#zxc arrow space

[whereserpentswalk]

Drew this picture of Jesus as depicted by a group of Martians (humans living on Mars) in my setting. They imagine him looking like one of their own, with the Romans looking like soldiers from an enemy nation.

Everything we see is filtered through our cultural perspectives. Even our deepest spiritual beliefs still adapt to current cultures.

[whereserpentswalk]

Most modern ships and single living genetically engineered organisms, with larger modles having more biological commonalities with plants, and smaller models (especially millitary models), being closer to animals. These are basically just creatures designed to maneuver and survive in a vacuum. Useally a base form is raised in a safe environment in a space station, and when they reach maturity a metal chassis, areas where humans can live, and stronger methods of propellant are added. These modern creature ships useally have many moving parts the same way an animal would, and their own intelligent mind made up of a nervous system and often supplemental computers. A well bred spaceship will likely be more intelligent then any of its passengers. This allows for a creature much more powerful and durable then any machine, with mechanical enchantments making up for any place where biology may be inferior.

While a spaceship could be designed to fly itself, that would bring several unique dangers, as the mind of something so inhuman is unlikely to be able to be reasoned with by humans in a mutually beneficial way. A spaceship fully in control of their actions and capable of understanding the world around it could very easily rebel. So instead, most states elect to use pilots.

While in the past pilots controlled ships using their limbs, that method would severally cripple their reaction time. For a pilot to properly control a ship with the calculations a ship needs to make, they need to commit to a brain to brain interface. When fully synced, the mind of a pilot will be the same as the mind of a ship, and the pilot will be able to perceive the universe as a ship does, with the ships body being the same as theirs, and the ships capabilities being their own.

Pilots require years of training to do what they do, as well as heavy surgical modifications. The average pilot will have to have their legs amputated and replaced with prosthetics for better bloodflow, extra orifices for breathing added near the ribs, a more powerful mechanical heart added to the chest, eyes and mouth parts replaced with more durable machines, modifications to the brain so it won't slosh around inside their skull, and new organs added to interface with the ship. Interfacing with a ship also causes several infections, the most common of them make body fat a health risk, meaning most pilots have to keep themselves at a very low weight to stay alive, to the point where most female pilots have their breasts removed for safety reasons. Even after all their modifications, most pilots won't live more than fifteen years after starting work with their ship. Because of the things a pilot must go through, most cultures venerate them as noble heroes, often being some of the most coveted positions one can aspire to in society. The combination of the veneration and the psychological effects of merging with a ship, often leads pilots to become extremely eccentric figures to say the least.