Sporlak

Sporlak on Albion4

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Sporlaks are large, amphibious animals, native to Albion 4.  Their build resembles that of a sauropod dinosaur.  Sporlaks have a variety of adaptations for their native habitat, beaches and shallow seas.  Their large, webbed feet are broad enough to keep them from sinking into the sand, and their gills allow them to breathe under water indefinitely.  Their backs support a row of spiny projections, possibly vestigial remnants from a time when sporlaks were fully aquatic.

  Diurnal in habit, sporlaks are omnivorous, mostly eating seaweed, but also opportunistically dining on fish and land animals alike.    Sporlaks dig nests on the beach where they lay their eggs. Soon after hatching, the juveniles make their way to the sea.

Subspecies

Dwarf Sporlaks evolved after the crew of Zoe Bonnard's ship brought sporlak eggs they had collected as biological specimens when they crash landed on Bonnard's End.  That planet's biosphere was relatively simple, and could not support full-sized sporlaks, so evolutionary pressure shrunk them considerably.

Exo-plankton

There is a thin veil of life permeating the galaxy.  Most of it is lumped together under the category of "exo-plankton", a term that describes a wide array of simple life-forms found living in deep space.  Human explorers first confirmed the existence of exo-plankton in the mid-2000's, when samples from the asteroid belt were found to contain simple viruses.

General types

• Organic molecules and prions
• viruses
• spores, and spore-like cells
• exo-bacteria
• other plant- and animal-like microorganisms

The more complex microorganisms are typically found near the frost-lines of stars where the temperature is in the range where volatile compounds can exist in liquid form. Typically, in the region closer to a star than the inner boundary of the habitable zone, the more complex forms are absent, with only viruses, spores and molecular types present.

Saurexian Rock-Toads

The Saurexian rock-toad is descended from common toads from Earth, that were on board the colony ship that crashed on New Albuquerque.  Over the years, these toads evolved to survive the conditions of their new home. 

One of these adaptations caused their cells to produce a chemical commonly used by the Holy Empire of Man in their nano-weapons.  As a result, refugees from the Planetary League, fleeing the Great Reckoning, who had been inoculated with defensive nanotechnology, and came into direct contact with these toads were treated to a bizarre sight.  The defensive nanobots would disintegrate Saurexian rock-toads in a spectacular fashion.

See:  Tail of the Toad God

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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Ool-Tyr

Description

The Ool-Tyr are an intelligent life-form from the Empire of 1,000,000 Suns that evolved in zero-gravity.  When the first explorers from the E1MS reached the nebula known as Ool-Tygnoth (home of the Ool-Tyr, and one of the early systems explored by the E1MS), the Ool-Tyr lived in a pre-technological state, hunting and gathering the plants and animals that grow there.  After they were conquered by the Empire, the Ool-Tyr often took on the role of piloting spacecraft, for which their lives in free-fall made them uniquely well suited.  Eventually, many Ool-Tyr ended up buying or stealing their ships, and setting out on lives of piracy.  In fact Ool-Tyr pirates became so successful, that they helped drive the Empire into a defensive stance, and an over-reliance on star-gates for interstellar travel and trade.  

An Ool-Tyr's body is spherical, with four large tentacles in a tetrahedral arrangement, and four large eyes, also in a tetrahedral arrangement.  Eating, breathing, reproduction, and removal of waste are all handled through body orifices, which are between the tentacles.  The tentacles are used for locomotion (both by grappling, and by expelling inhaled air through orifices in the ends of the tentacles), and for speech (through the same orifices).  

Ool-Tyr vary in color from light blue to dark purple.  As they age, their color gradually fades to grey or beige.

At birth, an Ool-Tyr is about the size of a basketball.  Since they live in free-fall, gravity imposes no limits to an Ool-Tyr's size, and they continue growing throughout their life-cycles.  The oldest of them can be quite impressively large.

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Greys

Description

Long ago, before the 1,000 Years War, the Greys split off genetically from the Cielioid Grey Subspecies.  The Cielioid Greys are specialized trash collectors and scavengers, and as such tend to work at night.  As a result of this, they lost their photosynthetic pigmentation, and took on fungal characteristics.  They also developed specialized organs for communicating non-verbally using radio waves.  Greys lack the dual-metabolism of Cielioids, and as a result are pure oxygen breathers, like humans.

When the Greys split from the Cielioid Greys, they lost their beaks.  They speak rarely, using only simple language.  As a replacement for speech, their brain-to-brain radio linking ability took over to the point that they freely form hive minds among themselves.  Individual Greys have only vestigial personalities.  Because of this, they are sensitive to radio interference, as it disrupts their ability to think.

Sensitivity to radio interference drives Greys to seek out isolated parts of space, far from other technological civilizations.  Greys tend to take a hostile view toward civilizations that produce a lot of radio noise, but this hostility tends to be expressed passive-aggressively in the form of information and psychological warfare tactics.

Grey cuisine tends to be in the form of mushes and soups made of scavenged and recycled organic waste.

Greys reproduce asexually, through spores, and have lost the outward manifestations of their reproductive organs.  The spores are released through small pores located near the center of the abdomen.  These spores are deposited in communal nurseries, where they form a mycelium-like structure, and are tended by designated caretakers.  In time, the mycelium develops a fruiting body that grows into a new Grey.

Some Greys still live in the Empire of 1,000,000 Suns, but the majority of them left to form The Convergence, one of the first of the Breakaway States, well before the 1,000 Years War.

Notable Subspecies

The Brute is a subspecies of Grey engineered for physical strength.

The Convergence Node is a subspecies developed within the Convergence that acts as a communications hub.

The Spring-heeled Jack is a subspecies of Grey engineered to hunt down the enemies of the Convergence.

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Fitzgerald's Landstrider

Description

The Landstrider is native to Fitzgerald's World, a planet without predators where herbivores can grow to very large size.  Because they lack natural predators, they don't fear humans, which means they can be easily tamed, but it also makes poaching a problem.  They range the tropical regions of Fitzgerald's World, primarily living in heavily forested areas, and can live up to five hundred years.

Landstriders are the size of a house at birth, and can grow to the height of a ten-story building.  Because of their large size, tamed Landstriders are sometimes used as pack animals, and can easily carry an entire expedition with all of its gear on their backs.

The skeleton of a Landstrider contains a large amount of titanium-based compounds, giving it greater strength to hold up the creature's enormous bulk.  For this reason, when one dies, its bones are a valuable commodity.  

 Landstriders are herbivores, and an adult will eat full-grown trees with a single bite.  The Landstrider eats by grasping a tree or other plant with the tentacles that grow from the side of its head.  Its mouth is surrounded by a thick beard-like growth of hair.  This is the only hair on its body.

Landstriders have two pairs of eyes.  The eyes on the sides of their heads provide peripheral vision, while the eyes on the front let them look directly at things.  They do have a sense of hearing, but it is very imprecise, allowing them to hear loud noises, without being able to discern the direction from which the sound originated.

A Landstrider breathes through openings in its sides that open up to its enormous lungs.  Landstriders are known to carry a respiratory infection, known as Fitzgerald's Lung Rot, which has crossed species to humans.  Lung Rot is just a nuisance infection to the Landstrider, but can be debilitating, and occasionally fatal to humans.

Landstriders are social animals, and live in family herds led by an alpha male.

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