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{{Short description|Fictional ancient race of beings}}
<ref></ref>{{Unreferenced|date=July 2015}}
An '''elder''' or '''progenitor race''', in [[science fiction]], [[fantasy]], or [[horror fiction]], is an ancient race that not only preceded but helped shape the races that followed, often playing a significant role in the basis of the story. [[Human|Humanity]] may have been descended from them, or they may be a different [[fictional race]], such as [[Elves in fiction|elves]], [[Dwarf (folklore)|dwarves]], or [[Extraterrestrial life|aliens]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Clute|first=John|url=http://sf-encyclopedia.uk/fe.php?nm=elder_races|title=Elder Races|publisher=Orbit|year=1997|location=London|access-date=2021-08-16}}</ref> While in some cases, whether they currently exist is unclear, in other instances, members of an elder race still inhabit the world, either openly or in secret. In order to hide their existence, they may make use of a [[wainscot society]], inhabit a [[Parallel universes in fiction|parallel universe]], only visiting the current one occasionally, or disguise themselves as a [[Fool (stock character)|fool]], [[deity]], [[Magician (fantasy)|magician]] or [[trickster]].<ref name=":0" /> One such example is in ''[[Lord of Light]]'' (1967), where highly advanced humans take on the identities of [[Hindu deities]] and act as gods to the less advanced colonists.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |editor-last=Westfahl |editor-first=Gary |author-last=Swayer|author-first=Andy |author-link=Andy Sawyer |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/60401685 |title=The Greenwood encyclopedia of science fiction and fantasy : themes, works, and wonders |date=2005 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=0-313-32950-8 |location=Westport, Conn. |chapter=Elder Races |pages=238–239 |oclc=60401685}}</ref>
An '''elder race''' in [[science fiction]], [[fantasy]], or [[horror fiction]] is a fictional [[Extraterrestrial life in popular culture|alien]] race that preceded [[human race|humanity]]. Occasionally they are a more advanced version of humanity instead of aliens (e.g., the [[Stargate]] Ancients). Elder races generally have abilities and [[technology|technologies]] (or [[magic (paranormal)|magics]], in some cases) that generally far surpass that of humanity. In works of science fiction, their technologies are often so advanced as to seem magical or even godlike both to the human protagonists and to the present-day reader.
 
Elder races are typically either technologically or spiritually powerful, as well as wise. While sometimes benevolent, assisting younger races, they can also often be amoral, as in [[H. P. Lovecraft|H.P. Lovecraft]]'s [[Cthulhu Mythos]], where the [[Cthulhu Mythos deities|Elder Gods]] are indifferent to humanity's "petty" concerns. They are usually presented as having drifted apart from humanity in the present of the story, sometimes as [[Lost city|lost empires]] whose inhabitants either left their former home for a new one, or were destroyed by a catastrophe and only live on in legend, such as [[Atlantis]]. They may appear both as enemies, or as allies against a greater threat.<ref name=":2" />
In some works, the elder race has long since departed the scene, leaving nothing but artifacts and other evidence of their activities. In others, the elder race remains in existence, but is in decline or has deliberately withdrawn to the periphery in order to avoid interfering with the development of humanity and any other younger races. A few elder races are portrayed as still being very much active in the story-current scene, and members of them may function as advisers or as [[antagonist]]s.
 
== In science fiction ==
Some elder races are portrayed as wise benefactors, bringing culture and knowledge to humanity and other younger races. Other elder races are callous exploiters, and regard younger races as so much raw material to be used and even used up. A few are portrayed ambiguously, with their well-intended actions having unexpected consequences. For instance, a client race may use their new-found technology for self-destruction, or a policy of non-interference may turn out to be a way of abdicating [[Moral responsibility|responsibility]] for using one's power wisely (power corrupts the best of intentions).
The trope of the elder race is used in science fiction to explore the tensions within [[family]], as well as the relationship between [[Colonization|colonizers]] and colonized. As such, the elder race is usually presented as far older and more decadent than the younger one, and who are undeserving of their status of ownership, or themselves deserve to be owned in turn.<ref name=":2" />
 
In the film ''[[Prometheus (2012 film)|Prometheus]]'' (2012), the Engineers are depicted as humanity's progenitor race.<ref name=":1">{{Cite magazine|last=Kluger|first=Jeffrey|date=2012-06-11|title=Prometheus 101: The Science Behind Ridley Scott's Vision of Aliens Populating Earth|language=en-US|magazine=Time|url=https://entertainment.time.com/2012/06/11/prometheus-ridley-scott-alien/|access-date=2021-08-16|issn=0040-781X}}</ref>
 
In the ''[[Babylon 5]]'' TV series, the [[Vorlon]]s, representatives of order, and the [[Shadow (Babylon 5)|Shadows]], Lovecraftian proponents of chaos, are elder races manipulating younger species throughout history in a surrogate war of ideals.<ref name=":2"/><ref name="Babylon5">{{Cite book |editor-last=Westfahl |editor-first=Gary |author-last=Anders |author-first=Lou |author-link=Lou Anders |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/60401685 |title=The Greenwood encyclopedia of science fiction and fantasy : themes, works, and wonders|date=2005|publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=0-313-32950-8 |location=Westport, Conn. |chapter=''Babylon 5'' (1993-1998) |pages=926–927 |oclc=60401685}}</ref><ref name="Ney">{{cite book |last1=Ney |first1=Sharon |last2=Sciog-Lazarov |first2=Elaine M. |date=2000 |title=Fantasy Girls: Gender in the New Universe of Science Fiction and Fantasy Television |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |chapter=The Construction of Feminine Identity in Babylon 5 |isbn=0-8476-9834-3}}</ref>{{rp|223}}<ref>{{cite book |author-last=Woodward |author-first=Jennifer |editor1-last=Bould |editor1-first=Mark |editor2-last=Butler |editor2-first=Andrew M. |editor3-last=Roberts |editor3-first=Adam |editor4-last=Vint |editor4-first=Sherryl |date=2009 |title=Fifty Key Figures in Science Fiction |publisher=[[Routledge]] |chapter=J. Michael Straczynski (1954-) |page=217 |isbn=9781135285340}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Roberts |first=Daniel |author-link= |date=2012 |title=Famous Robots and Cyborgs |publisher=[[Pen and Sword Books]] |chapter=Living Ships |isbn=978-1-84468-079-5}}</ref> Their presence is used in the show "to create an effective sense of the epic",<ref name=":2"/> while their actions later in the series subvert the expectation that they are wiser than the younger races.<ref>{{Cite book |editor-last=Westfahl |editor-first=Gary |author-last=Mains |author-first=Christine |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/60401685 |title=The Greenwood encyclopedia of science fiction and fantasy : themes, works, and wonders|date=2005|publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=0-313-32950-8 |location=Westport, Conn. |chapter=Wisdom |pages=893 |oclc=60401685}}</ref> The struggle of humans and their partners to break free from the influence of the "First Ones" is a pivotal climax of ''Babylon 5''.<ref name="Babylon5"/><ref name="Ney"/>{{rp|238}}
 
== In science ==
The idea of an extraterrestrial elder race has been compared to [[panspermia]], the hypothesis that human life may have been extraterrestrial in origin.<ref name=":1" />
 
== Examples ==
* The Isu (sometimes called Those Who Came Before) - [[Assassin's Creed series]].
* The Builders from the [[Heritage Universe]].
* The creators of the monoliths in [[Arthur C. Clarke]]'s ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey (novel)|2001]]'' series as well as unnamed and unseen aliens, sometimes known as the 'Firstborn', in [[2001: A Space Odyssey|the movie]].
* The "elder race of man" of Rush's ''[[2112 (album)|2112]]'' are portrayed as humans from our era, the ones that are not under control of a totalitarian government.
* The evil in the novel ''[[The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel]]'' are the dark elders who are trying to take back the Earth.
* Progenitor Manifold Caretakers and Usurpers – ''[[Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire]]''.
* The Lambent Kith Nebula and the Spirit of the Abyss – ''[[Andromeda (TV series)|Andromeda]]''.
* [[Vorlon]]s, [[Shadow (Babylon 5)|Shadows]], [[Civilizations in Babylon 5#The Hand|The Hand]], Thirdspace aliens and the First Ones – ''[[Babylon 5]]''.
* The Beings of Light and [[Count Iblis]] from the original ''[[Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series)|Battlestar Galactica]]''.
* Cthonians – ''[[Battlezone (1998 video game)|Battlezone]]''.
* Shapers - [[Larklight]].
* The [[Founding races from the Malazan Book of the Fallen series|Four Founding Races]], the Jaghut, Imass, K'Chain Che'Malle and Forkrul Assail, along with several [[Human races from the Malazan Book of the Fallen series|Human ancestor-races]] such as the Imass, [[Thelomen Toblakai]], Trell, Barghast, Moranth and Eres'al, who all share a direct ancestry with humans through the Imass, themselves descended from the Eres'al, along with several [[Invading races from the Malazan Book of the Fallen series|invading races]] such as [[Tiste Edur]], [[Tiste Andii]], [[Tiste Liosan]] and the Eleint from [[Ian Cameron Esslemont]] and [[Steven Erikson]]'s ''[[Malazan Book of the Fallen]]''.
* The [[List of Beast Wars and Beast Machines characters#Non-aligned characters|Vok]] – ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers]]''.
* Demons in the [[Buffyverse]] predate humans. Giles tells the Scoobies that unlike what "popular mythology" would have us believe, this world did not begin as a paradise.
* Kingdom of Zeal – ''[[Chrono Trigger]]''.
* [[Elder Thing]]s in the [[Cthulhu Mythos]] of [[H. P. Lovecraft]], they created life on Earth after its come from outer space one billion years ago.
* Elder and Sublimed civilisations – [[The Culture]].
* The Jokers in [[Terry Pratchett]]'s ''[[The Dark Side of the Sun]]'' (1976), who predate all the sentient species in the novel, leaving behind artefacts and a cryptic poem.
* [[Guardians of the Universe]], [[The Controllers|Controllers]], [[Zamarons]] and the [[New Gods]] – DC Comics
* The Ancients and Shivans – ''[[Descent: FreeSpace – The Great War]]''.
* The Guardians of Time and the Eternals, and to lesser extents the [[Time Lord]]s, Osirians, Disciples of Light, Great Vampires and The Grace – ''[[Doctor Who]]''.
* Caleban – ''[[The Dosadi Experiment]]''.
* [[Ancients (Farscape)|Ancients]], [[Builders (Farscape)|Builders]] – ''[[Farscape]]''.
* The Krell of ''[[Forbidden Planet]]'' who achieved the pinnacle of technology and destroyed themselves in one night.
* The Creators – ''[[Bio Booster Armor Guyver|Guyver]]''.
* In ''[[Mass Effect]]'', the Protheans are believed to be the elder race of the [[Milky Way]], but it is later revealed that they, like many races before them, were controlled and destroyed by the Reapers. The creators of the Reapers as well as the citadel and mass relays are the true elder race, known as the Leviathans.
* The [[Kimera (species)|Kimera]] – ''[[Earth: Final Conflict]]''.
* The civilization of the Argonnessen giants in the ''D&D'' setting [[Eberron]].
* In a post-game interview, the [[Vortex life form]]s were said to be the originators of [[arthropod]]s in ''[[Ecco the Dolphin]]'' reality.
* The Ancients in the ''[[Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem]]'' video game.
* [[Anunnaki]], the creators of jumpgates in the ''[[Fading Suns]]'' [[role playing game]].
* Mr. Shadow and the ancient race that uses the [[The Fifth Element|Fifth Element]] to combat evil in the movie can be seen as elder races.
* Forerunners – ''Forerunner'' series by [[Andre Norton]].
* The Dom'Kavash – ''[[Freelancer (computer game)|Freelancer]]''.
* Precursor Arnor and Dread Lords – ''[[Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords]]''.
* The Nibblonians in ''[[Futurama]]''.
* The Solon – ''[[Haegemonia: Legions of Iron]]''.
* [[Forerunners (Halo)|Forerunners]], Precursors – [[Halo (series)|''Halo'' universe]], believed to have been races with massive industrial capability, having built the Maethrillian, the Greater and Lesser Ark, and the Halo Rings. The Precursors were supposedly ‘before time’, used Star Roads, and were trans-sentient. They were overthrown by their Forerunners, who were in turn hunted to near extinction by the Flood, a parasitic organism originating from the Precursors themselves.
* The Builders and the Red Race, in Fred Saberhagen's ''[[Berserker (Saberhagen)|Berserker]]'' series of novels and short stories
* [[Ogdru Jahad]] – ''[[Hellboy]]''.
* The people of [[Magrathea]] from ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]''.
* [[Progenitor (Homeworld)|Progenitors]], [[Bentusi]] – ''[[Homeworld]]'' series.
*The aliens from the 1996 film ''[[Independence Day (1996 film)|Independence Day]]'' were supposed to be an ancient race with far superior technology.
* The [[Human]]s from the point-and-click game ''[[Inherit the Earth]]''.
* The Precursors from the ''[[Jak and Daxter]]'' series.
* The [[Thrint|Slavers]], [[Pak Protector|Pak]] and the Outsiders – [[Larry Niven]]'s [[Known Space]] books.
* Aldenata – [[Legacy of the Aldenata]] series by [[John Ringo]].
* Arisians and Eddorians – [[E. E. Smith]]'s [[Lensman]].
* The [[Protoculture (anime)|Protoculture]] – [[Macross]].
* The Haydon [[Robotech II: The Sentinels]].
* Dreen – ''[[Man of Two Worlds (novel)|Man of Two Worlds]]''.
* [[Jjaro]], [[W'rkncacnter]] – ''[[Marathon Trilogy]]''.
* [[Celestials]] and the [[Watchers (comics)|Watcher]]s – Marvel Comics.
* The Ancient Orions and [[Antarans]] – ''[[Master of Orion]]''.
* [[Sithi]] – ''[[Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn]]'' series by [[Tad Williams]].
* The [[Heechee]] in [[Frederik Pohl]]'s story ''[[The Merchants of Venus]]'' and later the ''[[Gateway (novel)|Gateway]]'' series.
* [[Metroid (series)#Chozo|Chozo]], Luminoth – ''[[Metroid (series)|Metroid]]'' universe.
* Creators, also known as the Planners – ''[[Nexus: The Jupiter Incident]]''.
* Inhibitors / Wolves – ''[[Revelation Space]]''.
* The [[Robin Hobb#The Realm of the Elderlings|Elderlings]] in [[Robin Hobb|Robin Hobb's]] Farseer Trilogy, Liveship Traders Trilogy and The Tawny Man.
* The ancient race that built the world engines in ''[[Shadow Raiders]]''.
* [[Ainu (Middle-earth)|Ainur]] and [[Quendi]] – ''[[The Silmarillion]]''.
* The [[Precursor (Star Control)|Precursors]], [[Eternal Ones]] – ''[[Star Control]]''.
* [[Preservers (Star Trek)|Preservers]], [[Charlie X|Thasians]], [[Metrons]], the mysterious race of which [[The Squire of Gothos|Trelane]] and his parents were representative, [[Ancient humanoid (Star Trek)|Ancient humanoid]]s (possibly the same race), the Slaver Empire (a [[The Slaver Weapon|crossover]] with Known Space), the [[Prophet (Star Trek)|Prophet]]s, [[Pah-wraith]]s, [[Organian]]s, [[Sphere Builders]], Shedai, T'kon and [[Iconian]]s and the [[Q (Star Trek)|Q]] – ''[[Star Trek]]''.
* [[Architects]]/Builders, Gree, Sharu, Silentium, Abominor, Kathol and [[Rakatan]]s – ''[[Star Wars]]''.
* [[Xel'Naga]] – ''[[StarCraft]]''.
* The Ancients of ''[[Stargate]]'' are revealed to be an alliance of relocated and uplifted ancestors of the human race, and The Ancients. The humans are used as proxies, the source of the ancient stories of Atlantis, and being responsible for the presence of human life on thousands of planets in at least three galaxies (a result of their efforts to seed the galaxy in which they resided with life). It was never explained if the Ancients are deliberately responsible for human races' evolution (which took an identical form on their home, earth, and on all other seeded planets).
* [[Ancient (Stargate)|The Ancients]], [[Furling (Stargate)|Furlings]], [[Asgard (Stargate)|Asgard]] and [[Nox (Stargate)|Nox]] as well as the [[Ori (Stargate)|Ori]] – ''[[Stargate SG-1]]''.
* Precursors - an unknown species even older than the Ancients that embedded a signal/message or sentient intelligence into the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMBR) of the universe either prior to the Big Bang or very shortly after it – ''[[Stargate Universe]]''.
* The [[Xeelee]] and Photino Birds from [[Stephen Baxter (author)|Stephen Baxter]]'s novels.
* Progenitors – [[Uplift series]] by [[David Brin]].
* [[Titans (Warcraft)|Titans]] and the [[Races and factions of Warcraft#Naaru|Naaru]] – ''[[Warcraft]]''.
* Old Ones, [[Eldar (Warhammer 40,000)|Eldar]] and [[Necrontyr]] – ''[[Warhammer 40,000]]''.
* Markovians – ''Well of Souls'' series (see [[Well World]]).
* [[Kherubim]] and D'rahn – Wildstorm Comics.
* [[Steltek]] and [[Nephilim (Wing Commander)|Nephilim]] – [[Wing Commander (franchise)|Wing Commander]].
* The humans (sometimes called the Ancients) who populated the Old Kingdom from the videogames [[Fable (2004 video game)|Fable]] and [[Fable 2]]. The Old Kingdom was destroyed by a device known as The Tattered Spire, but it is uncertain whether this was purposeful or accidental.
* The Chimera of the [[Resistance (video game series)|Resistance games]] claim in [[Resistance 2]] that their origins predate mankind's.
* The Ancients in the [[The Tripods|Tripods]] trilogy by [[Samuel Youd|John Christopher]], referring to people from the 20th century (from the era before the Tripods' rule of Earth) and their accomplishments such as the Great Cities of the Ancients (urban metropoles like London and Paris).
* The Morrigi and Liir of the [[Sword of the Stars]] series. Morrigi were introduced as a playable faction in Sword of the Stars: A Murder of Crows; the Liir renegade elders known as Suul'ka, loosely based on [[Lovecraft Mythos]] will be introduced as a faction in Sword of the Stars II: Lords of Winter, in which they are the [[title character]]s, the creators of the Zuul, who debuted in the first game's expansion, Born of Blood, as well as the [[Slavery|slavemasters]] and inadvertent [[Biological uplift|uplifters]] of the sapient cetaceans Liir, the Morrigi also count due to having fought an apocalyptic war in the backstory with the Suul'ka as well as having one of their colonies as the first victim of the Suul'ka progeny known as the Zuul.
* Priors from the ''[[House of Suns]]''.
* The First Ancestral Race from [[Neon Genesis Evangelion]].
* The Ancients from [[Starflight]].
* The Orokin from [[Warframe]].
* The Fallen Empires from ''[[Stellaris (video game)|Stellaris]]''.
* The Precursor Race from [[Subnautica and subnautica Bellow Zero]] https://subnautica.fandom.com/wiki/Precursor_Race
== See also ==
* [[Ancient astronauts in popular culture]]
* [[List of fictional ancient extraterrestrial species]]
* [[Uplift (science fiction)]]
 
== Literature References==
{{reflist}}
* ''[[Andy Sawyer]].'' Elder Races // The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy: Themes, Works, and Wonders. Edited by Gary Westfahl. Advisory Board Richard Bleiler, [[John Clute]], Fiona Kelleghan, David Langford, Andy Sawyer, and Darrell Schweitzer. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2005. 1395 pp.
 
[[Category:Fantasy tropes]]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elder_race"