Chapter eleven

Take, for example, anomaly AA-Z-758. It is a region where space is shattered, for a lack of a better word. As far as we can tell, anything that gets close to it gets shredded by shards of solidified space. DO NOT APPROACH.

Inside the sphere, time sped by. Stars and planets were created and destroyed, manipulated by an unseen hand. On a small planet, the third one of a medium yellow star, oceans slowly appeared as the star grew brighter and warmer.

SEA

From the chemical laden waters sprang forth life, slowly evolving and changing. But the unseen hand was not pleased, for not everything was going to plan. So, it appeared once again, and started to manipulate the early cells, changing them and setting them on a new path, one more to its liking. And so it remained, guiding the creatures on their journeys, changing the progress of evolution.

As the various creatures went about their business, something new was introduced. New organisms, one that produced a toxin deadly to everything, even them. As mass extinctions occurred, slowly the various creatures stared changing, learning to live with the poison and use it. After an unfortunate ice age, the new creatures started to evolve and diversify, becoming much bigger and more complex.

As the creatures changed, they also started expanding, making their way through the shallow seas of their births and into deeper waters. Soon, complex food webs formed, from the smallest creatures to the largest, complex dances of predators and prey.

As the oceans were conquered, the waters were slowly filled to capacity and competition grew ever fiercer. As more and more space was needed and less and less was to be had, sights were set on a new frontier. It was time to conquer the land.

LAND

First to emerge were the plants, great mats of greenery slowly grew and expanded, claiming dominion over vast swathes of land and sea alike. Next, animals followed the plants, emerging into a new world of plentiful food and space. But with these upsides came downsides, in the form of scorching sunshine and desiccating winds.

But these challenges too were eventually overcome, through scaly skin and primitive lungs. As further challenges were overcome, the land too was conquered, becoming a place of lumbering beasts as well as hidden insects, of towering trees as well as humble weeds.

But then the unseen hand came again and was disappointed, for life had once again taken a wrong path, forgoing intelligence in favour of power. It corrected this mistake by causing a great calamity, providing a clean slate for life to start again.

As new forms of life sprang forth from the ashes of the old, a few started to try something different, something unique. They started to utilise things outside of what they had been given at birth, utilising various objects to complement their natural abilities.

In this group, one species in particular stood out. They weren’t anything special. They didn’t have natural armour, big fangs or claws. They couldn’t fly or produce poison. They weren’t particularly strong or fast. But, they had something that all the others lacked: intelligence. They would later be referred to as Homo Sapiens, or Humans.

Civilisation

As this new species grew and expanded, they started utilising different, more advanced tools. Axes and knives, to chop wood and butcher prey. Spears and eventually, bows and arrows to hunt the creatures they previously ran from.

And as they developed, a new concept was learned. Warfare. Tribes warred against each other over waterholes and herds of prey, tools meant for hunting turned to a new role.

As the population started reaching the breaking point, new lands were discovered, new places to live and fight in. As people moved and changed, so too did their tools and behaviour. In the north, gone were the abundant herds of prey, and gone too were the large predators. In a land of lush forests and rolling hills, no longer could they roam. People started to settle down, planting crops and rearing animals. Hierarchies were formed and division of labour was established.

As people started to live better warfare too advanced. With some people now free from gathering food, they could make weapons and fight instead. Endless variants of many weapons were made and used, from rapiers and broadswords to longbows and crossbows.

In the far east, a new substance was discovered. A black powder, it burnt extremely quickly when lit. it was soon used in warfare, in rockets that flew and exploded. But it was in the west where this powder really came to use, in the form of a new weapon called a “gun”.

A long tube with one open end, the powder would be poured in, followed by a metal ball. When the powder was lit, the pressure generated would propel the ball out of the tube at very fast speeds. Soon, the gun could be seen all over the west, with almost as many variants as users.

As “gunpowder” spread out of Europe, warfare changed again. Gone were the days of impenetrable fortresses and towering castles. Gone were the days of valiant knights and trusty steeds. Now battles were determined by numbers and bullets, not armour and horses.

New inventions were developed faster and faster. Steam power, electricity and the combustion engine. Warfare advanced alongside these, with breech loading guns leading into magazines leading into fully automatic machine guns. Vehicles were also developed, from horse carts to converted cars to tanks.

Soon, man took to the sky in planes and helicopters, defying gravity. And then, the final frontier was breached. Space. People stepped into space and saw the galaxy in all its glory. Humanity as a whole took their first step on a planet other than their home, and as they explored they wondered. Humanity looked up at the night sky and wondered about the question they, and others, had asked so many times. Who else is out there? Little did they know they were going to get an answer much sooner than they expected.