Notice the one single elongated arm (which he generated just for this pose!). This isn't a mockery, but a display of respectful recreation. He developed an interest in the bygone Assymetric People in his childhood, when he saw a fully restored skeleton of one of those bizarre posthumans. He deeply regrets the genocidal actions of the Gravital, even though his occupation is a result of those same actions.
A note about the Modular Person in my illustration: the green "chest" is actually 4 different inflatable gas sacks. Combined with the fleshy tail, and grasping tentacles, this Modular is tailor-made for life in zero gravity. Depicted here is the "handshake" that united these two races. All art & text by me! 😊
One particular branch of the Beakling family tree split off into two different paths... One lineage evolved into the scavenging Bone Crushers, while the other shifted towards herbivory and became the gorilla sized 'Zino-Folk.' Factoring in their elongated necks, an adult male Zino-Folk can grow up to 12 feet in length.
Zino-Folk evolved their specialized scythe claws in response to predation by land dwelling crocodilians (which were first introduced to this world eons ago by the Star People for their zoos). The Bone Crushers never met the Zino-Folk nor the land-crocs face to face, since the former evolved on an isolated island the size of Madagascar in my scenario. Whereas the Zino-Folk and land-crocs evolved on the western continent roughly the size of the North American continent. Bone Crushers never developed maritime skills in my scenario.
Zino-Folk survived the extinction of the Bone Crushers, and would go on to survive until the arrival of the Gravital many millions of years later. By that time, the Zino-Folk would have evolved into bizzare armless forms covered in scutes, with muscular, elongated necks, filling a sauropod like niche.
This new human species was created by the Qu for the dazzling colors of their tooth derived beaks. For 40 million years, the Qu kept watch over these genetically modified, pint-sized descendants of the Star People on their garden paradise world. When the Qu suddenly disappeared, the hardy Beaklings not only survived, but proliferated into a wide variety of new forms (including the Bone Crushers). The Beakling name was suggested by u/Uncertain-Division.
RIP 🙏 🪦 They survived the departure of the Qu, but died out or reverted shortly thereafter. What are your thoughts & speculations on these new human species?
These early chapters in the book are seldom discussed. I wanted to showcase these early few pages. What are your thoughts?
This could change everything! The Colonials were already fully sapient - and they probably remembered things about both the Star People and the Qu that would interest or help the Spacers. Being nothing more than flesh bricks means that the Colonials could easily adapt to life in zero gravity. I'm sure the Spacers would hook the Colonials up with tastier meals, as well!
For the sake of the discussion, let's assume that the Spacers settled the asteroid that would've hit the Temptor's world, and that they also establish communication with them. Will a Terrestrial Spacer subspecies emerge to interact with the Temptors and help develop their sapience? Will the Spacers bring the Temptors into a zero gravity existence instead? How might their society, culture, & beliefs develop? How would this alliance interact with the Second Galactic Empire of Man, the Gravital, and beyond? I'd love to hear your thoughts & ideas!
Photo credit for the 4th image is u/Certain-Unit147, but I did not use his concept of the Modular People surviving. Instead, I "fanoned" these two Subjects into the canon All Tomorrows universe. I meant to say (Early Asteromorph Empire Era) in the title post, whoops! I hope you all enjoy! 😊
I had 3 fire-belly newts as pets when I was a kid, so I got the odd idea to combine Qu and newt traits into the same organism.
When the Machine Empire declared war on the Asteromorph Gods, the latter had some unexpected help from double agents such as this (secretly) Tolerant Gravital. With a simple touch, this Asteromorph God sees this Gravital's message in its mind's eye. It's name is "The Pincher," and it's disclosing the location of a Machine Empire armada to the Asteromorph God as revenge against the Empire for killing its Subject lover. This information would end up being key to the Asteromorph Gods' victory. The Asteromorph Gods factored Pincher's actions (and others like it) into their decision not to completely wipe out the Gravital, but instead remake them into the New Machines.
I like to think that the Killer Folk outmaneuvered the Gravital's attempted orbital bombardment, and then brought the ruckus, driving away the first wave of Gravital. I believe that the invasion was a secondary fleet - perhaps efforts to block off the sun had already failed. If you have any theories on this piece of All Tomorrows history, this is the place!
A Bug Facer soldier poses with the decapitated head of an alien invader. He's very proud of his first kill - especially after witnessing the aliens murder his father right in front of him when he was just a boy. This soldier will rise through the ranks, and by the end of his life, he will have killed over 153,000 of the alien invaders!
Meet "Terry!" He was born with a tongue much longer than normal Hand Flappers. Terry's tongue can curl and unfurl like Hubba Bubba Bubble Gum, which he integrates into his boisterous dancing and flapping, often to comedic effect. Although this behavior sounds strange to a modern day human being, it's secured Terry many mates throughout his life. His 37 children all inherited his long tongue - from there, his bloodline spread like wildfire, each one of them possessing this new trait.
Terry's tongue (and the tongues of his descendants) was opposable, and functioned as a grasping tool. With it, he could capture large flying insects mid-flight, grab fruit & other tasty plant matter growing beyond normal Hand Flapper reach, and most importantly, manipulate the world around him. In time, long tongues would evolve to become the norm for this species. From parrot and primate-like behavior will arise the return of true sapience!
In my next fan creation post, we will take a look at the Hand Flapper descendants known as the Tongue Snatchers. Some clues on their appearance: their arms and hands have shrunk in size, while their legs have become sturdier and adapted to walking, jumping and running long distances.
I found this, I am not the original artist. Artist credit is Vanga-Vangog
It's fun imagining what existed between the New Humans and the Posthumans! I got the concept for the Snorklers from a comment suggested by u/Uncertain-Division
The very first Colonials that could move freely on their own were the Crawlers. Crawlers evolved from a substantial population whose skimpy nerve networks also converged into rows of starfish-like leg structures complete with dark suction cup like feet. These posthumans could crawl at a slow pace across their world, moving like a flattened centipede. They could connect, detach & recombine with each other at will. Because they were mobile, Crawlers required more sustenance than typical Colonials; they met this caloric need by absorbing the remains of any dead Colonial or Colonial variant that they encountered.
Crawler penises were beginning to develop new traits - note the two claw like extentions poking out from the main glans on the erect individual about to mate with the impressed green-eyed suitor. In the future, this appendage will specialize into the Modular People's "arms" and "hands." The walking appendages of the Crawlers would develop into the Modular People's "legs," sturdy and trunk-like. Crawlers could mate with almost every other type of Colonial, which sometimes resulted in new forms, traits, and behaviors.
Note the love in the eye of the "pregnant" Colonial with the budding offshoot. This is one proud and excited parent-to-be! Crawlers were some of the first Colonial offshoots to experience a sense of hope.
The Taproot Colonials (from Part 1 of this mini-series) were one of the Crawler's food sources. Living, healthy Taproot Colonials had nothing to fear - it was the dying or dead that the Crawlers wanted. One Taproot Colonial corpse could sustain a substantial amount of Crawling Colonials for a week. Crawlers fed by standing on the dead, locking their suction cup feet into place, secreting a digestive enzyme that liquefied the corpse's flesh, and absorbing the liquid through their suction cup feet. In the future, Modular People would continue to feed in this manner.
I had some fun speculating on what the taproot-possessing Colonials were like!