Motor Centaur

To the extent possible under law, Melvin M has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to Motor Centaur. This work is published from: United States.

On the wild frontier worlds of the galaxy, a traveler may chance to encounter a Motor-centaur.  These are hybrid cybernetic organisms created when the upper body of a humanoid life-form is attached to a modified motorcycle.  Typically, the upper body is also modified for increased strength and durability, allowing the centaur to self-right more easily in the event of a fall.

The largest populations of motor-centaurs are associated with the Fractal Legions of Eris, who typically create them for use as cavalry. 

New Albuquerque in particular is known for its roving bands of these creatures.

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.

Bravaxians

History

Bravaxians are an intelligent species from the planet Bravaxia.  They lived at a stone-age (paleolithic) level of technological development before they were discovered by the Convergence (about 5000 years ago).  

The Bravaxians were enslaved by the Convergence as farmers, growing certain plants and animals from their home planet that the Convergence valued as food.  Chief among these were Garbage-fruit, and the Grunkle-fly.

The Convergence controlled the Bravaxians by creating "gods", bio-engineered beings with cybernetic brains, designed to resemble gods from various Bravaxian religions.  

Believers flock to see Oovex Snirk, one of the gods created by the Convergence. Snirk was a god of the hunt, and was used to teach the Bravaxians agriculture as well as to collect sacrifices of valuable foodstuffs.

The Convergence also came to utilize the Bravaxians themselves as a food source, (as an extension of the Bravaxians' own cannibalistic practices), and this was facilitated by having the "gods" demand sacrifices.  Bravaxian flesh is prized by the Convergence, because it has a narcotic effect on Greys.  The Greys who oversaw and harvested the Bravaxians always made a show of being the servants of the "gods" they created.

During the third Convergence War, the Planetary League liberated the Bravaxian home-world, which became an independent world.

Biology

Bravaxians are oxygen-breathing, omnivorous vertebrates with three sexes.  

Their skeletons are made of a cartilage-like tissue that is softer than the skeletons of most life-forms.  

Their mouths are bordered by a set of four prehensile tentacles that give them a limited amount of fine manipulation ability.  Bravaxian saliva is dark blue, but also slightly phosphorescent.

Their short legs make them slow, and easy targets for predators, which drove them to work together for mutual defense, causing them to develop culture and language.  

Female Bravaxians lay eggs, which are then fertilized by one parent of each of the other two sexes ( "left-male" and "right-male").  Female Bravaxians make up about 20% of the population, while left- and right- males each account for about 40%.   To untrained human eyes the three sexes of Bravaxian appear indistinguishable.  They are mainly identified by scent among themselves, but subtle variations of coloration and tentacle length can reveal the sex of a Bravaxian as well.

Culture

Before the coming of the Convergence, Bravaxians lived in small tribes and villages with polytheistic and animistic religions.  They lived in simple covered nests, and subsisted by hunting and gathering.  

Cannibalism is fairly common among Bravaxians, usually by one's own family members after a violent death (they avoid eating family who died of disease).  Bravaxian flesh is sweet-tasting, but mildly toxic to humans. 

Bravaxian writing was traditionally accomplished via tentacle, using saliva on pieces of wood.  Their saliva being dark blue, yet phosphorescent remains visible in both light and dark conditions, which is useful in the flickering light of the forest floors where Bravaxians live.  In Bravaxian culture, a written statement isn't considered authentic or sincere unless it is written in the author's own saliva.  This was initially a problem for the Convergence in their dealings with the Bravaxians, as Greys (like humans) have transparent saliva, meaning they were seen as inherently untrustworthy because things written in it could not be seen.  The Greys who dealt with Bravaxians on a regular basis genetically modified themselves to have Bravaxian-style saliva, in order to circumvent this problem.  After long subjugation by the Convergence, little remained of traditional Bravaxian cultures, and most learned to write in Convergence Script.

Each of the sexes generally exhibit one of two genders.  The genders are defined largely by what role they play in daily life, either tending the nests or hunting/gathering.  The majority of female Bravaxians are of the nest-tending gender, (being both relatively rare and biologically important as egg-layers, there is a lot of social pressure to keep them safely at home), while left- and right- males both tend to take up the hunting/gathering genders.

Habitat

The natural habitat of the Bravaxians is the floor of the wind-forests of Bravaxia.  These forests are dominated by tall trees.  The leaves of these trees are constantly agitated by the wind, creating constantly flickering daylight on the floor of the forest, which bravaxian eyes are highly adapted to.  After their liberation, when Bravaxians were able to build their own technological civilization, this adaptation to flickering light found expression in the form of their light fixtures which are designed to flicker constantly, much to the annoyance of other species.

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.

Takarrans

Biology

Takarrans are biologically most similar to amphibians.  They have gills on the sides of their necks, and during early childhood live entirely underwater.  Around the age of five Earth years, young Takarrans start breathing air, and gradually come to spend most of their time on land.  The ability to breathe water is never lost, though, and in old age, many retire underwater. 

Takarrans eat an omnivorous diet.

The Takarran reproductive system is very similar to that of humans.  Mothers give birth to live young, and produce milk through mammary glands.

Takarrans have smooth skin, and come in two distinct ethnic groups, based on the color of their skin.  All Takarrans have pale underbellies and faces, but their backs and limbs are either bright red or purple, except for rare takarrans of mixed heritage who’s coloration is a iridescent mix of red and purple. 

Takarran ears project out of the tops of their heads, and, like those of a cat can be turned in different directions to listen or to express emotion. 

A Takarran's eyes are nearly black in color, and are adjusted to a bluer spectrum than human eyes, as their home star is an F-class star.

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“I’ll tell you what kind of work environment suits me best: the corner office.“ -Kurgun Dakk

The Lu'Tak are one of the two main subspecies of Takarrans, and their cultures tend to focus on ambition and power. Since the diaspora from their home-world, they are often found in the corporate states, plotting their ways up the corporate ladder.

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Red-Takarran(Ki’Tak): Most Ki’Tak are trying to conserve their original cultures after their home-world was overrun by machine intelligences, as a result, the majority of Ki’Tak live in or near bodies of water.

History

Early in their history, Takarrans were separated by geographical barriers onto two separate continents.  Those on the Eastern Continent became the Purple-Takarrans (known as the Lu’Tak in their native tongue), and those on the Western Continent became the Red-Takarrans (called the Ki’Tak).  For tens of thousands of years these two groups lived in isolation from one another. 

They advanced technologically at roughly the same pace, but with wildly different cultures.  Red-Takarrans were relatively peaceful (when left to their own devices) with an emphasis on egalitarian principals and individuality.  Meanwhile, the Purple-Takarrans developed a highly stratified society, where leadership was determined through physical combat. 

When explorers from the Red-Takarrans first met the Purple-Takarrans, cultural misunderstandings rapidly escalated into war.  Wars, genocides, raids, and other atrocities marred the relationship between the two groups for centuries, until one particularly bloody conflict ended especially badly for both sides.  An uneasy truce settled over their home-world, and eventually developed into a cold war.  

During the Takarran cold-war, an arms-race developed between the two sides.  The focus of this arms race was on artificial intelligence and robotics, leading to the creation of the Cryptobots by the purple takarrans, and the Defendrons by the red takarrans.  Combat robots from the two sides occasionally clashed in clandestine battles, hidden from public view.  Over time, each side contrived to infiltrate its own combat robots into the other side's territory, disguised as innocuous pieces of civilian technology. 

On the day the inevitable war broke out, civilians on both sides were completely unaware of the fatal threat hiding in plain sight.  As cars, trains, toasters and even televisions revealed their true nature, whole populations were caught entirely off guard, and mercilessly slaughtered in a matter of minutes. 

Very few Takarrans on either side survived the conflict.  Most of the survivors were hunters and gatherers or subsistence farmers with little access to technology.  Those who wandered too close to civilization died at the hands of the still-active robots, and so the survivors quickly learned to fear technology. 

The robots of Takara Prime, never sure if reinforcements for the other side of the war would eventually arrive, continued to maintain the cities and farms where they were deployed.  This left an eerie discovery for the first explorers from the Planetary League Astrophysical Survey (PLAS) , when they arrived in GSC 179. (See: Exodus) The Cryptobots discovered the possibilities of atmospheric flight and space travel from the arrival of the Planetary League, endangering the remaining red takarrans, and prompting a rescue mission from the Planetary League.  Many of the Cryptobots also left the planet in the cargo holds of unsuspecting explorers, treasure hunters, and archaeologists.  Then, after allying with General Zarlok, the Cryptobots turned on their creators, the purple takarrans, prompting a second rescue. The rise of the Cryptobots led to the beginning of the Second Robot War in GSC 184.

Eventually, the Planetary League was able to safely resettle much of the remaining population of Takarrans on other worlds. Gradually, the Takarran population started to thrive again in their new homes, but the lingering animosity between the red and purple races was slow to fade.

Cielioid Pilot

The Pilot is a subspecies of Cielioid engineered to effectively pilot spacecraft. 

Anatomy

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Pilots are small and lithe, generally standing between 1 and 1.25 Meters high. 

Their heads are expanded to allow extra eyes, giving pilots 360-degree vision, enhanced depth-perception, and fine-detail perception.  The interior of the Pilot's skull contains specialized structures for protecting the brain from the effects of high g-forces.  A Pilot's brain is optimized for spatial perception and navigation ability, combined with a capacity for making split-second decisions. 

Pilots have two sets of thin, nimble arms for operating multiple sets of controls at once.

Pilots stand on four sturdy legs to help them maintain their balance and stability, even during high-acceleration maneuvers and occurrences of atmospheric turbulence.

Culture

It is common for Pilots who achieve officer-level rank to have cybernetic implants installed that allow them to communicate directly with their ship's systems.  Frequently, Pilots with these implants will become so emotionally attached to their ships that they refuse to leave their posts for the rest of their lives, even in emergency situations or long periods of maintenence.

Nalorgian Climbers

Climbers are one of the most prolific of the subspecies of Nalorgians.  Climbers were a common sight in the Empire of 1,000,000 Suns, and the Nomad Armies throughout Era-0.  During Era-1, Climbers spread throughout the galaxy due to contact between the Nomad Armies and the Planetary League.

While most subspecies of Nalorgians came about after Cielioids from the E1MS brought advanced biotechnology to Artanis 4, Climbers actually pre-date first contact between the Nalorgians and the Empire. 

Anatomy and Adaptations

Climbers likely originally evolved to survive in the mountainous parts of Artanis 4, and their bodies are the strongest evidence of this. 

Climbers have three legs and three arms each (typically in ratios of two female to one male, but all configurations can be found in the population), which gives them better footing and an extra hand for grabbing handholds.  The arm and leg symbiontes are virtually identical to those of most Nalorgians, with whom they can easily trade limbs. 

The body of a Climber is spherical with a hard, bony shell.  Like a turtle, Climbers can retract their limbs and heads inside their shells. 

The head symbiont has a cap of the same shell material that covers the body, this protects the head when the Climber retracts it.  The eyes on the front of the Climber's head are widely spaced, and they have a third eye in the back of their heads, granting the Climber 360-degree vision.