Season 8 - Episode 1 - The Progenitors

There are billions of stars, millions of planets, but only one man, Terrance "Doog" McDoogal. Welcome to LIU Atlas.


                                                     LIU Atlas - The Progenitors


The Ludgonian Industrial Union’s galaxy contains billions of stars and planets. Unfortunately, most residents of the LIU could only name a handful of these worlds. In order to improve astronomy grades across the LIU, TV2 has started a new program called LIU Atlas. Follow our host, Terrance McDoogal, as he takes you on a tour across the LIU and some of its more obscure worlds.


Note: This episode is presented in full screen. The corresponding dialogue is underneath each photo.

Doog: “Welcome to Season Eight of LIU Atlas. I’m your host, Terrance “Doog” McDoogal. If you watched the season finale of Season Seven, then you know I disappeared for a bit. I activated a ancient device, by accident, apparently, which transported me by unknown means to another world.”

Magistrate: “Why are you talking like that? Just tell us what happened.”
Doog: “I am, I am. But I’m also trying to make a TV Show, you know, for efficiency and stuff. The people are going to want to hear about the Progenitors.”
Magistrate: “If we don’t like what we hear, no one is ever going to see this. We’ll insure that you disappear for real this time… if you know what I mean.”
Doog: “Indeed. May I continue?”

Doog: “The travel I underwent in the device is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced, at least, while I‘ve been sober. I’ve traveled via wormhole on a few occasions, like on Ignea Avis and Saccer Numos, but this was totally different. It was almost like I was standing still and the galaxy was expanding around me. Like a pocket of the galaxy had been locked away and finally opened. A bright star was the last to unfold. I was later told this star is called Primus Sidus. The Progenitors say it was the galaxy’s first star.”

Doog: “After the star emerged into existence, I started to move forward, but I didn’t see any planets. Before I knew what has happening, space began to unfold further. I was now in some sort of room, standing before a council of strange beings. They turned out to be the Progenitors.”

Doog: “Being the superb journalist that I am, I deflected their initial questions to buy myself time…”

Magistrate: “You ordered tacos. We saw that bit of footage. Not exactly first contact material.”
Doog: “Ok, fine…I panicked. Tacos were the first thing that came to mind. When you work a job that barely allows you to afford food, it’s hard not to have tacos on the mind. Speaking of which, where were we on the whole taco thing? Are there tacos coming or what?”
Magistrate: “There’s a bullet coming, if you say the word taco one more time. Please continue.”

Doog: “Ok, where was I? Oh yeah, so, my deflection worked. The Progenitors agreed that my travels may have caused some physical stresses. They were unsure how other beings, specifically, corporeal beings, would handle their transportation process. They took me into this amazing room.”
Magistrate: “What made it so amazing?”

Doog: “Practically anything I dreamed up sprang into existence. All my favorite foods and drinks just suddenly appeared right before me. It was a miraculous feast. I began to wonder what other things were possible in this magical room…”

Doog: “…but the Progenitors started to draw the line.”

Doog: “As I recovered from a food coma, I finally had to face some questions from the Progenitors. They were interested in how I solved their device. It was apparently left behind as some sort of test. Only a truly advanced race could have figured it out. Judging by how much the Progenitors talked up this device, I started to have doubts that my whole ‘look at it sideways’ approach was right. I tried to explain things as vaguely as possible.”

Progenitor: “I don’t understand. Perhaps some of your language’s syntax is being mistranslated. You said that you solved it by looking through different perspectives? Are you referring to dimensional perspectives?” 
Doog: “Uh, yeah. Totally. My race likes to speak in metaphors and stuff. You probably can‘t translate those…or something.”

Doog: “Anyway, after deflecting more questions, I finally turned the tables on the Progenitors. It was time for this journalist to get some information of my own.”

Doog: “Can I get your taco recipe? How did you make those appear like that? Can you make that happen on my ship?”

Magistrate: “Of all the questions you could have asked…you asked for a taco recipe!?”
Doog: “Relax, relax. I had other questions eventually. I found out a lot about the Progenitors.”
Magistrate: “Like what?”

Doog: “Well, I guess I should start at the beginning. The Progenitors is just the name we gave them. They refer to themselves as the Primum, which means ‘first’ in their language. They were the first sentient beings to emerge in this galaxy. They know this to be true, as their star, Primus Sidus, was one of the first stars to form in the fledgling galaxy.”

Doog: “Their homeworld, known as Vita Fons, was the system’s only planet. The stars of this age contained very few heavy elements or metals, so a planet like Vita Fons was extremely rare. The Primum evolved over the course of hundreds of millions of years, from single cell organisms, to sea-creatures, to land animals, to upright sentient beings. Pretty standard evolution stuff, or so I’m told. I may have missed a few parts of that whole process.”

Doog: “The Progenitors…excuse me…the Primum, were quick to master the basics of civilization: language, art, science, law, et cetera. Their culture quickly advanced. Violence, war, and resource competition were never part of this culture. It wasn’t in their genes. It allowed for a cooperative society that focused on survival, science, and satisfaction.” 

Doog: “With this mindset, the Primum advanced exponentially. They made great strides in science and technology. Eventually, they set their sights off world and became the galaxy’s first interstellar explorers.”

Doog: “As their technology advanced, the Primum explored more and more of the actively forming galaxy. However, at this point in galactic history, there were no other sentient beings to be found. Most of the worlds they encountered were too new or still too hostile for life. The Primum realized that the galaxy was a pretty lonely place.” 

Doog: “The Primum abandoned their hope of finding companionship in the stars, at least, for a while. This started a new age on Vita Fons, known as the Era of Self…or something like that. Food coma hit hard for a bit, and I did a bit of intermittent napping. Anyway, the Primum began focusing more on bettering themselves. I guess you can call it a period of introspection. The Primum would emerge from this era, which lasted millions of years, completely different than before.” 

Doog: “The Primum underwent many further forms of evolution during this period. Many of these were purposeful, physical manipulations of the body. Cybernetics and nanotechnology transformed the Primum from the corporeal beings they once were, to the energy beings they are now. Things got really deep from there. They were getting all philosophical and stuff. They said that all life is made from energy. Sometimes it is trapped in a physical restraint, like a body. They had only freed themselves from their physical restraints…or something like that.”

Doog: “Anywho, I was getting a bit sluggish. So, we stopped for a bit of dessert.”
Magistrate: “Feel free to cut out these impertinent segments of information.”
Doog: “Excuse me sir, but dessert is never irrelevant.”

Doog: “With millions of years passing, the Primum once gain set their eyes on exploration. Life, it seems, was now prevalent in the galaxy. Thousands of cultures of all imaginable forms had emerged during the Primum’s absence. Most were not very advanced.”

Doog: “The Primum’s energy bodies were not very viable away from Primus Sidus, their star, so they used advanced exo-suits when exploring. The primitive cultures at that time were mesmerized by the mechanical suits, often misinterpreting…”

Doog: “…the Primum as gods. The Primum found that it was difficult to have meaningful interaction with these lesser evolved species. I guess it is like finding an ant for the first time and trying to discuss poetry with it.”

Doog: “Many of the interactions between the Primum and other species led to negative changes to the latter. These species developed varying religions and mythology based on the Primum. This slowed their progress in science and technology. Varying religious views led to infighting and war. The Primum were dejected to have caused such a ripple in these species’ development. They agreed to once again retreat for a period of introspection.”

Doog: “Before retreating though, they made one last disturbing discovery. They had been too eager to explore the stars before the Era of Self. They had failed to take appropriate precautions during their explorations. They had, in fact, spread microorganisms from their homeworld to the millions of worlds they had visited. Many of these organisms evolved to cope with these new environments. The Primum had inadvertently seeded the galaxy with life."

Magistrate: “Are you saying that the Progenitor created all the races of the galaxy?”
Doog: “Not intentionally, and not every species. But you’ll note that many of the species in this galaxy have very similar features. Bi-pedal, eyes, mouth, vocal structures, and so on. The reason we are so similar, is because many of us evolved from a common microorganism. In fact, the Tironians and the Hiemiens, are just two of the millions of species that evolved from the microorganisms, that just so happen to have evolved similarly to the Primum.”
Magistrate: “So it’s more a convergent evolution thing?”
Doog: “I guess it’s a little bit of both. We are very similar at the core, but also very different. At this point, we share very little in common genetically, but at one point, we were all practically the same.”
Magistrate: “This is, of course, what you recollect from the Progenitors. You may be remembering incorrectly. We’ve seen your record, everything you’ve said here must be taken with a grain of salt.”
Doog: “I’m pretty sure I got that part right, but you can believe what you believe.”
Magistrate: “Noted. And where are these Progenitors now?”

Doog: “They have returned to introspection. They’re afraid their return will cause more damage. They do interact with us through various means though. They left behind clues to their existence that only advanced races could solve, including the star gardens and the temple on Euripus.”
Magistrate: “Yes, but, physically, where are they? Where is Primus Sidus and Vita Fons?”

Doog: “I honestly have no idea. According to the Primum, they have hidden their world from the rest of the galaxy until more species truly awaken, whatever that means.”
Magistrate: “Have we not awakened? We have reversed engineered many of the Progenitors’ technologies. Do they fear us?”
Doog: “I’m not sure, but I don’t think they necessarily mean technologically. I think they are looking for intellectual equals. I’m sure the LIU doesn’t care what I think, but I think the science behind the temple on Euripus is the key to finding the Progenitors.”
Magistrate: “So, you don’t know how to find them again?”
Doog: “I don’t know how I found them in the first place. I think they figured that out after a while. They began pressing the issue on solving the Euripus device. They asked how many levels of space we’ve found. I could only name three: hyperspace, subspace, and real space. That apparently was the nail in the coffin.”
Magistrate: “So there is more?”
Doog: “You’re asking the wrong guy.”
Magistrate: “Very well.”

Magistrate: “We appreciate you being so forthcoming. Of course, we’ll need to re-interview you a few hundred times to make sure we have all the information.”
Doog: “Then I’m free? What about my crew?”
Magistrate: “Free? Nope. You guys will, at the least, being doing some hard labor for your actions. After that, well, the LIU Executives will decide.”
Doog: “Hmm...and the taco situation? How will that be resolved?”
Magistrate: “I told you I was going to shoot you in the face if you continued with these taco requests…”
Doog: “Well yeah, but that was before the whole hard labor thing. I thought I’d risk it. Face shot might be better than labor.”

Doog: “Well folks, the Primum were pretty interesting. They are much more advanced than I could ever explain. They are rightfully referred to as the Progenitors, as it is evident that they are a common ancestor to almost all advanced races in the galaxy. Besides that, they have also been ingrained in galactic culture. They are worshiped by some. Their technology helps others. Even their language, and the names they gave all the planets, play important roles in the galaxy. I wish I had more time to figure out even more. Maybe we will advance enough to visit them in a official capacity next time. Who knows. See ya!”



Note: Most of the stars and planets in the LIU Galaxy have names derived from the Progenitor’s language. This language is often referred to as the Ancient Language. Some inhabitants of the galaxy received these names from the Progenitors themselves, others were derived from recovered Progenitor maps.

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