The Zoctol were an aquatic species until relatively recently. Their full grown height is about that of a human, but their mass and volume is substantially greater due to their octopus-like form. They lack the sense of hearing, and rely on digital devices to pick up on vibrations and translate them into writing to understand spoken languages. Zoctari languages are gesture-based, and the Zoctol often learn a modified version of sign language when in broader society. Each of a Zoctol's eyes is connected directly to a small brain, each of which connects to it's neighbors. All these brains work together to make the Zoctol quite intelligent by human standards. Each Zoctol has a single large orifice located in the midst of their tentacles that serves as the main gateway for eating, breathing, waste removal and reproduction. Zoctari reproduction involves a female Zoctol laying an egg in a nest (the egg is about the size of a basketball, and gradually expands until hatching), then the male and female Zoctol take turns sitting on the egg, slathering it in a viscous solution of half-digested nutrients to feed the growing child. When human explorers first encountered the Zoctol, their technology was transitioning from the paleolithic to the neolithic level, and most Zoctol lived in scattered tribes along the coastlines of their home planet.
Convergence Brute
The Convergence Brute is an engineered subspecies of Grey designed for heavy labor. Their genetic makeup shares considerable overlap with Cielioid Boxers, though any direct relation is, at this point, impossible to establish. Study of the Brute genome has consistently pointed to the likelihood that they originated in the Convergence. One distinct upgrade the Brute has over the boxer is the presence of multiple enlarged nostrils to facilitate rapid air intake during acts of extreme exertion. Brutes are rare in Grey clades outside the Convergence, but not entirely unheard of.
Standing at a towering 4 meters tall, the Brute is powerful enough to push over a tree or pick up and carry a cow.
Convergence Node
Convergence Nodes are genetically engineered and cybernetically enhanced life-forms, developed by the greys that formed the Convergence. Convergence Nodes form the communication backbone of the Convergence hive-mind. Each node has a group of connected greys and other organisms that it oversees, and any Convergence ship larger than a short-range scout contains at least one node for coordination.
Convergence Nodes were engineered to solve the problem of long-distance communication, and their massive brains contain specialized organs that can send and receive spatial compression radio signals which they use to network with one another over astronomical distances. Convergence Nodes are little more than massive brains, though they do have a full grey body attached to the brain. The body is largely vestigial, as all the Node’s biological functions are handled through attached biomechanical systems.
Occasionally, (usually related to accident or violence) a Node dies without handing off its connected entities to another. In those cases the attached organisms are, at least temporarily, separated from the Convergence. If the separated organisms remain isolated from the Convergence long enough (which can happen naturally or through deliberate intervention), the attached organisms become a distinct hive-mind of their own with a unique personality. Typically, though, a transition to a new node happens in a planned and efficient manner, and all remain connected to the Convergence.
Ball Dogs
Ball dogs designed with ArtBreeder
Ball Dogs ( Originally BallDogz TM from BioPetz,inc, though most are imitation products ), are a genetically engineered subspecies of canine designed as pets, similar to lap dogs. The main difference from natural dogs is that ball dogs have only vestigial legs, that only serve to keep them from rolling over. This “feature” made it more convenient for owners to manage these pathetic beings, making them suitable only for life as a sheltered pet.
Most brand name ball dogs come with a “base” that maintains their biological functions. Typically the ball dog’s owner will place the ball dog in the base overnight for “charging”, and remove them during the day when they often are carried around, or set in a secure place like a purse when not being held.
The Planetary League placed Ball Dogs on the official list of “cruel organisms” shortly after their introduction in GSC 255. This designation made them illegal to poses or create inside the League.
Spludd
Spludd is a plant-like organism that produces a fruiting body commonly consumed as a food. The exact origins of spludd are obscure, it likely originated among the old core worlds of the Empire of 1,000,000 Suns, where it is a popular food.
The fruiting body of spludd contains small seeds that are normally eaten with the flesh of the fruit. The spludd fruit (simply called spludd), is reminiscent of bread, of pudding and of meat, combining the textures of all three. It has a unique sweet and savory flavor and is high in both protein and short-chain carbohydrates.
Humans first encountered spludd on New Promise in the hills northwest of New Denver. Archaeological findings in the area suggest that the Convergence had been in that region sometime before humans first arrived in GSC 130.
Life Cycle
Spludd grows from a seed, like most plants. Upon sprouting it first grows leaves and a short stalk, then develops the fruiting body. The juvenile fruiting body is covered in a sweet nectar and pollinated directly by insects without going through the flower stage typical of most plants.
A spludd bud, at this early phase of development the fruiting body is considered inedible due to high levels of tannins.
A more mature fruiting body, this one is not quite fully ripe, but getting close.
The spludd fruit right after harvest.
After cleaning and preparation. Spludd can be eaten raw, or cooked into a wide variety of dishes.
A popular recipe featuring spludd as the main ingredient is this sweet and spicy cake.
Pictures made with ArtBreeder.
Electric Orgaff
Illustrated with the use of ArtBreeder.
Electric Orgaffs are bio-mechanical beings found on New Albuquerque and a few other planets in cosmic accumulation zones. While the origins of Electric Orgaffs are unknown, they seem to have common habits and characteristics. They tend to spend time in sunny places in order to accumulate solar energy, and graze on available vegetation. Their bodies are made of a fusion of organic matter with electro-mechanical parts scattered throughout. Inspection under a microscope reveals that the Electric Orgaff’s physiology is shot through with tiny robots that connect and coordinate the biological and mechanical aspects of the creature’s body. Electric Orgaffs are named due to their similarity in size and behavior to an Orgaff, but the two species are not related. Electric Orgaffs are occasionally used as pack animals, though their behavior can be somewhat erratic.
Dionysians
Description
Dionysians are the native inhabitants of the planet Dionysus. Outwardly, they very closely resemble humans, except for some prominent ridges on their foreheads. Dionysus is a tropical world with a very mild climate, a plentiful abundance of edible plants, and few large predators. As a result the Dionysians faced relatively low survival pressure, and didn’t develop high technology.
Dionysian brow ridges likely evolved due to the warm temperatures of their home planet. In the tropical climes of Dionysus, the Dionysian body perspires considerably more than a similar human. Their brow-ridges act as an effective mechanism for channeling perspiration away from their eyes, while also being permeated by a substantial quantity of blood-vessels, so that they act as radiators to more effectively shed body heat.
Dionysians tend to have a relatively optimistic psychology compared to humans. Because of their tropical home-world, Dionysians tend to have slightly darker complexions than humans do. Dionysians and humans tend to be about equal in terms of height and weight.
The large areas of physical and psychological similarity between humans and Dionysians make relations between the two species particularly warm and close. Even though the two are separate species incapable of producing offspring together, there is a long history of intermarriage between the two. A common turn of phrase among humans in the old core worlds is to describe a spouse married for companionship with no intention of having children as a “Dionysian Wife”. (“Dionysian Husband” is also used, though less frequently.)
History
Before contact with the outside world, most Dionysians lived in small, nomadic bands, living off the land, with a few permanent settlements. Among these wandering groups were a very wide range of languages, religions and cultures. There was enough variety among these groups that picking a single name to describe the people and their world was rather problematic. Overall, most of the Dionysian cultures were peaceful, as resources were plentiful and life was easy. Warfare was uncommon, and short lived when it did occur.
Some of the early xenographers to study the Dionysians arrived at a time when most of the groups they visited were in the midst of a season of festivals, and their early reports commented on the “Dionysian” ways of the revelers. This turn of phrase was quickly picked up, and became the default descriptor for the people and their world. Also a factor in the rapid uptake of this name is the fact that Dionysus is also home to a number of trees that produce alcoholic fruit, most notably the del-brikki.
First contacted by scouts of the Astrophysical Survey in GSC 155, the Dionysians were relatively quick to join the Planetary League. Most Dionysians were favorably impressed with these outsiders and their alien technology. Within about a century of first contact, most of the various cultures had formed an ad-hoc government that quickly joined the Planetary League officially.
Early on, much commerce with the Planetary League and other outsiders centered around the del-brikki and other alcoholic fruit. This allowed many local gatherers to achieve a level of wealth previously unknown on their planet. As time went on, alcoholic fruit production became systematic, and as era-1 drew to a close, powerful corporate interests muscled their way in and began exploiting the local land and population for profit.
Spring-heeled Jack
The Spring-heeled Jack is a terrifying subspecies of Grey, engineered to hunt dissidents within the domain of the Convergence. Standing quite tall, (average height is about three meters), Jacks are capable of high speed and able to make extraordinary vertical leaps with their long legs. Spring-heeled Jacks have six arms, and two legs, and tend to be nocturnal. As a part of their horrific design, spring-heeled jacks have been engineered to be almost entirely carnivorous, preferring the challenge of hunting sentient prey.
Spring-heeled Jacks are a non-reproductive subspecies of Grey. They lack the spore-depositor gland in the center of their chests that other Greys have, but do have a vestigial nub of sensitive flesh in the same location that is one of the few vulnerabilities they possess in hand-to-hand combat. This is guarded, however, by their long, sharp tongues that never retract fully into their mouths, but are often used as a deadly weapon.
Spring-heeled Jacks were first deployed against the Bleen during the war that founded the Iblexian Empire, as a way to terrorize them into accepting Convergence rule. This did not end well for the Convergence, but the Spring-heeled Jack has remained a viable tool in their campaigns of dominance and manipulation ever since.
Their tall stature and eerie appearance earned them the name in comparison to the figure from Victorian folklore, and at a distance, their coloration may cause one to mistake a Spring-heeled Jack for a tall, slim man in a suit. Although no clear records are intact, the stories have caused some speculation if the Convergence may have visited Earth as early as the 19th century.
