Man After Man: An Anthropology of the Future

Man After Man: An Anthropology of the Future (1990) is a speculative book written by Scottish geologist Dougal Dixon

Dougal Dixon

-Biography:Dixon studied geology and palaeontology at the University of St. Andrews and is best known for his illustrated works of speculative fiction, which largely concern "zoologies of the future": his own visions of how human beings and animals might evolve in millions of years' time...

and illustrated by Philip Hood. The theme of the book is a science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

body horror

Body horror

Body horror, biological horror, organic horror or venereal horror is horror fiction in which the horror is principally derived from the graphic destruction or degeneration of the body. Such works may deal with disease, decay, parasitism, mutilation, or mutation...

exploration of the possibilities of the future evolution

Evolution

Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...

of humans. Unlike his previous two books, his story context focuses on individuals rather than entire species, even giving them human

Human

Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...

names.

Plot Summary

The book begins with the impact of genetic engineering

Genetic engineering

Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification, is the direct human manipulation of an organism's genome using modern DNA technology. It involves the introduction of foreign DNA or synthetic genes into the organism of interest...

. For 200 years modern humans morphed the genetics of other humans to create genetically-altered creatures. The aquamorphs and aquatics are marine humans with gill

Gill

A gill is a respiratory organ found in many aquatic organisms that extracts dissolved oxygen from water, afterward excreting carbon dioxide. The gills of some species such as hermit crabs have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are kept moist...

s instead of lungs. One species - the vacuumorph - has been engineered for life in the vacuum of space. Its skin and eyes carry shields of skin to keep its body stable even without pressure.
Civilization eventually collapses, with a few select humans escaping to colonize space. The humans that manufactured these species degrade to simple farmers and following a magnetic reversal, were driven to extinction. Other humans, the Hitek

High tech

High tech is technology that is at the cutting edge: the most advanced technology currently available. It is often used in reference to micro-electronics, rather than other technologies. The adjective form is hyphenated: high-tech or high-technology...

, become almost totally dependent on cybernetic technology. With Magnetic reversal imminent, the Hitek built genetically altered humans to occupy niches: Genetically-altered humans include a temperate woodland species, a prairie species, a jungle

Jungle

A Jungle is an area of land in the tropics overgrown with dense vegetation.The word jungle originates from the Sanskrit word jangala which referred to uncultivated land. Although the Sanskrit word refers to "dry land", it has been suggested that an Anglo-Indian interpretation led to its...

species, and a tundra

Tundra

In physical geography, tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes through Russian тундра from the Kildin Sami word tūndâr "uplands," "treeless mountain tract." There are three types of tundra: Arctic tundra, alpine...

-dwelling species.

Since then the genetically-altered humans must face a new phenomenon. They can no longer be genetically tweaked in a lab, so all modifications must naturally evolve

Evolution

. Many new forms resulted from natural selection

Natural selection

Natural selection is the nonrandom process by which biologic traits become either more or less common in a population as a function of differential reproduction of their bearers. It is a key mechanism of evolution....

. Socials, colonial humans with a single reproductive parent, Fishers, otter-like fishing humans, Slothman sloth

Sloth

Sloths are the six species of medium-sized mammals belonging to the families Megalonychidae and Bradypodidae , part of the order Pilosa and therefore related to armadillos and anteaters, which sport a similar set of specialized claws.They are arboreal residents of the jungles of Central and South...

-like humans, Spiketeeth, saber-toothed predatory humans, and even parasitic humans developed through natural changes.

After five million years of uninterrupted evolution, the descendants of modern man that retreated into space returned. Then the world changed dramatically. Earth

Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...

was terraformed and covered in vast alien cities. The humans and other life forms in this new Earth must breathe air with low oxygen

Oxygen

Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...

content. Thus the alien invaders use cyborg-technology to fuse the bodies of the few human species they find useful on the planet with air tanks and respiration systems. Genetic modification also returned and giant building humans and tiny connection humans were bred to aid city construction. Genetically created horse

Horse

The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...

-like men serve as mounts for the invaders. Some engineered human species even became farmed like pigs or cattle. As with all civilization, this new era of man fell apart once again.

Eventually the spacefaring humans left, the Earth was left in ruins. With barely any oxygen left in the Earth's atmosphere, all terrestrial life on the planet perished. At the bottom of the world's oceans, at the oases that were the underwater hot springs, life continue. In the abyss, was Piscanthropus profundus, a deep-sea descendant of the now-extinct Aquatic evolved. It is implied that Piscathropus profundis would eventually recolonize Earth's surface.

200 years hence

Vacuumorph, Homo
Homo
Homo may refer to:*the Greek prefix ὅμο-, meaning "the same"*the Latin for man, human being*Homo, the taxonomical genus including modern humans...

caelestis, an exoskeletal
Exoskeleton
An exoskeleton is the external skeleton that supports and protects an animal's body, in contrast to the internal skeleton of, for example, a human. In popular usage, some of the larger kinds of exoskeletons are known as "shells". Examples of exoskeleton animals include insects such as grasshoppers...

human genetically modified to live only in space. These creatures were not so much bred as built. The attributes that could not be created were grafted onto the creatures; they could not reproduce independently.
Aquamorph, Homo aquaticus, a frog
Frog
Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...

-like human. They have gills on the chest, thick blubber
Blubber
Blubber is a thick layer of vascularized adipose tissue found under the skin of all cetaceans, pinnipeds and sirenians.-Description:Lipid-rich, collagen fiber–laced blubber comprises the hypodermis and covers the whole body, except for parts of the appendages, strongly attached to the musculature...

layers and paddle
Paddle
A paddle is a tool used for pushing against liquids, either as a form of propulsion in a boat or as an implement for mixing.-Materials and designs:...

like legs and feet. Unable to speak and having limited facial expression, they could not reproduce independently.

300 years hence

Aquatic, Piscanthropus submarinus, dugong
Dugong
The dugong is a large marine mammal which, together with the manatees, is one of four living species of the order Sirenia. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest modern relative, Steller's sea cow , was hunted to extinction in the 18th century...

-like humans with gills instead of lungs. The hind legs are fused together to form a fluke, but the hands and arm
Arm
In human anatomy, the arm is the part of the upper limb between the shoulder and the elbow joints. In other animals, the term arm can also be used for analogous structures, such as one of the paired forelimbs of a four-legged animal or the arms of cephalopods...

s are still human like, the only engineered sentient species with the exception of the Vacuumorphs and the Aquamorphs. It can move itself on the dry land encased in a gelatinous saltwater suit.
Hitek, Homo sapiens machinadiumentum, a Homo sapiens subspecies that is the result of inbreeding and medical technologies that allow people with deformities and other medical problems to survive and reproduce. Homo sapiens evolved into this sub-species of its own that is now almost totally dependent on cybernetic technology to survive.

500 years hence

Tundra-Dwellers, Homo fabricatus glacis, Yeti
Yeti
The Yeti or Abominable Snowman is an ape-like cryptid said to inhabit the Himalayan region of Nepal, and Tibet. The names Yeti and Meh-Teh are commonly used by the people indigenous to the region, and are part of their history and mythology...

-like Humans that fill the ecological niches of Musk Ox
Musk Ox
The muskox is an Arctic mammal of the family Bovidae, noted for its thick coat and for the strong odor emitted by males, from which its name derives. This musky odor is used to attract females during mating season...

en and Caribou. Migratory creatures with thick rolls of blubber with ice-hooks on their hind feet. Capable of reproducing fertile offspring.
Plains-Dwellers, Homo fabricatus campis, Troll
Troll
A troll is a supernatural being in Norse mythology and Scandinavian folklore. In origin, the term troll was a generally negative synonym for a jötunn , a being in Norse mythology...

-like Humans that fill the roles of Gazelles, Water Buffalo
Water Buffalo
The water buffalo or domestic Asian water buffalo is a large bovine animal, frequently used as livestock in southern Asia, and also widely in South America, southern Europe, northern Africa, and elsewhere....

and Wildebeests. These humans with modified appendages for scything grass. Capable of growing new teeth through their life and have pot bellies filled with specially-engineered bacteria for digesting grass. Capable of reproducing fertile offspring.
Tropical Forest-Dwellers, Homo fabricatus silvis, Orangutan
Orangutan
Orangutans are the only exclusively Asian genus of extant great ape. The largest living arboreal animals, they have proportionally longer arms than the other, more terrestrial, great apes. They are among the most intelligent primates and use a variety of sophisticated tools, also making sleeping...

-like humans that fill the roles of Apes, Monkeys and Sloths. Long arms with thick claw
Claw
A claw is a curved, pointed appendage, found at the end of a toe or finger in most mammals, birds, and some reptiles. However, the word "claw" is also often used in reference to an invertebrate. Somewhat similar fine hooked structures are found in arthropods such as beetles and spiders, at the end...

s allow these creature to move faster through the Trees than across the ground. Possess thick jaw
Jaw
The jaw is any opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth, typically used for grasping and manipulating food. The term jaws is also broadly applied to the whole of the structures constituting the vault of the mouth and serving to open and close it and is part of the body plan of...

s for cracking nuts
Nut (fruit)
A nut is a hard-shelled fruit of some plants having an indehiscent seed. While a wide variety of dried seeds and fruits are called nuts in English, only a certain number of them are considered by biologists to be true nuts...

and are capable of reproducing fertile offspring.
Temperate Woodland-Dwellers, Homo fabricatus virgultis, Australopithecus
Australopithecus
Australopithecus is a genus of hominids that is now extinct. From the evidence gathered by palaeontologists and archaeologists, it appears that the Australopithecus genus evolved in eastern Africa around 4 million years ago before spreading throughout the continent and eventually becoming extinct...

-like humans designed to fill the roles of Deer
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...

, Bears and Wolves. Walk on all fours because the shape of the big toes prevent bipedal locomotion. Omnivorous creatures who are designed to be immune to most natural poisons. Capable of reproducing fertile offspring.

1,000 years hence

Tic, Homo sapiens accessiomembrum, the Hitek eventually found the process of diagnosing newborn babies, then creating a mechanical cradle impractical, eventually designed a human subspecies that required a biological cradle/cocoon. However, the fingers are used primarily for touching. The shape of, and number of limbs
Limb (anatomy)
A limb is a jointed, or prehensile , appendage of the human or other animal body....

, on these bodies is often dependent on fashion.

5,000 years hence

Memory People, Homo mensproavodorum, a descendant of the Temperate Woodland-Dweller that can inherit memories from their parents. They were not engineered sentient but re-evolved intelligence and can make rudimentary structures.
Migrant, a migratory
Human migration
Human migration is physical movement by humans from one area to another, sometimes over long distances or in large groups. Historically this movement was nomadic, often causing significant conflict with the indigenous population and their displacement or cultural assimilation. Only a few nomadic...

descendant of the Plains-dweller.
Tropical Tree-Dweller, a strictly arboreal descendant of the Tropical Forest-Dweller with the ability to hang upside down.

10,000 years hence

Symbiont Carrier, Baiulus moderatorum, a descendant of Tundra-Dwellers with longer fur and low intelligence.
Hunter Symboint, Moderator baiuli, an Orang Pendek
Orang Pendek
Orang Pendek is the most common name given to a cryptid, or cryptozoological animal, that reportedly inhabits remote, mountainous forests on the island of Sumatra....

-like descendant of Temperate Woodland-Dwellers with a symbiotic relationship with the Symbiont Carrier by being insulated with its partner's long fur and can direct them with a telepathic ability.
Hibernator, Homo dormitor, a species of human (descended from the Temperate Woodland-Dweller) that hibernates during the ice age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...

winter. These creatures can live for hundreds of years although they spend much of that time asleep. Was not engineered sentient but re-evolved intelligence and can make rudimentary structures.
Cave-Dweller, Speluncanthropus, a subterranean species, descended from the Temperate Woodland-Dweller, that lives in cave
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...

s and tunnel
Tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...

s and only comes to the surface at night
Night
Night or nighttime is the period of time when the sun is below the horizon. This occurs after dusk. The opposite of night is day...

to hunt. Eyesight is atrophied but presumably their hearing is acute.

50,000 years hence

Islander, Homo nanus, a species of diminutive humans descended from Temperate Woodland-Dwellers that became isolated. They inhabite the tropical, volcanic islands and feed almost exclusively on meat
Meat
Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs and offal...

and other high protein sources.
Water-Seeker, Homo vates, a Goblin
Goblin
A goblin is a legendary evil or mischievous illiterate creature, a grotesquely evil or evil-like phantom.They are attributed with various abilities, temperaments and appearances depending on the story and country of origin. In some cases, goblins have been classified as constantly annoying little...

-like species descended from the Temperate Woodland-Dweller. Due to climatic extremes, it has evolved the ability to detect water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...

over long distances.
Communal Plains-Dweller, Alvearanthropus desertus, a very sociable descendant of the Migrant.

500,000 years hence

Social, colonial, Bogeyman
Bogeyman
A bogeyman is an amorphous imaginary being used by adults to frighten children into compliant behaviour...

-like humans descended from the Communal Plains-Dwellers. Mostly meat eating with thick blade
Blade
A blade is that portion of a tool, weapon, or machine with a cutting edge and/or a pointed tip that is designed to cut and/or puncture, stab, slash, chop, slice, thrust, or scrape animate or inanimate surfaces or materials...

s on their hand
Hand
A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered extremity located at the end of an arm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs...

s. Only one female breeds at any one time.
Boat People, descended from the Memory People with black fur and the remarkable ability to make wooden boats that look almost like H. sapiens built them.

1,000,000 years hence

Aquatics can now (for a temporary time) crawl on beaches.

The symbionts are more aggressive.

2,000,000 years hence

Hiver, a taller descendant of the Social, with a shared mind, and builds hive
Beehive
A beehive is a structure in which bees live and raise their young.Beehive may also refer to:Buildings and locations:* Bee Hive, Alabama, a neighborhood in Alabama* Beehive , a wing of the New Zealand Parliament Buildings...

-like structures. It is mainly herbivorous.
Parasite, Nananthropus parasiticus, a small, Sivapithecus
Sivapithecus
Sivapithecus is a genus of extinct primates. Fossil remains of animals now assigned to this genus, dated from 12.5 million to 8.5 million years old in the Miocene, have been found since the 19th century in the Siwalik Hills in what is now India, Nepal, and Pakistan...

-like descendant of the Islander that lives as a parasite by sucking the blood
Blood
Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....

of larger animal
Animal
Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...

s.
Host, Penarius pinguis, a blubber
Blubber
Blubber is a thick layer of vascularized adipose tissue found under the skin of all cetaceans, pinnipeds and sirenians.-Description:Lipid-rich, collagen fiber–laced blubber comprises the hypodermis and covers the whole body, except for parts of the appendages, strongly attached to the musculature...

y-looking, hairless descendant of Tundra-Dwellers that migrated south. It usually the main creature to be victimized by Parasites, the parasitic humans.
Travellers, descendants of the Boat People.
Traveller's Attacker, a descendant of the Cave-Dweller that hunts Travellers.
Planter, descended from the Hibernator.
Seeker, descended from the Water-Seeker. Its ears
EARS
EARS may refer to:* Electoral software* Electronic Arts, Redwood Shores campus.* Emirates Amateur Radio Society...

are quite useless and it now lacks eyes. It now resembles a Homo sapiens baby in a way. Hivers use Seekers as guides to find good locations to build hives.

3,000,000 years hence

Antman, Formifossor angustus, a Anteater
Anteater
Anteaters, also known as antbear, are the four mammal species of the suborder Vermilingua commonly known for eating ants and termites. Together with the sloths, they compose the order Pilosa...

-like human descended from the Temperate Woodland-Dweller. They have blade-like nail
Nail (anatomy)
A nail is a horn-like envelope covering the dorsal aspect of the terminal phalanges of fingers and toes in humans, most non-human primates, and a few other mammals. Nails are similar to claws, which are found on numerous other animals....

s to rip open Ant hill
Ant Hill
Ant Hill is a hill, high, rising steeply on the west side of the Skelton Glacier between Ant Hill Glacier and Dilemma Glacier. It was surveyed and named in 1957 by the New Zealand party of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1956–58. So named by geological members because of the...

s and eyes and nostrils that can be closed. They are also immune to the formic acid
Acid
An acid is a substance which reacts with a base. Commonly, acids can be identified as tasting sour, reacting with metals such as calcium, and bases like sodium carbonate. Aqueous acids have a pH of less than 7, where an acid of lower pH is typically stronger, and turn blue litmus paper red...

in the Ant
Ant
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...

s' stings, depositing it in their tissue thus making them unpalatable to predators.
Spiketooth, Acudens ferox, a saber-toothed, pack-hunting, Sasquatch-like human descended from the Temperate Woodland-Dweller with elongated and serrated incisors instead of canines like the extinct Smilodon
Smilodon
Smilodon , often called a saber-toothed cat or saber-toothed tiger, is an extinct genus of machairodonts. This saber-toothed cat was endemic to North America and South America, living from near the beginning through the very end of the Pleistocene epoch .-Etymology:The nickname "saber-tooth" refers...

. Evolved to specifically hunt large species such as the Slothmen.
Slothman, Giganthropus arbrofagus, Megatherium
Megatherium
Megatherium was a genus of elephant-sized ground sloths endemic to Central America and South America that lived from the Pliocene through Pleistocene existing approximately...

-like humans descended from Tundra-Dwellers that imitate the extinct Megatherium. So heavy they cannot stand upright and have thick claws to pull down branches. Evolved in a predator free environment and have no natural means of defense.
Fish-Eater, Piscator longidigitus, an Ogre
Ogre
An ogre is a large, cruel, monstrous, and hideous humanoid monster, featured in mythology, folklore, and fiction. Ogres are often depicted in fairy tales and folklore as feeding on human beings, and have appeared in many classic works of literature...

-like species (descended from the Temperate Woodland-Dweller) that lives like an Otter
Otter
The Otters are twelve species of semi-aquatic mammals which feed on fish and shellfish, and also other invertebrates, amphibians, birds and small mammals....

. Inhabits mountain
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...

rivers and lakes where it swims after fish with its long claws like a Baryonx.
Tree-Dweller, Arbranthropus lentus, an arboreal Sloth
Sloth
Sloths are the six species of medium-sized mammals belonging to the families Megalonychidae and Bradypodidae , part of the order Pilosa and therefore related to armadillos and anteaters, which sport a similar set of specialized claws.They are arboreal residents of the jungles of Central and South...

-like descendant of the Tropical Tree-Dweller.
Desert-Runner, Harenanthropus longipis, a small, swift-footed, desert
Desert
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...

-dwelling, Gremlin
Gremlin
A gremlin is an imaginary creature commonly depicted as mischievous and mechanically oriented, with a specific interest in aircraft. Gremlins' mischievous natures are similar to those of English folkloric imps, while their inclination to damage or dismantle machinery is more...

-like descendant of the Temperate Woodland-Dweller.

5,000,000 years hence

Engineered Pack Animal: After the humans that left for the star
Star
A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...

s returned to the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...

, they terraformed it and engineered the Pack Animal to put pre-made building parts together.
Engineered Food Creature: Engineered by the star travelers, engineered the Host into "mounds of fat and flesh, fed by chemical nutrients." Small machines remove chunks of meat, tissue and body fat while the Food Creature is still alive.
Engineered Worker: Lilliputian creature engineered from the Temperate Woodland-Dwellers work small machinery.
Piscanthropus profundus, a species of Aquatic that lives in the dark depths of the ocean. Is sensitive to the infra-red spectrum and moves very sluggishly in order to conserve energy in such a poor habitat. It is implied that they will re-colonize the surface after the star travelers left the Earth's surface barren.
Hunter, a descendant of the Desert-Runner.

Human sub-species included

The creatures below are all the same species as they all appear to be capable of interbreeding provided that the external barriers between them where removed. The barriers between the three species below appears to be cultural e.g., the Andlas, Tic and Hitek all view each other with distance and isolate themselves from each other. Note that the distinction between a species and a subspecies is that two sub-species would merge back into a single unified population if given the chance while two species would not. It has nothing to do with 'how different' the different groups appear to be to the observer.

Man, Homo sapiens sapiens, technically modern humans. After the schism of mankind that separated the human populations, thus allowing them to evolve along their own paths, these Andlas where the only ones to remain true to the ancestral breeding stock.In the future, man has several different names, such as "squatties" living in flooding cities, "handlers" of the Hitek, farmers and fishermen and "Andlas".
Hitek, Homo sapiens machinadiumentum, the result of inbreeding and medical technologies that allow people with deformities and other medical problems to survive and reproduce. Homo sapiens evolved into this sub-species of its own that is now almost totally dependent on cybernetic technology to survive.

Tic, Homo sapiens accessiomembrum, the Hitek eventually found the process of diagnosing newborn babies, then creating a mechanical cradle impractical, eventually designed a human subspecies that required a biological cradle/cocoon. However, the fingers are used primarily for touching. The shape of, and number of limbs
Limb (anatomy)
A limb is a jointed, or prehensile , appendage of the human or other animal body....

, on these bodies is often dependent on fashion.
Unknown human descendant. In 5 million years, humans return to earth and build cities once again. They are never seen outside without protective suits, mounted on horse-like creatures. Therefore, it is unknown what they look like inside. They are, however, quite small by comparison to their 'cousins' and presumably their ancestors, too.Controversies=

It has been implied that Dixon plagiarized at least some of the designs for the future humans from another illustrator, Wayne Douglas Barlowe. In Barlowe's book The Alien Life of Wayne Barlowe, Barlowe includes a section with sketches that are nearly identical to some of the creatures in Dixon's book. Barlowe asserts that they are from a project that was plagiarized by another author.