The Chronicles of Local Space

A fictional exploration of nearby star systems

Alien life isn’t that much different to terrestrial life. You still need a good microscope and surgical gloves.

Brennus Grady O’Hara, Hed Resercher at the Humus Xenobiolojical Laboratory, interview, 2981

Alien Life

Some worlds have alien life on them. Some life is very primitive, and other life is relatively advanced.

Humus

Humus is home to a wide variety of microbial life and a few phyla of multicellular life. The microbes swim free in the waters of the world, and have also colonised the land. In the water, some species of microbes form streamers and mats. Like terrestrial life, Humian life is based on protein and a nucleic acid resembling DNA, but with some important differences.

The DNA analogue uses six different base pairs instead of four.
The dominant enantiomer of amino acids in Humian lifeforms is the D-enantiomer and not the L-enantiomer that is prevalent on Earth.
The amino acids used by the organisms includes several amino acids that are rare or unknown in terrestrial life.

The most common form of microbial life are subrufa (Latin for “reddish”, singular subrufum). These are reddish single-celled plants that occupy the same ecological niche on Humus as algae do on Earth. The reddish colour of these organisms is due to the dark reddish photosynthetic pigment that these organisms use instead of chlorophyll. Subrufa are built to a different body plan to terrestrial algae. They lack cell walls and the organelles that perform photosynthesis lack DNA. Many species of subrufa possess flagella and are able to swim freely. Freeswimming subrufa have been shown to possess the ability to swim towards a light source. Some scientists believe that some freeswimming subrufa are also able to evade predators and other dangers, but this has not been demonstrated conclusively in the laboratory.

Another common form of microbial life are the cimecula (Latin for “little bugs”, singular cimeculum) which closely resemble terrestrial bacteria. These vary in complexity. Some are relatively simple creatures with few distinguishable organelles, and others are more complex with flagella, cilia, eyespots and other complex organelles. These consume other creatures for their food. Many cimecula are omnivorous, but some consume carrion, some consume other organic material or waste products, and some feed on live prey.

Humus also bears primitive multicellular life. These multicellular lifeforms are broadly grouped into five groups:

Hairfurns are reddish aquatic plants with delicate long branches. Most species of hairfurns float freely in the water but some of them are fixed in place like terrestrial plants.
Plantimals are more compact organisms that are intermediate between terrestrial plants and animals. They are somewhat amorphous like terrestrial sponges but also have some structure. Their upper surfaces are red with photosynthetic organs, and underneath they have stubby or lumpy appendages that they use as feet and numerous pocketlike slits leading into internal cavities. They appear to be multicellular relatives of subrufa and share many common features with them. They are able to photosynthesise, but also possess pocketlike organs that digest food. Mostly they consume debris on the bottoms of shallow seas, but some species of plantimals actively hunt out microbe mats and consume them.
Spongetubes are sessile spongelike organisms that filter the waters for food. Many species of spongetubes possess long tubes that wave freely in the water.
Mattressoids are mattress-shaped freeswimming creatures that undulate through the water like a person in a sleeping bag.
Humiwurms are tiny wormlike creatures that resemble terrestrial flatworms. They have a bodyplan with bilateral symmetry and possess primitive organs. These worms are believed to resemble the ancestors of all higher animals on the Earth. Colonies of humiwurms are kept in laboratories all over Local Space for study.

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