Science fiction authors and readers
love aliens. My aim is to inspire writers with ideas from weird aliens in
fiction and from the perspective of a scientist with a life-long interest in
the diversity of life on our planet. Writers can make their alien creations believable by describing them using different senses - sight, sound, smell.
Biology facts will be interspersed
with fictitious life forms.
Weird biology fact: We have traces
of viral DNA in our genomes.
First, what are aliens? Aliens are
intended to have inhuman characteristics. I will use broad categories of
humanoid, animal based and other.
Human-like
aliens are common in science fiction stories, and a degree of physical compatibility may be desirable,
although not essential. Humanoids predominate in video media, partly because
they are easier to represent. Consider Dr Who: even the exterminating
Daleks are mutated humans in a robotic shell.
In my series, Atrapako on Eden, the Atrapako are another extreme example. They have
adapted to the harsh conditions on their planet by developing thick scales and
claws as well as other physiological changes.
Animal-like aliens are also common,
and many resemble people in fur. Felines are popular, such as the lion-like
Hani of C.J. Cherryh, Anne McCaffrey’s Hrubbans, and the Kzinti of Larry Niven.
Mythological Dragons are clearly
related to reptiles and fall into the category of animal-like aliens. I have
dragons and other reptiles inhabiting the Planet Sythos in my story, Grand Master’s Pawn. Their voices sound like hisses or croaks.
One early example of non-humanoid
aliens is described in the War of the Worlds (1897) by WG Wells.
Piers Anthony in his Cluster series
created a variety of non-humanoid sentient aliens. He used the unifying theme
of aura as a means of communication and exchange of minds into different
bodies. In Thousandstar (1980), a humanoid woman falls in love with an alien
resembling a giant amoeba (my description).
Adrian Tchaikovsky has fun with
insect characteristics in humans in the Apt series.
My book, A Tale of Two Colonies, describes a planet inhabited by giant
arthropods. Carnivorous insectoids also inhabit a planet in Grand Master’s Pawn.
Weird biology fact: Insect
metamorphosis means that delicate winged butterflies with six legs are the
adult forms of squiggly, voracious caterpillars with many legs and
prolegs.
Think of the myriad varieties of
animals living in the sea. Many are spineless invertebrate animals such as
jellyfish, sea cucumbers, and squid.
I have an octopus-like creature in Grand Master’s Pawn, and a tentacled
worm in Grand Master’s Game.
Weird biology fact: squid
communicate by changing color.
Intelligent plant-based aliens are
less common. They include Tolkien’s Ents, which are essentially walking,
talking trees. Carnivorous plant-like aliens are popular, such as the walking
plants with lethal stings from John Wyndham’s The Day of the Triffids (1951).
I introduced a planetoid Grand
Master shaped like a giant flower with three petals in Grand Master’s Game. She walks on her roots and rustle her leaves to speak.
Weird biology fact: carnivorous
plants can move fast, but they cannot walk. On the other hand, some seeds fly!
Can you imagine intelligent microbes?
Bacteria, aka prokaryotes, can survive in extremely hostile environments, in
soil, ice, boiling springs. They communicate via chemical messages and exchange
pieces of DNA, like the genes for antibiotic resistance. Different bacteria can
combine in a colony called a biofilm. What fascinating elements for novel
aliens!
My book, Grand Master’s Game, includes an amoeboid called Umloa. He communicates by smells.
Weird biology fact: the descendants
of ancient bacteria live in your cells as the energy producing
mitochondria.
Aliens can include entities of gas
or pure energy. Sir Fred Hoyle, the eminent English astronomer, disputed the
Big Bang theory. His 1957 novel, The Black Cloud, explores the idea of an
intelligent interstellar cloud. Aliens can be entities of pure energy, although
they may be obvious of us.
I hope some of these weird life
forms will inspire you to create unique and believable aliens in your
stories.
Science Fiction
Books by Aurora Springer
A Tale of Two Colonies: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MFY8A5Q
Author Bio:
Aurora Springer is a scientist morphing into a
novelist. She has a PhD in molecular biophysics and discovers science facts in
her day job. She has invented adventures in weird worlds for as long as she can
remember. In 2014, Aurora achieved her life-long ambition to publish her
stories. Her works are character-driven romances set in weird worlds described
with a sprinkle of humor. Some of the stories were composed thirty years ago. She
was born in the UK and lives in Atlanta with her husband, a dog and two cats to
sit on the keyboard. Her hobbies, besides reading and writing, include outdoor
activities like gardening, watching wildlife, hiking and canoeing.
Media links:
Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Aurora-Springer/e/B00K2C4NL8
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/AuroraSpringer
