Humanity scattered about the void. Some ventured in premade Arks, vessels made by many of The Sol System's rich and powerful. The Arks only housed scientists, cultural figures, doctors, and engineers. Only those believed to better mankind were allowed aboard. How does someone make such a decision? Does a farmer not turn the gears of society any more than the renown chef who uses their crop? What of the one who repairs and operates the machines an engineer created? It matters not. When the Arks arrived at
Safeharbor, we felt the void, all the same.
The Arks took vast collections of data, much of which I sort through to find what can be of use. The data neglects to mention how the earth died, or why our colonies in the system were unsuitable for relocation. It was a massive effort, but not all humans were willing to stay behind. Most lived in struggling nations, those unable to produce an ark. They began construction on fleets of transports, our first colony ships.
A few of these vessels made it to Safeharbor. They were poorly constructed, and poorly designed. They were thrown together in haste. The safety checks were completely bypassed, as if someone was in an awful hurry to leave. Those that didn't make it to Safeharbor drifted in the void. Some found other worlds, most of them claimed by one species or another. Others found a home on space stations, the residents ignorant of how new we were to the galaxy.
Humans were discovered by the galaxy, and it caused a panic. We were gathered up, studied and experimented on in secret. We were isolated, placed in zoos and farms across the void. As cruel as these projects were, they have revealed much about us we never knew before. Humans who left Earth are not quite the same as their ancestors. Evidence of genetic manipulation was found, tampering centered around our senses, the density of skin, and bone.
The changes were small, barely noticeable in most cases. Other races call us "twitchy." Have you ever wondered why? We humans avoid staring for too long a time. Our eyes are not our own. Those responsible for this tampering instilled a delayed reaction, like an overexposure effect. The more we stare, the more our eyes adjust. The more we stare, the more we see.
This can include Subtle changes in elevation, discoloration, asymmetrical forms, and even non-visible light. It's why stargazing is such a common pass-time. Our neighboring nebula. We called it "The Eagle Nebula," which is a sight to behold when the eye adjusts. The vibrant colors radiating from it are mesmerizing, something that took special equipment to see beforehand.
Well, I love the commands you put in the author's notes. I will endeavor to use those as much as possible. Although, sometimes I think I'll just throw things out without an implicit question just as a generic prompt. such as: did you know that our eyes are actually constantly twitching in order to facilitate how we see the world? Apparently human eyes have trouble seeing things that don't move, and we just get around it by twitching a bit constantly. So, Focused Query: how, if at all, does that affect the genetic enhancements done to humans, or vice versa? There are also times when I just think it would be more fun to not get a straight answer... or I'd find it unlikely that the ark database will have the answer I'm looking for. Such as asking whether my theory that humanity was raised as livestock on earth has any credibility to it. In any case, it seems like there was some sort of barrier, literal or figurative, barring humanity from exiting their solar system, and they stole the key. It could be as simple as a certain faction barring humanity from using interstellar warp tech... Focused Query: did the ark ships have interstellar capabilities, or were they generational ships?
Oh, and I love the bit about touch. It makes humans more unique in this universe than the standard "We're just your average species that loves to explore"
R. Dylon Elder
Oooo I hoped they would be obvious. Yessss! You don't have to use the commands. The archivist is actually a pretty smart character in the world and can infer meaning. He's a machine but much smarter than AI... for some reason. "Focused Query: Delayed Exposure The human eye has many problems, a by product of mother natures 'good enough' seal of approval. To accomplish the delayed exposure reaction, the eyes have to be relatively still, and so as the reaction occurs, a process that takes roughly 30 to 40 seconds, the eyes will slowly still themselves. The inability of the eyes to focus on objects not in motion is still present. This has an awe inspiring effect, the visual equivalent of listening to a complex orchestral composition. Epic is a good term. There is a side effect to this. Blurred vision and diminished depth perception while the eyes return to normal being the main problem." "as far as livestock, you're guess is as good as mine. I will say there are only a few species known to me that could do this. No telling how our bodies will effect another species, cooked or otherwise. It is possible. We were notoriously bad at space travel." " Focused Query: Early Intersteller Travel - Arks Based on data gathered from both arks and refugee ships that made it our home, the arks were designed for neither generational, or intersteller travel. It's still a working theory, but It seems we had little interest in exiting Sol. The few reports hidden in the databanks suggests this, as we developed methods of terraforming and not Intersteller travel, which we could have prioritized. It seems we figured out interplanetary travel on our own. Fusion drives were invented long before the fall. Hyperlanes were discovered after, areas of space suspiciously clear of debris between two massive rings. This is how the first few arms navigated to safeharbor. Its a terrifying experience. The arks weren't designed for that. Some were torn to pieces, thus rendering the hyperlane useless until the debris cleared. It helped us stay hidden though. I suppose the deaths were not in vain..."
R. Dylon Elder
Thank you very much BTW. I'm Still working on how to handle meta comment vs. Interaction but its coming along lol I love the touch problem. Thenkond of character interactions in my head alone... Oof. Lots of emotional turmoil in this setting.