History Main / EvolutionaryStasis

So, you have a story that's set [[SciFiWritersHave/NoSenseOfTime millions or billions of years in the future]]. It's safe to assume that there are still humans, or possibly other organic life forms, still reproducing.

* ZigZaggingTrope in ''Film/PlanetOfTheApes1968''. It's notably averted with the apes, with the [[ItWasHisSled famous twist]] revealing that the planet was EarthAllAlong and its inhabitants the evolutionary descendants of orangutans, chimpanzees and gorillas (who have all [[GoalOrientedEvolution conveniently converged towards very similar, more humanoid forms]]). However, over the same timescale, the surviving homo sapiens have remained anatomically identical, albeit [[FuturePrimitive regressing culturally and losing the ability to speak.]] Though given that it's only about 2,000 years in the future, arguably the large degree to which the apes have changed is arguably ''less'' realistic than the lack of change to the humans.

Keep in mind that modern-day humans [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_modern_human aren't that different physically]] from prehistoric ''Homo sapiens''. If you took a human from 50,000, or even 100,000 years ago[[note]]But not millions, although some (rare) other species didn't change much externally for even longer.[[/note]] and raised them with modern nutrition and medicine, they'd probably be indistinguishable from any of us.

Keep in mind that modern-day humans [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_modern_human aren't that different physically]] from prehistoric ''Homo sapiens''. If you took a human from 50,000, or even 100,000 years ago and raised them with modern nutrition and medicine, they'd probably be indistinguishable from any of us.

* ZigZaggingTrope in ''Film/PlanetOfTheApes1968''. It's notably averted with the apes, with the [[ItWasHisSled famous twist]] revealing that the planet was EarthAllAlong and its inhabitants the evolutionary descendants of orangutans, chimpanzees and gorillas (who have all [[GoalOrientedEvolution conveniently converged towards very similar, more humanoid forms]]). However, over the same timescale, the surviving homo sapiens have remained anatomically identical, albeit [[FuturePrimitive regressing culturally and losing the ability to speak.]]

* In Creator/RobertEHoward's "The Hyborian Age", the BackStory of ''Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian'', he inverts this, regarding cultural evolution as fixed, the failure of which, even in a short period of time, needs explaination.

* A recurring plot point over the years with Marvel Comics species the Kree, who have retained the same basic look for millions of years, and their DNA has stubbornly resisted any attempt to get it to budge, despite some very, ''very'' spirited efforts from their leaders (up to and including blowing up a chunk of their home galaxy to give them a kick in the metaphorical ass). ... of course, it would probably help if a lot of the Kree weren't also fanatically racist and hell-bent on maintaining "genetic purity". One plotline, during ''Avengers Forever'', had them actually breaking the stasis... and then this got promptly ignored by every other writer afterward.

[[folder:Films - Live Action]]

* In ''Literature/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'', it is mentioned that the [[ScaryDogmaticAliens Vogons]] stopped evolving shortly after they stopped being an aquatic species. The planet Vogsphere has created many other life forms far more appealing than the Vogons, which they inevitably destroy for their own amusement.
** To lampshade it, the book even states that evolution threw up its metaphorical hands in horror at the sight of the Vogons in daylight, refused to let them evolve again, and produced the other, amazingly beautiful creatures of Vogsphere in compensation for the Vogons.

* ''Anime/NowAndThenHereAndThere'' is set 5 billion years in the future and humans haven't changed at all. It's possible the human population was brought to the future by time travel, the way Shu is, but that's never implied in the series. Other modern-day animals, such as cats, cows, and crows, are also seen in the future. However, there are also some "futuristic" creatures that do seem to have evolved from those of the present, such as some weird bird-like bipeds and a massive AntlionMonster.

* In the ''Literature/{{Dinotopia}}'' books, the dinosaurs on the island still look exactly like they did millions of years ago, even though evolution has continued to progress normally in the rest of the world.

See also MedievalStasis, which is about lack of cultural changes over millennia.

So, you have a {{dystopia}}n epic set [[SciFiWritersHave/NoSenseOfTime millions or billions of years in the future]]. It's safe to assume that there are still humans, or possibly other organic life forms, still reproducing.

One would think that, even if natural selection has ceased to be a factor because of a static environment, mutation and genetic drift would still be factors. Even the proponents of DesignerBabies rarely intend to micromanage ''everything''. (Genetic drift will happen in the parts that aren't.) And even cloning gets mutations. And if any other species has survived, then they should be affected by evolution, too.

But writers tend to ignore any possible evolution unless it's directly related to the plot. It may be on purpose, to save the trouble of imagining new species; WorldBuilding is a major distraction from writing, after all. And it's commonly believed that [[MostWritersAreHuman humans as we know them are more relatable]] than [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman barely recognizable humanoid beasts]] who don't even resemble any other known species. (The ones that ''do'' resemble known species generally have undergone an AnthropomorphicShift, which generally did not happen naturally...) A nonhuman human might as well be an alien...

* ''Anime/NowAndThenHereAndThere'' is set 5 billion years in the future and humans haven't changed at all. It's possible the human population was brought to the future by time travel, the way Shu is, but that's never implied in the series. Other modern-day animals, such as cats, cows, and crows, are also seen in the future.

* ''Anime/NowAndThenHereAndThere'' is set 5 billion years in the future and humans haven't changed at all. Now, it's possible the human population was brought to the future by the 'bound' system, but that's never implied in the series. Other modern-day animals, such as cats, cows, and crows, are also seen in the future.

This also happens with {{Lost World}}s, where the dinosaurs and other prehistoric species look exactly like the ones that were around hundreds of millions of years ago (and in especially JustForFun/{{egregious}} examples, may include species that are further apart from each other in time than we are from dinosaurs).

* ''Film/KingKong1933'': Despite being a LostWorld where the Dinosaurs still roam, none of Skull Island’s wildlife look any different from [[ScienceMarchesOn what we thought the Dinosaurs looked like back in 1933]]. The [[Film/KingKong2005 2005]] remake averts this by replacing the UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex with a fictional genus that evolved from the T. Rex.

* ZigZaggingTrope in ''Film/PlanetOfTheApes''. It's notably averted with the apes, with the [[ItWasHisSled famous twist]] revealing that the planet was EarthAllAlong and its inhabitants the evolutionary descendants of orangutans, chimpanzees and gorillas (who have all [[GoalOrientedEvolution conveniently converged towards very similar, more humanoid forms]]). However, over the same timescale, the surviving homo sapiens have remained anatomically identical, albeit [[FuturePrimitive regressing culturally and losing the ability to speak.]]

->''Now I'm the king of the swingers, oh\\
The jungle VIP\\
I've reached the top but had to stop\\
And that's what's bothering me''
-->-- '''King Louie''', ''WesternAnimation/{{The Jungle Book|1967}}''

* This is a real thing in some species, which are usually called "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_fossil living fossils]]". Examples include horseshoe crabs, coelacanths, and triops shrimp, all of which have remained physically unchanged for over 200 million years.

So, you have a {{dystopia}}n epic set millions or billions of years in the future. It's safe to assume that there are still humans, and possibly other organic life forms, still reproducing.

But writers tend to ignore any possible evolution unless it's directly related to the plot. It may be on purpose, to save the trouble of imagining new species; WorldBuilding is a major distraction from writing, after all. And it's commonly believed that humans as we know them are more relatable than barely recognizable humanoid beasts who don't even resemble any other known species. (The ones that ''do'' resemble known species generally have undergone an AnthropomorphicShift, which generally did not happen naturally...) A nonhuman human might as well be an alien...

* [[OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness Seele]] from ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' believe this to be the case; that human evolution has stagnated, and that humans must be forced to evolve through the Human Instrumentality Project, which involves [[spoiler: merging the souls of all humans with the EldritchAbomination Lilith, progenitor of all terrestrial life]].

* Despite being born millennia in the past, the immortal ComicBook/VandalSavage still looks identical to the modern ''Homo sapiens''. An easy HandWave for this is that Vandal is probably a common ancestor for most of humanity by this point, but the point still stands.

* Averted in ''Literature/TheUnderlandChronicles'' in that the underlander humans' eyes turned purple and their hair turned a very light blond. Although how living underground could cause a change in melanin levels that quickly could be an example of artistic license.

* In ''Literature/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'', it is mentioned that the Vogons stopped evolving shortly after they stopped being an aquatic species. The planet Vogsphere has created many other life forms far more appealing than the Vogons, which they inevitably destroy for their own amusement.

** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E1NewEarth "New Earth"]] and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E3Gridlock "Gridlock"]], taking place 5 billion years in the future, pure humans are extinct, but the descendent species look identical.

* An ExploitedTrope in ''VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}}''. [[spoiler:The BigBad Zanza hid the DNA of the Telethia, draconic monsters that serve as macroscopic digestive bacteria for his true body, the Bionis, inside of the [[OurElvesAreDifferent High Entia]], a sentient, technologically-advanced species created specifically for the role. By hiding them inside]] beings who rely on technology rather than adapting to their environment, [[spoiler:the Telethia]] genes would be protected from [[spoiler:the ravages of]] natural selection [[spoiler:in order to prevent them from changing too much to be usable before Zanza was ready to consume all life en masse. Fortunately this didn't work 100%, as the High Entia royal family somehow learned the truth and set up a BreedingCult using intermarriages with humans to try and breed out the Telethia genes]].

** To lampshade it, the book even states that evolution threw up it's metaphorical hands in horror at the sight of the Vogons in daylight, refused to let them evolve again, and produced the other, amazingly beautiful creatures of Vogsphere in compensation for the Vogons.

* Averted in ''Literature/TheUnderlandChronicles'' in that the underlander humans' eyes turned purple and their hair turned a very light blond. Although how living under ground could cause a change in melanin levels that quickly could be an example of artistic license.

-->--'''King Louie''', ''WesternAnimation/{{The Jungle Book|1967}}''

* An ExploitedTrope in ''VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}}''. [[spoiler:The BigBad Zanza hid the DNA of the Telethia, draconic monsters that serve as macroscopic digestive bacteria for his true body, the Bionis, inside of the [[OurElvesAreBetter High Entia]], a sentient, technologically-advanced species created specifically for the role. By hiding them inside]] beings who rely on technology rather than adapting to their environment, [[spoiler:the Telethia]] genes would be protected from [[spoiler:the ravages of]] natural selection [[spoiler:in order to prevent them from changing too much to be usable before Zanza was ready to consume all life en masse. Fortunately this didn't work 100%, as the High Entia royal family somehow learned the truth and set up a BreedingCult using intermarriages with humans to try and breed out the Telethia genes]].

* ''Anime/NowAndThenHereAndThere'' is set 5 billion years in the future and humans haven't changed at all. Now, it's possible the human population was brought to the future by the 'bound' system, but that's never implied in the series.