First published on Julian Cochran’s blog, Composing Notes, with forty-six descriptions of life. Fifteen are kept here, chosen to show their range: from fungi and weeds to creatures and to minds made of electricity, gas or particles.
I wrote a simulation that generates random stars, planets and moons with variation similar to what we see around us. The simulation was part of a large computer game project that needed to extend the universe realistically, with realistic variation and proportions, filling in details beyond what we can observe. It also simulated each planet’s environment from the planet’s size and its distance to its sun.
One of the fun features of the simulation was to add life in some of the cases where the environment was suitable for it. I consulted the astrobiologist David Darling towards the end of writing the algorithm, and for the most advanced species he emphasised that life under water should reach higher intelligence more often than life on land. Some of the results are a lot of fun to read, so I have published a few examples of the output here.
Ovax3rd planet
The planet’s environment is hard with magnificent splits within the surface. The planet’s most sophisticated species has the appearance of a primitive brown fungus. The creature reproduces by male and female exchanging genes in large groups and discharging a series of strings each with a small nodule that explodes to distribute new cells. This is vastly the most sophisticated form of life on the planet.
Ounpee3rd planet
The planet’s surface is rocky and the most interesting life form breeds on the planet’s surface. It appears as a slippery brain-like lattice which long ago settled at this planet from a distant star. Propagation involves meeting in large groups and executing mental exercises to locate the greatest of each gender.
Rhyuf Spu3rd planet
The surface environment of the planet is gaseous and the most advanced form of life exists high above the planet’s surface. It is likely to have taken control of its own evolution millions of years ago for it now appears as an immense soup of sub-atomic particles. It can be observed that the species shares information with others by firing particles in a structured format. The creature can generate great magnetic fields in any region within its widely spread body and by collecting and firing off unwanted mass it is able to accelerate throughout space.
Spite3rd planet
The surface environment of the planet is gaseous and the most interesting form of life may have once been a gas cloud but now exists as an immensely complex electrical parasite that amalgamates itself within planets and stars. The communication with members of its species involves shooting neutrinos to produce a single larger network. This species has travelled throughout outer space and collects information with great curiosity.
Bog3rd planet
The planet’s surface is hot and gaseous and the planet’s dominant species is impossible to be seen because of its sparse gaseous structure. It is capable of splitting into separate structures to propagate more effectively or stay as a large structure to consolidate its observations and solve difficult problems. It is understood that this species reproduces by the focus of energy permitting endothermic reactions involving the duplication of particles within the vast life form. This species has travelled throughout outer space and collects data about the universe to advance its immortality.
Euvoobs4th planet
The planet is hot and gaseous and the most advanced form of life exists below the planet’s surface. It can be described as a vast array of silicon circuits acting as a single brain. Propagation involves continuously dividing itself and creating new mass.
Eomluiszae1st planet
The planet’s surface can be seen to be very rocky with an arid appearance. The most advanced life form appears as a large mushroom-like plant-creature overwhelming the planet. The continuation of life involves the mating of male and female permitting natural selection. Despite being highly primitive this life form is considered exceptionally rare and the planet has become strictly protected under common intergalactic law.
Oers Aibe1st planet
The planet has a watery surface with very little atmosphere and the dominant life form lives deep beneath water. It has the appearance of a weed.
Aiptaub1st planet
The planet’s surface is very hot and gaseous and the planet’s dominant species can be described as an electrical network functioning as a highly effective brain. The communication with members of its species involves merging their networks together to function a single life form. This species is conducting scientific research with similar species from far off stars.
Ipcoi1st planet
The planet’s surface is coarse with a thick gaseous atmosphere and has liquid regions deep within the planet warmed by the planet’s core. The most interesting species lives deeply within the planet and this species has the appearance of a growth of roots with hard-shelled seeds. It is understood that this remarkable creature reproduces by the duplication of its fundamental elements triggered by the star’s radiation. Despite there having been one notable explosion in the complexity of life in the past, this is the most highly developed form of life that has continued to survive after the planet became a popular radioactive waste dump.
Pleine3rd planet
The planet’s surface is rocky and has liquid regions deep within the planet warmed by the planet’s core. The planet’s most interesting life form mostly lives slightly below the surface of the planet. It is a highly elaborate network of biological wires functioning as a highly effective mind. It can be observed that the species communicates to others by flashing ultraviolet light.
Ouzh Eecu2nd planet
The planet’s environment is hard with deep ravines and the most sophisticated species lives over the planet’s surface. This life form moves very slowly and has the basic shape of a crab with a soft shell. It is believed that this species reproduces by the mating of three genders. Two species on the planet have begun a recent conflict for the major control of resources.
Eesze6th planet
The planet’s surface is rocky with an arid appearance and the planet’s dominant life form lives on the hard surface of the planet where it can absorb the star’s rays. It has an astonishing stature with several limbs and an insect-like head built upon its red plant-like body. It can be observed that the species exchanges information with others by the expression of high-pitch sound discharges. This species has spread to many other planets in distant stars.
Dete3rd planet
The planet has great watery regions and the planet’s dominant life form lives on the planet’s surface. This creature has an appearance remarkably like a human apart from being slightly smaller and having smaller eyes. It is believed that this type of creature reproduces by a partnership of two genders. The creatures come together every star cycle to select their leaders according to what is currently fashionable.
Shaenye4th planet
The planet has a rather featureless sandstone surface with a thick gaseous atmosphere. The dominant form of life lives on the solid surface of the planet where it can absorb the star’s rays. This species is akin to a simple but uncommon carbon-based life form and this largest known life form has declined almost to extinction owing to changes within the atmosphere.
The program that wrote these grew into the one that still describes the life of Xalaria’s worlds, and much of its vocabulary survives: the soup of sub-atomic particles, the network of wires, the flashes of ultraviolet light, the leaders chosen by what is fashionable.