Scottish geologist Dougal Dixon published a book called
Man After Man: An Anthropology of the Future. This speculative work aims to provide examples of future human evolution. As a fair warning, we should specify that the images might prove offensive as they’ve already managed to cause quite a stir when the book was published.
According to the narrative, the humans of the near future started exploring the possibilities of genetic engineering. In a period of 200 years they managed to create several species showcasing extremely weird adaptations that humans had never possessed before. They did so because they needed to gather what resources were left on an increasingly polluted Earth that was slowly becoming uninhabitable. Humanity was preparing to leave its home planet and they needed adapted workers in order to prepare their departure.
One such product of genetic morphing is what the author calls the aquamorph or Homo aquaticus. This version of modified human has a streamlined body, gills placed on its chest and an insulated blubber layer. It has smooth skin with a low drag factor and its legs now sport paddle-like attachments.
Another example is Homo caelestis or the vacuumorph. If you thought aquatic humans were far-fetched, you’ll be pleased to hear that the vacumorphs were engineered to survive in outer space. Their anatomy consists of a basic body structure on top of which special organs were grafted. Vacuumorphs have a thick radiation-proof skin and tinted eyes to protect them from the sun rays.
A new species called hiteks or Homo sapiens machinadiumentum arises. They are totally technology-dependent beings, cyborgs if you will. They continue to engineer new human species and produce several species better adapted to the changing environment.The remaining human species go on to evolve and fill up the now vacant ecological niches.
Initially, the hiteks created four variations on the Homo sapiens sapiens, engineering them to possess lower intellect, thus ensuring that they would not go on to evolve into a technological society and bring environmental collapse once again. They were also immune to pathogens and poisons.
Descendants of the Tundra Dwellers were engineered to produce insulating fat layers and their metabolisms dictated that they consumed plant matter continuously.They had very low intelligence and became easy targets for distant relatives of the Woodland Dwellers that had evolved into anthropomorphic ticks.
Hivers have now established desert colonies inhabited by shared-minded individuals. They live in hives and have a hierarchy similar to a termite or ant colony. They also employ Seekers, humanoids that have lost most of their senses, except for the life-saving ability to detect water in the harsh desert.
Another weird life form is the gremlin-like Desert-Runner, a highly specialized creature. It runs over the desert on its elongated legs and cools itself by pumping blood to its huge ears. It has excellent vision although it does not detect color.
Five million years have passed since the humans left and now strange spaceships are starting to land on the Earth. The weird creatures that they carry are the descendants of the first humans, now changed beyond recognition.
Although speculative, this book relies on solid scientific zoological and evolutionary principles and does make for an interesting read. Regardless of seeming far-fetched, this scenario is by no means impossible in the future.
Locklip
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