Microstory 589: Extinct Human Civilization Discovered on Exoplanet

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For thousands of years, our people believed humans to be the only species in the universe. But as we were progressing towards enlightenment through astronomy and computer science, we started questioning this belief. Scientists of the day thought it unlikely that, out of the trillions and trillions of stars in the observable universe alone, we would be, well...alone. Not too long later, we developed the ability to travel beyond our lonely star system, and visit other planets. On one such of these trips, we encountered a race of aliens. But they were not what we expected. We assumed they would have more than two arms and two legs, be able to fly, or breathe underwater. Some of them actually can do these things, but then again, so can we, but that’s just because of science. Strangely, these aliens were human, having evolved on a planet of their own...at about the same time we did on ours. The only reason we were even likely to meet each other that early in our technological history was that their galaxy collided with ours not too long after the humble beginnings of our respective evolutions. They were supposed to be living in a separate galaxy, but it has been scientifically determined that we now belong to the same one. This angered a number of loyalists who did not appreciate sharing a home with outsiders, and so the scientific community came up with a compromise, referring to this single entity as the Justean-Nectean Bigalaxy (for reference, the Necteans call it the Nectean-Justean Bigalaxy).

We didn’t at first understand why humans would evolve so far from us. Simple genetic investigation taught us, however, that we were actually separate subspecies; genetically incompatible with each other, but there is still no denying that we are all in all the same. We would later learn that humans, and their variants, are the most common species in the universe, with very few capable of being excluded from this general categorization. We now know that Justean humans evolved naturally, however, while others are ultimately descended from genetic engineering. So okay, these were all extremely important discoveries, but also rather logical. In simple terms, Justean humans were meant to exist, and others had to be created. Certain terrorist organizations use this as an excuse to provoke war amongst our brethren, but the popular opinion is that we should just leave each other alone. A recent discovery has turned our notions of humanity on its head once more, however, and it threatens our status as the so-called legitimates. Explorers have uncovered evidence of an ancient civilization on a planet that would have been originally counted in Justean territory. Further research has shown that they were genetically identical to us, and evolved completely naturally. There is also no evidence that they are the result of some long since forgotten interstellar migration. After months of investigation, experts have concluded that these Justean humans evolved on their planet simultaneously as we did. The explorers have not yet revealed what happened to them, but their existence has opened a plethora of new questions about why we even exist. How many other legitimate civilizations were once out there, and more importantly, do any of them remain today?

Microstory 94: The Verge

At the beginning of the 23rd century, the second most important discovery in the world was made. They had found the first evidence of the simplex dimensions. They continued to study its properties, and were able to tap into it a few decades later. After many failures and deaths that were covered up by the government, they were able to successfully send a vessel through the orange simplex. The volunteer astronauts traveled for only a matter of hours and ended up in what they thought to be the exact center of the universe. They were unable to navigate in any other direction. No matter how much force they exerted, they were only allowed to head in two directions; forwards or backwards. There was a bright light in the center of their universe that was presumably the source of this force. They tried to approach it, but were unable to do so safely. Instead, after long deliberation, they decided to build a large structure and literally cover up what one scientist called The Verge. It was a single point in space through which all moving matter in the universe passes. Matter, including ships, can travel either towards The Verge, or away from it, but it cannot subvert it. If there was a planet only a couple lightyears from your own, you had to head towards The Verge, and could then essentially turn around and head in a slightly different degree to your destination. After centuries of chaos, where anyone with a ship could claim any planet they happened to land on first, a group of people formed a military force designed to regulate interstellar travel. They later built a space station the size of an entire planet around The Verge. It would not be another few millennia before the absolute most important discovery was made. The Verge was actually not the center of the universe; it was only the center of the galaxy. And apparently, there were other galaxies. They just couldn’t observe them due to the light disruption of The Verge.

Microstory 90: One True Mate

There is another universe, right next to ours. It wasn’t ever supposed to be so close. The void between universes is designed to be immeasurably large, but due to a little human ingenuity, and one or two cataclysmic accidents, theirs and ours were brought closer together. This caused significant problems for our God, but that is another story. The interesting thing about these travelers is their biology. They were, in almost all respects, human. In fact, being the rightful humans who evolved legitimately in their universe, they were considered pure. But there was an aspect of their reproduction that, all things being equal, made them unique. When a male and a female copulate for the first time, they are inextricably connected. Certain chemicals are released in each other’s bodies that prevents each from reproducing offspring with any other partner, which means that there is no such thing as a half-sibling. Other chemicals are released in their brains that tighten a psychological and emotional bond between the two. A final, and extremely mysterious, process occurs at the same time. The two mates are linked by time and their lives. If one dies, the other will die as well. When the relatively small population was drawn towards our universe, most of them lost their mates to the void; with only a handful of couples surviving together. Not long after arrival, one such of these lucky couples was torn apart by a machine that propelled one of them into the future. The other was left immortal, doomed to spend the rest of his days waiting for his true love’s return. Gavix doesn’t know that his mate will one day return to him. He knows only that he has been alone for [redacted] years.

Microstory 55*: Excerpt from [Redacted]

What interested [Redacted] the most was the fact that humans of different breeds were functionally incapable of conceiving children together. Two Earthans could make an Earthan. Two Universals could make a Universal. Two Legitimates could make a Legitimate. But they were unable to crossbreed with each other. By far, the most common breed was the Universal. No other species, subspecies, tangent species, or superspecies could compare to their magnitude. And she had met no one who knew where the Legitimates were, or if they were presently on hiatus. This meant that incompatibility was statistically rare, and usually just something couples dealt with on their own. But now, because of a death she wasn’t yet sure she believed, she was incompatible with the one man in the entire universe that she was predestined to conceive a child with. She was literally born for this, and it was impossible to follow through. It felt like God had reached down and flicked her in the face.