When you input a number, the program generates a corresponding chessboard of one hundred either black or white squares. You can then evolve this chessboard universe to discover the plants, animals, and perhaps even civilizations that live there.

A chessboard universe is simpler than our own, and its evolutionary cycles correspond to thousands or millions of years in our time. Its creatures, who possess a mere hundred genes, may develop and die out within a few cycles, and yet individual lifetimes can stretch over a hundred cycles.

The pattern of black and white squares in the chessboard determines everything that will happen in the universe. As evolution occurs, various combinations of squares are examined, and their contents remembered, but the original pattern never changes.

Embark on your explorations with the famous Nilynily family, who have sent representatives to every possible world, risking and sometimes succumbing to its dangers. The words describing each universe are translations from the binary language of black and white squares into Nilynily language. The words for microorganisms are three-letter words that may resemble English words. Words describing more complex organisms are usually longer. The "nesibyooii" is a mythical creature that has never been seen.

Enjoy your voyage! If you are very lucky, you might even see a galactic empire unfold!