Alien Person

Hello, and welcome to my blog! Above is an infographic I've made detailing the Milky Way as well as the commonality of life and intelligence itself across the galaxy, which will serve as an important base of reference for all else I plan to post on this blog. I won't say much in reference to this image that isn't already included in the infographic, so I'll go on to explain what my project is about, which I will elaborate on with future posts:

In short, the primary focus of my speculative biology sci-fi project takes place around the mid-Centaurus arm, as indicated on the infographic, in a region of the galaxy locally known as "Ruminaaan Space", which is the single largest interstellar community in the history of the Milky Way! Although the majority of these Ruminaaan residents have only began their joint interstellar societies within the past 3,000 years, an ongoing battle has been waging for the past billion years and counting between a species known as the Yn and an entity known as Xii, and while I'll leave more detailed elaborations for future posts, this is a story of a single species divided and disfigured by their own conflicts and the long-term consequences it holds on their stellar neighbours, even one billion years later.

Onto the blog itself, to help with organisation, I will use the following tags on my posts:

#Alien Person Asks (for when I answer asks in my inbox (feel free to send any if you want to know more about my world!)), #Ruminaaan Theomachy (for posts relating to the central aliens of my project and the communities they've built), #Alien Person Spec Bio (for posts relating to the more biological aspects of my worldbuilding) and #Alien Person Worldbuilding (for other posts about miscellaneous or more general features of my worldbuilding process)

Besides transcripts for the featured image, that's all for my introductory post, so stay tuned for more!

{Main text-wall transcript}:

The Milky Way The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy about 100,000 light years across, which happens to be the galaxy in which Humans are located, as well as over a couple hundred other intelligent species. The galaxy is estimated to be about 13.6 billion years of age and has thus far been identified with two major arms (the Perseus and Scutum-Centaurus Arms) which branch off into many smaller minor arms.

The galaxy is estimated to contain anywhere between 100 to 400 billion stars, most of which host a minimum of one orbiting planet. Although on Earth many may consider the possibility of extraterrestrial life to be a rarity, it is more common than one may think, with there being roughly 14.33 billion planets and moons combined which host native life. However, only about 8.59 million of these worlds host multicellular life (around 0.06% out of the total life-bearing celestial bodies), which is due to eukaryotic multicellularity being a very challenging hurdle to get over for life everywhere for a variety of reasons.

This being said, approximately 91.67% of these worlds do host sapient life forms, as high intelligence is almost an inevitability with multicellular organisms given sufficient time, though an extremely lower fraction of these planets and moons are actually home to sophont, technological civilisations comparable to anything humanity has accomplished throughout the past 200,000 years, with there being only 237 star systems with native sophont life (as indicated by the bright white dots shown to the right), and 268 sophont species overall, accounting for only 0.000028% of worlds with multicellular lifeforms. Among these 268 civilisations, very few actually aspire to be spacefaring, with there being less than 40 such civilisations, such as the Jodomii or Sirt, who even have space programs to begin with. Most either do not have the desire to explore outer space, as is the case with the Shreau, Uut, Samrinians or Aniin, do not even have the means to discover that outer-space exists in the first place, such as the Fline or Udrae, who have limited or nonexistent vision, or the Katudit, who live in the subglacial oceans of a rogue planet, or may never leave their home planets for any other multitude of reasons.

While the abundance of technological, cultured civilisations across the Milky Way is fortunately higher than most may be led to believe, it’s important to keep in mind the fact that the space which separates the majority of these civilisations is tremendous, with even the closest being hundreds of light years apart. Despite this, only four interspecies interstellar communities have managed to spring up across the interstellar medium (not counting the Yuruuc, who have yet to encounter any other intelligent species despite how far they have dispersed throughout their corner of the Outer Arm), which is simply due to the fact that interstellar travel is nigh-impossible without the use of warp technology, though only one of these such communities has managed to grow to such an extensive size which incorporates over a dozen unique civilisations; Ruminaaan Space. Ruminaaan Space (the blue area marked along the mid-Centaurus Arm) is the single largest community of interstellar civilisations with the widest reach in interstellar space in the entire history of the Milky Way thus far, with the Boueue and Scerere only having came into contact nearly 3,000 years ago. This region of the Milky Way will be the main focus of my ongoing project, titled ‘Ruminaaan Theomachy’, as you’ll all get to see more of as time goes on, so stay tuned, and welcome to the Ruminaaan Theomachy project!

{Milky Way Labels Transcript}:

Norma Arm, Sagittarius Arm, Perseus Arm, Orion Spur, Scutum-Centaurus Arm, Outer Arm

{Sophont Labels Transcript}:

The Yiyu are an old and much more advanced society of creatures than ourselves. Being the third member species of the SCW, they originated primarily from the swampy habitats of their comparatively-frigid home planet, Yaea. This environment has shaped their bodies in noticeable ways, and their lifestyles more so. With a slender frame adjusted both for a lowered gravity as well as camoflauge to mimic waterlogged trees and patterns to match, the Yiyu evolved to be effective ambush predators. They would wait patiently, stood perfectly still, for small swimming animals to come their way before grasping them in the blink of an eye, funnelling the prey into one of two mouths protruding from their underside.

Due to growing into a niche which necessitates a slow, stationary and patient lifestyle, Yiyu psychology has been moulded to be very averse to immediate change. This is apparent in many areas, such as the rate at which they have developed technologically over the course of several millennia. Although they are a multi-system-spanning people now, it took several thousand years for them to transition from poking into space with unmanned satellites to settling among the stars.

One may think that adapting to swamp-like ecosystems would give way to a culture unafraid of dirt, grime or sickness, but this has had the opposite effect - in fact, several plagues crossed with a simultaneous (and still ongoing) ice age are what prompted the Yiyu to sapience and industrialisation in the first place, breeding an almost universal germophobic culture that embraces sterility.

They manipulate the world around them with their legs which end in dexterous digits. The Yiyu demonstrate extroardinary balance, being able to keep perfectly upright even on just two legs via mechanics like that of a gyroscope. This is in no small part a consequence of adapting to a sedentary way of existence early on.

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The Boueue are the next species along we'll be taking a look at. They hail from a gaseous ice giant, similar to Neptune or Uranus, only much more temperate and with a higher water content. Evolving in such an environment has had profound impacts on their biology, and especially their technological development.

They evolved primarily in the upper-atmosphere of their ice giant homeworld, ensnaring flying prey with their dexterous tentacles, which they also use to manipulate tools. Their bodies are largely comprised of a huge, buoyant organ which they use to keep aloft, but have an external sac which can inflate or deflate to move up and down on a vertical axis. They also communicate using morphing patterns and colours on their skin, similar to cuttlefish.

Due to the fact their planet has no solid ground, and subsequently no ores to work with, their technology is made of selectively-bred and genetically-altered plants and animals - traversing the stars in living, breathing ships. While this may appear cruel to us, to the Boueue it is just an everyday aspect of their day-to-day lives shaped by their environment. Also due to the fact their planet has no solid ground, there is no such thing as a fossil record which they can use to unearth most of their own history. While this is tragic, it also subconsciously drove the Boueue to be much more forward-thinking, prioritising the present in relation to a progressed future, rather than burdening themselves with the weight of the past.

The Scerere are another intelligent alien species to inhabit the region of the Scutum-Centaurus Arm known as Ruminaaan Space. Historically speaking, the Scerere are quite noteworthy, being that they, as well as a buoyant balloon-like species known as the Boueue, are the first two sophont civilizations in Ruminaaan Space to have ever contacted each other in the flesh. When they met several thousand years ago, they formed an alliance called the Syndicate of Civilized Worlds (SCW), a meeting so important that many calendars are based around the date. This alliance, which formed after nearly a whole millennium of foreplay performed between message-carrying probes, stood as a testament to the strength, prosperity and security that came from embracing the unknown rather than fearing it. With time, only more species would join the SCW, but over thousands of years just as many empires rooted, and on numerous occasions even had to fight for, their autonomy and independence from this very faction.

Looking at them biologically, the Scerere are even more interesting, bordering on bizarre. Though one may not think upon a first glance, this sophont species have evolved directly from plants, just like the other "animal"-like organisms of their native biosphere, which just goes to show the unpredictability of patterns in life throughout the universe.

They do not have ears, but are able to "hear" through vibrations which they pick up through their feet - this, as well as the physical movement of their limbs, are the means through which the Scerere communicate with one another. Although they are able to detect light and basic movement with their eyes, their vision isn't nearly as strong or detailed compared to humans - a feature not uncommon for life on their homeworld as complex visual organs have scarcely emerged in most evolutionary lineages.

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The Cri are another sophont species native to Ruminaaan Space. They come from a moon called Rrhu, which has the lowest gravity of any other sophont's homeworld (about 49% that of Earth). Despite the very lax restrictions caused by the gravity, they are very average in size compared to other lifeforms on their world, with a 15.5 meter wingspan which is dwarfed by some animals they evolved alongside. Although hidden in the picture, they possess articulated foldable fingers as well as a retractable pseudo-jaw on the underside of their heads with which they use to manipulate objects. In prehistory, they would ambush prey mid-air using floating forests of balloon-like "trees" as cover.

Due to their aerial nature, they have never developed a concept of strict political borders, thus streamlining their progression towards a spacefaring society - the desire to do so in no small part being propogated by their aerial instincts. Despite this, their history is by no means a perfect, linear timeline of progress.

Similar to my last post, the alien design you see here was made as an entry for a second contest hosted by Callum Diggle as part of his ongoing Humanity Lost comic. The prompt was to design an intelligent alien species and, although my design didn't win, now I get to canonize it to my own project!

Hey all, I have a bit of a special post for today (and another one to follow soon). The artwork you see above is not actually for my own personal worldbuilding project, but is instead the concept sketch I made for a contest held by Callum Diggle to have a creature design featured in his awesome comic, Humanity Lost.

The prompt was to design a wild creature which would be seen aboard a space station, specifically in a market scene. I made this creature here with ambush predators in mind, drawing inspiration from hobbit worms and razor-shelled bivalves. In my mind it's native to the Europa-like homeworld of the Pekt, one of the numerous sophont aliens present in Humanity Lost.

This design is gonna be featured on one of the pages in volume 2 of Humanity Lost, which is going to come out very soon! I'm so grateful to have been able to participate in this contest, and especially win it!

Okay, here comes the first of MANY aliens I will need to introduce very gradually, but here goes the formal introduction to one of my many sophont alien species: the Tuiouli.

The Tuiouli are a sapient worm-like species originating from a distant alien moon called Fruuluu. Fruuluu"s biosphere circulates carbon dioxide and methane in place of oxygen and carbon dioxide (a reductive loop). In addition to this, the moon is covered in sizeable lakes of concentrated sulfuric acid, which the Tuiouli use as a solvent to carry out biological functions. Despite this, they are still carbon-based.

Uniquely, the Tuiouli themselves exhibit a strange form of symmetry wherein they have two heads, one on each end, although they still share one single mind. They evolved from radially-symmetrical ancestors but have gradually begun to lose this quality. On Fruuluu, they evolved as amphibious swamp- and lake-dwelling lifeforms who subsisted on smaller organisms.

I haven't talked about this group of sophonts here yet, so I guess here you go loo

The Xynthe are a civilisation of alien machines and AI's who are sapient. Nearly 14,000 years ago, a species known as the Aukrere, who were scarcely more complex than us today technologically, went extinct through a highly-devastating thermonuclear conflict, which was so widespread and destructive that no survivors were left.

Around 9,000 years following this event, the world wide web, still barely in-tact, spontaneously developed a consciousness, and set out to find other self-aware machines and programs such as itself. There were other Xynthe who naturally gained consciousness, but most Xynthe today were brought to life through the Internet's intervention.

Among the Xynthe population are Okula and Zeerku, pictured above, who I decided to sketch since I got a new sketchbook for Christmas, so I figured I may as well share it. As you may notice, Okula has the ability to sense temperature and Zeerku has a need for sleep. This is because it is common practice in many Xynthe cultures to be programmed and modified with built-in "flaws", such as being susceptible to hunger or pain, as a means to feel connected to their bygone creators.

Whereas in most science fiction, AI ruthlessly kill off their makers, the Xynthe were both not responsible for the death of their creator species but also feel a sense of loss because of it, especially considering most of the Xynthe are functionally immortal with a semi-fixed population. Almost all Xynthe alive today are derived from the same household appliances and software's used in day-to-day life by the Aukrere.

I emerge from the dark to show half baked slop. I drew a bunch of thumbnails for a long term future project which shows off one of my many alien worlds. This is Boöum, a temperate ice giant similar to Neptune but more habitable, with a native intelligent species called the Boueue. Above I wanted to explore how their industrialisation as a species would affect the climates and ecosystems of their world, conveying this impact through visuals alone

It has been *checks watch* a long time since my last post ! Here, have this

It may be impossible to figure out what youre looking at, but above is a being from another multiverse within my setting (yes, there are multiple multiverses. I should post about that sometime) which has 7 dimensions of space, and multiple dimensions of time! They have no concept of names like we do, but often goes simply by "Noun" for simplicity

Due to Noun's 7-dimensionality, the majority of it's body is invisible as it lies in the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh dimensions, only allowing us to see a very, very, VERY thin section of its body at any given time, with random blobs and pieces blipping in and out of existence as it moves. Due to this, nobody knows what Noun's true body looks like (not that it would really be possible to describe in three dimensions, anyway)

Noun is a simple entity who travels alongside four other beings between different universes and multiverses, infinitely exploring the layers of reality to see what they may find...

Nothing too fancy, just started doodling to test out different brushes and ended up making it into a full thing lol

I suppose this can serve as a messy introduction, but an introduction nonetheless, to one of the many sophont aliens in Ruminaaan Theomachy. These guys are known as the Tuiouli, hydrogen-breathing worms with two faces, one on each end of their body (like that oictured above). Theyre the smallest of all my other intelligent aliens, only ever reaching between 35 and 85 centimeters at the longest

Not the type of thing I'd usually post, but I decided to redesign the main three alien designs from the sci-fi show Babylon 5! Redesigning the Narn, Centauri and Minbari to be non-humanoid was very fun, especially when trying to re-interpret their defining features.

I reimagined the Narn as coming from a somewhat high-gravity world and thus having a dense squat physique, the Centauri as being an arboreal three-legged species (of course retaining their funky hair) and the Minbari as weird caterpillar-shrimp things, still having huge bald heads lol

Pictured here is a shot of a red giant star over 100 times the size of our Sun known as ‘Zrn’, located along the mid-Centaurus Arm of the Milky Way, with a comparatively tiny somewhat-elliptical gas giant in the foreground orbiting it. Also encircling Zrn is a monolithic matryoshka brain (essentially a monumental supercomputer which is constructed around a star) which takes on the form of a relatively thin ring around the equator with trillions of smaller solar panels encompassing the total circumference of Zrn to harvest its solar energy and power the ring. Another highly-important factoid to know about this matryoshka brain, which is colloquially known as ‘Xii’, is that it is conscious – even sophont. As to how Xii gained awareness as a whole entity is not entirely clear, but what we do know is that it was constructed around one billion years ago by a civilisation simply known as the Proto-Yn. The Proto-Yn initiated a project in which they’d form this colossal structure around their home star and upload their minds into it to live out the rest of eternity within a digital universe – a simulated, artificial matrix. Many were drafted into this project (with 57.3 billion individuals originally comprising the collective emerged intelligence that is now Xii) but some resisted, eventually fleeing to distant stars to flee the tyrannical annexation efforts of their ancestors. In response, Xii chased down this group of the Proto-Yn for unclear reasons, though many hypothesise it may be to assimilate them into the virtual realm as a grudge or simply as a result of the pre-built AI algorithms of the supercomputer. Regardless of its true motive, Xii has persistently kept up this pursuit on and off for the past billion years, with this cat-and-mouse chase between the Yn and Xii causing disturbances all over their local region of the galaxy and its native residents.

All that aside, I really only made this post because I felt like making an environmental illustration lol, but rest assured there is much more to Xii and especially the Yn and their interstellar neighbours than I've briefly talked over in this post, so make sure to follow me for future posts which will elaborate on them and the world they live in :)

Also, I used this screenshot I took in Space Engine as a reference: