
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Speculative Evolution: Manitou; The Needle in the Haystack. | |
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| Beetleboy | Mar 29 2016, 12:04 PM Post #64 |
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neither lizard nor boy nor beetle . . . but a little of all three
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Why, thank you! |
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| Corecin | Mar 29 2016, 12:19 PM Post #65 |
Prime Specimen
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Here is my question, since so many ungukates and carnivores are in zoos and presumable have a low population what would be the dominant predator? |
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| Beetleboy | Mar 29 2016, 12:32 PM Post #66 |
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neither lizard nor boy nor beetle . . . but a little of all three
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Depends on the location. In some areas felids descended from escaped big cats and domestic cats are dominant, in others it is canids. |
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| Corecin | Mar 29 2016, 01:17 PM Post #67 |
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Prime Specimen
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Herbivores? |
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| Beetleboy | Mar 30 2016, 11:23 AM Post #68 |
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neither lizard nor boy nor beetle . . . but a little of all three
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Well, it would take me forever to tell you every herbivore.  But I'm going to assume you mean large herbivores, which would be pigs, deer, cows, goats, elephants, and descendants of feral horses.
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| Corecin | Mar 30 2016, 11:51 AM Post #69 |
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Prime Specimen
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Makes sense, I did mean the most successful herbivores. Oh, and at one point you say coyotes kill a lot of people in the towns, they don't really do that today so why would they in the future? It would just cause more death for coyotes and most of the coyotes that killed or hurt people today have been killed so they can't teach it to their pups. |
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