In The Beginning is an one-shot story written by Richard Chandler in the Refractions fanzine that also deals with the Creators, but this time it takes place on Earth, rather than on the regular setting. It deals with some of the people behind the project, especifically the human scientists who worked on the design and development of the anthropomorphic civilization of the story, before they were sent to Arras Chanka.
Tropes associated with the whole story:
- Anti-Heroine: Dr. Marjorie Phillips. She's a nice person at heart, but forced to do inmoral things like manipulating wildlife and doing genetic experiments on them due to her job.
- Ambiguous Time Period: Just like with Exo-Genesis, it also takes place in the future, but it's also never explanined which time era takes place. Since it doesn't contradict neither the official canon, nor the events of Exo-Genesis, not to mention it takes place on Earth, it's heavily implied it takes place decades earlier from both the beginning of the original canon (The Awakening) and the events of Exo-Genesis, despite the later story being written by a different author. Also, it's heavily implied the story takes place in the United States or in an English-speaking country.
- Big Bad: Dr. Khai, or at least he's the closest thing to one, despite he's portrayed more as antagonistic than evil.
- The Bad Guy Wins: Dr. Khai managed to convince Dr. Phillips to send Al to Arras Chanka and wipe out his memories.
- Parts Unknown: Just like with Exo-Genesis, none of the characters have official nationalities, albeit judging by their names, Dr. Khai could be Laotian or Vietnamese, while Dr. Phillips could be American, Australian or Canadian.
- Prequel: For all practical effects, the story is also basically a prequel of the comic, albeit it takes place much earlier in the story.
- Rat Men: Al is a Rodent (Mouse) and he's notable for being the only non-human in this story.
