The Medleveka
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Medium: Midjourney AI + Lightroom + Procreate
The Medleveka are a race of sloth-human hybrids known for their fine-tuned control over subjective time, and for one of the most surprising rebellions in human history.
As humanity first attempted to become a multi-planetary species in the 21st century, they quickly realized how untenable it is to live in confined habitats for long periods of time. The project to terraform Mars was expected to take dozens—if not hundreds—of centuries to complete, so in the meantime, it was nothing but an inhospitable mining colony. But very few humans had an appetite for more than a year or two on the cold, crimson planet.
One “nation” known as Russia had a slight advantage due to their experience withstanding long, brutal winters. To expand that advantage, they experimented on their miners with the genes of sloths, a mammal known for its slowness. The nation’s rulers hoped that these “medleneyi cheloveki” (“slow people”) would not only be more patient with the tedious Martian lifestyle, but also more docile and subservient.
This expectation was only half correct. The new Martians were indeed much slower than the average human—but that also meant they were more patient to plot their uprising. The slur “medleneyi cheloveki” had been shortened to “medleveki” by their overseers, so the sloths named their quiet revolution Medleveka, meaning “the slow centuries.”
They plotted over the span of four generations, biding their time until their masters were at their most distracted and complacent. The insurgency was shockingly swift when it struck, due to the cybernetic eyes and neural implants they had designed to modulate their experience of time.
After reclaiming the planet for themselves, most of the Medleveka decided to stay put. Not only was Mars the only home they’d ever known, but they were the only people patient enough to see its terraforming through to completion.
So they began the job that their human masters never had the perseverance for, dialing time up to its fastest setting, turning the sun into a strobing streak across the scarlet sky, and settling in for the long centuries ahead.
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