I write science-based science fiction because the real world around us is already so interesting; I like to think that the real-world elements in my fiction help everyday people begin exploring new things.
I sometimes struggle when I'm sci fi world building because I want my readers to know the real science, but I also want a story that’s entertaining and believable. So… embellishment.
When I’m worldbuilding creatures using a real-world species as a baseline, I have to ask myself, What biology should I keep, and what should I change?
To answer this, I’ve created a rough outline for turning a real-life species into one for science fiction.
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Five Questions to ask When Turning Real-World Species into Sci-Fi Creatures
I don’t like to have rigid rules as part of my writing process, so this is not a situation where I tick each of these boxes before deciding if and how to alter a real-world species. However, this is a list that I like to reference when deciding whether a change I want to make… well… makes sense.
Here are the five questions I ask when worldbuilding creatures:
Does the change make the world richer?
Does the change make the story more interesting?
Could the species have evolved with this morphology?
Would the change affect the species’ ability to survive?
Is there a better choice for this morphology?
For those of you who’ve been following these chats, you know that one of the peoples in my books is based on the Mexican free-tailed bat. These peoples, called the tadaribrae, have one significant difference from their baseline species: They have wings and arms.
So how did I decide that it made sense to give the tadaribrae arms? Let’s run through the list.
Does the Change Make the World Richer?
One common reason I’d want to alter a species is that my fictional world would be richer as a result of the change. This reason was, in fact, the impetus for the change that led to the tadaribrae’s arms and hands.
In the world of the tadaribrae, there is a need for spaceship engineers. As one of the physically smallest people in the Drifting Amalgams universe, it made sense for the tadaribrae to be those engineers–since they can get in and out of small spaces easily.
Their rotating arms and articulated fingers are a natural biological adaptation because bat bodies, without arms and fingers, would be unable to manipulate ship parts.
Does the Change Make the Story More Interesting?
Weirdly, changing a species’ biology can make a richer world without making a more interesting story. For instance, I could have given a creature poisonous fangs, but if they never bite anyone, what would be the purpose?
In the case of the tadaribrae, the change is important to the story. Their abilities and movements would be limited with just wings and legs for appendages.
While the bat body design works well in nature for climbing, hanging, and flying, these are basic needs. In a technological society, people need a more refined ability for movement and tool manipulation. Hence the hands.
Could the Species Have Evolved with This Morphology?
Though less important than the other four criteria on the list, the evolutionary history of a species helps me understand why a species evolved the way it did. This knowledge also helps me understand whether it could have evolved differently under different circumstances–on another planet, perhaps.
Not only is it interesting to know if nature may have already made a similar evolutionary choice, but also, aligning with a species’ evolutionary paths helps me continue to pay homage to that baseline species.
For a lot of species, though, digging into their history is not possible. Bats, the species underlying the tadaribrae, are a prime example. Despite being tens of millions of years old, bat evolution is still a mystery.
Because of this, I chose to disregard this criteria for the tadaribrae.
Would the Change Affect the Species’ Ability to Survive?
Survival is, arguably, the strongest instinct for most creatures on Earth. It is often why species evolve in the way they do. I try to respect a creature’s need to survive–even in my fictional worlds.
That makes this a significant criteria for creature morphology. I don’t want to adapt a species biology in a way that would likely cause its demise; if nothing else, that’s counterproductive.
For the tadaribrae, the arms can be tucked in when flying, and the wings can be tucked in when manipulating machinery. Additionally, their flight is not strongly affected by the weight of their arms and hands, so the extra appendages pose limited added risk to survival.
Is There a Better Choice for This Morphology?
When making a choice, sometimes it’s helpful to ask whether there is a better option. Maybe I’ve chosen to give a creature a special trait when it makes more sense to give that special trait to a different creature. I like to ask this final question to make sure.
One last time, let’s talk tadaribrae arms and hands.
As I mentioned, the tadaribrae world needs engineers, and those engineers need hands. The decision for me at this point was: Are the tadaribrae the best choice to be the engineers of this world?
Because of their size, I decided the tadaribrae are the best people for the job.
Ultimately, I came to the conclusion that arms on a bat are a reasonable creative choice. And when I discuss how I maintain a balance between fiction and real-world science, I like to share this list with people.
No balance is perfect, but this is what I consider a solid approach to fictionalizing nature.
Until next time, keep creating.