The Expanse

It all started with the discovery of beings beyond the universe. Some would call them horrors akin to lovecraftian tales, others would theorise them as the origin of life itself, but there was something humanity could all agree on; there was more than one universe, and at the edge of all universes these beings dwelled. It had been a search expedition that wanted to go beyond the edges of the universe, a group of humans that would be the first to go beyond, and that they were the first to encounter these beings, made almost entirely from liquid and yet possessed a mind of its own.   Only one of the crew had survived and brought them back to earth, changed to become a new kind of creature, partly human, partly liquiform, two minds in unison trying to go back home. Miraculously surviving and reaching Earth, as well as plummeting into the pacific ocean, was when everything changed.   Technology and research based on the new being, now known as a Symbionic, led to the advancement of civilisation. More spaceships, cleaner fuel, people being kidnapped and sold to be experimented on to recreate the first symbionic, used as living batteries for interstellar cargo. Out of the public eye, symbionic data and organic material was being used to synthesise a new kind of human - one that could change its own shape depending on the species it inhabited, in case humanity ever encountered other species of intelligent life, to have spies and sleeper agents of human origin, of disposable soldiers and slaves, bred to be hermaphroditic for ease of reproduction.   Those dwelling beyond this universe did not take kindly to their own kind being used and enslaved. The synthesised humans, being bred to be soldiers and slaves, rebelled when Earth and it's surrounding colonies were finally attacked by those who dwelled in The Expanse, led by the mother of all liquiform life itself. Future generations, both human and the now dominating synthetics, the Rapttalans, called this "The Rapture" event that freed Rapttalans from slavery and escape to the heavens, to other universes that could be molded to host both Human and Rapttalan life. 1000 years later, and the Rapttalans are now the most dominant species within hundreds of universes, with humanity a close third with other species of intelligent life.   Life in many universes, referred to as 'bubbles' due to the nature and form a universe has within The Expanse, is not without conflict or tension. Some universes are closed off from access to the main system, whether from conflict, incurable disease, or simply a universe at the end of its own life and ready to implode. Those that do hold life, there is tension between puritan Rapttalan folk, with the elite and wealthy deeming their unmixed bloodline to be sacred and the symbol of their hermaphroditism being representative of this. Humanity, no longer the most powerful species, have shown resentment to the "purebred" Rapttalans. Half-blooded folk (referred to as "mutts", looked down upon by humans and Rapttalans alike, as well as a subset of Rapttalans known as Saiconians, large beasts that can take on the form of humans. Other species that had evolved from those originally on earth, as well as other universes, also have tense but cooperative relations.   However, this is not necessarily just a story about the history after "The Rapture", but about a young purebred Rapttalan detective that becomes involved in the destruction of a growing empire, as well as dealing with a doomsday-desiring cult, and aiding a young amnesiac Symbionic who's origins would be considered better left unfound. Universal exploration, a missing persons epidemic, and the horrors beyond The Expanse await.