'PlanetSide' by Matthew T. Summers

The Experiment had begun.  The Experiment was not approved by the Galactic Review Bureau, but it continued.  It was decried by nearly every race in the universe, but still it continued.  It was declared a crime against nature, and still it continued.

Monies and credits were shuttled through illegal and severe methods to the originators of the Experiment.  When the originators were tried, convicted and executed, the funds went to their successors.  Succession for the Experiment was as illegal as the experiment itself, but still it continued.

A lone star had been chosen, far away from prying eyes.  A lone, white-hot bringer of life, devoid of any unnecessary planets or moons.  A young star, still in its infancy, with enough of a gravitational pull to keep the Experiment in orbit without attracting too much attention.

Over an eon, the Experiment began to take shape.  The Planet was constructed, one ounce of matter at a time.  Careful deliberation went into every single aspect of the Planet, and to facilitate better observation, the roundness of the planet was corrupted and restored, destroyed and rebuilt time and again; until at last, a final design was agreed upon.

The Planet would not be round, as most planets are.  The Planet would be forced into a square shape, and six different environments would be created on each face of the Planet.  To force the planet to retain its shape, intense gravitational generators were constructed along the edges of each face of the planet.  These gravitational generators pulled on the surface of the planet, raising great mountain ranges along each edge.  So defined, the construction of the Planet continued.

The gravitational force had one adverse effect, however.  The epicenter of each face was pulled downward slightly, creating a bowl when viewed from a distance.  It was not so severe as to prohibit life, however, so after years of argumentative deliberation, it was decided to allow it to remain as such.

Environmental terraforming science was used to create the environments in pairs; tundra and jungle, grassland and desert, swamp and mountain.  Each grouping was placed on opposite sides of the Planet of each other, one to a face of the Planet.  The planetary die now showed signs of life, as weather patterns began to form.  The weather was carefully moderated to allow the various faces to retain their individual ecosystems, which in turn allowed life to flourish.  The effect of the gravitational pull on the planet caused most water to run to the center of each face, creating great lakes of fresh water in the epicenters of every face of the planet. 

The question arose on how to observe without being seen.  So moons were created, and placed into fixed orbits around the planet.  Each face was assigned a single moon, which was set to rotate at the exact same speed as the face itself.  Therefore, from the surface, each moon would be in the exact center of each face, and would never move during either the day or the night.  Upon these moons, observation decks and stations were constructed to record the happenings on the surface below.

Finally, the decision came to be as to the population.  Three races were chosen to inhabit this world, and under the regulations of the Experiment, they would be allowed to evolve and grow as they see fit with no recollection or awareness of anything beyond their face of the Planet. 

The first choice was easy.  Humankind has always been known to be the most adaptable, the most varied, and the third-most reproductive.  The human advantage would serve them best in the grasslands, so that was their first placement.  On the opposite side of the Planet, humans were also placed into the inhospitable desert region, though it was debated as to the survival rate of this group.  The Humans did begin to flourish in both regions, however, proving the skeptics wrong.  

The next race was genetically created for the sole purpose of the Experiment.  Canines had always been associated with Mankind, but the canine race alone would not flourish enough for the Experiment.  So, the decision was made to genetically modify a race of canines, splicing their DNA forcibly with Human DNA.  This hybrid race was then implanted onto regions more suited to their physical structure.  One group was placed into the jungle, another into the frozen tundra.

The final race caused many, many years of discussions.  Finally, the choice was settled to a sexless race newly discovered on the outreaches of the galaxy.  Though they did not have a name as of yet, as they had not joined the Galactic Unity, the race had some unique genetic codes that were not present in many other races.  Plus, since little was known about their racial lifestyle, it would prove to be a learning experience beyond what could be projected through the Experiment.  These were placed into the final two regions, swampland and mountain.

Finally, the Experiment was ready to begin.  The races all were reduced to pre-awareness levels, and slowly began to evolve according to their surroundings.  Thousands of years went by, and the races became more comfortable and evolutionary suited to their environment.  

The Experiment, named PlanetSide, had begun.