The Inspiration Behind Autochthon

Autochthon is a historical-fantasy Sci-fi universe inspired by historical artwork, engravings, architectural photographs, written and visual accounts of American past. When I began developing this world, I did not want to randomly invent what its rulers, cities and civilization looked like. I wanted to begin with historical images that already existed and ask a different question: What if we imagined the world surrounding these images?

That question became the visual foundation of Autochthon.

Emperor Brunin

Historical artwork that helped inspire the visual design of Emperor Brunin.

The visual inspiration for Emperor Brunin came from a European engraving depicting an Indigenous ruler in America, commonly associated with Kukulkan, published in John Ogilby's America in 1671.

Empress Caliya

Historical imagery of Europeans drawing what they saw in America that helped inspire Empress Caliya.

The visual inspiration for Empress Caliya came from historical engravings of America, particularly the female figure appearing in the 1801 Emblem of America.

Why Autochthon Looks Like the American World's Fairs

One of the most recognizable features of Autochthon is its architecture.

The enormous palaces, waterways, gardens, bridges, domes, pyramids, ceremonial towers and monumental public spaces were inspired heavily by photographs of the World's Fairs and Expositions of the 1800s ( and older) Many don't know that there were 13 Major American World's Fairs palaces (1853–1940) which lines up with the 12 Kings/12 Tribes plus one Empire in Autochthon Lore.

There were monumental façades, colossal statues, intricate ornamentation, bridges, lagoons, fountains and vast complexes that appeared almost like complete cities.

Were All of These Buildings Really Built for the Fairs?

or where they Emperor's Palaces?

Researchers and authors including Howdie Mickoski, Danny Davis, Jon Levi and David Edward wrote about how these buildings (or palaces) had to have been created by a far ancient civilization, has architects explaining how this was impossible to build in 2 years, how the buildings that used staff had a rough texture to it but the other buildings were smooth.

Works that delve deeper into this:

Howdie Mickoski — Exposing the Expositions
Danny Davis — The Secret History of Human Resets
Jon Levi — research and presentations concerning Old World architecture
David Edward — Evidence of the Old World

But for Autochthon, they presented an extraordinary creative possibility.

What If the Buildings Were Already There?

The Indigenous Hands Behind the Federal City

My research into America's monumental architecture did not begin and end with the World's Fairs. It also led me to Washington, D.C., and to a question that appears repeatedly throughout my studies:

Who actually surveyed, designed, built and maintained America's monumental cities?

Benjamin Banneker's Survey of Washington and the 122 Indigenous Black Men that built the White House in the Same style as the World Fair Buildings

One important figure in this story is Benjamin Banneker, the mathematician, astronomer, almanac author and surveyor who participated in the 1791 survey of the new federal territory that would become Washington, D.C.

Before the grand avenues, monumental government buildings and ceremonial spaces of Washington could take shape, the territory itself had to be scientifically surveyed. Banneker surveyed that area.

There is also a long-standing story that after chief planner Pierre Charles L'Enfant left the project, Banneker was able to reproduce the city's plan from memory. That story remains debated.

Xi historians take the interpretation further, questioning whether Banneker's knowledge and contribution to the planning and design of the Federal City were substantially greater than later histories have credited to him, including the possibility that he created its blueprints