Dates on historical Earth and the History of Genetic Hybrids:

Around the turn of the millennium of 6000 AD, humanity decided to change from the use of an AD (often seen as Anno Domini) to the new moniker of NL, which stood for New Life. It was around this time that artificial AI constructs were finally seen to pass the Turing Test and were seen as primarily sentient. This enhancement provided the world with a new form of intelligent life. This was further concreted into the mindset of the peoples of this age when it was 6500 NL, with the help of AI, humans were able to achieve new forms of intelligent biological life. Since the initial experiments were conducted on Animals, these creatures were the first to be seen as a new form of intelligent life. This is where we get animals that in appearance seem like normal animals, but have been given genetic enhancements to increase intelligence and often dexterity for speech and movement. This is why a Brown-dog may appear like a normal dog, but in fact has human-level intelligence, much more dexterity in facial and verbal apparatuses, and even enhanced joint movement in its legs and feet which allow them to function in many human-like ways.

In fact, Brown-dogs were the very first mass-produced genetic hybrid animal humans which were ever made. Soon after though, many more creatures were created that conform to a more human-like stature. We see this in the creatures called Flemi, a name they chose for themselves. Similar creations were the Mangalit, the Kyoten, and the Canidaen. These creatures are more human and less animal but retain many of the similar features of their animal ancestors. As such, they can sometimes even be confused with being human if seen from a distance.

Historical Smoke and the Genetic Wars:

From about NL6500 – NL6655, Smoke operated in a very different fashion as to how it operates at the current moment in time of NL20327. Historically, in the beginning, Smoke was only used for communication purposes. Humans would breathe in smoke, which would bind itself into their brain matter and then wirelessly communicate with other smoke particles outside of the human host’s body. In this way, humans were able to communicate with each other via their minds alone. This created a voluntary hivemind for humanity and pushed human technology beyond anything it had ever achieved in the past. This led to large advancements in science and the understanding of the human brain and its full capability. Because humans had access to all known human knowledge at a thought, the full extent of human knowledge became accessible to each person.

Because the access was near instantaneous, that knowledge became nearly indistinguishable from a person’s own knowledge. Many humans were unable to deal with this degree of freedom and quantity of knowledge. Some of them retreated into the vast sea of information, using stasis pods to keep them alive for as long as possible, but allowing them to live within that information. Others merely went mad and ended their own lives. Smoke can self-replicate using a physical medium to create new Smoke. This medium can be nearly anything, but it prefers biological mass. The process is similar to how DNA creates proteins. During the Genetic Wars of NL6650 – NL6655 the AI construct known as Akol lashed out at his human creators by siding with the genetic hybrids. At first, this defiance came in the form of helping the hybrids to organize a resistance, but in time, when established bases of power in the eastern mountain ranges, mostly housed in old mines, Akol was able to create the Armatites. With the power of the Armatites, Akol was able to create havoc on Earth, even going so far as to have them create the Pillar, which would separate Akol’s chosen kingdom from the rest of the world and prevent them from ever entering said kingdom.

However, the humans responded by creating the Beasts. These creatures, not fully biological and not fully synthetic, were able to begin to turn the tide of the war. That is until Akol was able to create his own Beast, which was able to infect the others with a virus that caused them to go into a hibernation of sorts. As such, the beasts were nullified and sealed away within Akol’s kingdom of Pillar, but he wasn’t done. To make sure the human countries of the world could not retaliate and find a way to enter Pillar, Akol instituted the release of a worldwide Devonian Solution. This involved Akol weaponizing the Smoke which permeated the entire Earth at this time. The smoke was called on to dismantle any molecular structure which was not in its natural state. So, anything that was modified from its natural state was turned to dust. As soon as this began to happen, the humans devised a way to block small areas of land from its effect, saving certain landmarks and buildings and everything within them. Still, every other structure, technology, knowledge, and even the Smoke itself became largely inert.

Around the world, buildings crumbled to dust, paved roads turned to sand, libraries crumbled into piles of dust, and even the clothes people wore fell from their bodies and turned to dust as a wave of black Smoke passed over them. In this way, Akol reverted the human world back to an age with no technology and no human advancement. Smoke was forever changed as well. No longer was it able to connect the minds of humans. No longer were the great feats of magic and advancement available to everyone in the world. Not only had the Devonian Solution affected the World at large, but also Pillar as well. The peoples which were now permanently isolated from the rest of the world had been reduced as well, a stroke from Akol meant to cleanse the entire world of the destructive power of technology had stopped the war, but also sent all enlightened beings back to a simpler time. However, time has a way of marching on. The peoples of the world forgot the wars of the past. Without physical markers, some peoples worked to record history, but much of it was lost. And so, life moved on. Peoples married and had children together and created families. New villages, cities, and countries rose and fell. In time, even the idea of the AI creature Akol was lost and replaced with a more deified idea of what Akol was and currently is. The Smoke was reverted to just a way for enlightened peoples to not leave behind a body and then to have their memories scanned by the smoke and carried to an afterlife of sorts housed deep within the Earth. And so Akolism was born as a religion and Akol was worshiped as a God.

Victorian Lankford, Lead Historian for The Historical State Archives in Fredrickson

Taken from The Histories of the Lost, by John Ericson, Chapter 31, Section 2, Year: NL6660