This week, we’re focusing on some basic background information about the world at large, crucial stuff for writing and understanding the world of Morbit beyond what our stories currently tell. All of this will be touched upon in canon works, but it sure doesn’t hurt to share this info early, especially considering we have a roleplay group in closed beta.
Lots of goodies on science and history under the cut- more to come on technology tomorrow.
Before we can go into the history of Morbit, one of the biggest topics of this week’s writeup, we have to go into some weird science- keep in mind that we’re not exactly biologists, and most of this world’s weirdness can be attributed to gods meddling where they shouldn’t. Most of this stuff isn’t meant to make perfect sense- Morbit’s biggest draw is that it’s meant as an open, creative sandbox with very little hard limits.
Science
Gods may have initially created both sapient species and ecosystems on Morbit, but their starting creations weren’t much to speak of. These beings were more abstract, made to represent their domains and ideas. Over time, these creatures evolved to match their environments- rapidly. Every hundred or so years, minor changes would develop in a species’ biology and genetics, with noticeable (but still small) differences every thousand years. This has allowed Morbitian species to develop at a much faster rate than those we know here on Earth, and for subspecies to form quickly in areas outside of a species’ origin. Gods have been known to meddle with this evolutionary process, mostly to shape a species more towards their own image or goals. After a certain point however, people began to take control of their own evolution.
History
Morbitian history is something we’re still developing, but we can disclose at the very least, information about three major eras in which Morbitian history has been recorded.
Creation Era
The creation era, also referred to as “godtime”, was the earliest period of Morbit’s history. Higher gods were placed upon the planet by unknown sources, given the ability to shape the land and create life as they pleased. These beings were just as much people as the beings they created, and made many mistakes over the course of this era. Life was created that could not sustain itself, and it took many eons for high deities to understand just how life would work. They soon realized they could not do this job without help, as a Morbitian god, while powerful and capable of unspeakable wonders, was not omnipotent. They created greater gods to rule the lands and assist in the creation of life, and the greater gods created lesser gods in order to help aid in managing it all. The gods worked together and taught each other as best they could, with most spats put to rest quickly. There was not much to fight over yet. Everyone was focused on making the planet as well rounded as possible, and setting the stage for the next era of life.
Construction Era
The construction era marked the beginning of interpersonal god relationships, the result it had on people, and the rise of civilization and society. Once sentient species could stay alive longer than a few hundred years at best, gods had finally figured out how to make this work. Sapient species were starting to evolve into capable people, and early civilization was on its way. Gods began to settle down and get to know their cosmic neighbors more- for better or for worse. The relationships between gods became complex as time went on, wars breaking out between them every few millenium. People adapted to these struggles as they would any other natural occurrence, and nothing could stop their development- aside from extinction. Deities in war would resort to wiping out as much of another god’s people as they could- severely weakening the god itself. Without people, a deity becomes extremely weak and vulnerable; the higher a god’s numbers are in both species and believers, the more powerful they become. Populations were manipulated not only by nature but the gods themselves, killing off species and causing population booms in others when it was most strategic.
People were at the mercy of whatever deities had in mind for them, and the cards that evolution dealt. It was not until they discovered the art of body modification that people were able to change their destinies- and thus began the revision era.
Revision Era
The revision era is marked down strangely in most textbooks, as the only time people can agree on is a vague point in time when body modding was globally known and theorized about- not necessarily utilized. This era is incredibly recent to modern times, as well- only a couple hundred years in, if that. Theories marked the start of the era, and early execution attempts were messy. Some deities pitched in by guiding influential figures in the field, but usually towards their own gains or goals- as usual. Artificial constructs began to appear on the streets alongside people, to contrast with the natural ones constructed by deities and their demons. Body mods of all varieties grew commonplace, and people were able to take control of their very evolution- choosing what could be modified, and how far.
The current year in modern canon is 316. This will likely not change with actual Earth time so much as it will between projects.
(??? years after TCP)
(15 years after Vest Party: Sleepwalker- formerly known as Below)
