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The calamity was specific. Particular. One might say targeted. It didn't destroy the Earth, and it didn't kill every living thing. It only killed that which was human.
So how is a human to survive the apocalypse and thrive after it?
Simple.
They must become
UnHuman
Tales of the New World
Goodbye Nightflower
Cinéma Chaotique - Written by Oboebandgeek99
Goodbye Nightflower: Beginnings - Written by Oboebandgeek99
Haphway There - Written by Oboebandgeek99
Goodbye Nightflower: The Shining City - Written by Oboebandgeek99
Otel Entra’s Quest to find Music and become the Best Lich Rapper in the Wasteland
Otel Entra And The Demolition Derby - Written by Tropinano
Otel Entra And The Complex Disaster of Living Like a Lich - Written by Tropinano
Otel Entra And The Stupid Hat - Written by Tropinano
Otel Entra And The Cheese Wheel - Written by Tropinano
Thur'lex the Devourer
The Heartwarming Tale of Thur'lex the Devourer - Written by Mooagain
Thur'lex the Devourer (And Its Eternal Servant Bernie) - Written by Mooagain
Thur'lex the Devourer Commits Voter Fraud - Written by Mooagain
Thur'lex The Devourer Wins A Fight - Written by Mooagain
Thur'lex The Devourer Conquers A Small House - Written by Mooagain
Thur'lex the Devourer Is Barely In This One - Written by Mooagain
SCP-6550 - Thur'lex the Devourer - Written by Mooagain
Other Tales
The Unhuman Experience: Former Prime Minister Harold Holt - Written by Tstaffor
Color and Light - Written by Oboebandgeek99
With Astraeus Watching Over - Written by Oboebandgeek99
Remnants of the Foundation
The Omni Bot
Jalick and the Omni Bot - Written by Marceline_Raynes
SCP-6801 - The Promethean, The Mech, and the Omni Bot - Written by Marceline_Raynes
Molly on the Shore
SCP-5825 - Molly on the Shore - Written by Oboebandgeek99
Ship to Wreck - Written by Oboebandgeek99
Siren Song - Written by Oboebandgeek99
Sanctuary-64
Do Androids Dream of Sanctuary? - Written by BlueJones
Unhuman, Not Inhumane - Written by Quadraginta
Médecin, Not Medicine
Oh Lord - Written by tiredsn0w
Rapid Departure II - Written by tiredsn0w
That's Not Love, Isabel - Written by tiredsn0w
So... Your Relationship - Written by tiredsn0w
Jailbreak - Written by tiredsn0w
Médecin, Not Medicine: Suppléments
Cracked and Broken - Written by tiredsn0w
Galaxy of Scars- Written by tiredsn0w
Other Documentation
SCP-6060 - Only Human - Written by Mew-ltiverse and
Oboebandgeek99
The Bright Pit - Written by Marceline_Raynes
SCP-7220 - I, Not Robot - Written by Mooagain
Beyond the Rubicon - Written by Ralliston
Remnants of the Others
The Icarus Takes Flight - Written by BlueJones
Corporate Dealings After The Calamity - Written by Kensing
Overview
UnHuman is a complex but highly flexible setting. Here are the basics:
- At some point in the vague now-ish, a "calamity" came along that killed anything "fully human."
- Nobody saw this Calamity coming, not even the Foundation.
- However, humanity survived in the form of anomalous humans who were somehow not considered fully human.
- Additionally, some were brought back afterward due to the influence the anomalous had on them.
- Additionally additionally, some beings came to this planet after the calamity.
- Many of these "unhumans" (as they'll collectively be referred to from here on out) have some kind of conditional immortality; they're immortal, but at a cost.
- The calamity didn't kill anything that wasn't human, even if it had human intelligence.
- Despite undergoing severe and sudden ecological change, life on earth continued and even thrived in some cases.
- Some unhumans banded together and formed communities; others became scavengers and roam the world.
- Most unhumans are capable of learning some kind of magic.
- The influence of the Foundation and other GoIs on the world is indirect, as most who survived were unaware of these groups.
UnHuman as a setting is generally best used for adventure and character driven stories without the political machinations of world powers interfering. Keep reading to learn more about the specifics, or check out the "How to write" tab if you want to contribute.
The Calamity
- An unspecified amount of time ago, something happened that seemingly wiped out every single human on earth.
- Nobody knows exactly what this apocalypse was; immortals suspect that the event either had some memory wiping thing attached, or else was so traumatic that everyone who lived through it immediately blocked out the memories.
- SCP-2000 didn't work, or anyone who knew of its existence died; either the apocalyptic force knew about SCP-2000 and targeted it or just straight up wiped out everything so completely that nobody knows it exists.
- Same goes for any other apocalypse fixing/preventing SCP.
- That said, the location and machinery at 2000 still exist, as do ways to the Library. Perhaps someday, someone will find them.
- Most organizations and formalized GOIs are gone. Some looser defined groups still exist (e.g. certain anomalous religious groups), and some groups formed after the Calamity; see "The Inhabitants" for more details.
The World
- There are some places reclaimed by nature, but much is still in place from the human civilization.
- Some settlements have been reclaimed from the ashes of human society, while others were formed in the middle of nowhere.
- Many live semi-typical lives in settlements, mostly cut off from the rest of the world in their own self-sustaining communities.
- Some prefer to be scavengers out in the wastelands, seemingly because this hostile life gives immortals something to do.
- Industrialization doesn't seem to be a thing anymore. If the resources are found, industrialized technology could be started up again, but outside of a small number of people wanting transportation very few seem actually interested in starting up industrialization again.
The Rules (Magic, Tech, etc.)
- Magic exists and most can learn it to some extent. Scavengers need a basic knowledge of technomancy in order to even survive, and settlers will sometimes use magic to augment their lives, particularly with medical issues.
- The most common form of magic is technomancy, using archaic magical practices to enhance technologies created after the industrial revolution.
- A common example is universal translators. Pretty much everyone has some kind of translator gadget on them that translates what other people say (like babel fish).
- Immortality is kind of a thing but not unconditionally. Some immortals who were otherwise human died in the apocalypse, but some immortality deviated enough from baseline humanity to ensure their survival. Regardless, everything that is "immortal" now still requires some basic level of self-maintenance to stay alive. There is always a cost.
The Inhabitants
As far as anyone is aware, all humans died in the apocalypse. That said, intelligent life is still found on Earth, though it's a little harder to find. Intelligent lifeforms are divided into three larger subcategories: Survs, Reeves, and News.
Survs - Survivors
Survived the apocalypse by not being fully human when it occurred.
- Shifters - Shapeshifters, typically shifting between human and animal forms. Think Vampires/Werewolves.
- Creatures - Animals of near-human or human intelligence who survived by not being human.
- Yeren - SCP-1000 or bigfoot, the Yeren are growing in numbers, forming small communities and living a peaceful nomadic lifestyle. They seem to have a complicated relationship with the humans who used to walk the earth. Are they hiding something?
- Mechs - Robots with AI that equals or surpasses human intelligence. Most are Survs, some are News.
- Civs - Normal humans descended from humans who lived through the apocalypse. Believed by most to be a myth.
Reeves - Revivors
Killed during or prior to the apocalypse and brought back later
- Liches - Humans who were dead for an indeterminate amount of time before being brought back by magic, some before the apocalypse, many after. Can look like fully formed humans, animated skeletons, or anything in between.
- Zombies Prometheans - Humans who died and were brought back shortly before the apocalypse through scientific procedures. Whereas Liches can be brought back in any state of decay at any time, Prometheans had to have been brought back shortly after death and are constantly fighting decay. Don't eat often and are often described as being a bit… off. Prometheans are much rarer than Liches.
- Ghosts - Human spirits with no physical form, thought to wander the Earth. Nobody is certain they exist, but it seems plausible enough to most.
News - New lifeforms
Came to Earth or evolved intelligence after the apocalypse.
- Aliens - Either from another planet or another dimension.
- Travelers - Time travelers who came from the past. Not many around, as time travel can be tricky and doesn't always lead to the same future.
- Evos - Lifeforms that evolved after the calamity.
So you want to write for UnHuman and you want some tips! Here's what I can tell you to get you started.
General tips
- Read this tab, as well as the verse tab.
- Don't get too bogged down with the logic/mechanics of everything. It's not necessary to explain everything in this setting.
- Have fun with it! This setting exists because I loved the idea of movie monster tropes surviving in a post-apoc world.
- In general, if you're thinking of using characters created by others for UnHuman (e.g. Candela, Otel Entra, Jalick, etc.), reach out to the original author to make sure it's okay with them and also that you're not fundamentally contradicting anything about the character.
- Once you've posted your story, add it to the hub! The general rule is "Remnants of the Foundation" is for SCP articles and stories that specifically feature the Foundation, "Remnants of the Others" is for GoI formats and stories that feature specific GoIs, and "Tales of the New World" is for tales more focused on the new setting than the world that came before it.
- If your article is part of a series, feel free to add a subheader with the name of your series under the relevant main header!
Themes
Humanity
In a post-human world, what place does humanity have? You'd expect the Wasteland to be lawless, cruel, and sometimes it can be, but often it is peaceful, cooperative. How do those who were once human deal with seemingly incontrovertible proof that they no longer are?
History
How do we interact and deal with history, especially when it seems to be lost? Who writes history? Must we always learn from the sins of the past? Or are some things better to be forgotten?
Immortality
Many of the main characters are immortal (conditionally). How do they find fulfillment in their lives? Is immortality all it's cracked up to be? What is the cost of immortality? What do you lose in becoming immortal?
Genre
- Despite taking place post-apocalypse, genre skews a lot lighter.
- Goodbye Nightflower is mostly adventure, with the main characters exploring the world they live in.
- Molly on the Shore is more of a tragic story line, but the calamity is not the real focus of the tragedy, it's the life of this researcher and her relationship to tragedy.
- Darker genres should be pretty scarce. If you're looking for grimdark, there are probably better canons to write for.
The Foundation
- The effects of the anomalous/the Foundation ripples through the canon.
- However, they're rarely the focus. It's more about how they've affected the world.
- In practice, the Foundation is no longer in existence, but certain inhabitants may remember the Foundation from before.
The Others
- Many of the other GoIs are similarly gone.
- However, this is not the case for all GoIs. Many anomalous religious groups such as Sarkic Cults and the Church of the Broken God still exist in some form or another.
- Much like the Foundation, the effects of the other GoIs also weigh on the canon.