38ANNOUNCEMENT: EVERYONE AN EVOLVED CHALLENGE
Hey everyone,
This is a challenge for everyone who enjoy reading mass effect first contact AUs like Biknota, ME meets ST, Dark Forest and Biomass Effect, and was interested in stretching your imagination in writing alternative versions of Humanity in space-related games and fiction.
So here is your challenge: Write a story set in any universe as you want, with the major Human faction replaced entirely with Evolved from [PROTOTYPE 2]- make up your own reason that turn every Human in your universe into an equivalent of James Heller of [PROTOTYPE 2], with the ability to eat/absorb entities into themselves and obtain the appearance and abilities/properties of the absorbed entities, of which they can express/transform into/use at will. They should also be able to heal themselves by absorbing mass- Which kind of mass and how much they could heal through absorbing it is for you to decide.
Be creative in the limits and scope of your own faction- the entities your Evolved can absorb could be anything, ranging from living organisms only to everything that is made of matter. As long as you have a proper justification of the ability within your setting. With enough justification, the Evolved could even be able to develop their own forms/abilities through scientific processes- the use of technology is not prohibited, but encouraged. I would love to see how your Evolved manage to integrate and recreate technology using their own means- especially with their own Bodies/Mass.
The exact reason for turning every Human in your Universe/Story into an Evolved could be anything, as well as their microscale structure and body composition. It could be a disease like the original Games, a genetics experiment, nanotechnology, energy/space/time manipulation, magic, or any reason you could think of. With enough justification, you could even write an AU where the Evolved possessed the aforementioned powers naturally through biological evolution or being created as such (Like my story Biknota). Justify your reasons and the exact in-Universe.
The Evolved should be able to store up to a certain amount of mass-how much they can store is up to you, but make sure to justify the limits (or lack thereof) in-Universe. The original Alex Mercer or James Heller would explode in a fireball of degenerate electron plasma the instant they appeared within our universe, or the universe of Mass Effect. For example. In-Universe Justification, for example, by refinement of biomass in the chapter 2 of my Story Dark Forest: A Black, Viral Fate, should be used whenever your Evolved absorb or store Mass above the limits imposed by in-universe limits such as Volume and Density. It could be a technology, or a genetic trait, or magic, or whatever, but it must be sufficiently justified in-Universe, and (Optionally) could be increased or removed through technological advancement.
With sufficient mass, an Evolved should be able to heal themselves rapidly even when not directly absorbing anything-as long as they had enough mass to fix the damage. How rapid they heal and how much mass is needed for healing is for you to decide. But any damage, including Dismemberment and lost limbs, should be fully regenerated given sufficient mass (or other factors like energy within your universe). Again, their ability of healing should be justified in-Universe.
There should be a limit on how much could they heal after damage- the obvious one is that the mass that were used for healing must come from somewhere, and they can no longer heal once their reserves of mass is depleted. And it should be possible to kill one using some mean that you can specify in your story with proper justification- from simply depleting their energy to having to destroy every last bit of their mass. Or with other phlebotinum you specify within your Universe/Story.
The Evolved should be able to change their appearance within reasonable time-enough for infiltration and stealth to be possible on-the-fly. Additionally, if some of their abilities/powers you decide to give them (or let them obtain/develop) require a physical structure/device/change on their body, they should be able to produce, reabsorb and switch between them at will within timescales that are considered reasonable for combat. Again, both abilities should be justified in-universe.
Your Evolved should have a default appearance that are recognizable as Humans-Exotic body decoration or clothing is OK but we don't want a race of amorphous Shoggoths. If the race is Old, variations of features like skin or hair color may be allowed but they must be still recognizable as Humans. Justify the default appearance in-Universe- Especially if your race of Evolved arose naturally.
(Optionally) The Evolved could change the shape/appearance of part of their bodies to perform certain functions, such like reaching an unreachable location, or squeezing through tight gaps, or use as tools/weapons. Or to simply mix and match between different absorbed appearances and the basic appearance of the Evolved himself/herself. Justify it in-universe if you decide to add this ability.
(Optionally) If deactivated, but with mass that were still intact, an Evolved could be resurrected by a proper supply of mass and/or energy. How long can such deactivated mass remain viable is up to you to decide.
Otherwise, there are no limits-unleash your imagination and post your ideas in the comments and in my forum "Everyone An Evolved Challenge" on Story- [PROTOTYPE].
You could also write your own story and let me know!
