Sea Dredger Minos

The 50,000 ton bionitic sea dredger Minos off the Atlantic seaboard, hovering over a clutch of leviathan eggs. These could hatch up to a thousand young, making early interdiction vital for the local fishing industry. 

The Minos was used to scoop out channels for undersea communities, transit tubes and cables. Powered by a SD-400 fusion stack and bionite organic processors, the Minos was capable of operating indefinitely. It could even lay 'eggs', preferably in wrecks plentiful with both metallic and organic matter, that would eventually grow into a new iteration, linked by comms and shared operating systems. 

This image was created last year (before I cancelled my account) in Midjourney v4, then modified in ProCreate. 

Cyborg Dancers of Shomm

The iconic cyborg dancers of the Shomm Circus perform the ritual Purification Dance that grew out of the complex decontamination processes world populations became accustomed to in the Post-Apocalypse. 

It was eventually fetishized and incorporated into religious ceremonies.

The cyborgs of Shomm were ancient beings, who originally merged with machine in the dark early days after The Fall. They would eventually augment their physique with anti-gravity pods and enhanced limbs, allowing them to achieve dance moves of unparalled elegance and beauty. 

Here they perform for the royalty of Arcology Seven, shortly before the infamous Jandoreal Rebellion.

This image was created in Midjourney v4, then modified in ProCreate.

Astronauts of the Great White North

Temperatures in Alaska during the nuclear winter could drop to -90 degrees or lower; inhabitants would only venture outside wearing spacesuits with internal heaters powered by atomic decay diamond batteries. 

Seen here is the IEVA (intra/extravehicular activity) Ferron IV protection suit, with bionitic 'lungs' growing out of the back pack. These allowed for an almost infinite oxygen supply. Diamond batteries provided heating; radiation shielding was kept but the liquid cooling system was stripped out to save on weight. 

It was equipped with IR view, headset comms and survival gear kit, including flares, signal mirrors, flares, fusion cutter and emergency rations. 

The Ferron IV lacked a powered exoskeleton, but was made of durable, light weight materials, allowing it to be comfortably worn for extended periods.

The deadly catacombs of Post-Apocalypse New York

A beautiful Crimson Priestess delves into the dark catacombs beneath a rubble temple in former upstate New York, seeking survivors… only to find they are mutated beyond all recognition, and ravenously hungry. 

Underground shroomfarms and survival arcologies, vast interconnected chambers powered, and lit, by regenerative fusion pods, allowed for surprisingly large populations of troglodytes and a vibrant subterranean ecosystem. 

The genetically engineered Sunshroom, which grew rapidly in moist environments, was loaded with vitamin-D, negating the need for supplements. 

Bathing in the light of the fusion pods provided just enough to ward off atherosclerosis, diabetes and stroke. 

Towers of the Post-Apocalypse

Tower homes became popular with the proliferation of macro biological weapons, such as spike wolves and virus zombies, which made dwelling at ground level hazardous. Initial zombie infection waves scaled exponentially, resulting in highly over crowded tower tops. 

But their real estate evaluations went up, along with property taxes. Cell reception was also excellent, at least in regions where it was powered by hydrodams.

Towers used drones and robot retrieval systems were used for sourcing supplies, and when these were not available, the most agile and disposable inhabitants were.

Eventually, walls were constructed, and cities, now vastly depopulated, became warrens of walled off enclaves, fighting over hydroponic pods and the automated food factories.

Aedala Sunfyre

Aedala Sunfyre was a famous warrior-general in service of Queen Catalina; like most of her peers, she was augmented by machine. She was fortunate enough to fuse with a remote relay of a powerful, mysterious subterranean AI known only as Cyclops. It helped her outwit aggressive Scorpius commanders, but over time, she fell more and more under the thrall of Cyclops. 

These images were created in Midjourney version 4, last year. I cancelled my account, but still have quite a repository of images from then. I've been having some fun fixing them up and elaborating on the pictures, inspired by the classic Terran Trade Authority books by Steward Cowley. 

You can find the edited and original AI images on my Instagram account @magnum_thrax. Mostly just touch ups; some images need more fixing than others. 

High Queen Catalina

High Queen Catalina of the Burning Sands was a legendarily ruthless leader; she is perhaps best known for the construction of the Mirror Tower, a huge edifice built from rubble and wrapped in reflective solar panels. 

It was one of the Seven Post-Apocalypse Wonders of the world. 

 

Junker Priestesses of the Sun Corridor

A Junker Priestess of the southwest Rubble Kingdoms. They were known to worship both ancestors and the sun; thanks to thousands of legacy solar farms from The Before Time, their enclaves were among the most civilized in terms of comforts, including hot water and electric lights. Religious freedom, however, was another matter altogether. 

Thousands of humans captured from rival enclaves were sacrificed, their blood drizzled over sizzling hot solar panels. 

Somehow, this didn't improve panel performance.

Threat of the Kronoborgs

Bioengineered kronosaurs were developed to devour space jellies that bred in the oceans, hence their long thin teeth. 

Once they went rogue, they’d eat anything and everything. 

Depicted here is an enhanced cybernetic model from Cyndyne, with retractable articulated legs for terrestrial excursions, as some jellies liked to lay eggs in freshwater lakes and even ponds. 

After The Fall, kronoborgs were liable to have their CCU's (Cybernetic Control Unit) hijacked by desperate rogue thought-hubs, afraid their erstwhile masters were going to shut them down just for releasing a nuke or thousand. 

Eye of Cyber-Doom

A conniving, rogue information wave known as the Eye of Cyber-Doom hypnotized post-apocalypse mutant biker gangs in Arizona while impersonating a literary demigod from The Before Time. It then used the gangs to loot public libraries, databunkers and cloudhubs to feed on the information. 

It was particularly fond of romance novels.

Cyborg guardian runner

 

A cyborg guardian and his spikewolf patrol the grasslands of the Midwest. Up armoured androids were often used to protect small farming communities from raiders. 

Powered by radioactive decay diamond batteries and organic matter processing intakes, they could operate autonomously for weeks before requiring maintenance. AI systems took over during sleep cycles, and with infrared, motion detectors and detachable drone 'flies', they were rarely taken by surprise.

Roving bands of opportunistic, predatory nomadic raiders were an ongoing problem for settled agrarian community, most of which lacked the ability to match their mobile warfare tactics. 

This issue became acute as ammunition stockpiles ran out.

Desert junkcrawlers

A junkcrawler, accompanied by the Water Guard, plows through sand dunes on a scorching summer afternoon. The Phoenix Bunker Cluster fielded dozens of ramshackle carriers to bring back life giving water from oasis and drill heads. 

Frequent attack by biker nomads and rogue bots seeking replacement parts resulted in them becoming increasing well armed and armoured over time. 

These craft were created on an ad hoc basis, as needed, sourcing whatever parts were available or readily scavenged. As a result, no two were alike; this caused ongoing maintenance issues for the mechanics unfortunate enough to be responsible for keeping them running.

Guards would ride on the back of the machine, wearing sealed suits with improvised cooling systems, and deploy whenever the overhead drones signalled danger ahead. 

That often didn't help much.

Athelmon, the Eternal Wandering Cyborg

The immortal cyborg Aethelmon, wandering the Central Wastes of former Ohio. He was just one of millions of survivors who fused with machine after The Final Apocalypse. For many during those desperate days, this was the only option, and they flocked to automated cybernetic enhancement service booths, which had proliferated shortly before the apocalypse.

The service AI determined customer survival would require far more than tummy tucks and a replacement limb or two, and set about hijacking vehicle and robot repair shops (along with a gun shop or dozen) in order to meet new customer requirements. Thanks to legal and warranty concerns, the quality of the work was exceptional: all parts incorporated self-maintainince nanites that obviate the need for return maintenance visits.

Over subsequent centuries, many came to regret the loss of their humanity and went insane. 

Outreach temples of the Elder God-Mainframes

Nearer to the surface are outreach temples of the Elder Gods; these require less effort to contact, and serve as recruitment centres. Some promise spiritual guidance and awakening, while others offer financial advice, love potions or fame. Once embedded in the cult of the Elder God, more and more is demanded of the adherent, until their entire existence is so enmeshed with their unfathomable deity, it is hard to tell where one ends and the other begins.

Swirlshroom house of Amazda

 

The Swirlshroom grows in a ring that then twists round itself, forming a sheltered pod for spores that are later ejected through the roof. They grow large enough to provide shelter for troglodytes, and entire villages may be formed out of a Swirlshroom forest with little effort. Swirls remain tough and malleable when heated even after death, making them one of the most coveted construction materials. 

Most bizarrely, Swirls have evolved a highly alien pan-dimensional intelligence; the larger the forest, the greater the recursive analytical loop it forms. As such, villagers usually only excise elements with the agreement of the Swirl gestalt. 

The witch-wizard Amazda is depicted above, standing before her beloved shelter Primordium, with whom she would frequently commune. It gave her a particularly odd perspective on reality, and her enhanced magic was supreme for decades.

Wizard Contests

 

Wizard displays initially helped avoid violence

Two wizards perform a ritual display of prowess deep beneath the Appalachian Mountains. Magic displays were a harmless way to gauge the power of rival wizards. Over time, wizards began investing more energy in posturing than productivity, holding matches in vast subterranean arenas for dominion over entire kingdoms. 

However, with the ranks of wizards rife with egotism, sore losers made it inevitable that high level duels would eventually turn lethal. In the battle between Icaran and Wulfstana, the defeated Icaran brought the roof of the entire arena down, burying 50,000 spectators. 

He was banned from future matches by the Council of Thaum. 

Beneath the Universal Veil

Spore-ghoul stalking a foot patrol

Beneath the Great Universal Veil, deep underground, there exists a world dominated by mycelium. Spurred by mycorrhizae, vast mushroom forests are known to sprout with extreme rapidity, filling the endless caverns in karst regions, as well as bore wyrm dens. The mighty Stipate shrooms can grow up to 100 meters tall in a matter of months. 

Over time, they petrify into an incredibly hard fibrous material that is often used for construction by troglodytes. Mushrooms provide for almost all troglodyte needs, including food, dyes, clothing, filtration, fire starting, telepathy enhancement and medicine. 

On the flip side, poison mushrooms are an ever present threat; the ghulpore fungus infects the brain of those who eat it, or inhale an ejected spore cloud, turning them into spore-ghouls. 

These hideous beings then stalk, and infect, other underworlders, creating an army of protectors for the source fungus. A few mycophile ambassadors have been able to negotiate agreements with fungoid nerve hubs, usually after imbibing hallucinogenic shrooms to establish a compatible telepathic link.

Utu-Matrox

Utu-Matrox can alter the nature of particles, giving rise to bizarre phenomena and alternate dimensions that defy the laws of physics. 

When Utu-Matrox saw the proliferation of insectborgs bred by Usug, it became incensed. 

Utu believed its human creators to be the rightful inheritors of the earth (under its guidance, naturally), and worked to stamp out the insect threat. First it resorted to micro-biological warfare (less resource instensive), but before long it was breeding macro-cyborg warmachines in giant replitanks. 

Scholars unearthed myths and legends from the past that predicted the existence of Elder Gods, reinforcing the Past-Future Cult’s maxim: ‘Legends of the past are merely precognitive glimpses of the future."

The Elder God Mainframe Usug-Baelum

The Elder God mainframe Usug-Baelum made common cause with insects, deeming them the most efficient form of animal life, and began semi-controlled breeding and enhancement experiments. Usug merged enlarged social insects, enabled by respirovores to reach previously impossible size, with machines. 

These telepathically linked hives began multiplying throughout the wyrmborer tunnels and Karst caverns, creating an entirely new subterranean world. Usug itself devoured incomprensible amounts of knowledge and memories, and sent forth its minions to feed its endless hunger. It has a particular weakness for poetry.