Subject (All Tomorrows)

The Subjects were a diversified group of posthuman species created from the Bug Facers by the Gravital and the only biological species in the Gravital empire.

Not realizing that biological lifeforms are in fact life, the Gravital wiped out nearly all biological species. However, for reasons unknown, one of the first worlds they conquered, that of the Bug Facers, was not completely wiped out. They were instead used in genetic engineering to be remade as the Gravitals pleased.

To the Gravitals, genetically altering lifeforms was no more morally questionable than recycling trash or rebuilding a computer, and so the Subjects were made into several types and variants. Some variants were laborers, some were servants and several were even objects of utility, like cell cultures for gas exchange and water filtering.

There were several extreme subspecies and variants that were only used for entertainment and/or works of live art, like the creature on the right in the info box picture, designed to play its modified fingers like a set of drums while ululating the tunes of a certain pop song. Some variants also had religious reasons; such as the entity on the left in the infobox picture; these subspecies were solely bred for zealous sacrifices.

There were some factions of the Gravital empire which developed, through science, philosophy, and religion, an understanding of the universality of life and the common origin of organic and mechanical humanities. Initially, they lived in seclusion and created Subjects that were allowed to do as they pleased. Eventually, the movement gained enough momentum that it could be practiced openly without being punished. Some Gravitals even fell in love with their subjects.

The seething intolerance between the two factions finally broke when some Tolerant Machines wanted to set several worlds aside for the unrestricted development of biological life. All hell broke loose, and the Machine Empire, the apparently seamless monolith of the galaxy, experienced its first short, bitter civil war.

After the civil war, the Gravital Empire looked for a new enemy to unite against, and they found it in the form of the Asteromorphs. After a long and gruesome war, the Asteromorphs wiped out the Gravital, and remade them as the New Machines. The Subject species survived both the Gravital civil war and the war between the Gravitals and Asteromorphs. The Asteromorphs used the Subjects to repopulate the Milky Way and create new worlds populated by their descendant species. This effort was keenly supervised by the Terrestrials.

As the new empire was spanning the whole of the Milky Way, the humans tried to make contact with the indigenous folk of the surrounding nebulae, while still being cautious given their history with alien invasions like the Qu and maybe the invaders that attacked the Bug Facers.

After a time, they found another civilization in the form of a diverse empire ruled by the Amphicephali. Like the posthumans, the Amphicephali had a rich and diverse history and were cautious, but both species finally proved to be mature enough to make contact peacefully. They were the first species to peacefully make contact with humanity, but not the last.

Together, the united galaxies eventually destroyed the Qu, cradled their suns with artificial shells, crisscrossed interstellar space with wormholes, and made travel a thing of the past.

By the time of the All Tomorrows afterword, all of humanity has disappeared for unknown reasons. Maybe they went extinct through some unknown war or the empire slowly fell apart, leaving colonies to face their own fates by themselves or maybe they evolved and existed in another a higher dimesions. The nonhuman Author of the book doesn't know.

Appearances

 * All Tomorrows, by C. M. Koseman (2006)

Fun Fact
The Subjects worship and respect Terrestrials like gods