Pantropy is a hypothetical process of space habitation or

space colonization Space colonization (or extraterrestrial colonization) is the human settlement, settlement or colonization of outer space and astronomical bodies. The concept in its broad sense has been applied to any permanent human presence in space, such ...

in which, rather than

terraforming Terraforming or terraformation ("Earth-shaping") is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying the atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology of a planet, moon, or other body to be similar to the environment of Earth to mak ...

other planets or building space habitats suitable for human habitation, humans are modified (for example via

genetic engineering Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of Genetic engineering techniques, technologies used to change the genet ...

) to be able to thrive in the existing environment. The term was coined by science fiction author

James Blish James Benjamin “Jimmy” Blish () was an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He is best known for his ''Cities in Flight'' novels and his series of ''Star Trek'' novelizations written with his wife, J. A. Lawrence. His novel ''A Case ...

, who wrote a series of short stories based on the idea (collected in the anthology '' The Seedling Stars'').

Fictional depictions

* 1930—In the science fiction

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

Last and First Men ''Last and First Men: A Story of the Near and Far Future'' is a "future history" science fiction novel written in 1930 by the British author Olaf Stapledon. A work of unprecedented scale in the genre, it describes the history of humanity from t ...

'' by

Olaf Stapledon William Olaf Stapledon (10 May 1886 – 6 September 1950) was an English philosopher and author of science fiction.Andy Sawyer, " illiamOlaf Stapledon (1886-1950)", in Bould, Mark, et al, eds. ''Fifty Key Figures in Science Fiction''. New York ...

, when humanity migrates from

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

and later from Venus to

Neptune Neptune is the eighth and farthest known planet from the Sun. It is the List of Solar System objects by size, fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 t ...

, human beings are genetically engineered to fit the new environments in which they will be living. * 1944—One of the first science fiction stories about pantropy (the word had not yet been coined) was the

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

"Desertion," by Clifford D. Simak, which appeared in the November 1944 ''

Astounding Science Fiction ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William C ...

''. In this story, human colonists living in a

domed city A domed city is a hypothetical structure that encloses a large urban area under a single roof. In most descriptions, the dome is airtight and pressurized, creating a habitat that can be controlled for air temperature, composition and quality, typ ...

on the planet

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...

are put through a biological converter that converts their bodies into the form of the indigenous Jovian lifeform called the "Lopers." The head director of the domed colony, Kent Fowler, wondering why none of those biologically converted ever come back, goes into the biological converter himself with his

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. ...

and finds that the reason they never come back is that the Lopers have

brain The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for ...

s and

sense A sense is a biological system used by an organism for sensation, the process of gathering information about the surroundings through the detection of Stimulus (physiology), stimuli. Although, in some cultures, five human senses were traditio ...

s so much in advance of humans that they don't want to come back. He also finds that he is able to completely accurately telepathically communicate with his dog Towser (whose intelligence has also greatly increased) after going through the converter. He himself decides not to go back. The story was incorporated into the novel ''

City A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

'' (1952). * 1957—'' The Seedling Stars'', by

, a collection of science fiction stories about pantropy. The best-known of these is "

Surface Tension Surface tension is the tendency of liquid surfaces at rest to shrink into the minimum surface area possible. Surface tension (physics), tension is what allows objects with a higher density than water such as razor blades and insects (e.g. Ge ...

," often anthologized in its original 1952 standalone version. * 1963- The Chameleon (episode of The Outer Limits) * 1976—

Frederik Pohl Frederik George Pohl Jr. (; November 26, 1919 – September 2, 2013) was an American list of science fiction authors, science-fiction writer, editor, and science fiction fandom, fan, with a career spanning nearly 75 years—from his first ...

's novel '' Man Plus'' is a story about the transformation of a human into a hybrid/

cyborg A cyborg (, a portmanteau of ''cybernetics, cybernetic'' and ''organism'') is a being with both Organic matter, organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

. In the sequel, '' Mars Plus'', some colonists opt for an intermediate existence, and are known as ''Creoles''. * 1981-1983— Jack L. Chalker's '' Four Lords of the Diamond'' series describes the changes in personality that result from physical changes caused by a symbiotic microorganism that adapts humans into a form that can survive on each of four different planets. * 1985—

Bruce Sterling Michael Bruce Sterling (born April 14, 1954) is an American science fiction author known for his novels and short fiction and editorship of the ''Mirrorshades'' anthology. In particular, he is linked to the cyberpunk subgenre. Sterling's first ...

's '' Schismatrix'' universe has protagonist Abelard Malcolm Tyler Lindsay propose pantropy to colonize the moon of Jupiter, Europa. Other instances of pantropy include a character becoming a living ecosystem, and Lindsay's eventual transformation into a non-physical form to allow for universal travel. * 1989-1997—

Dan Simmons Dan Simmons (born April 4, 1948) is an American science fiction and horror writer. He is the author of the Hyperion Cantos and the Ilium/Olympos cycles, among other works that span the science fiction, horror, and fantasy genres, sometimes ...

' '' Hyperion Cantos'' is a series of four books featuring a faction known as the Ousters, which use pantropy as a way of living in harmony with nature and space. * 1990— Dougal Dixon's book '' Man After Man'' features the Vacuumorph, a form of humans modified to live in space, as well as many posthuman species physically and genetically engineered to live in various Earth environments. The humans who leave Earth at the beginning of the book to colonize other planets are also implied to have done this. * 2000— Stephen Baxter's novels repeatedly deal with pantropy as an approach to the far future of the human species. * 2002—

Timothy Zahn Timothy Zahn (born 1951) is an American writer of science fiction and fantasy. He is known best for his prolific collection of ''Star Wars'' List of Star Wars books, books, chiefly the Thrawn trilogy, ''Thrawn'' trilogy, and has published several ...

's novel ''Manta's Gift'' features technology capable of transmitting human consciousness to an alien body. * 2006— C. M. Kosemen's book '' All Tomorrows'' features the Star People, a genetically modified race of humans adapted for space travel. Some of their descendants become the Spacers, and later the Asteromorphs, who are only able to live in a microgravity environment. * 2009—

James Cameron James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker, who resides in New Zealand. He is a major figure in the post-New Hollywood era and often uses novel technologies with a Classical Hollywood cinema, classical filmmaking styl ...

's film ''

Avatar Avatar (, ; ) is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means . It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance" is sometimes u ...

'' is a somewhat different take on pantropy, featuring "avatars", hybrids of humans and the alien Na'vi native to Pandora. * 2011—In the manga ''

Terra Formars is a Japanese manga series written by and illustrated by . It was originally serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine ''Miracle Jump'' from January to December 2011, and was transferred to ''Weekly Young Jump'' in April 2012. ...

'', humans sent to Mars undergo genetic modification to inherit the characteristics of other organisms. * 2014—In the video game '' Civilization: Beyond Earth'', the Harmony affinity represents pantropy.''

Fictional depictions

References

Further reading