Introduction:

I have decided to make what I consider to be an epic novel (maybe that's stretching it a bit) about one of my favorite games of all time: Spore. For those who don't know, Spore is a video game that simulates evolution-you start out on a planet of your choosing and evolve from a single-celled organism into a sentient, space-faring species. After looking through the novels here on the site, I decided that while most were well-written, they were far too short and narrow-minded, especially for a game like Spore. So I'll take a crack at it. Behold the story of the Leko, an intelligent race of my design that goes on to shape the universe. Each chapter will get longer and delve into greater detail respective to the complexity of each stage in the game: cell, creature, tribal, civilization, and space. Good reading to you. And, of course, be sure to R&R.

I do not own Spore or any content within Spore that was made by Maxis or EA games.

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"First there was darkness. And then, BANG."-The Universe (History Channel)

There once was a place called the universe. In this universe, there are billions of galaxies. In these galaxies, there are billions of stars. Orbiting one of these stars, in one of these galaxies, was planet Kell. Planet Kell was fresh out of the proto-planetary disk, ready to take on the universe. So was its home star, Chen, as were the 2 balls of rock and the large, ringed ball-o-gas clinging to its orbit. Everything in the system seemed so peaceful…from the outside. The surface of Kell was a barren volcanic waste. The average temperature was 115 degrees planet wide. Nothing could hope to live there, especially considering the remarkably low level of water on the planet.

Not without a bit of outside help, anyway.

Hundreds of thousands of miles away was a cosmic seed. A rogue ball of carbon and ice that was exiled during the solar system's early days. You would know it as a comet. And it had a target.

Hurtling though space, with a trail of icy dust blowing through its wake, the comet barely misses an impact with Chen, skirting a roasting blast from a solar flare. Kell stood out against the cosmic blackness.

The comet was sucked towards the planet. It started to wobble as the gravitational pull of Kell started to rip it apart. A large chunk of the icy rock broke off and hurtled into the atmosphere, blowing a shockwave into the terrestrial waste. The main body of the comet, containing a large shard of carbon-laced water ice, screamed into the atmosphere with meteoric force. It went planet side, disappearing beneath the charred horizon. Then there was a bang. A very, very loud bang. Shards of ice and carbon pelted one of the oases of precious native water. And out of the tiniest of these shards emerged something unique. Something that the great space known as the galaxy had not yet experienced.

Out came a piece of carbon.

No, it's not the carbon that's special; it's what the carbon makes. It's the one thing missing on this waste of a planet to make life.

Within seconds of impact, the carbon bonded with nearby chemicals and water. Soon enough, the first DNA molecule was created. And then, jumpstarted by the energy of the meteor, it started to self-replicate. Life had arrived on planet Kell.

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The little cell scurried about. It had such a simple life, yet so many things to do, what with the threat of getting eaten and everything. It was the shape of a rod, with a flagellum adorning its rear, and a filter mouth attached in the front. What could pass for eyes served as its main form of sensing the outside.

It swam against the battering force of the flow, looking for anything that would pass as food. The little life had discovered the wonderful thing that is food; it had also discovered it was not alone in this strange world. Other cells had formed in this microscopic frontier, ranging from the tiny, 5-eyed Minnos to the huge black Chompers. The little cell had learned to fear the chomper and its meat-eating jaw. The jaw took away life. It wanted to keep its life, thank you.

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The Prokaryoke was the great descendant of the ancient cell, the ancient life-giving cell, but it didn't care. The Prokaryoke only wanted to live. That meant two things: it needed to eat, and it needed to not get eaten. To accomplish these goals, it bore two spike-like growths on its rear, flanking the flagella in case of attack. It also had two filter mouths to double intake. These new additions, while the result of a billion-year bout of evolution, were proven useless when a cilia-laden Punky came after the little cell. Only a lucky flow field saved the Prokaryoke from the jaws of the pink-colored Punky, which had to satisfy its hunger else ware. The Prokaryoke swam a bit, and settled at a multi-cellular colony of algae to feed. The thing lived a long life (a whole 27 hours) before combining its genetic material with another of its kind to breed, in what was the first glimmer of sexual reproduction.

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Time goes on, and planet Kell evolves. The Prokar, the genetic heirs to the Prokaryoke, rule the seas. Unlike their predecessors, their species is made up of multiple cells that are part of a whole organism. This generation boasted 3 flagella, 2 pairs of spikes, a membrane the color of caramel, and a new mouthpiece-the blood-sucking proboscis. Though many Prokar roamed the seas of Kell, one individual was in a unique situation. He got the dubious honor of being the first organism to ever suffer the pain inflicted by a Buzzy's electric sac. The Buzzy then proceeded to have its organs sucked out as the Prokaryoke nurtured itself back to health through a tasty meal.

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Odd things happen to a planet if you give it enough time. Planet Kell was no longer the wasteland it once was. Algae had floated up to the surface, and started to branch off into forms of terrestrial plant life. And as for the Proca, the genetic epitome of the seas and descendant of the Prokar, something odd had happened as well.

One Prokar individual, while hunting a Junior, had been shocked by another cells electric sac, but rather than take damage, something happened. Chemicals deep in the little fish-like creature started reacting. Electric signals started up. And for the first time ever…

The Prokar had a thought. (What this thought was about is something that will never be known, unfortunately.)

No longer did the little fish act based on the coding deep within its primordial genes. It acted on its brain. The Prokar bred, and its children had the same anatomical feature. These offspring dominated, and soon the Prokar species started to tire of the ocean. They began to dive out of the water to eat land plants. Some individuals went farther than others. Eventually, the Prokar-so adept at exploiting the world beyond the waves-made a choice.

Whatever the reasons, a single Prokar managed to crawl from the sludge onto a grassy shore. It was still alive. That was a good thing, so the Prokar let out a mating call. Several other Prokar made their way to the coast. The mates of those individuals followed.

A new age had dawned. No longer would the great species that was the Prokar be confined to the primordial ooze. They had a new world waiting for them. And sure, it was a lot dryer, but at least there is food here. It must be a good place.

The Prokar have entered the creature stage.