Imagine you’re an interstellar traveler.
What sorts of alien life might you find out there in the universe?
It’s interesting to speculate on how life might evolve in the depths of a planet covered
by oceans, or the skies of a world with an atmosphere teeming with floating life.
Perhaps one day, humanity will be able to set out into the universe, and document these
unfamiliar worlds first-hand.
This concept is explored in great scientific detail in The Teeming Universe: an interstellar
field guide by speculative author and artist Christian Cline.
The book, which I have a link to down below, explores how alien life might evolve on various
types of planets much different from our own.
So, for this entry into the archive, we’ll be joining a scientific vessel on a journey
into the beyond — and will explore just some of the worlds that Cline covers in his
field guide.
Several million light-years from Earth, the first fictional planet we’re touching down
on… doesn’t look like much.
This is planet Menir, a world of ice and rock with a diminished atmosphere and high levels
of ultraviolet radiation.
Stepping out onto the surface, it seems like there isn’t any life here.
But that’s because to find life on Menir, you have to look under a microscope.
That’s right, the first alien life we’ve found is a kind of bacteria.
It might seem disappointing, and there be will much larger aliens to come later in this
entry, but even discovering microscopic life on an exoplanet would be a huge scientific
leap forward.
And just because these lifeforms look like Earth microorganisms to the untrained eye,
doesn’t mean they’re the same.
Called Menirophiles by the artist, he imagines their unique purplish-pink color helps them
reflect excess radiation; because they have hydrogen-peroxide within their bodies, instead
of water, they don’t freeze.
While such a mixture would be deadly to carbon-based Earth bacteria, menirophiles are protected
from the harsh effects by silicon in their molecular structure.
So, while the life on the desolate Menir may be tiny, it’s exceptionally resilient.
But the time has come to leave this exoplanet, and head somewhere where life gets a little
bigger…
At first glance, our next planet — Ateria — appears far more Earth-like.
With a protective atmosphere and liquid oceans, Ateria offers a much better opportunity to
find complex alien life.
Touching down on the surface, it’s a beautiful foggy day.
Out of the mist rise grand plant like structures, and the air is filled with the buzzing of
animals.
Yet we’ll find Ateria is much different than earth in one critical way…
its seasons.
On earth, seasonal change happens gradually due to earth’s axial tilt, with most animals
having numerous strategies to adapt to the predictable changes.
But due to a past asteroid impact, Ateria has a wildly elliptical orbit: meaning it
moves close to its sun for some of its orbit, and far out into the cold of space for the
rest.
This pattern means the seasons on Ateria are truly extreme… and life on this planet has
had to get creative.
Beginning with plants, we might spot Strungs, which possess a red tint to get the most out
of the sun’s slightly dimmer light.
During winters when the environment cools, Strungs partially hollow bark retains insulating
air, allowing for extra heat protection.
But other organisms — like the Fisher Crame, the first animal we’ve encountered on our
voyage — have a different strategy to survive the seasonal changes.
They might look like insects on earth, but Fisher Crames are far larger, with wingspans
of four feet, or 1.2 meters.
To outsmart the cold, these creatures simply die after laying eggs, which a new generation
emerges from when temperatures rise again to start the cycle anew.
Another insect-like creature on Ateria, the Tripperhog, has the more familiar strategy
of hibernating during the long winter, with their thick shells camouflaging them and protecting
them from harm.
Another clever solution.
Ateria is a fascinating and extreme world, but we must look to the horizon once again,
and see how much more incredible alien life can get.
The next stop on our journey is a massive fictional planet called Toreya.
The brilliant blue of the planet comes from the fact that 99% of the surface is comprised
of an incredible planetwide ocean.
Life in our own oceans can already be so alien, so you can imagine what’s under the waves
of these endless waters…
The region closest to the surface is called The Pelagic Zone — and contains entire ecosystems
founded on towering colonies of kelp-like plants.
Nicknamed ‘Heavenkelp,’ these plants can grow to an astonishing 750 feet, or 228 meters
in length — almost like underwater trees.
Among the leaves, aquatic life such as the fish-like pelagonareans seek shelter and food.
Some fish on Earth live in undersea forests of kelp or seaweed for similar reasons.
Pelagonareans, or Pelegs for short, are a highly diverse group that have evolved to
fill all manner of underwater niches.
The incredible diversity of the Pelegs makes the oceans of Toreya a teeming aquatic wilderness,
much like the richest areas of Earth’s oceans.
The artist imagines that one species of Pelegs — the gallant gulls — can even leave the
water altogether, as they’ve evolved powered flight.
Due to their aquatic ancestry, however, they still need to occasionally dive back underwater
to breathe.
But the Pelegs aren’t the only lifeforms that lurk below the waves.
Further down, in the twilight of the Bathypelagic Zone, you can find various translucent or
bioluminescent species, feeding on floating pieces of organic matter… or on each other.
And it’s here where the largest organisms on Toreya dwell: the Anoom — the most gigantic
creatures we’ve encountered on our journey so far.
They’re able to reach a staggering 250 feet, or 72 meters in length due to the vastness
of Toreya’s oceans, which the Anoom navigate on an enormous transparent sail.
Curiously, the Anoom are composed of vast colonies of jellyfish-like invertebrates,
which work together as a single giant lifeform.
And at the bottom of this planet-wide ocean, you can find the Abyssopelagic zone: where
ghostly, pale-grey species swim through the dark.
In the absence of sunlight, many lifeforms in the abyss survive off a chemical soup supplied
by hydrothermal vents, an extreme form of survival that also occurs in our own oceans
— proving life can take hold almost anywhere.
And the next imaginary planet on our interstellar journey is no exception.
At 64% of earth’s mass, Yulene is the smallest planet we’ve visited yet.
Its gravity is therefore so low it’s on the very edge of the minimum for planetary
habitability — which has had a fascinating impact on the planet’s native life.
Much of Yulene’s surface is locked in permanent ice caps, as the low gravity has resulted
in a thin atmosphere that retains little heat.
While some forms of life venture into these frozen wastes, most of the planet’s organisms
live on the warmer equatorial tundra.
Here, for the first time in our interstellar voyage, we can spot trees similar to those
on earth.
Similar doesn’t mean the same, however, and upon closer inspection of their leaves,
you can spot some key differences.
Due to a higher presence of blue visible light on Yulene, leaves have evolved to use not
chlorophyll, but the yellow pigment xanthophyll for photosynthesis.
Above the yellow foliage, you can spot the magnificent Clerei, flying animals similar
to birds or pterosaurs.
These low-gravity fliers have wingspans of nearly 40 feet, or 12 meters — which they
use to soar on mountain thermals that help them achieve lift off despite the thin atmosphere.
After mating, Clerei build nests in the branches of Yulene’s trees, raising their young in
pairs like many species of birds.
And baby Clerei are called Cerilets, which is one of my favorite details.
Clerei typically feed on animals like the aquatic Cobbleback Trate, a creature that
gets its name from a pattern of stone-colored markings that help camouflage it from predators
gliding overhead.
To lay their eggs, the Cobbleback Trate, like many freshwater Earth fish, must make a trying
voyage upstream to the frigid regions where predators are scarce.One creature that doesn’t
have to worry about predators, however, is the armored Sisobe, low-gravity grazers that
can grow up to 20 ft, or 6 meters in length.
From the edge of the tundra to the continental deserts, you can find these shaggy giants,
which move in great herds not unlike Earth bison.
And as the sun sets on Yulene, many plants let off a brilliant glow to attract pollinating
species.
It’s a dazzling display, but it’s time to continue our voyage…
And the next imagined world is perhaps the most extreme so far.
Borold is a planet that closely orbits a red dwarf star: only 20% the size of our sun,
and far cooler.
Borold is also tidally locked, with one side of the planet perpetually facing the sun in
endless day, and the other trapped in endless night.
Yet despite the harshness of Borold, there is life upon this rock.
In the less extreme twilight region between the light and dark sections of the planet,
you can find the Borold Stars.
The largest animals on this planet’s surface, these creatures can grow up to 30 ft, or 9
meters long.
Since the gravity on this planet is almost 3 times that of earth, Borolds creep slowly
across the ground — almost like giant terrestrial starfish.
The real challenge for Borold Stars, however, is food and water.
Unable to hunt due to their top speed being one mile, or 1.6 kilometers per hour, Borold
Stars simply crawl over anything edible, and crush it under their body.
And when they find water, they can drink hundreds of gallons at a time.
Borold Stars aren’t alone on this rock, however.
There are also plants… just not plants as we know them.
These are Vleian Ojur, which look like jagged, tall stones: but are actually cone-shaped
photosynthetic lifeforms most analogous to Earth trees.
Their design helps protect them from the planet’s brutal winds, which are the result of the
extreme temperature gradients produced by the planet’s tidal lock.
Our final Borold organism, however, can take advantage of these perpetual winds to achieve
lift-off.
You might not expect to find flying organisms on a world with such crushing gravity, but
Borold Kites are scavengers that let these currents carry them to their next meal.
Unique?
Certainly, but even more fantastical lifeforms might be waiting on the final stop of our
journey.
The last fictional planet we’ll be visiting is also the largest of them all.
A world somewhere between a terrestrial planet and a gas giant, Hurcelion has a thick atmosphere
divided into layered ecosystems, almost like an aerial ocean.
And it is in this atmosphere where we’ll find some of the most awe-inspiring life in
all the cosmos.
In the stratosphere, balloon-like animals float on sacs of internal hydrogen, steering
themselves through the air on specialized fins.
Many of these animals feed on greed clouds of areofoliage, groups of small floating plants
held aloft by the wind, which contribute to the high oxygen levels in Hurcelion’s atmosphere.
And feeding on the herbivores are Speldos: airborne predators which despite being twice
as long as a school bus, are quite agile.
Speldos lack jaws, but their gaping mouths are filled with teeth, so to hunt they simply
ram into their prey.
But the Speldos aren’t the true titans of these skies.
Oones are the largest animal we’ve seen on this expedition, at over three times the
size of a blue whale.
Indeed, Oones are more than just singular lifeforms, and incorporate dozens of symbiotic
species into their bodies.
Oone mites are among the most important, as they act as the colony’s guardians.
While normally docile, they become fierce protectors when the Oone they call their home
is threatened.
Sometimes, however, an Oone passes away and falls through the atmosphere to Hurcelion’s
surface, in a striking event known as an Oonefall.
Below the calmer upper-atmosphere, the surface of Hurcelion is a volcanic, stormy wasteland
— and one of the most extreme regions glimpsed so far.
Yet even here there is life, like the tiny Praglerworms, which you can spot illuminating
the dark with their bioluminescent displays.
These organisms prove, once and for all, that life can take advantage of even the most extreme
scenarios in this Teeming Universe.
Although our journey through the cosmos is over for now, Christian Cline’s book The
Teeming Universe contains many more incredible speculative worlds and alien creatures, and
I encourage you to check out the link to it below.
I’ve also included a link in the description to Astrovitae, a relatively new speculative
biology magazine you can read online for free.
The Teeming Universe was recently featured there, and they’ve got a lot of other cool
stuff too, so I wanted to spread the word to fans of the genre.
And as always, thanks for watching.
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See you in the next video.