Origins of Species
in the world of The Ancient City

Where did the people of DaughterWorld come from? And whence came the other animals and plants of that world? Wizards and Scientists, working together, are slowly finding some of the answers.

Much of the life of DaughterWorld evolved there. Fossils clearly show many extant species of plants and animals, and their ancestors, back to the most primitive forms. But not all are accounted for. Others, including humans, are believed to have "fallen" in from other worlds.

Wizards have long been able to open portals and gateways to other worlds or dimensions or planes of existence. And it is known that on rare occasions such portals will open of their own accord, remain open for a while, and then close again. Many species are believed to have entered DaughterWorld by this route. And species that evolved there have likewise spread to other worlds.

When the Wizards open a portal to a new world, they will often find some of the same species of plants and animals in both worlds. Generally the species will have many close relatives on one side and few on the other. And if fossil ancestors are found on either side, it will be the side with more close relatives. Thus the ancestral worlds of a few species or families of species have been identified.

It is easier to open portals into some worlds than to others. And there is reason to believe that the ease of opening a portal to a given world may change on a time scale of centuries to millennia. Thus the worlds that millions of years ago gave us the ancestors to many common species may now be closed to us.

And what of humanity? Many worlds are inhabited by humans, but humans did not evolve on any world so far discovered. Were humans created separately by some god, as many believe? Or is there an ancestral world that has not yet been found?

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This page was created by Tom Digby and is copyrighted with a fairly liberal "fair use" policy.

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