Generations

Humanity depleted the earth’s petroleum, poisoned the air and sky, but they also moved beyond their crutch. They found new technologies and in so doing, moved into the stars. Not all left Earth, but most did. Those who remained behind kept contact with their distant kin for centuries before something happened to break contact.

When unmanned probes were sent to Earth, they found the majority of life on the planet had perished. The largest animals left were scarcely larger than a sparrow above the waves and even under there seemed to be a massive extinction event. Discussions were had of reviving the earth, but with most of the resources most desired for modern technologies long ago depleted, it was set aside as low priority in the face of the countless planets yet untapped.

Time passed and new life forms emerged and adapted. There is no record among humanity of what happened on earth during that period, but when they finally turned their attention on the world of their birth again 250 million years later, the vast empire of humanity was shocked to find sentient life had developed to a degree unseen on any planet they had found. Life on other planets had been found, but never had a culture and society developed beyond that of intelligent animals.

What is to follow are the recorded myth’s and stories of this new culture as told by a representative of this new race of beings. While these beings do record information of a technical nature, they have an apparent aversion to the idea of writing down their legends and history. This recording is the first time the stories have been anything but an oral tradition.

At its heart, Generations is a strange variation of a discovery tale. The stories of a young race are woven together throughout generations and have an overarching progression as each new version of the same characters appear. Not simply vehicles to move the plot forward, the characters are central to the plot, with what they do and what they learn displaying the heart of the final culture who tell their tales.

What is the meaning of life? Who am I? Why are we here. Questions that millions of years have done nothing to clarify for the humans that find them, yet these people have come to a solid grasp of at least some sense of direction. Whatever other plots may be woven into the immediate story, the end result shows a race growing and changing as it seeks out it’s place in the universe.

Overall a fascinating, thought provoking and exciting game. – Competition Reviewer

Book categories: Fiction, Games, and Science Fiction