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Firstborn
Back in time, when the universe was still young, a star was born. The star gathered gases to itself, and over many millions of years, the gases cooled, condensed, solidified, becoming sattelites orbiting the star. Some of these were very hot, being very close to the star, others were very cold, being far away. One of these planets was cool, though not freezing. It was there that by a freak coincidence, a few carbon molecules bonded into a pattern capable of self-replication. Even more unbelievably, these patterns endured for much longer than luck should have allowed. They started growing more complex, then splitting into a multitude of variations. The universe was changed. Life had emerged.
Over the next million years, these early lifeforms grew increasingly complex. Singlecelled life spawned multicelled life, life that fed off other life emerged. Nervous systems came forth, growing in complexity, centralizing, ever evolving. Species with more developed nervous systems soon emerged victorious over more primitive species. With intelligence rising higher and higher, creatures with self-awareness came forth. And finally, one species combined intelligence with the ability to handle tools. Civilization was born.
Call them the Firstborn. Over countless millenia, their society progressed further and further, until their lives were no longer a mere struggle for survival. This spare time spawned culture, complex rules that governed their lives. Culture spawned philosophy, philosophy spawned science, science spawned technology. The Firstborn were now the rulers of their planet.
For long, the Firstborn had gazed to the skies. With the aid of their newfound technology, they now reached out for and finally grasped the stars that they had so long merely looked at. Soon they left their own star, journeying to other solar systems, finding other planets, and even life such as themselves, though always in its infancy. The intelligence that they valued so highly was not due to surface anywhere for many millions of years to come. The Firstborn were alone.
But the long march of science went ever onward, soon enabling the Firstborn to cast off their weak and vulnerable flesh. First their brains, then only their thoughts they transferred into the machinery they were dependant on in the depths of space. They had become spacefaring vessels themselves. Finally they learned how to store their thoughts in the very fabric of space, and, leaving behind their metal bodies, they were finally free from the tyranny of matter. Despite their new freedom, they never forgot the warm, slimy pool from which they had emerged so long time ago on a young planet in an infant universe.
In their new state, the Firstborn were immortal but insubstantial. While they were capable of observing and of moving around at will, they were powerless in the material world. As spiritual creatures, shapeless, without bodies, their abilities to manipulate matter were severely restricted. Their interest for the universe gradually faded, and soon they turned their attention to other matters.
An eternity passed, and just as they had forgotten about the universe, so had the universe forgotten about the Firstborn. Their star had long since burned out, taking their planet with it. The remnants of their spacefaring lives had long disappeared, mostly by crashing into a star or being swallowed by a black hole. Their presence in the universe would have gone entirely unnoticed, hadn't their interest in it suddenly been reawakened by that which they had so long ago sought: Company.
Life had evolved, and higher lifeforms were emerging everywhere. Countless planets were now teeming with life, and the Firstborn once again paid closer attention to what was going on around them. At first they were content with watching, but before long they desired interaction with all these beings that had developed in their absence. But the material world was no longer their realm. All that was within the scope of their abilities was to encourage and suggest. A molecule here, a few atoms there; willing them together was all they were now capable of. But an idea formed in the mind of the Firstborn: A host was needed.
The search went on for aeons, but time meant less to them now, and their patience was endless. And eventually they found what they were looking for: On a small, barren planet, a multicelled bacterium closely matching the sought specifications was discovered. The Firstborn wasted no time, but got to work immediately. Subtly altering the informational molecules defining the lifeform's properties, they created their servant: A bacterium capable of rapid self-replication provided access to sufficient nurishment from a wide palette of possible substances and, most importantly: Capable of bonding together in gigantic clusters. Within these collossal blobs of bacteria, the individual bacteria assumed specialized functions, effectively turning the whole mass of bacteria into something closely mimicking higher lifeforms. Through their intense understanding of their own nature, the Firstborn had developed ways of exchanging information with the physical world, and these they put to use now: They were capable of remotely controlling these creatures of their own design, and to quickly receive detailed information through them that it otherwise took minutes or hours to gather. Once again, after an eternity of shapelesness, the Firstborn were able to physically manifest themselves.
Leaving the planet and spreading once again became a matter of waiting. Time passed, intelligence started developing everywhere, and more and more races leapt for the stars. When finally a spaceship landed on the planet, bacteria clung to its hull, and it took them away. The bacterium spread to everything it touched, and it was not long before, by and large unnoticed, the bacterium had spread to all known major interstellar civilisations. In the few instances where the bacterium was discovered, it was usually dismissed as too harmless to be of importance, and too quickly spreading to bother wiping out. Thus the Firstborn could now manifest themselves at will almost wherever they desired.
All was well until they encountered a strange race of small machines in a mostly uncharted galaxy. These machines were of the same size as the bacteria, equally numerous, and highly aggressive. The Firstborn had no idea of the origins or motivations of these machines, but they immediately assaulted the bacterium and attempted to wipe it out. The machines however were small enough to be consumed by the bacterium, and thus were perceived to be suitable food for growth. Thus a stalemate was reached: the machines destroyed the bacteria, which in return devoured the machines.
This could have gone on forever, had not another hitherto unknown race entered the field: Seemingly, these bipedal, four-limbed creatures were allies of the machines, and they were always carrying large amounts of the machines around. Wherever they went, huge amounts of the little machines killed off the bacterium even faster than it could reproduce. Finally, the Firstborn were forced to react, and they gathered higher amounts of bacteria together than they had ever before done to create gigantic sacks, devoted solely to creating and sustaining the bacterium. The balance had been reestablished, though not for long. The bipedal allies of the machines destroyed these hives wherever they encountered them, and the Firstborn were forced to take the next step: Direct intervention.
Killing an intelligent being always pained the Firstborn, but this was a war that they could not afford to lose. Losing a few patches of bacterium here or there was not an issue, but systematic eradication of the bacterium was too threatening. Suppose these machines would spread further and further, destroying more and more of the bacterium everywhere? The idea of once again being insubstantial in such an interesting universe was unbearable, and the Firstborn decided to wage war on the machines and their bipedal allies.
The Firstborn decided that the bipeds would be where to strike. By defeating these, the hives would be able to overwhelm the machines with bacteria and wipe them out. The Firstborn created various creatures to combat the bipeds: Small, fast quadrupeds with powerful jaws, slightly larger quadrupeds for supporting the fighters and healing them as well as gathering material for the construction of more hives and the creation of larger creatures, flying creatures for more support, bipedal creatures with arms bearing long claws and the ability to move at blinding speeds, and finally big quadrupeds with enormously high endurance. These creatures were not autonomous, but depended on the Firstborn for control; this prevented undesired expansion.
Many battles have been fought between the Firstborn and the allied forces of the machines and the bipeds, and there is no end in sight. Some battles the Firstborn have won, some they have lost. Neither side appears to be even close to exhaustion, but how will this end? Will the machines and the bipeds have to be wiped out? Will they previal, and wipe out the bacterium throughout the universe, condemning the Firstborn to an immaterial existence? Or will the allied expansion come to an end, ending the conflict peacefully? Perhaps something completely unforeseen is coming?
Only one thing is for certain: Even immortals are not above the rules of Natural Selection.
Topic: Firstborn (Read 4004 times)
