# QuasiGenesis: A New Way of Developing Alien Species



## dradcliffe09 (Sep 4, 2009)

Creating Alien Species: Notes

By Daniel Radcliffe

Evolution, whether we may believe in it or not, is a handy tool when it comes to creating aliens. By exploring the biology of known life forms and asking the right questions, such as:

What if they learn to walk?
What if they learn to swim?
What if they learn to fly?
What if they learn to speak?
What if they learn to create fire?
What if they learn to create tools?
What relationship do they have with other species?
What if...

By asking these questions about any known species, we are prompted to imagine the answers to those questions -- no matter how ridiculous or bizarre the answers may be, because in finding or dreaming up those answers, we create lifeforms with stories mankind has never heard of. Those lifeforms would be considered to be alien, and their stories would easily be categorized as "science fiction", fictitious stories of scientific nature.

 

Charpaltians - Notes

Physiology: The first charpaltians were similar in to the starfish of Earth. As their culture became more land based, they came to resemble humanoid dolphins. Their resperatory organs mutated into different combinations as they evolved: First they had six gills, then four gills and two nostrils, then two gills and four nostrils. This combination has given the charpaltians an edge in their adaptability, allowing them to colonize planets with various
atmospheric conditions. Charpaltian space vessels also accomodate this characteristic by filling portions of their craft with enriched mineral water as a more efficient means of life support.

Physical Appearance: Muscular and powerful. With the advent of land and space travel, the charpaltian's muscle mass gradually focused on the upper body, back, and legs to adapt to gravity.

Skeletal Structure: Gradually evolved as the charpaltian culture expanded from the ocean to dry land and space travel. A bare charpaltian skeleton would appear to humans as a mix between dolphin and bear.

Diet: Omnivore. The first charpaltians absorbed nutrients through their multiple tongues. As their culture became more land based and civilised, use of the hand and foot tongues came to be regarded as primitive and repulsive. The development of hand and footwear caused the taste buds in those appendages to shrink and callous over with each new generation. A charpaltian's hand and foot tongues can hardly be noticed by strangers nowadays.

Reproductive Cycle and Rituals:

Males impregnate females through their tongues. The females then
lay eggs within three to four Earth weeks and incubate them until they hatch. The incubation is done in large underground pools on their homeworld. Birth chambers are included in passenger craft to accomodate pregnant charpaltians. 
Of a litter of ten or twelve, only three or four will survive the birthing process. As per the sacred ritual, the father must subdue the mother, which is often a fierce and violent struggle. The father 
then breaks the eggs open and exposes the hatchlings to water and air for periods of time that gradually grow longer until the hatchlings can breath water and air on their own. This is to force the hatchling to develop both lungs and gills. Hatchlings who do not survive this ritual are buried in sand and saltwater as a gift to the charpaltian sea gods.
Charpaltians hatched by the mother will only develop their gills,
as the mother's nature to protect the young will prevent her from exposing them to air for fear of suffocation. While all hatchlings initially survive in water, most of them only live a few months before they drown from the impulse to use their lungs in water. A few rare hatchlings of this nature will find air to breathe and survive.
Due to the high death rate of these rituals, it is custom among charpaltians to not name their hatchlings until resperatory development is over, which takes on average two Earth months. Once the hatchlings are named, they are called children, or sylkhs in the charpaltian language.

Age Spots:

As charpaltians age, they develop age spots on their backs and behind their ears. At first, human scientists thought these were a form of alien melanoma. It was only when we were able to communicate with the charpaltian elders that we learned they were a natural product of age, not unlike wrinkles or baldness with humans. A charpaultian's age spots deliniate not only their age, but experience and wisdom. The elders of their race are covered in these spots from head to toe. Other intelligent life from their homeworld have adapted this into their own beliefs and traditions by applying tattoos to their bodies to indicate status and authority.

Enemies:

Poachers: On the black market, charpaltian body parts are in high demand, particularly the pigment of their age spots, which used in manufacture of some of the best fabric dyes in the known universe. The harvesting of charpaltian skins for pigment is considered anathema to charpaltian faith, as it is their custom to return all remains of their dead to the sea gods. Violation of charpaltian remains is considered an act of war.

Pirates: Charpaltian trade routes are no less riddled with piracy than that of any spacefaring race. Of course, those who dare to assault a charpaltian trade vessel have to be armed to the teeth or out of their minds. One of the main reasons charpaltian vessels are highly prized is their armor.

Space travel:

As far as human historians have learned, charpaltians acheived space flight around 3641.726 MPD (Millenia Post Dawn). The first craft was crafted mostly from volcanic glass, a highly durable and heat resistant material mastered by their craftsmen at the time. 
The charpaltians had also put as much effort in re-exploring their oceans as they did outer space, and about 200 SEY (Standard Earth Years) after their first space flight they discovered metals near their planet's core that were almost as hard as Earth's diamonds. Soon after this discovery, this super hard metal, named telenium, was used in manufature of armored military vehicles and spacecraft.

Goverment:

TBD

Military:

TBD

Things to come:

Right now I’m still developing the look of the Adult Male Charpaltian.

 

Don’t like him? Don’t worry! Post your comments -- I want feedback from you guys. Does he look too cuddly? Does he look badass? Is he gonna get armor and weapons? You bet your ass! Feeling like you're reading National Geographic? You should! I'm using NG as a model to explore as many parts of each race's biology, habits and culture as possible. If I'm gonna make a species, I better know everything about them. Hopefully this will result in a fuller and more satisfying book about a race than those we are familiar with. I want to be able to explore each race as much as I want -- down to what their DNA chain looks like if that's what it takes.

Are other races in development? Yes:

 

This is a Sea Strider by Wayne Barlowe. I have no intention of stealing his idea. But looking at the painting I used to draw this, it got me thinking of creatures of many subspecies living together symbiotically. The larger creatures are transports and homes for the smaller ones, who do most of the hunting, gathering, maintenance, and thinking for the race in general. Remind you of something? Don’t worry. I’m going to try and make these guys as different from Tyrannids as I can without losing that alien biomechanical feel.

Tell me what you think, and don’t hold back. I know what the Sea Strider tentacles look like. ;D


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## dradcliffe09 (Sep 4, 2009)

Some scratch ideas for Gehennans, Baalites, and Elementals (crazy alien name TBD). A taste of things to come!


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## Commissar Ploss (Feb 29, 2008)

quite good stuff! i'm impressed, you've really taken this into great detail. Please keep on doing more. If you post more stuff like the first section, i might sticky this thread as a guide of some sort. If i do, i'll have to rename the thread to something relevant though, anything you think i should call it in particular?

Commissar Ploss

i realize its an ongoing project of yours, but i think it could serve as a wonderful example for creating an alien species. Especially for those who have never done so before.

let me know.


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## dradcliffe09 (Sep 4, 2009)

Certainly! I encourage anyone to participate in the project in the interest of developing backgrounds, stories, and gaming material. My hope is to one day get enough volunteers together to get a whole new game system going. The most I can offer at the moment is art and literature, which you have already seen here. I'll post more ASAP. At the moment, I'm alot more busy with job related projects.

As for the title, let's use "QuasiGenesis: A New Way of Developing Alien Species" PM me when you get the new thread set up. Thanks!


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## Myen'Tal (Sep 4, 2009)

Agree with Commissar Ploss, it's definately a cool idea, I'd like to see more:grin:. Interested in seeing where this goes, may try helping out at some point in the near future hopefully:grin:. Keep it going!


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## dradcliffe09 (Sep 4, 2009)

I would liketo finish fleshing out the Charpaltians before I move on to other species. That way, I'll have a decent model to look back on for consistency. As for the other drawings, like the elementals and archeophagi, I have to put the ideas down somewhere before I forget them. I'll be sure to add this to my official notes on species creation. I will also note that the majority of my inspiration on this project is fuelled by my science fiction book and film collection. Wayne Barlowe's Guide to Extraterrestrials has provided an excellent model to follow for this project, as well as the National Geographic website.

I'll see if I can contribute some more material this weekend! Looks like the terminator project will have to be put on hold! :victory: Cheers!


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## dradcliffe09 (Sep 4, 2009)

Charpaltian Terms and Definitions

By Dan Radcliffe 10-23-09

The charpaltian dialect is primarily derived from their beliefs
and habitats, with wide varieties of slang due to the vast, rapid
expansion of their colonies. 

For humans, learning charpaltian is nearly impossible when it comes
to speaking the language, due to the manner of verbal communication 
of that language. Charpaltians "speak" through rhythmic vibrations
of the voicebox, which can only be recieved on ultrasonic bands.
This led humans to believe that charpaltians were telepaths for a
time after first contact. It wasn't until a human military vessel
picked up charpaltian dialect on their sensors that humankind realized
that Charpaltians could speak at all. Charpaltians do not
speak on audible frequencies, for when they do use their immense
vocal chords in such a manner, the effects can be destructive and 
even deadly to organic life.

Following is a the most comprehensive collection of charpaltian
vocabulary know to humankind:

Charpal (kar-paul): Second planet of the Bourchan system, located in
the fifth sphere from the center of the known universe. Orbits the
red dwarf star known as Bewel. Atmosphere is mainly composed of
oxygen with byproducts of the photosynthesis in Charpal's vast algae
beds. Eighty-five percent of the planet's surface is covered in sea
water. The rest of the surface is dry land, the majority of which
is rough mountainous terrain covered in rainforest. Weather is eighty
percent precipitation, with vast electrical storms created by friction
of the strong oceanic currents. Gravity is 1.5 times Earth Standard, 
resulting in high and low tides that stretch for kilometers. 
Charpaltians believe these tides were the cause of their evolution.
For humans, life on charpal can be extremely difficult, and those who
do live there remain in artificial habitats with life support and
antigravity fields. Charpal's flora and fauna, including the 
Charpaltians, are accustomed to the planet's high gravity and have 
thick skeletal structures and broad muscular bodies.

Charpaltian (kar-paul-shen): Born of Charpal; Sea child; a member
of the dominant race of the planet Charpal.


Sylkh: Fledgling sea child; hatchling do not achieve this status 
until they have survived the birthing ritual. 

(to be continued at a later time)


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## dradcliffe09 (Sep 4, 2009)

That's all for now! I'll try and get back on it tonight. Graveyard shifters have to sleep, too!


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## dradcliffe09 (Sep 4, 2009)

Creating Alien Species: Notes

By Daniel Radcliffe

Evolution, whether we may believe in it or not, is a handy tool when it comes to
creating aliens. By exploring the biology of known life forms and asking the right
questions, such as:

What if they learn to walk?
What if they learn to swim?
What if they learn to fly?
What if they learn to speak?
What if they learn to create fire?
What if they learn to create tools?
What relationship do they have with other species?
What if...

By asking these questions about any known species, we are prompted to imagine the answers
to those questions -- no matter how ridiculous or bizarre the answers may be, because
in finding or dreaming up those answers, we create lifeforms with stories mankind has
never heard of. Those lifeforms would be considered to be alien, and their stories would
easily be categorized as "science fiction", fictitious stories of scientific nature.

10-23-09

Once we have chosen a species and asked a number of questions, we can begin the process of
finding answers. This process can be as simple or complex as we choose. It can be a long,
tedious, intricately detailed process, or it can be as simple as picking colors, shapes and 
names. The beauty is that I can stop whenever I want. If I have enough material on a 
species in order to complete the role I have chosen for the species, I simply have enough.
I could stop at what they look like, talk like, what their space vessels or armaments are 
like, and that may be enough to play a skirmish game. 

I have been doing with my Charpaltian race and will be doing for what may be a very long 
time. I may never finish my pursuit of discovering Charpaltian secrets. Some of us will 
never be satisfied with just enough.

To begin the process of exploring or new race, it is important to decide on how you plan
to answer the questions you will ask. Will the race be similar or different from or own,
and how? The differences between this new race and that existing on earth canbe as simple
as color, for example: "The green orangutans of Saturn 3 derived their unique color from
the pigment reaction of their fur to the ultraviolet rays of their sun." After reading 
such a statement, I realize there are many more questions that come to mind about the green
orangutans and their home planet and sun. What is this pigment reaction? What does
Saturn 3 look like? What kind of rays come from the sun besides ultraviolet? And so on.

We could say that when we are developing a new species and asking these sorts of questions,
they branch out like a tree. At this point, you may want to write these questions down and
create a chart or diagram to keep track of all the questions and answers that pop up in
mind. The main reason to do this is:

1. You won't forget or lose the really good questions
2. If you come up with seemingly ridiculous questions, keep them! Write them down so you
can go back later. You may find they are not so ridiculous after all.
3. If they're still ridiculous, you can revise or change them, but at least you can
remember to do so.

At this point I should describe an age old obstacle we all face as writers to whatever
degree of accomplishment or ability: we get stuck and draw a blank. It happens at some
point or another, and this is typically when we can finally find time to sit down and write.
At this point, the best advice I can offer is to direct your attention towards a different
task until you can spontaneously come up with an idea for what you were trying to do in the
first place. Why do you think I'm writing this right now? I was supposed to be writing
about more aliens! But seriously, you will be surprised on how well the human mind can
think when it is taken off what it is supposed to be doing. At least my mind works that
way. After all, I'm no psychologist!

Did I mention you should be having fun? If you're not happy describing the diplomatic
relations charter between to races of opposing solar systems, don't bother! If you want to
put the two races at war, then do it! The ideal goal of your project should be writing
what you want to read, since this will be your project. You can worry about making a job
of it when someone decides to pay you, and at that time you will likely have to write what
other people want, but that is not what I am trying to write about. So, take your idea
and run with it! Take it as far from boring as you can, or want.


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## dradcliffe09 (Sep 4, 2009)

I worked on this last night, among other tasks and shenanigans. :grin: I want to develop new angles and poses for my drawings while maintaining accuracy to the smallest details. One reason for this is to have a frame on which I can develop garments, equipment and other things for my creatures. This will also help to maintain scale when I can start the first sculpts for miniatures, though that may be a long way off. We shall have to see...


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## dradcliffe09 (Sep 4, 2009)

Update on project status:

Don't worry, I haven't forgotten. I've been busy with other projects, like Algebra homework, the job hunt, Lego League, and now my beloved Grandmother is moving into a house next to my Dad's in Concord, VA, all the way from California. So, hopefully I'll have some time in between all this to post some more work. I'm still working on the last picture I posted here -- putting details on the front view of the Charpaltian and fleshing out the limbs. Armor and weaponry (everyone's favorite part) should not be far behind.

So be patient, and stay tuned! In the meantime, I would love to read about any ideas you may have had after reading what's been posted so far. So, let's have it!

Until next time...


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## Commissar Ploss (Feb 29, 2008)

don't worry about deadlines or anything. Just take your time. It's stickied so its not going anywhere. thats the nice thing about an ongoing project...its "ongoing" meaning you just keep working on it at your own pace. please don't feel rushed. 

CP


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## Israfil (Jul 6, 2008)

To me the Carpaltians look like they belong in some kind of jar similar to Guild Navigators in Dune, or floating through the air, but maybe i'm picturing them too small. but other than that little bit of criticism i love what you are doing.k:


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## dradcliffe09 (Sep 4, 2009)

Israfil said:


> To me the Carpaltians look like they belong in some kind of jar similar to Guild Navigators in Dune, or floating through the air, but maybe i'm picturing them too small. but other than that little bit of criticism i love what you are doing.k:


There will be similarities in that they will have enclosed underwater compartments on their space vessels, like the birthing chambers and maybe even the command bridge. I should get to that later. Thanks for the comments! :victory:


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## Davidicus 40k (Jun 4, 2010)

Interesting system, but I think Spore got it right. Give a bunch of people immense creative power and eventually you'll end up with some jewels (amongst the penis-shaped junk pile). 

Also I should have voted "You're a weirdo. O_O But that's okay!" because you put so many faces in your poll responses, but I didn't. Because that's okay!


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## qotsa4life (Dec 31, 2009)

The only question in my mind about the Carpaltians right now is, how and what do they eat? 

The reason for this question is that you mentioned their ancestors are somewhat similar to the starfish of earth. If my memory serves me correctly, starfish consume food by moving over the top of it, excreting their stomach through their anus/cloaca (I swear I'm not making this up) and smothering their prey with said stomach. 

Perhaps I'm thinking too much about a single aspect of your new species, but I can't help but wonder how such a being would adapt to hunting things on land.

I think your thread is very interesting and thought provoking. It would awesome to see more.


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## dradcliffe09 (Sep 4, 2009)

qotsa4life said:


> The only question in my mind about the Carpaltians right now is, how and what do they eat?
> 
> The reason for this question is that you mentioned their ancestors are somewhat similar to the starfish of earth. If my memory serves me correctly, starfish consume food by moving over the top of it, excreting their stomach through their anus/cloaca (I swear I'm not making this up) and smothering their prey with said stomach.
> 
> ...


Hmm, good point. Reading back over the 'diet' section of my posting:

'Diet: Omnivore. The first charpaltians absorbed nutrients through their multiple tongues. As their culture became more land based and civilised, use of the hand and foot tongues came to be regarded as primitive and repulsive. The development of hand and footwear caused the taste buds in those appendages to shrink and callous over with each new generation. A charpaltian's hand and foot tongues can hardly be noticed by strangers nowadays.'

It seems I overlooked how they have come to eat now. 

The Charpaltians still have a larger tongue beneath their chins, which they use to absorb fluids, minerals and proteins from plant and animal prey. They may feed of most of the edible plant and animal life on their home planet, and have developed gardens, hatcheries, and nutrient vats on their space vessels to maintain food supplies during long travels and for colonisation. 

They also have small portable units that gather water and bacteria cultures to develop a sort of food paste that can sustain an adult male Charpaltian for weeks in good working condition. These units have come to be known among most Charpaltians and those who interact with them as 'Food Packs'. Other species may be able to survive on the paste, if they are able to stomach it.

Thanks for the feedback, I look forward to answering more questions about this project.


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