STORY: A Future in Flowers

Sci-Fi story focusing on alien contact, space colonization, artificial intelligence, gynoids and giant monsters. Alien’s referred to as “Florans” for now, name already in use, new name to come later.  Inspirational visual design elements from starbound, warframe and guyver.

Name options: Lithops, Mold-ovans, Fung-ians, Moss-aratti

The first colonial ship is sent into space, aimed at the closest Earth like planet. It takes 100 years to reach it so what little human crew there is are placed in cryo stasis. An artificial Intelligence built from one of the crew maintains the functions of the ship and monitors the embryonic life forms stored on board. In the last year of their voyage they detect signals from an alien intelligence. The AI makes contact and begins the language translation process. After months of communication the alien signals are understood and dialogue is officially opened with lifefroms on a probe orbiting the target planet.

For weeks the crew exchange with the aliens and eventually begin negotiating with their leaders. The aliens are a form of intelligent flora from a planet more similar to Venus orbiting the same star as the target planet. A tentative arrangement is made based on the mutual benefits of complimentary biology and technology. The alien probe remains in orbit, hanging from a crystal lattice until it is ready to make planetfall in several years. The humans make planetfall to investigate the surface in greater detail than the aliens are capable and the cyberized crew begin the process of searching for an ideal location to build their colony.

The planet features an incredibly high degree of electro-magnetic flux, making their technology increasingly unreliable. They discover strange features like floating rocks whose magnetism defies the heavier gravity (1.5-2G) and lifeforms of immense size, some highly territorial and aggressive. The colony ship has to deploy its ground combat systems for the crew to survive its trek across the surface.

The aliens technology is founded on organic principles beyond human comprehension but is relatively behind human tech. However due to its organic nature it is more ideal for operation on the planet with its highly disruptive magnetism. Even so their biology is not adapted to survive on the planet which is much more hospitable to human physiology. But with the exchange of information and technology they are able to develop systems/creatures/technology specifically to survive on the planet and with the human colonists.

Eventually the human’s ground systems are overcome by the environment and hostile animals. So the alien probe orbiting the planet drops early to deliver the new bio-tech to the colonists in time to save their lives. This sacrifice and mutual respect concretes a bond of trust and faith between the two species. It also marks the species first face to face encounter and the human colonists get a surprising look at their new allies.

The aliens officially begin a plan to launch new probes that will carry materials, technology and genetic material needed for colonization with their human friends. The colonial ship must remain in space outside the effects of the planet’s extreme magnetism. It enters a stand-by mode meant to last years while the colony site is established.

To that end the human and floran colonists continue their trek across the surface surveying pre-designated areas. Life becomes as much about mutual survival and building of relationships as it does surveying and searching for signal.  They struggle with the differing natures of their biology, technology and culture drafting the foundation for the future. Both sides suffer losses from monsters and volatile environment. The florans display rapid evolution and adaptation with the help of human technology and Earth lifeforms. Meanwhile the human’s remaining technology slowly deteriorates until it has to be augmented with or replaced by floran systems. Eventually both species develop a working symbiotic relationship that allows them to feed off each other’s physiology and technology to create an elegant solution for colonization with both civilizations.

Over time probes are dropped on the planet’s surface in key locations to slowly grow into installations that will some day be sources of natural resources and safety for the colonists. Eventually an ideal location for the first colony foundation is chosen in an equatorial region with proximity to fresh water and presumed far enough removed from immediate hostile animal threats or crippling displacement of the local biosphere. The humans devise a structure that will take advantage of the available resources and climate while the florans devise how to ‘grow’ the structure. The process will take years more to fully develop, at which time the colony ship will be ready to start the final sequence of dropping its stores of technology and genetic material to the surface.

In that time the colony team which has grown into a family continues to explore the surface in the colony zone in greater detail, circling further and further out. The human’s aging has been slowed considerably due to cyberization and nano-infusion while the florans genetic makeup gives them a near infinite lifespan if supplied with nutrients and sunlight. However the plan is threatened when a super volcano erupts, launching enough ash into the area to threaten everyone’s survival as well as the development of the colony. The area is evacuated and the colonists move to the closest floran facilities to secure a new site for the colony that will survive the years the ash cloud  will hang in the region.

However many local animal groups are displaced as well, sending them fleeing along with the colony team. And to make matters worse, new creatures crawl from the broken ground to pose an even greater threat. By this time the florans have grown a colonial ship of their own in space. It is still expanding and evolving but it reaches the planet’s orbit to join the human colonial ship. Together they devise a plan to combat the current situation and save the lives of those on the surface.

A new species of giant florans has been engineered to secure the surface. They are deployed and quickly grow to size and secure the second colony site. Similarly, large-scale cybernetic nano-infused bio-forms are developed for combat in the ash regions and dropped to the surface team to combat the ash monsters that are ravaging the surface. The Colony Leaders are then faced with a real choice about whether or not to exterminate these hostile species on the planet. It comes down to the surface team to decide whether or not weapons of mass destruction will be launched to secure the surface.

Probably a good point to end it, BUT if not.

In order to survive the destruction on the surface, either from monsters, ash or WMDs the colony team enters a state of hibernation.  It’s not until many years later that they begin to awaken. In that time the colony project has progressed and adapted humans have been living with adapted florans and the ash cloud has dissipated. The colony has defenses against the hostile lifefroms around them and a culture of combat and exploration has developed. The pod facilities that were dropped previously have developed into mines and power generators with their own small settlements.

Work had begun on a water craft of massive scale to explore the oceans. However the floating platform is attacked by a massive sea monster that destroyed it, barring colonization plans for the deep waters. Plans instead begin to further develop inland waters and arctic regions.

The original colony team are heralded as heroes by most, godlike by some and as monsters by a few. Their return to the world is an opportunity for them to finally settle down. Though likely they would be called on to return to combat.

Also a good point to end it. There’s not much left for the original characters to do except retire.

More giant monsters, Swarm monsters, natural disaster, new disease outbreak, social unrest.

A sequel or follow up could involve a new cast of characters who are growing up in the colony, perhaps hybrid children of the original colony team. Then through them we would see the nature of growing up and living in such circumstances. How they live, eat, sleep, love and survive from day to day. Where their problems occur and how they struggle through a typical day and atypical situations, even for them. Demonstrating just how different their culture would be from that of earth in the present.

Would a scenario like this fail? If the environment could be conquered without compromising it, and the two races could form a mutually beneficial relationship then barring massive natural disasters what would they have to struggle for?

Race and cast preferences would eventually develop. Greed may grow in the resource centers as ego centric individuals take command. This may influence the creation of a wholly unnecessary commerce system.

If the floran homeworld wanted to increase the number of floran colonists, there would be enough room to not be a problem since the native florans are biologically incompatable with the ecosphere. However if they decided they wanted to rule over the humans rather than share with them as equals, that would be a huge problem for all involved.

A military organization would have to maintained to deal with the monster population until an emplaced solution could be established, then to police the growing population. Greed, hatred, jealousy and psychosis would still exist and threaten settlements. If the florans can be presumed as more docile with fewer biological or sociological requirements than the humans and humans are more violent and resource intensive, then some sort of disparity would develop. Even if the difference proved to be irrelevant or part of the symbiosis it would eventually be perceived as an inequality that may create inevitable social stressors. Otherwise when the planet’s critical resources eventually become depleted it would be past time to plan progressing to another planet or star system.

The introduction of another intelligent alien race would dramatically change the story. If the new aliens were peaceful then it would be the prelude to a totally different environment. If the aliens are hostile then they would pose a new extreme threat that would take everything the colonists have to defeat.