There are places in this universe that are very different from the planet you and I inhabit. Take, for example, the planet Grifisplend in NGC 5194 (the Whirlpool Galaxy). Grifisplend was the first planet in the Whirlpool Galaxy to evolve intelligent life, making it the oldest civilization in that galaxy. Unfortunately, the Grifisplendians were not careful with atomic technology and accidentally bathed their entire planet in radiation. The resulting increase in the mutation rate of life on Grifisplend has resulted in creatures that are mere caricatures of what they once were. Despite being the oldest culture in the Whirlpool Galaxy, they have never developed spacetravel. And other Vorticians (inhabitants of the Whirlpool Galaxy) are too smart to land on such a radioactive planet. So the Grifisplendians still think that they are alone in the universe.
These illustrations were drawn using Stable Diffusion 2.1.
