The First Superhuman: Rebuilding Civilization from the Moon

The interrogation of the Planet Dige natives proceeded swiftly.

Aside from the fact that all the captives had visibly gained weight—clearly, life in Federation captivity offered better food than a post-apocalyptic wasteland, there were no major incidents.

Thanks to the tireless efforts of the biology and linguistics teams, the Federation quickly cracked their language and gathered a wealth of detailed information.

The first major revelation left everyone stunned:

This civilization possessed an incredibly long history. According to their records, their civilization was 120,000 years old.

One hundred and twenty thousand years! That timespan completely eclipsed the history of humanity and even the Nix civilization.

Yet, despite this vast stretch of time, their technological progress had barely crawled forward, falling far behind the Nix, who had only existed for a few millennia.

It was almost unbelievable. Their societal development had been trapped in a vicious cycle of stagnation. Something massive had been actively hindering their scientific progress.

To address this, a high-level briefing was convened in the primary conference room of the Titan Z. Military officers, biologists, sociologists, and senior government officials, including Jason, gathered in a heated discussion.

Their goal was to understand the fundamental nature of this civilization, capture the elusive entity known as "Gaia," and uncover how these natives had reduced their own world to a radioactive wasteland.

Jason’s sense of urgency grew by the day; they needed actionable intelligence, and they needed it now.

Based on the evidence gathered, "Gaia" had played an undeniable role in the development of the Planet Dige civilization.

Once the attendees settled in, a young female presenter stepped up to the podium. She brought up a series of images and translated text on the main holographic screen.

Taking a deep breath, she spoke with a serious tone. "Ladies and gentlemen, the data confirms that the natives of Planet Dige operate as a deeply religious civilization. The core object of their worship is highly likely the entity we refer to as Gaia. However, they have never maintained a strict tradition of recording history. The figure of 120,000 years is merely a rough estimate based on oral traditions."

"No historical documents?" Jason was taken aback. "That complicates things."

It was not entirely unprecedented. Even on Earth, many ancient nomadic tribes and forgotten empires of antiquity lacked dedicated historians.

Once those civilizations collapsed, their true history was lost to time.

The Dige natives were in a similar situation. Countless regimes had risen and fallen over the millennia, leaving behind no concrete records, making their exact timeline impossible to verify.

The presenter continued, "While the exact dates are lost, we can still trace the influence of ’Gaia’ through their religious texts, epics, and myths. These stories have been passed down orally for tens of thousands of years. While much of it is undoubtedly fabricated or exaggerated, core elements are likely based on historical facts. We must analyze them critically."

Through her presentation, the religious and cultural evolution of the Planet Dige civilization began to take shape.

First, she covered their biological background. The Dige natives were an intelligent, amphibious species born from the ocean. Their most defining physical trait was their thick, paddle-like tail, which had never evolved out of their genetic code.

On a planet with such a high volume of surface water, this tail was an incredible evolutionary advantage, allowing them to swim with immense speed and agility. Any average Dige native could easily outpace a human Olympic swimmer.

"Even today, their swimming instincts remain flawless. They can swim from the moment they are born," the presenter explained.

"However, to adapt to long-term survival on land, they evolved sweat glands. This prevented heatstroke under the planet’s scorching sun, but it cost them their ancestral ability to breathe through their skin. As a result, just like us, they cannot breathe underwater. They can, and do, drown."

Small robotic drones quietly moved through the room, distributing the detailed biological reports to each attendee.

Jason skimmed through his copy, nodding thoughtfully. Their internal physical structure and genetic makeup are entirely alien compared to ours. Is their facial resemblance to humanity just a bizarre coincidence of parallel evolution?

The biologists were still investigating the cause of this uncanny resemblance, but answers were unlikely to surface in the short term.

Returning to the presentation, it was clear that these amphibious beings were highly adaptable, capable of foraging on land and hunting in the sea. But their environment dictated their evolution.

Planet Dige was extremely similar to Earth, with three major exceptions: a significantly higher ratio of ocean to landmass, moons that orbited much closer to the planet, and the ancient, lingering presence of "Gaia."

These distinct environmental factors had driven their societal evolution down a radically different path.

"Because of this ancient ’Gaia’ entity, their culture morphed into one of fanatical religious devotion," the presenter noted. "And this brings us to our first major deduction regarding the entity. Whether it has been around for 120,000 years or not, Gaia has existed since their ancient antiquity. However, based on their oldest myths, the ancient Gaia did not possess the high-level intelligence or true self-awareness it displays today."

Hearing a familiar voice whispering behind him, Jason turned around to see Professor Hazel discussing the data with his colleagues.

"Professor," Jason asked, gesturing to the podium, "is this presenter one of your students? What is her name?"

"That is Karina. She is only forty years old," Professor Hazel replied with a proud smile. "The rapid advancements in cosmic sociology are heavily reliant on brilliant young minds like hers."

Karina was not intimidated by the room full of high-ranking officials. She was thoroughly prepared and continued flawlessly.

"In their most primitive era, the early Dige natives lived exclusively along the coasts, relying on their swimming abilities to hunt in the shallow waters.

However, the ocean was incredibly dangerous. Because this planet’s moons orbit so closely, the gravitational tidal forces are immense. The oceans are volatile, and massive tsunamis are a frequent, devastating occurrence."

She brought up simulated tidal models on the screen. "Hunting at sea, even close to the shore, carried a high risk of death. When the ocean surged, it could effortlessly swallow entire coastal settlements.

Their survival depended entirely on the sea, which led to a complex psychological blend of deep admiration and primal terror."

"The fear of death and the unknown is a universal trait among intelligent life. Thus, before they even developed a written language, their first religion was born: the worship of the Sea God, ’Umorlu’."

Jason nodded in agreement. This societal progression made logical sense. Primitive civilizations often assign divine attributes to natural forces they cannot comprehend or control. Believing that death simply meant returning to the embrace of the Sea God provided massive psychological comfort to the early Dige natives.

The mythos of the Sea God Umorlu became the absolute foundation of their culture. They believed that all life originated from the sea and would eventually return to it.

The sun rose and set over the water. The moons emerged from the tides. The ocean was endless, omnipotent, and absolute.

Normally, as a civilization develops a scientific method, primitive nature worship fades away. But for the natives of Planet Dige, the exact opposite happened.

Over the course of 120,000 years, their religious fanaticism didn’t disappear—it evolved, intensified, and completely consumed them.

And that was the most terrifying mystery of all.

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