BIOGRAPHY - Page 4
With these enhancements, Wyndham considered himself to be like unto a god more than ever before. Though his experiments with the New Men were behind him, he still held dreams of achieving the ultimate act of creation. In his hubris, the High Evolutionary believed he could create an entire duplicate Earth, sculpted to perfection by his great hand. This world would have none of the problems plaguing the old world, for he would prevent them from ever occurring. Even before he devolved from the higher plane of evolution, Wyndham set in motion this new Project Alpha. Using some of his evolved power, the High Evolutionary engineered a mobile moon ship from an asteroid, a hollow research vessel from which he would carry out his great works. He restored Sir Raam to life to act as his agent in setting up his efforts. He also acquired the Soul Gem, one of the six Infinity Gems. (How he acquired the Gem and what exactly it did for his work is uncertain, but its presence in his efforts cannot be overlooked.)
On the eve of Project Alpha, Sir Raam delivered a chunk of molten rock from Earth’s core to the High Evolutionary, the nexus point of his coming experiment. The Evolutionary intended to construct his “Counter-Earth” on the opposite side of the sun, maintaining the same orbit as Earth yet always hidden from mankind by the system’s star. As they prepared to depart Earth-space, however, Raam detected an anomaly on the scopitron and brought it to his master’s attention. The High Evolutionary found lifesigns inside this mysterious cocoon and arranged for his psycho-probes to contact the mind inside. This entity was known only as “Him,” the cosmically-endowed ultimate human created by Shinsky’s Enclave, who had retreated into his personal cocoon to evolve and mature through his own unique metamorphosis. The High Evolutionary marveled at the design of Him and his goal of personal evolution, while Him was intrigued by Project Alpha. Before returning to his slumber, Him asked to witness Counter-Earth’s creation, and the High Evolutionary was only too happy to have an audience for his brilliance.
Once in position on the far side of the sun, the High Evolutionary began his work. The molten rock of Earth was bombarded with gravatetic rays designed for this project, increasing its mass with 
extra-dimensional sources, causing its newfound gravity to draw other space rocks to it. It grew larger and larger, still only 1/100th the full mass of the true Earth, yet large enough to achieve the appropriate molten pressure in its own core. Hours passed, or perhaps months, where the High Evolutionary guided the rock through an accelerated process of giving birth to a planet, shaping its crust, atmosphere, and the spawning of life through carefully cultivated bio-rays beamed down from above. Through his own evolved psionic power, and the machinery created from that power, the High Evolutionary consciously created all life on Counter-Earth, speeding it through the necessary developmental stages of the epochs known to the true Earth.
The High Evolutionary reached the most critical point in his experiment – the ascension of mankind from simple origins to the dominant species on the planet. It was here that he intended to rewrite history, not merely reenact it. The Evolutionary thought to remove the killer instinct in mankind as it evolved, ensuring that civilizations prone to hostility, territorial behavior and warfare never emerged from the muck. Two unfortunate events prevented him from achieving this dream, however. First, having worked at a feverish pace up until now, the still quasi-human High 
Evolutionary succumbed to exhaustion and passed out before his great work was accomplished. Second, the Man-Beast chose that moment to strike. The Evolutionary’s greatest failure had returned from Dromisana with his evil New Men, ready to sabotage his “father” simply out of spite. As “Him” looked on helplessly from the view screen connected to the mind in his cocoon, the Man-Beast entered the asteroid ship and played serpent to the High Evolutionary’s Eden. He ensured that murder once again entered the hearts of men, leading to centuries of conflict and warfare, played out in accelerated time on the burgeoning world below.
The High Evolutionary awakened in time to strike out at his wayward creation. As Wyndham battled the Man-Beast and the New Men, “Him” chose to awaken early from his regenerative cocoon in order to fight alongside the High Evolutionary. The New Men were driven off, but the damage was done. The Evolutionary was prepared to destroy Counter-Earth as little more than a failed experiment, but Him spoke up in defense of mankind’s potential. He hoped to prove that their inherent goodness still existed, despite the Man-Beast’s predations. The High Evolutionary agreed to let him try and vowed to refrain from destroying Counter-Earth until his adopted son was 
convinced there was no saving them. The Evolutionary christened “Him” as Warlock and provided him with the Soul Gem to harness his altered powers. And so, the Lord High Evolutionary so loved his own work that he teleported to it his adopted and begotten son, Adam Warlock, and those who followed in his path would not perish at the fangs of the Man-Beast, but have everlasting life in his heart. [Marvel Premiere #1]
[Note: It’s like the Bible! Do you get it? The Bible!]
Adam Warlock met followers on Counter-Earth, those who believed in his mission of peace. Thanks to the Soul Gem, their faith literally empowered him. He was the only savior for Counter-Earth, for the Man-Beast had also altered its path of history to ensure other super-powered champions did not come to pass on this Earth. [Marvel Premiere #2] The Evolutionary reluctantly 
allowed Adam’s work to continue and activated the anti-particle fields which moved Counter-Earth out of vibratory phase with the rest of the solar system, making it invisible to True-Earth and other forms of detection. The High Evolutionary communed regularly with Warlock, as he remained dubious about Adam’s prospects, and repeatedly asked Adam to release him from his vow not to obliterate Counter-Earth and start anew. [Warlock (1st series) #1]
Adam had many adventures on Counter-Earth under the High Evolutionary’s watchful eye, and suffered setbacks, such as the Man-Beast being elected President under the guise of candidate Rex Carpenter. Though he would not aid Adam directly, the High Evolutionary provided him with companionship in the form of Memorex, a humanoid Recorder unit from the Rigellian Colonizers. Memorex, along with the visiting Hulk, were instrumental in freeing Warlock from capture by the Man-Beast and leading an insurrection against the Presidency. Adam Warlock still died in a public execution orchestrated by “President Carpenter,” but this was part of his plan as he rose again in three days, emerging from his cocoon and empowered by even greater levels of faith from those who learned of his return. Adam Warlock devolved the Man-Beast back into a mere wolf, saving Counter-Earth from his influence and allowing them to chart their own path. With that, Adam Warlock had completed his mission and departed for deeper space. [Warlock (1st series) #3-8, Incredible Hulk (2nd series) #176-178]
Peace reigned on Counter-Earth for a time, as the High Evolutionary kept his promise to Adam and allowed the world to survive. Lacking a major purpose, the Evolutionary amused himself with experiments on the evolution of plant-life instead of animals aboard his asteroid. Disaster struck when the anti-particle shields hiding Counter-Earth from detection failed momentarily, just as the Herald of Galactus known as the Destroyer was in nearby space. Even restoring the shields did not deter the entity once it spotted Counter-Earth. Comprehending what was about to occur, the High Evolutionary quickly evolved another New Man from his menagerie, Gorr the Golden Gorilla, and dispatched the creature aboard a space vessel to reach True-Earth and seek the aid of the Fantastic Four, who had successfully dealt with Galactus in the past.
While waiting for aid, the High Evolutionary did what he could to contain the Destroyer and 
prevent it from summoning Galactus. The Fantastic Four arrived to find him just as he failed to keep the Herald in stasis any longer. Galactus soon appeared in response to the summons, eager to devour Counter-Earth, as it was not protected by the oath he swore months earlier never to consume Reed Richards’ own Earth. The High Evolutionary was ready to fight to defend his creation, while Mister Fantastic sought to negotiate with Galactus to stay his hunger. With cruel amusement, Galactus gave them one day to find another world nearby suitable for his appetite, but only if the entire population unanimously chose to sacrifice themselves this way, or if the Fantastic Four all agreed the world should be destroyed in Counter-Earth’s place anyway.
The High Evolutionary had some hope for their success, for his bio-probes had already scanned the space sector for possible candidates and identified three. However, the Fantastic Four split to visit two of the three worlds and found them unsuitable, either lacking the appropriate life in their bio-sphere or reasonably unwilling to die in the place of another world. The third world seemed nothing more than a lifeless moon, despite the bio-probes, and so the High Evolutionary believed he had no choice. Assuming a giant form, he strode across the skies of his creation, visiting the 
world he forged for the first time in order to save it. The battle between the High Evolutionary and the Devourer of Worlds was fierce but brief, as Galactus chose not to murder his opponent but banish him temporarily to the Negative Zone. In his absence, the Fantastic Four supposedly found a viable bio-sphere on the third world, and Galactus accepted the exchange. That world was actually Poppup, home of the Impossible Man, and it proved a poison pill to Galactus’ system. To his credit, the High Evolutionary chose to save Galactus’s life after he returned from the Negative Zone, though his ego led him to articulate it as an act of mercy “from one god to another.” [Fantastic Four (1st series) #171-175]
An alien known as Sphinxor and his Prime Movers were contracted to take possession of Counter-Earth. They feared Adam Warlock’s involvement in their efforts and made several surreptitious moves to keep him distracted and away from the Earth sector. Their final effort was an illusion which made Adam believe Counter-Earth had been destroyed. Suffering from madness, he thought the High Evolutionary had gone back on his word and annihilated his flawed creation. The furious Adam confronted the High Evolutionary at his asteroid base, but Wyndham was bewildered by Warlock’s accusations. He could clearly see Counter-Earth on his monitors, even when Warlock could not. Unwilling to accept the Evolutionary’s denials, Adam lashed out 
with his Soul Gem, intent on murdering his one-time mentor.
The High Evolutionary would have died, if not for his genetic accelerator secreted away inside his armor. When the vampiric appetite of the Soul Gem touched his spirit, the Evolutionary automatically self-evolved into his ultimate state, a being of pure thought beyond the touch or perception of the now grief-stricken Adam Warlock. However, while he survived, this evolution also left him detached and ambivalent about his current state of being. Able to contemplate the wonders of the universe mentally, the High Evolutionary made no effort to reclaim his physical form and remained dead, physically at least.
Wyndham would eventually be restored by an unlikely visitor. The Enclave created a second humanoid, who also broke from its masters and chose to stylize itself as the ultimate mate to “Him,” calling itself “Her.” Adam Warlock had died in battle with Thanos in the High Evolutionary’s absence and was buried on his beloved Counter-Earth. Her believed her cosmic powers could resurrect Adam Warlock, but when she searched for him, she discovered Counter-Earth was indeed missing. Her located the Evolutionary's asteroid and used her powers to revive Wyndham in his human state. The Evolutionary was surprised to confirm Counter-Earth was actually gone, removed from orbit during the period he was incapacitated in his higher state. Wyndham was able to detect a trail of trace particles pointing in the direction Counter-Earth was taken, and he prepared to seek it out. Her and her entourage (Moondragon, Starhawk, Alicia Masters and the Thing) agreed to go along.
The High Evolutionary’s asteroid eventually caught up with Counter-Earth, transported through space using moon-sized tow-ships that stabilized the gravimetric field while also placing the inhabitants in ongoing stasis during travel. Wyndham’s people made contact with the Pegasusian contractor known as Sphinxor, in charge of the Counter-Earth project. Sphinxor explained that he 
and his ring-ships were hired by enigmatic beings known as the Beyonders to transport Counter-Earth on their behalf. It was his intervention which created the illusions that drove Adam Warlock away. For all his power, Sphinxor was pretty agreeable and admitted he didn’t know what the Beyonders wanted with Counter-Earth. Intrigued, the High Evolutionary chose to satisfy his curiosity by trekking onwards with Sphinxor to make the delivery and meet these Beyonders face-to-face. (Before they departed, Her traveled down to Counter-Earth and attempted to revive Warlock. Regrettably, her cosmic power could only restore his mind… his soul remained elsewhere.) [Marvel Two-In-One #62-63]
[Note: In the above story, the High Evolutionary’s asteroid base was incorrectly referred to as Counter-Earth’s version of the moon. In Marvel Premiere #1, however, he was shown creating a moon for his world independent of his mobile asteroid.]