The Battle of Clans: Artificial Life Simulation

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Building the World
3. Energy Sources
4. Organic Matter and Energy Poisoning
5. Sprouts and Genome Mutation
6. Cell Classes and Lifespan
7. The Universal Organism
8. Political Map of the World
9. Organic Matter Build-Up
10. Waste Problems and Cleansing
11. Destruction of Borders and Encounters
12. Cannibalism and Mass Killings
13. Unicellular Predators and Resistance
14. Clan Display Mode
15. Contact Between Two Worlds
16. Conclusion

Building the World

In today's simulation, we will explore an evolution model that draws inspiration from the evolution of life in the real world. However, we will not try to model the real world as it is too complex. Instead, we will Create our own worlds where we set the rules. We Are interested in evolution in a more general abstract Sense. In this simulation, we will see the origins of life, acts of violence, flows of refugees, mass genocide, and ecological catastrophes.

The world we will be exploring measures 1800 by 1400 and is divided into 8 sectors. Each sector has an area that is exposed to sunlight. All sectors are numbered, and there are no borders. The world is enclosed both horizontally and vertically. In those areas that have sunlight, it is possible to produce energy by photosynthesis. During The Simulation, the level of exposure to sunlight follows a graph. Only leaf cells can photosynthesize. When a cell dies, some organic matter remains in the soil. Such organic matter accumulates, and when it reaches a certain level, that location becomes toxic.

Energy Sources

Organic matter in the soil can be converted into energy by root cells as well as by single sprouts. Roots are the only cells that can survive in the zones poisoned by organic matter. After cells die, some energy accumulated by the cells remains in the soil in the form of charges. Similar to organic matter, the accumulated charge becomes deadly at a certain level. However, unlike organic matter, the charge tends toward a certain level. It slowly dissipates when there's too much of it and accumulates when there's little of it. The charge is accumulated by cells of the antenna class. Antennas are the only class of cells that can survive in this zone of energy poisoning. The last way of gaining energy is by neighbors eating each other. All types of cells can be eaten except roots and branches. Any sprout can gain energy this way.

Organic Matter and Energy Poisoning

A Sprout is the most important class of cells. It is responsible for the prescription of the genome and for the creation of new cells. There is always a slight probability of mutation with every step, and a random number in the genome will change. This is exactly what triggers the mechanism of evolution. Cells with a more successful genome have a higher probability of leaving many descendants and populating the world. A sprout can live indefinitely as long as it has the energy to spend on every step. It can move around the field until it produces branches. Each sprout can produce between one and three branches, i.e., it can create new cells. The sprout itself then turns into wood, which is one more class of cells that transports energy from the energy-collecting cells to the sprout.

The lifespan of each cell is dependent on the amount of energy spent on its creation. The last class of cells is the seed. This is a dormant outgrowth that consumes almost no energy. The organism can occasionally shoot out seeds to some distance. When a cell's lifespan comes to a close, it simply disappears, leaving some organic matter and a charge in the soil. The seed has remained alone and becomes the sprout, and the process repeats.

Sprouts and Genome Mutation

Using organic poisoning, the world is divided into 8 sectors. In each sector, 4555 sprouts are randomly generated, each with a randomly generated genome. The majority of these will die, but some may give birth to new life. The genome of each sprout has a slight probability of mutation with every step, and a random number in the genome will change. This is exactly what triggers the mechanism of evolution. Cells with a more successful genome have a higher probability of leaving many descendants and populating the world.

Cell Classes and Lifespan

There are several classes of cells in the world we have created. Leaf cells can photosynthesize, root cells can convert organic matter into energy, and antenna cells can accumulate charges. Sprouts are responsible for the prescription of the genome and for the creation of new cells. Wood cells transport energy from the energy-collecting cells to the sprout. The lifespan of each cell is dependent on the amount of energy spent on its creation. The last class of cells is the seed, which is a dormant outgrowth that consumes almost no energy.

The Universal Organism

The universal organism gets its energy from three sources. It gets its energy both from the sun as well as from organic matter. Although, at the moment, not enough organic matter has accumulated in the soil. It demonstrates the ability to turn to avoid obstacles. Leaves have the ability to produce the largest amount of energy, but for that, they need free space. And when they are near other leaves, net energy production becomes zero.

Political Map of the World

From the beginning, the locality each organism originates from is noted. We will refer to these as clans. The political map of the world is constantly changing as clans expand and contract. You can pick which clan will be dominant by the end of the simulation.

Organic Matter Build-Up

Organic matter in the soil can be converted into energy by root cells as well as by single sprouts. Such organic matter accumulates, and when it reaches a certain level, that location becomes toxic. The darker the background, the more organic matter has built up in the area. The red areas are those where the build-up has surpassed the limits, and the area cannot support life. With such levels of organic matter in the soil, the death of one cell can make the area around it poisonous and cause the death of neighboring cells, which also adds more organic matter to the soil, leading to a cascading expansion of the poisonous zone.

Waste Problems and Cleansing

Severe waste problems have started in the central sectors. The eighth sector is actively using the roots, thereby cleansing the area of excess organic matter. The first sector appears to be trailing behind and has yet to experience waste problems.

Destruction of Borders and Encounters

We are approaching a new epoch: The epoch of the destruction of borders; encounters between different groups, mass killings, and flows of refugees. The 7th clan has penetrated into the 3rd sector. The first contact was rather subtle, but it's already too late to stop the expansion. The 7th clan is beginning to occupy the 3rd sector, but it does so in a non-aggressive manner. It appears that no one group is eating another, but those from sector 7 are more successful at occupying free spaces, leaving those from sector 3 no room for growth. They get energy from different sources. Sunlight is currently low, and the 3rd clan, which uses the sun's energy, is growing rather slowly. This plays right into the hands of the 7th clan. The 7th clan has occupied sector 3 and has started dismantling the walls of sector 2. It is also trying to penetrate into sector 6.

Cannibalism and Mass Killings

Mass cannibalism has ensued in sector 1, and streams of refugees have fled to the walls trying to break through them. They are being helped by compassionate residents from the opposite side. In the lower part of sector 5, the refugees have started having lunch with the locals, which begs the question: are these really refugees? Thanks to mutation, sector 1 produced a formidable unicellular predator whose descendants have cleaned out the whole sector and lunged into the 5th. However, there may have been one or several species that turned out to be resistant to this predator.

Unicellular Predators and Resistance

The unicellular predators from the 1st clan differ very much in their genomes. They have a similar appearance, but their behavior can be completely different, and they can be assigned to different species. The organisms have adapted to the constant presence of predators. All those that couldn't adapt died. How they do this, we do not know, and it requires a time-consuming analysis.

Clan Display Mode

A clan is not a species, but direct descendants and original organisms that were territorial divided into 8 clans. A clan can have multiple species. Even the unicellular predators from the first clan differ very much in their genomes. They have a similar appearance, but their behavior can be completely different, and they can be assigned to different species.

Contact Between Two Worlds

What would happen if we created two worlds, and contact between them was possible? I conducted a similar experiment on a small Scale by dividing one world into two parts and removing the barrier between them when both parts have developed. The world where unicellular predators originated quickly destroyed the other world that did not have unicellular predators. So unicellular predators are a kind of immune system for the world that destroys all the aliens that do not have time to adapt to them.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this simulation of an evolution model has shown us the origins of life, acts of violence, flows of refugees, mass genocide, and ecological catastrophes. We have seen how the world is built, the different energy sources, organic matter and energy poisoning, sprouts and genome mutation, cell classes and lifespan, the universal organism, the political map of the world, organic matter build-up, waste problems and cleansing, destruction of borders and encounters, cannibalism and mass killings, unicellular predators and resistance, clan display mode, and contact between two worlds. This simulation has given us a glimpse into the complex and fascinating world of evolution.