Paper 49 Overview: The Inhabited Worlds

All inhabited worlds throughout the universe are evolutionary in origin, serving as the starting points for mortal races on their journey toward Paradise. These planets function as crucial training grounds for ascending mortals, preparing them for progressively higher stages of existence. Each level of experience, from the initial mortal life on an evolutionary planet to the advanced schools of the Melchizedeks, provides essential preparation for the next phase of spiritual development.

The administration of inhabited worlds follows a structured celestial organization, with planets grouped into local systems. Each local system is limited to approximately one thousand evolutionary worlds by decree of the Ancients of Days. Satania, the local system containing Urantia (earth), currently has 619 inhabited worlds, with Urantia numbered as 606 in the registration sequence. The system continues to develop, with additional planets being prepared for future life implantation and habitation.

All mortal-inhabited worlds begin through evolutionary processes, serving as the birthplace and developmental cradle for the mortal races of time and space. Each phase of the ascending mortal's journey toward Paradise functions as a training school for the next stage of existence. This educational progression is as true for the initial mortal experience on an evolutionary planet as it is for the final universe headquarters school of the Melchizedeks, which ascending mortals attend just before their transition to the superuniverse regime.

All inhabited worlds are organized into local systems for celestial administration, with each system limited to approximately one thousand evolutionary worlds by decree of the Ancients of Days. This limitation applies specifically to actual evolutionary planets where mortals of survival status live. Satania itself is an unfinished system with only 619 inhabited worlds, which are numbered according to their registration sequence. Urantia received the number 606, indicating it was the 606th world in Satania where human beings appeared through evolutionary processes. Not all planets can support mortal life, with factors such as size, axial rotation, and gravity determining habitability.

The development of universal life follows gradual patterns rather than occurring through arbitrary or magical means. While cosmic evolution may not always be predictable, it consistently follows nonaccidental pathways determined by universal laws. These evolutionary processes, though sometimes mysterious, adhere to patterns that ensure the orderly development of life throughout time and space.

The fundamental building block of material life is the protoplasmic cell, which combines chemical, electrical, and other basic energies in a communal association. While chemical formulas differ across systems and living cell reproduction techniques vary slightly between local universes, the Life Carriers always function as the living catalyzers that initiate the primordial reactions of material life. Each planet in a local system shows unmistakable physical kinship with others, yet maintains its own unique scale of life in terms of plant and animal endowment. These planetary variations result from the decisions of the Life Carriers, who operate according to the divine mandates of Nebadon rather than through capricious or whimsical choices.

The Life Carriers often face the necessity of modifying basic life patterns to accommodate the varying physical conditions encountered on numerous worlds throughout space. While they foster a generalized system type of mortal creature, seven distinct physical types of mortals exist, along with thousands of minor variations of these seven major differentiations. The Satania system contains all of these types, though some are represented only sparingly.

The physical differences between worlds of mortal habitation are primarily determined by atmospheric conditions, with other influences playing relatively minor roles in planetary differentiation. Earth's current atmospheric status is nearly ideal for supporting breathing humans, though human types can be modified to survive on both superatmospheric and subatmospheric planets. In Satania, approximately 2.5% of worlds have subbreathers, about 5% have superbreathers, and over 91% have mid-breathers like those on Urantia, collectively accounting for 98.5% of Satania's worlds. The remaining 1.5% are nonbreather worlds, a distinct classification treated separately.

The majority of inhabited planets are populated by breathing-type intelligent beings, but there also exist orders of mortals able to live on worlds with little or no air. In the Orvonton superuniverse, nonbreather worlds make up less than 7% of inhabited planets, while in Nebadon this percentage drops below 3%. Within the entire Satania system, there are only nine such worlds supporting nonbreather life forms.

The scarcity of nonbreather worlds in Satania stems from this recently organized section of space still being abundant with meteoric space bodies. Planets without protective atmospheric friction face constant bombardment from these wandering space objects. Life for nonbreathers differs dramatically from that of atmospheric beings—they neither eat food nor drink water as earth races do, and their nervous systems, temperature regulation, and metabolism function in fundamentally different ways. Despite these physical differences, nonbreathers possess similar minds and characters to other mortal types, though they follow different survival patterns after death, being candidates for Spirit fusion rather than Adjuster fusion.

Despite the significant differences between mortals of various worlds, all creatures of will dignity share the characteristic of being erect, bipedal animals. The universe contains six basic evolutionary races: three primary (red, yellow, and blue) and three secondary (orange, green, and indigo). Most inhabited worlds host all of these races, though many three-brained planet populations consist of only the three primary types, and some local systems likewise have only these three races.

The special physical sense endowment of humans averages twelve senses across the universe, with three-brained mortals having slightly enhanced sensory capabilities compared to one- and two-brained types. Family life follows fairly uniform patterns across all types of planets, with young usually born singly rather than in multiple births. Gender equality prevails on all advanced worlds, with male and female being equal in mind endowment and spiritual status. All sun-illuminated planets experience seasonal changes and temperature variations, with agriculture being a universal practice among advancing races. Human life spans vary considerably, ranging from 25 years on primitive worlds to nearly 500 years on more advanced spheres.

Presenting an adequate portrayal of the planetary series of mortals presents challenges due to the numerous variations and limited human understanding of these complex classifications. Mortal creatures can be studied from multiple viewpoints, including their adjustment to planetary environment, brain-type series, spirit-reception series, planetary-mortal epochs, creature-kinship serials, Adjuster-fusion series, and techniques of terrestrial escape.

The inhabited worlds can be classified into three general groups based on the adjustment of creature life to planetary environments: normal adjustment, radical adjustment, and experimental groups. Earth is an experimental planet, which explains why it differs markedly from its sister spheres in Satania and contains life forms not found elsewhere. Regarding brain organization, earth belongs to the two-brained type, making its inhabitants more imaginative and adventurous than one-brained mortals but somewhat less spiritual and worshipful than three-brained orders. The spirit-reception capacity of mortals across the universe also varies, with 65% belonging to earth's second group type, 12% to the less receptive first type, and 23% to the more spiritually inclined third type.

Despite their varying physical types and planetary origins, all mortals benefit from the ministry of Thought Adjusters, guardian angels, and the messenger hosts of the Infinite Spirit. All mortals are liberated from their physical bodies through natural death and proceed to the morontia worlds for spiritual evolution and mind progress, beginning their Paradise ascent on equal footing regardless of their planetary origin.

The universe employs several methods of terrestrial escape and resurrection for ascending mortals. Special resurrections occur periodically, mobilizing specific groups of ascenders for particular service in the local universe plan. Most survivors, however, are repersonalized at the beginning of new dispensations coinciding with the arrival of divine Sons on their worlds. The most advanced order of ascension belongs to mortals who fuse with their Adjusters during mortal life, allowing them to traverse space freely before receiving morontia forms. These glorified beings are submitted to Son seizure and translated directly from among the living to the resurrection halls of higher morontia spheres, bypassing the experience of physical death entirely.