All Tomorrows
All Tomorrows isn't just a book; it's a monumental journey through a billion years of speculative human evolution, chronicling the incredible transformations and tragic fates of humanity across the cosmos. This unique science fiction work, written and illustrated by C. M. Kösemen, dares to imagine a future where humanity is pushed to its absolute limits by both its own ambition and the terrifying whims of an enigmatic alien race. Prepare to explore a future so vast and unsettling, it fundamentally redefines what it means to be human. Humanity's quest for interstellar dominance leads to unimaginable genetic diversification and unforeseen cosmic encounters. A malevolent alien race, the Qu, genetically reshapes humanity into countless bizarre, often unintelligent forms as a form of "punishment." Despite catastrophic setbacks and radical transformations, scattered fragments of humanity eventually regain sapience and rise to challenge their former tormentors.
AI Summary
All Tomorrows isn't just a book; it's a monumental journey through a billion years of speculative human evolution, chronicling the incredible transformations and tragic fates of humanity across the cosmos. This unique science fiction work, written and illustrated by C. M. Kösemen, dares to imagine a future where humanity is pushed to its absolute limits by both its own ambition and the terrifying whims of an enigmatic alien race. Prepare to explore a future so vast and unsettling, it fundamentally redefines what it means to be human.
- Humanity's quest for interstellar dominance leads to unimaginable genetic diversification and unforeseen cosmic encounters.
- A malevolent alien race, the Qu, genetically reshapes humanity into countless bizarre, often unintelligent forms as a form of "punishment."
- Despite catastrophic setbacks and radical transformations, scattered fragments of humanity eventually regain sapience and rise to challenge their former tormentors.
A Billion-Year Chronicle
Published in 2006, "All Tomorrows: A Billion Year Chronicle of the Myriad Species and Mixed Fortunes of Man" is a groundbreaking work of science fiction and speculative evolution. Penned and illustrated by Turkish artist C. M. Kösemen, under the pseudonym Nemo Ramjet, it plunges us into humanity's distant future.
Kösemen drew inspiration from monumental works like Olaf Stapledon's epic future histories and Edward Gibbon's "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." Originally released as a free PDF, its unique vision has since resonated with a global audience, leading to eagerly anticipated print editions.
Humanity's Grand Expansion
Our story begins centuries from now, after humankind has successfully terraformed and colonized Mars. However, peace is fleeting, as a devastating interplanetary war erupts between Earth and Mars, costing billions of lives before a fragile peace is forged.
Learning from their mistakes, the two planets unite in a massive colonization initiative. Through advanced genetic modification, they create the "Star People"—a new breed of human, perfectly adapted for the rigors of space travel. These Star People then embark on an ambitious journey, exploring and colonizing worlds across the vast expanse of the Milky Way Galaxy.
The Scourge of the Qu
This golden age of expansion is shattered when humanity encounters a malevolent and technologically superior alien force: the Qu. Driven by a twisted religious fervor, the Qu believe they are destined to reshape the universe through genetic engineering, imposing their will upon all life.
The war is brief and utterly catastrophic for humanity. Defeated and defenseless, the surviving humans face a horrifying fate: the Qu, as a form of 'punishment,' bioengineer them into a bewildering array of exotic, often unintelligent forms. It is an act of utter dehumanization.
For 40 million agonizing years, the Qu dominate the galaxy, leaving behind a legacy of grotesque genetic experiments. When they finally depart, the altered humans are left to evolve on their own, guided only by natural selection in the strange environments they now inhabit. From worm-like creatures to modular, cell-based beings, these post-humans are a testament to the Qu's cruelty.
The Rise of New Men
But life, and sapience, finds a way. One lineage, known as the Ruin Haunters, scavenges and repurposes the abandoned Qu technology. They gradually replace their biological forms with mechanical ones, eventually becoming the formidable Gravitals—sentient machines bent on galactic conquest.
The Gravitals begin to colonize the galaxy, ruthlessly eradicating most other life forms, including many of their fellow post-human species. Only one group, the "Bug Facers," are spared—though only to be genetically modified and exploited, mirroring the Qu's treatment of original humanity.
Yet, hope arrives from an unexpected quarter. The Asteromorphs, descendants of humans who had escaped the Qu's initial subjugation, emerge from the depths of space. They successfully defeat the Gravitals, liberating the Bug Facers and transforming the aggressive machines into the more benign "New Machines."
This marks a new era of rebound for humanity, now diversified into myriad post-human species. They make first contact with an alien race from another galaxy, the Amphicephali, and after 500 million years, finally rediscover and decisively defeat their ancient tormentors, the Qu.
The chronicle concludes with humanity's triumphant rediscovery of its ancestral home, Earth, an astonishing 560 million years in the future—a testament to resilience across unimaginable stretches of time.
A Timeless Message
The book ends with a poignant image: its in-universe alien author holding a billion-year-old human skull. The author muses that all post-human species eventually vanished a billion years in the future, for reasons unknown. Our saga, it seems, is but a fleeting moment in the cosmic tapestry.
Ultimately, the author concludes that mankind's true story isn't about grand wars or abstract ideals, but the individual lives of its people. The final, powerful message to the reader echoes across the eons: "Love Today, and seize All Tomorrows!"
Behind the Billion-Year Vision
C. M. Kösemen dedicated three years, from 2003 to 2006, to crafting "All Tomorrows." His profound inspirations, Olaf Stapledon's sweeping sagas like "Last and First Men" and "Star Maker," provided the blueprint for envisioning evolution on an astronomical scale, coupled with the historical sweep of Gibbon's Roman Empire narrative.
The book is deliberately styled as a historical document, narrated by an alien recounting human history. Kösemen described the tone as a "high school student fanboying on the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." This archaeological approach extends to the artwork, featuring faded and textured effects, which the artist used to avoid the images being misinterpreted as offensive caricatures.
Since its initial release as a free PDF in October 2006, "All Tomorrows" has taken on a life of its own. It's often been described by Kösemen as a "ghost ship," drifting through the internet's obscure corners, finding its way to diverse communities, including speedrunning wikis.
The book saw its first licensed physical edition in Thai in March 2024. This edition expanded on the original with a new chapter on its making and additional artwork, exclusively for Thai readers.
The journey to an English physical edition has been more challenging. After a crowdfunding effort with Unbound faced liquidation, a new publisher stepped in. The highly anticipated English hardback and e-book editions, promising new content and illustrations, are now set for a regular retail release in November 2025.
A Cult Phenomenon
Initially an obscure work, "All Tomorrows" gradually garnered a cult following online. Kösemen observed that "Generation Z" particularly embraced the book, speculating that perhaps the "myriad disasters" of recent times resonated with its themes of struggle and transformation. It even earned scholarly attention in a 2020 book exploring astrobiology and science fiction in the Muslim world.
The book's popularity exploded in the summer of 2021 after YouTuber Alt Shift X uploaded an abridged version of the story. This sparked a wave of internet memes, fan art, and discussions across platforms like YouTube and Twitter, cementing its status as an internet sensation.
Readers have described "All Tomorrows" as "bizarre," "inexplicable," and "existentially freak-ay," often noting its strong elements of body horror. Critics have compared its disturbing depictions of future human evolution to works like Dougal Dixon's "Man After Man," finding Kösemen's visions even more unsettling, yet eerily plausible on a subliminal level.
Despite its surging popularity, Kösemen himself admitted in 2021 to having almost "disowned" parts of the original, finding them "a bit cringey." However, he has since re-embraced the project and is actively working on a vastly expanded version, which he noted in 2024 has grown to over 300 pages, with deeper lore and new plot twists for each species.
Article
All Tomorrows
All Tomorrows: A Billion Year Chronicle of the Myriad Species and Mixed Fortunes of Man is a 2006 work of science fiction and speculative evolution written and illustrated by the Turkish artist C. M. Kösemen under the pen name Nemo Ramjet. It explores a hypothetical future path of human evolution set from the near future to a billion years from the present. Several future human species evolve through natural means and through genetic engineering, conducted by both humans themselves and by a mysterious and superior alien race called the Qu.
Inspired by the science fiction works of Olaf Stapledon and Edward Gibbon's The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Kösemen worked on All Tomorrows from 2003 to the publication of the book as a free PDF file online in 2006. Kösemen has announced the first English-language print edition of All Tomorrows in physical form, with new text, updated illustrations, and grammatical fixes. The first English print edition was published in November 2025.
Summary
All Tomorrows
Centuries after humankind terraforms and colonizes Mars, a brief but catastrophic interplanetary war takes place between Mars and Earth, costing both parties billions of lives. The two planets eventually make peace with each other, launching a wide-scale colonization initiative. Through genetic modification, the humans of Earth and Mars create the "Star People", a new species of human suited for space travel. The Star People proceed to explore and colonize planets across the Milky Way Galaxy.
Some time later, humans (now exclusively made up of Star People) encounter a malevolent and superior alien force called "the Qu". The Qu's religion motivates them to remake the universe through genetic engineering. A short war follows in which humanity is defeated. The Qu bioengineers the surviving humans as punishment into a range of exotic forms, many of them unintelligent. After 40,000,000 years of domination, the Qu leave the galaxy, leaving the altered humans to evolve on their own in the environments and worlds they were left with under the effects of natural selection. The bioengineered humans range from worm-like beings and insectivores to modular and cell-based species. The book follows the progress of these new humans as they either go extinct or regain sapience in wildly different forms, gradually discovering that the Qu experimented on them.
One species—the "Ruin Haunters"—replaces their bodies with mechanical forms, utilizing the technology the Qu had left behind. Now known as the "Gravitals", they begin to colonize the rest of the galaxy while annihilating most life within it, including the other post-human species (except the "Bug Facers", who—like how the Qu treated humanity—are genetically modified by the Gravitals for their own gain). The Gravitals are eventually defeated by the "Asteromorphs", descendants of humanity who escaped the Qu, who then proceed to liberate the Bug Facers and further modify the Gravitals into the less aggressive "New Machines". The final chapters of the book detail humanity's rebound as a posthuman species, their first contact and interactions with a race of aliens from another galaxy—the "Amphicephali"—and the rediscovery and ultimate defeat of the Qu after 500,000,000 years, concluding with the rediscovery of Earth 560,000,000 years in the future.
All Tomorrows ends with a picture of the book's in-universe author—an alien researcher—holding a billion-year-old human skull and writing that all post-human species disappeared a billion years in the future for unknown reasons. The author goes on to state that mankind's story has always been about the lives of humans themselves, not major wars and abstract ideals, concluding by encouraging the reader to: "Love Today, and seize All Tomorrows!"
Development
All Tomorrows
Kösemen worked on All Tomorrows from 2003–2006. The work of Olaf Stapledon, particularly Last and First Men (1930) and Star Maker (1937), served as the main inspiration for the work, alongside Edward Gibbon's The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.
All Tomorrows is written in the style of a historical work, narrated by an alien creature recounting the history of humanity. According to Kösemen, the: "tone of voice is a high school student fanboying on the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon". The artwork is also reflective of this "archaeological" approach, with faded and textured visual effects applied to the paintings. The original reason for adding the faded tint to the paintings was Kösemen wanting to avoid the paintings looking like "horrible racist caricatures".
The book was released for free online as a PDF on 4 October 2006 and has since then, per Kösemen himself, "had a life of its own as a PDF floating around the backwaters of the internet like a ghost ship". One of the common links which All Tomorrows has been shared through is a wiki site dedicated to speedrunning.
The first licensed physical edition of All Tomorrows was published by Time Publishing in March 2024, in the Thai language. This edition included the content of the original 2006 book, with a new chapter on the making of the book and some additional artwork by other artists.
All Tomorrows is yet to be physically published in English, however in July 2024 preorders on the crowdfunding site Unbound began for official hardback and e-book editions in the English language, including additional materials and artwork and the intent to publish 20/21 August 2025. Unfortunately, Unbound filed for liquidation leaving the book unreleased by them, causing controversy among fans as many didn't see a refund. Shortly after this news broke out Kösemen signed with a new company to make a physical copy that needs no preorder, he stated it could be bought regularly from distributors in November 2025.
Reception and legacy
All Tomorrows
Originally an obscure work, All Tomorrows slowly gained popularity online following its 2006 publication. In a 2021 podcast interview, Kösemen noted that the generation born right after him (Kösemen having been born in 1984) "really embraced" All Tomorrows, which he believes might partially be due to the "myriad disasters" that have happened in the world since then. The book has received some scholarly attention; in 2020, All Tomorrows was among the works discussed in Jörg Matthias Determann's book Islam, Science Fiction and Extraterrestrial Life, which explores astrobiology and science fiction in the Muslim world. Following the upload of an abridged version of the book's story by YouTuber Alt Shift X in June 2021, All Tomorrows saw a particular surge in popularity online during the summer of 2021. Among other things, there was a surge of internet memes based on the book, primarily on YouTube and Twitter as well as fan art based on the creatures in the book.
Readers have characterized All Tomorrows as "bizarre", "inexplicable", "interesting", and "fascinating", and as a work incorporating body horror. Ivan Farkas of Cracked.com called All Tomorrows "existentially freak-ay" in 2021 and described the artwork as "otherwordly". A 2022 article by Andrea Viscusi on the Italian media website Stay Nerd compared All Tomorrows to Man After Man (1990) by Dougal Dixon, also a work tackling future human evolution, but found the depictions in All Tomorrows to be "even more disturbing", yet still possible on an "almost subliminal level" to "recognize as our fellow men". In a 2022 article in the lifestyle magazine A Little Bit Human, Allia Luzong considered All Tomorrows to be a "fun exploration of what could be" but also a serious work with serious themes, particularly noting how humanity's social ills are present throughout the narrative.
Kösemen stated in 2021 that though the book had grown popular, he had almost "disowned" All Tomorrows, finding parts of it "a bit cringey". When designing his website and including his different books and projects, Kösemen purposefully left out All Tomorrows. Following the summer of 2021, he has since added the book to his website and intends to eventually publish All Tomorrows in physical form with new text and illustrations. By 16 October 2022, Kösemen had written the expanded version up until the Qu's conquest of the galaxy. Kösemen stated that the material up until that point amounted to 200 pages, almost twice the length of the entire original book. Kösemen continues to work on the expanded version as of 2024. In April 2024 he has announced the release of a physical copy of the book, but only in Thai language. Although being the original version of the book, it is stated to comprehend a few illustrations made by other artists and a new chapter, with various informations about the species. This new chapter is only available in Thai. At the same time, Kösemen has also stated that he is continuing his work on the new version of the book, that has now reached nearly over 300 pages, with still many species to talk about. Every species has now a deeper lore, and new major plot twists have been added.