Prompt:
Write me a story, a short story set in the Cambrian period.
Chat GPT
In the depths of the ancient Cambrian seas, over 500 million years ago, a world of unimaginable diversity thrived. Amidst the warm, shallow waters, Anomalocaris, the great predator of its time, roamed with unparalleled sovereignty. Its name, meaning “unlike other shrimp,” bespoke its uniqueness in an era of burgeoning life forms.
In this primordial soup of existence, where the rules of survival were being written, there lived a small trilobite named Trilo. Trilo was not remarkable by the standards of its day. Encased in a hard, segmented shell, it scuttled along the ocean floor, scavenging for organic matter. Yet, what made Trilo special was its insatiable curiosity about the world around it.
One day, as Trilo foraged among the sponges and algae, it witnessed a shadow looming above. It was Anomalocaris, its appendages flaring, ready to strike. Trilo, paralyzed by fear, braced for the end. But in a twist of fate, a sudden swirl in the water diverted Anomalocaris’s attention to a more sizable prey. Trilo, spared, felt a surge of wonder and relief.
This encounter ignited a spark in Trilo. It realized that the ocean was filled with creatures both fearsome and fascinating. Driven by curiosity, Trilo embarked on a journey across the Cambrian seas. It encountered bizarre beings like Wiwaxia, covered in spines and scales, and the five-eyed Opabinia, which seemed as if from another world. Trilo marveled at the diversity of life, understanding that each creature played a role in the tapestry of existence.
Months turned into years, and Trilo grew wiser and more adventurous. It learned to navigate the perils of the Cambrian waters, from avoiding the grasp of predatory jellies to finding shelter during fierce underwater storms.
Then, one day, Trilo came across a congregation of creatures unlike any it had seen before. They were building something—a reef, a collaborative effort to create a haven in the vast ocean. Inspired, Trilo realized the power of community and cooperation.
In its twilight years, Trilo became a storyteller, sharing tales of its travels with younger trilobites. It spoke of the vastness of the ocean, the incredible diversity of life, and the importance of each creature’s role in the ecosystem. Trilo’s stories filled the others with a sense of wonder and a desire to explore, ensuring that the spirit of curiosity and adventure would live on through generations.
And so, in the ancient Cambrian seas, among the earliest chapters of life on Earth, the legacy of a small trilobite named Trilo rippled through the ages, reminding all of the interconnectedness of life and the enduring power of curiosity.
Gemini
Trilo Biped scuttled across the ocean floor, his six legs churning sediment in a rhythmic dance. Hunger gnawed at his trilobite belly. The Cambrian seas were a smorgasbord of opportunity, but also a perilous hunting ground. Biped, small for his species, flicked his sensitive antennae, searching for the tell-tale scent of algae mats – his preferred meal.
A flash of movement caught his eye. A shadow detached itself from a distant coral reef. It was Anomalocaris, the terror of the Cambrian. Unlike Biped’s hard shell, Anomalocaris sported a menacing, segmented exoskeleton and stalked the seafloor with predatory grace. Fear tightened Biped’s internal muscles, but he couldn’t abandon his algae hunt – not with his brood pouch heavy with fertilized eggs.
Suddenly, the water trembled. A giant Opabinia, its head adorned with five grasping claws and a stalked eye, surged past Biped, scattering a school of trilobites. In the ensuing chaos, Biped spotted a small patch of algae clinging to a rock outcropping. It was his chance.
Darting between scurrying trilobites, Biped reached the algae. He lowered his ventral plate, scraping the algae into his mouth. But before he could savor his meal, a tremor shook the seabed. Anomalocaris was closer, its enormous stalked eyes swiveling in Biped’s direction.
Panic seized Biped. He tucked his vulnerable underside closer to the rock face, his frilled head shield offering meager protection. But Anomalocaris wasn’t interested in Biped. The giant Opabinia, its stalked eye gleaming, was its target.
The predator lunged. Its grasping claws snatched the Opabinia, its stalked eye snapping shut in a horrifying click. Anomalocaris, its prize secured, retreated back into the shadows of the reef.
Biped, shaken but alive, finished his meal. The near miss had been a stark reminder of the dangers that lurked in the Cambrian seas. But as he navigated back towards the safety of his burrow, a newfound determination filled him. He would survive, raise his brood, and continue the trilobite legacy in this extraordinary, perilous epoch.
Claude (free version)
The Eternal Sea
Tiny cilia propelled Anomalocaris through the ancient seafloor ooze, its segmented body undulating gracefully. Though one of the largest creatures in this primordial ocean, it was still little more than a foot long – a visionary pioneer exploring the endless blue-green expanse.
All around, a dreamscape of frondose life waved in the marine currents like submerged galaxies. Colonies of Charnia scratched the sandy bottoms with fern-like fronds, while lattice-shaped Pseudovendia anchored among them. The first complex organisms had emerged to stake their claim.
As Anomalocaris swept past a cloud of stem-group arthropods, it opened its circular mouth lined with spine-like teeth. With one deft movement, it gulped down a cluster of the little creatures, feeling their spiny carapaces crunch between its jaws.
In the distance, a dark shape emerged from the murky depths – Opabinia, that most improbable of animals, propelled itself in fits and starts on its recreation of legs until its long proboscis detected something edible nearby. Hurriedly, it swam off in another direction.
For untold millennia, this marine realm would appear virtually unchanged, eternal as the primordial sea itself. Until, inevitably, the perpetual clockwork of evolution moved its strange and wondrous pieces into new shapes and forms once again.
Anomalocaris swam on mechanically, its simple brain stemming an exquisitely calibrated machine, beautifully adapted to its habitats and role. Unchanging, yet always changing. And beneath the living filter of its body, the ancient sea remained as inscrutable as always.
Results
Chat GPT is not as good at writing fiction as the other two, it seems. It does a lot of “telling” rather than “showing” and spits out more of a summary or an exposition dump rather than a finished story.
Both Gemini and Claude did pretty well, I think. Gemini’s story had better plot. While Claude seems to excel at the way prose is written.
(the image on this post was generated by ChatGPT and DALL-E)