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.

Necroderm

The Necroderm (“skin of death”) is a plant-like species endemic to the Empire of 1,000,000 Suns. Most of the time it appears to be an algal mat floating on the surface of the water in wetland environments. Necroderms can survive for years on photosynthesis alone. When anything swims by or through the Necroderm, however, it immediately wraps itself around the intruder, constricting its prey viciously, often strangling or smothering smaller animals. Once the prey is subdued, the Necroderm gives off a powerful acid that digests its catch. If the prey is heavy enough, the Necroderm can survive at considerable depths deprived of sunlight while eating. The particular blend of plant and animal -like traits has led most xenographers to conclude that the species is closely related to the Cielioid race. Necroderms are simple enough creatures that they reproduce by regeneration. If a Necroderm is cut or broken up, each piece will grow into a mature specimen.

Clockbeast

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The Clockbeast is a genetically engineered species, used to tell time in the Empire of 1,000,000 Suns. The Clockbeast is normally entirely sedentary, though it can walk on occasion, if needed.

Its nervous system is engineered to move it’s bodily tentacles at specific rates in order to maintain accurate timekeeping. The dial on the beast’s upper-left represents a short unit of time roughly corresponding to seconds. The dial on the beast’s upper-right represents a medium-length unit of time, similar to minutes. The dial on the lower part of the beast’s body/thighs represents a longer unit of time, similar to an hour. Also, the three large plumes on it’s head provide a binary representation of the eight periods of the Gronnic Cycle. The numerals on the clockbeast’s dials are actually patches of differing coloration in its short, velvet-like fur.

Clockbeasts are entirely incapable of caring for their own needs, and have to be tended to by keepers. The keepers feed the beast through a secondary mouth on the side of the beast’s right leg, and carry away it’s waste (which is shed in fleshy sacs that accumulate on the side of its left leg. Keepers can also train the clockbeast to sound an alarm at a prearranged time. The beast does this by letting out a loud bellow through its primary mouth.

At birth, a clockbeast is the size of a kitten, and often starts life as a table-clock (after training is complete). They grow slowly, but never stop growing, and can live for a very long time.

In the workplace, imperial subjects will often pet or talk affectionately to their office clockbeast in an attempt to get it to speed up. This mainly happens close to lunch time or the end of the workday. If the clockbeast is well trained, this has little or no effect on its timekeeping, which is handled through unconscious reflexive processes.

Vangalri

Native to Fnarlang 8, the Vangalri were at a bronze age level of development when their planet was conquered by the Empire of 1,000,000 Suns.  Having evolved in the total darkness of Fnarlang 8's opaque atmosphere, the Empire put them to work in various occupations where light levels were naturally low, such as mining, insect farming, and geoengineering, as a way to save on lighting.  As the nomad armies and breakaway states spread across the galaxy, many Vangalri went with them.

Biology

Vangalri are an omnivorous, egg-laying species evolved to live in total darkness. 

Their skin is covered in short fur usually mottled-grey in color.  Vangalri blood is copper-based, and has a greenish hue, which shows on the hairless portions of their bodies.  Vangalri breathe oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide.

The cleft running down the center of a Vangalri's head is a complex sound-organ used for echo-location and speech.  Their cheeks contain a pair of small secondary lungs that provide airflow to the sound-organ.

Their main means of locomotion is slithering on their snake-like hindquarters.

A Vangalri's hands consist of a single finger and a thumb, like a mitten, terminating in broad, blunt claws.  Fine manipulation is accomplished with the tentacles growing near their mouths.

Coming from a planet with 1.82g makes Vangalri somewhat stronger and more resilient to acceleration than the average Human.

The hair-like growth around a Vangalri's mouth helps to filter out various life-forms and volcanic ash that fill the air on Fnarlang 8.

Vangalri typically hibernate for about two weeks, during the coldest part of the winter (commonly known as the "frost season").  This seems to be an evolutionary holdover from an earlier epoch in Fnarlang 8's history, when the climate was colder.

Environment

The Vangalri home-world, Fnarlang 8, is a highly volcanic environment with high humidity, and a large amount of microscopic airborne life, leaving the atmosphere opaque to visible wavelengths of light.  In the upper atmosphere, photosynthetic microbes form vast living clouds, consuming most of the available light.  At lower layers, other microbes live off of volcanic gasses, giving off the oxygen that the Vangalri breathe.  Gravity is a bit higher than Earth-normal, at 1.82g.  The ground and water are inhabited by plant- and animal-like life.  The year on Fnarlang 8 is around 450 Standard days long.  The day is about 10 standard hours (not that it makes much difference on a planet with an opaque atmosphere).

Culture

The Vangalri mostly lived at a level of development similar to the bronze age when they were conquered by the E1MS. 

There were several large empires, numerous city-states, and a multitude of nomadic tribes on Fnarlang 8 at the time of first contact.

The Vangalri had several well-developed polytheistic, and many animistic religions.

Writing systems were mostly based on stones embedded in clay tablets in a form resembling braille.  Reading was done by either touching the tablets, or by echolocation.  Spoken language was accomplished with the same sound-organ used for echolocation. 

The Vangalri practiced a form of sculpture that was experienced by either tactile or echolocative means.  They also had literature, poetry and music.  Musical instruments were mostly percussive, with a few string-based as well.

Clothing was made of animal hides and plant-fiber.  Typical garments included robes, tunics, gloves (mittens) and belts.  A few of the better developed empires also made armor for their soldiers.

Blovonde is a popular desert traditional to Vangalri culture made from small, jellyfish-like creatures that live in the thick atmosphere of their home-world. It is often sold in specialty shops called Blovonderies, and comes in a wide assortment of flavors, and is usually served cold. The texture and consistency of Blovonde falls somewhere between jelly and pudding.

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The counter of the blovondery on Levitt Station.

Notable Vangalri

Nalgax Blom was a famous chef who invented Numguinitiso paste.

The Grand Nalaxian

The Grand Nalaxian was a series of modified Nalorgian spawning pools, created by the Empire of 1,000,000 Suns shortly after the conquest of Artanis 4.  The Grand Nalaxian was based on several other such pools that had started to develop a sort of autonomy, and had influence over the Nalorgians of their regions, but the Grand Nalaxian was vastly more complex and had its own consciousness.

The Grand Nalaxian was intended as a planetary governor, a role which it served well, but it also transcended its original purpose and became a vast repository of knowledge.  One of its most notable achievements was the creation of the Nalaxian Code, an algorithm that could protect robots from the influence of Troniac, during the 1,000 Years War. 

A huge palace was built around the Grand Nalaxian after it was established on the largest continent of the Artanis system, and beings from across the Spozak gathered there to exchange knowledge and seek the advice of the Nalaxian.  Nalorgians entering the pools could directly exchange memories with the Grand Nalaxian, and it was home to the most elite of the symbiotes. 

During the War of the Empires, the most productive and intelligent sections of the Grand Nalaxian were secreted away by the imperial government, with help from the Yatagarasu, and eventually became part of the nascent Galactic Republic on the planet Tartarus.

The conscious existence of the Grand Nalaxian stretched from the early days of the E1MS until it joined the Galactic Consciousness, midway through Era-2, giving it the longest living memory in the recorded history of the galaxy, even longer than the famously long memories of the Gorox.

Wuxria

Wuxria (singular form is Wuxrian, as is the adjective) are native to the planet Scharlaff in the Empire of 1,000,000 Suns.  They are an intelligent species who never achieved a technological culture on their own due to a lack of fine manipulation ability. 

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Physiology

Wuxria are large and pear-shaped. They do not have heads separate from their bodies.  Their ears are large flaps that hang down the sides of their bodies. 

Their arms are long, flat tentacles without hands. 

Wuxria have short, stocky legs, and broad feet that give them a waddling gate. 

Wuxria have only one eye; however its motion while walking provides an amount of depth-perception comparable to what would be expected if they had two.  The downside of this arrangement is that they lose depth-perception while standing still.

Male Wuxria are mottled brown and grey in color, and are larger than the females.  An average adult male would weigh about 800lbs in Earth's gravity.

Female Wuxria are smaller than the males, an average adult female would weigh 500lbs on Earth.  Female Wuxria are bright pink in color, but as they age, their skin gradually darkens to purple.

Culture

Before they were conquered by the E1MS, the Wuxria were omnivorous pack hunters who lived in small villages for mutual defense.  Their structures were simple arrangements of stacked stones and logs.  While their languages were well-developed, they had only a rudimentary writing system, due to their lack of hands.  Most Wuxrian languages combine spoken and gestural elements.  This has caused most xenographers to classify the pre-contact Wuxrian culture as a storyteller civilization.

After conquest, the Wuxria were afforded only a low-caste standing in the empire, largely due to their lack of technical savvy.  They were valuable; however, for the large amount of physical labor they were able to do, due to their large size.

It became common for young Wuxria to have a neural interface implanted as a right of passage, as this would allow them to control robotic limbs, letting them participate in a technological culture that expected its members to have hands.  Members of several fundamentalist religious sects refused this custom, preferring the old ways.  Some influential families had gene therapy procedures done to give their future descendants biological hands.

Wuxria also adapted to life in the empire by taking to wearing pants.  Their lack of hands left them unable to make clothing on their own, and after being introduced to technology the fashion was to wear pants with integrated shoes as the primary article of clothing.  Wuxria seldom cover their upper bodies.

Wuxria spread throughout the empire, and many even joined the various breakaway states and pirate bands that left the empire.

Nalorgian Colony Beings

Inspired by an original concept by Fred Graves

Description

Nalorgian colony beings are not individual organisms, so much as the symbiotic fusion of four different species.  They stand about 1.5 Meters high, and most of the component organisms live on average about 20 years, although the combined symbiotic organism can live substantially longer as new organisms replace those that die.  Their "feet", and the ends of their "fingers" are suction-cup like organs that allow the Nalorgian to hold onto things.  Nalorgians are omnivorous.

The symbiotic nature of their anatomy gives Nalorgians the distinct trait of being modular.  If one of the constituent organisms dies, it can be replaced by another of the same gender and species.

Nalorgians are native to the planet Artanis 4, but have spread throughout the galaxy.  Nalorgians lived at a level of technological development similar to the Victorian period when they were conquered by the Empire of 1,000,000 Suns.  Many Nalorgians later joined with Ool-Tyr pirates, and together they formed the Nomad Armies, the fiercest and most dreaded enemies of the E1MS.

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Anatomy

The body section, and the head section of the Nalorgian are the female, and the male members, respectively, of a semi-aquatic species, and live in a mated pair until one or both die.  This species includes some different subspecies that give certain populations of Nalorgians distinct body plans.

The arm sections are from an aquatic, fish-like species, and they also live in mated pairs, which takes place through the mediation of the body section.  The left arm is always male, and the right is always female. 

The leg sections are a third, fish-like species that also live in mated pairs, joined by the body section.  The left leg is always female, and the right is always male. 

Finally, Nalorgia is a microbe that lives in special organs found in the three other species, and acts as a central nervous system, coordinating the others.

Life Cycle

The component organisms of a Nalorgian are all either aquatic, or semi-aquatic, and they start their lives in shallow ponds, like those that cover much of the surface of Artanis 4, their home-world.  These ponds are teeming with the Nalorgia microorganism that permeates the others. 

As they mature, the head and the body mate first.  Then they are joined in the water by the arms, and finally the legs join the symbiosis, and the fully formed Nalorgian stands up, and wades out of the pond. 

Adult Nalorgians spend the majority of their time on land, although they can live comfortably in the water as well.  From time to time, adult Nalorgians seek out a pond to lay the eggs of the three bodily species, and to release some of the Nalorgia.  If one of the component organisms dies, the remaining portion of the Nalorgian, (if viable), will seek out a breeding pond in order to find a new, compatible mate.

Related Life-forms

The Grand Nalaxian was a sentient complex of spawning pools that served as planetary governor, and created the Nalaxian Code.

Subspecies

The Climber is adapted to rough, mountainous terrain.

Thanians

Thanians are an intelligent, aquatic species from a planet almost entirely covered by water.  The home star of the Thanians is an anomaly, as it burns primarily with green light, not overpowered by other wavelengths in the visible spectrum.  The reason for this is unknown, as nature does not normally produce green stars, and the thanian home-world lies in remote, relatively unexplored sector of the galaxy.

Physiology: Thanian physiology tends to be fairly variable, largely due to bio-modification technology.  What follows is a description of the most common traits.  A Thanian’s head resembles a cephalopod, with two large eyes facing forward for hunting.  Thanians tend to be blue-green in color.  Thanians typically have a torso that resembles a human torso, but with four arms instead of two.  Most Thanians do not have legs, but do have a tail, configured horizontally, like a whale’s.  Thanians breathe water through gills, like fish.  The gas-filled organ that Thanians use to control their depth is also capable of producing a wide variety of sounds, this is used both for communication and echolocation.  Thanians are omnivorous, but are biased toward eating meat.  Contact with the Empire of 1,000,000 Suns has introduced Thanians to bio-modification technology, which has produced a wide variety of forms, including land-adapted Thanians.  

Thanians are an egg-laying species, and the physical characteristics that distinguish male and female Thanians are not immediately obvious to casual human observers.  Thanians are similar to humans in proportions, with adults generally ranging from 1.5 to 2 meters in length, massing 50-100 kg.

Culture: Thanian society and culture had advanced to a state similar to that of the middle ages, before they were conquered by the Empire of 1,000,000 Suns.  Government was based on a feudal model, with fairly large, settled kingdoms divided into smaller fiefdoms.  There were also significant populations of nomadic Thanians.  Like the middle ages on Earth, religion tended to dominate Thanian politics, with the largest religion wielding substantial power over the dealings of many of the larger states.

The largest, most influential Thanian religion worships a huge creature, said to be sleeping in the deepest part of the ocean.  The trench where the creature is said to lie is so deep that the pressure is too high for Thanians, or even the most advanced submarines to descend.  The faithful say that one day the creature will awaken, and ascend to destroy the world.

Tech: Thanian technology was primitive compared to their culture, due to the fact that the native environment of Thanians is underwater.  Without fire, metal could not be smelted.  Even though some wood-bearing plants could be grown in the shallower areas, wood was rarely used as a building material, and the manufacture of paper was basically impossible.  Thanians also did not develop dyes, although the seaweed of their homeworld grew in a wide enough variety of colors for most purposes.  Most Thanian tech consisted of stone, seaweed fibers, and the scales, shells, and bones of the local fauna.  Bioluminescence also figures prominently in Thanian technology, as many deep-dwelling species produce some form of the phenomenon.

Thanian writing systems are typically achieved by tying knots in cords made of seaweed fiber, similar to the Incan system. Their arts include poetry, drama, and song, with the visual arts lagging behind due to technological limitations, although they do have some, mainly in the form of earthwork sculpture made from stacked earth and stone.

Thanian buildings are made primarily of stone.  The first Thanian buildings were communal nests to protect their eggs from predators.  These later had storehouses attached to them, and eventually developed into elaborate, underwater castles and temples.

Thanians tend not to wear clothing, but are biologically well adapted to a wide range of temperatures.  Their blood contains a natural antifreeze agent.

Thanian warriors generally use two distinct weapons, a double-ended trident, and a net with weights attached around its perimeter.  The tridents are traditionally carved from the bones of large fish, although after contact with the outside world, metal and composite models became popular.

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