Ultronomicon - User contributions [en]

Shofixti

2004-11-02T18:44:20Z

Mudlock: Be bold. (Removed the "I" from "Delta Gorno I" as sugested in Talk, other minor spelling/grammar edits)

{{RaceBox|name=Shofixti|image=ShofixtiComm.png|caption=Tanaka, last of the Shofixti|homeworld=None, formerly Delta Gorno|coordinates=290.8 : 026.9|organizations=The [[New Alliance of Free Stars]]|ship=[[Scout]]}}
The '''Shofixti''' are a marsupial race of honorable mammals whose homeworld, called [[Kyabetsu]], was at Delta Gorno. They somewhat resemble antropomorphic raccoons, which has lead the [[Human]]s to view them as "Cute"; something which puzzles other races and angers the Shofixti.

The Shofixti were elevated to the stars by the [[Yehat]] who traditionally have taken the role of an adoptive guardian over the Shofixti. Before the Yehat discovered them, the Shofixti had a feudal culture that had an uncanny resemblance to that of [[Earth]]'s medieval Japan.

Shofixti are typically brown in color but can vary. They have extremely short gestation rates, and can reproduce rapidly and age into adulthood within a few months. During the war, the Shofixti provided the backbone for personnel. Even during the bleakest periods of the war, the Shofixti always provided enough crew to keep the starships of the [[Alliance of Free Stars]] full.

During the later stages of the war, their [[Scout]] ships provided much of the recon for the alliance. After the conquest of the [[Humans]], the Shofixti and Yehat forces withdrew to the Gorno stars but did not permit the [[Syreen]] to follow. As the Ur-Quan [[Dreadnought]] force bore down upon Delta Gorno, The Yehat Queen suddenly ordered a withdrawal of every [[Terminator]] back to the Serpentis stars. The Shofixti ships were no match for the Ur-Quan fleet. When the last of their ships had been destroyed and the Ur-Quan fleet began to advance in system, the Shofixti in a final act of courage and defiance used a [[Precursor]] bomb device to open a hole on the surface of their sun to cause a mini-supernova that destroyed everything in the inner system of Delta Gorno, including a third of the combined Ur-Quan fleet.

[[Category:Races]]

Talk:Arilou Lalee'lay

2004-11-02T16:51:37Z

Mudlock: Be Bold!

The most annoying thing about many of these entries is that in a misguided attempt to be objective they present things as "up for debate" that aren't legitimately up for debate. "Arilou La'Leelay" is explicitly stated in the game to be a Celtic name, given to the Arilou by the "children of the Celts".

== Be Bold! ==

Go ahead and make any changes you feel are appropriate. I haven't played through the game since over seven years ago; sometimes I can't remember what was stated as fact and what was conjecture.

Battle Thrall

2004-10-22T19:41:00Z

Mudlock: Added a list of the known thralls.

The '''Battle Thralls''' of the [[Ur-Quan Hierarchy]] are the species who have pledged to serve the [[Ur-Quan Kzer-Za]] by helping them enslave other sentient races. Their duties include providing military support for the Kzer-Za and watching over [[slave shield]]ed worlds while their masters pursue more important matters.

Battle Thralls have rights to travel through space and to retain some autonomy on their homeworlds. It is likely that their goverments are chosen by the Kzer-Za.

They are not allowed to make war on other Thralls or "fallow" slave species. Punishment ranges from blasting villages and cities to total annihilation, depending on the severity of the crime.

The Thrall races during the time between the [[First War|First]] and [[Second War]]s included:

* The [[Androsynth]], although they were destoyed before the Second War began in ernest.
* The [[Ilwrath]]
* The [[Mycon]], the only race to seek out the Ur-Quan, rather than waiting to be defeated by them.
* The [[Spathi]], who intended to become a fallow-species, but were pranked by the Umgah.
* The [[Thraddash]], conqured before the First War, but were left to "guard the rear" and did not participate in it directly.
* The [[Umgah]], the first race conqured by the Ur-Quan at the start of the First War.
* The [[VUX]]
* The [[Yehat]], the only former [[Alliance of Free Stars|Alliance]] member to choose Thralldom upon defeat.

QuasiSpace Portal Spawner

2004-10-22T19:30:59Z

Mudlock:

The '''QuasiSpace Portal Spawner''' was device constructed by the [[Arilou Lalee'lay]] for the [[SIS]] as a favor to [[The Captain]] during the [[Second War]]. It is a variant on the Arilou's standard [[QuasiSpace]] Portal Spawners, devices which use [[Dimensional Fatigue]] technology to create a temporary overlap between the dimensions of [[HyperSpace]] and QuasiSpace, allowing the Arilou to jump into QuasiSpace without going to the trouble of finding one of the rare, intermittently active natural portals. The process of creating such portals is extremely energy-intensive and dependent on the portal's size; this is probably one of the primary limiting factors leading to the relatively small size of the standard Arilou [[Skiff]].

In order to allow Captain Zelnick to use such a Spawner on the much larger Vindicator, the Arilou had to amplify a standard Spawner's power using a [[Ur-Quan Warp Pod|Warp Pod]] scavenged from the wreck of an [[Ur-Quan Kzer-Za]] [[Dreadnought]]. Zelnick's scientists were unable to divine the internal workings of this Spawner. Of particular concern was the fact that the Spawner's contained a black box energy source, and, presumably, whatever exotic form of energy storage was necessary to power the Spawner was unreprodicible by human technology, giving them no way to recharge it when it ran out of power, although in the end the Vindicator was destroyed before its Spawner became nonfunctional. With no way as yet to predict the service lifetime or reliability of such a device in the long term, the possible usefulness of installing large numbers of hybrid Spawners on battleships (even if the Arilou agreed to do so) remains in doubt.

[[Category:Alien Artifacts]]

X-Form

2004-10-22T19:12:18Z

Mudlock:

[[Image:Star_control_i_x-form_databank.png|thumb|Starship Databank Entry]]

Flexibility is the key to survival. The robotic [[Mmrnmhrm]] understood this concept, as proven by their agreement to join the [[Chenjesu]] in their "Process", but their warships have integrated this concept wholly and fully. The [[Mmrnmhrm]] [[X-form]] could quickly transform from the slow but powerful Laser-Form to the quick stinging Jet-form.

== The Laser-Form ==

The Laser-Form has the dubious honor of being the slowest ship in the game, slower even more than the [[Vux]] [[Intruder]]. However, the Laser form Dual-Wing-Laser Array is a devestating weapon that can cause up to 24 points of damage in a full barage. Also, while terribly slow, the Laser-form is quick to turn, making it hard for fast but short ranged ships such as the [[Slylandro]] [[Probe]], the [[Arilou]] [[Skiff]] or the [[Pkunk]] [[Fury]] to creep on from behind. Also, it is not unheard of to see the X-Form gaining speed in it's Jet-form and then cruising in the same direction and speed as the Laser-Form, targeting an uncareful enemy.

The Laser-Form's vulnerability is to big ships that cause massive damage as it can't evade those big painful shots.

== The Jet-Form ==

The quick Jet-form relies on the concept of "If you can’t hit me, you can’t kill me". One of the fastest ships in the galaxy, the Jet-form also features a long-range twin missile launchers with fair tracking systems. While the missiles cause little damage, their range when correctly mixed with the Jet-form’s immense speed can slowly demolish a ship, causing slow but constant attritional damage from a safe distance. Being able to outrun most ships, the Jet-form is vital to any useful X-form battle. Somewhat hampered by its slow turn-rate, the Jet-form can still effectively evade enemy shots if flown by a skilled pilot. The Jet-form’s main enemies are faster ships such as the [[Slylandro]] [[Probe]], the [[Pkunk]] [[Fury]] and the [[Androsynth]] [[Guardian]]. The [[Arilou]] [[Skiff]] can use its inertialess propulsion and short-range hyperspace shunts to ambush the Jet-form.

== Tactical Overview ==

When piloted skillfully the X-form can prove a lethal adversary to most ships, either by attrition or by short and deadly laser-blast. An experienced pilot can use the flexibility of the versatile X-form to overcome most ships.

Strong Against: Nearly every ship.

Weak Against: The [[Chmmr]] [[Avatar]], with its zap-sats and longer-reaching Terra-watt laser is deadly against the X-form, leaving the X-form nothing to do but attempting a suicide-run with its lasers hot. The [[Kohr-Ah]] [[Marauder]] can effectively lay mines which the slow-turning Jet-form can hardly evade. [[Chenjesu]] [[Broodhome]] Crystaline Shots can do the same but it takes a good aim. The [[Yehat]] [[Terminator]]’s shield turns it into a major adversary. An unwary pilot can find the Earthling [[Cruiser]] deadly too.

[[Category:Ships]]

Rainbow World

2004-10-22T19:05:05Z

Mudlock: bold self-ref, linked credits

'''Rainbow Worlds''' are the garbage dumps supposedly built by the [[Precursor]]s. There are only 10 in existance, but they are said to be arranged in a pattern that would be a clue to the Precursors' fate.

The Rainbow Worlds possess good mineral yields, but more importantly, the [[Melnorme]] will give 500 [[credits]] for each one you find.

[[Category:Planet Types]]

Precursors Remixing Team

2004-10-22T18:54:06Z

Mudlock: If there's only one section, don't put a section heading. Bolded first self-ref. Changed to a professional voice when talking about hyperspace.

The Star Control 2 music remixing project started in August 2002 – At the same time as when [[Toys For Bob]] released the partially ported sources of the 3DO version of Star Control 2 to the fan community.

[[Riku Nuottajärvi]] got the idea for remixing all of the 69 Star Control 2 songs for the remake – but the project just looked too big for one composer to do alone. [[Toys For Bob]] was really interested in Riku’s idea for bringing all of the music to the "new age" – so they asked him to manage the project and invite people from the fan community to join the remixing project.

All the original composers were contacted and the fan community was informed about the ongoing project. A lot of people were involved in the project, but sadly, many of them "vanished" while the project went on. However, at the same time, the core group started to form.

After many months of work, the core group of remixers formed '''Precursors''' in October 2003. Precursors is the collective effort of four individual artists; [[Riku Nuottajärvi]] (author of some of the original songs in the 1992 version of Star Control 2, including the Hyperspace background music), [[Jouni Airaksinen]], [[Tore Aune Fjellstad]] and [[Espen Gätzschmann]].

Precursors' mission is to bring, to all Star Control 2 fans, wonderful Star Control 2 inspired music – not just re-makes of the old songs, but also totally different versions and brand new songs.

==External links==
*[http://www.medievalfuture.com/precursors/ The Home Page of the Precursors Team]

Talk:Supox

2004-10-22T18:46:44Z

Mudlock: Green light

I gotta say I admire the fulness of these reports who ever you are, 4.11.199.218! Outstanding!

--[[User:Dingus|Dingus]] 05:51, 15 Oct 2004 (CEST)

== note to self ==

Self, please edit this doc to be easier to read and more wiki-like. The content is incredible, but the layout needs work. [[User:Mmrnmhrm|Mmrnmhrm]] 22:28, 21 Oct 2004 (CEST) (don't mind me folks, I'm just leaving work now and I don't want to forget this when I get home.)

== Green light ==

So, the article mentions that Root is a green star, and SEEMS to imply that this means the Supox have more light-energy available to use in their photosynthesis because of that fact. This is wrong; plants appear green because they take the LEAST amount of energy from green light (instead reflecting it back to an observer's eye).

Now, I may be reading to deeply into this, so I wanted to get a second opinion before changing things. Does anyone else see that implication?

[[User:Mudlock|Mudlock]] 20:46, 22 Oct 2004 (CEST)

Supox

2004-10-22T18:43:45Z

Mudlock: A few missing semicolons, some odd spellings

The '''Supox Utricularia''' are an intelligent spacefaring race resembling some carnivorous plants. When they were first met by the [[New Alliance of Free Stars]] the Supox had already forged a cooperative relationship with the nearby [[Utwig]].

==Physiology and origin==
The name by which they chose to introduce themselves to [[Captain Zelnick]] of the [[Vindicator]], the first [[human]] to ever make contact with them, appears to be a conscious mimicking of human genus-species names for organisms. It combines their native term for themselves, "Supox", as the name of their genus, with the human term "utricularia" from Latin (literally "bottles") as a way of comparing their physiology to that of a genus of terrestrial carnivorous plants, commonly known as bladderworts.

Like bladderworts, the Supox are life forms best classified as being in Earth's Kingdom Plantae. They are multicellular organisms with a body structure defined by rigid cell walls held in shape by internal turgor pressure, dependent primarily on photosynthesis for energy, with body structures like roots, leaves and stems very similar to those of terrestrial plants. They appear to have a basic structure of large green leaves surrounding a central stem, similar to that of an enlarged Earth bladderwort (complete with a stomach-like cavity for digesting animal food), with the addition of vinelike appendages acting as arms, rootlike appendages that detach from the ground and act as motile legs, and a blossom-like appendage containing sensory apparati that acts as the analogue of a head.

The Supox's home planet, which they call "Earth" in human language — both as a direct translation of the native term "[[Vlik]]" (which they only use when it is necessary to distinguish Vlik from the human homeworld) and in conscious imitation of humans' naming of their homeworld — is the first planet around the star the Alliance calls Beta Librae and Supox call Root. Root is brighter and hotter than Sol and glows in the green portion of the visible spectrum. The proportionally higher energy available to photosynthetic organisms on Vlik may explain why the Supox were able to attain levels of mobility, adaptability and complexity — all the way to the level of sentience — that no plant on the humans' [[Earth]] ever achieved.

The Supox by far gain most of their energy through solar radiation, and have evolved their radiation-detecting senses to the point that they compare their deeply held aesthetic perceptions of the energy gained from different wavelengths of light to the human ability to taste food. Nonetheless they can gain nutrition from other sources. They have been known to consume small portions of animal flesh in order to survive, similarly to the Utricularia bladderworts they named themselves after. The primary way their species gained dominance on Vlik was by intelligently devising various means of biological symbiosis with various other plant and animal life forms. They adapted their own flexible body plans to the lifestyle of another species so that they could find a way to extract energy from them while doing them a reciprocal benefit.

==Relations to other races==

===The Utwig===

This constant reconfiguring of their own bodies finally led to a full-scale technological culture, but one based primarily on biotechnology. They could create machines by artificially growing carefully shaped plant matter the way the Supox had originally surgically and genetically modified their own bodies. When their first starships made contact with the neighboring [[Utwig]] the Supox, as a collective culture seeking guidance, did what they had always done as individuals seeking food — seek adaptive symbiosis. They developed their protocols of communication, exploration and scientific research by closely imitating the Utwig and in return lent the Utwig their resources and labor in all the Utwig's great endeavors. This arrangement pleased the Utwig, who at the time felt the impending acquisition of the [[Ultron]] would put them in the perfect position to lead other species to enlightenment. Despite their dependence on the Utwig, the Supox's native common sense soon made them skeptical of the whole Ultron concept. Especially after the Utwig identified the Ultron as an apparently useless object sold to them by the [[Druuge]] at exorbitant prices. Nonetheless, for the sake of their friends they played along, and when the Ultron broke they undertook to safeguard it and attempt to repair it in order to save the Utwig social order.

===The Humans===

With the Utwig incapacitated, the Supox were open to taking a new race as their cultural mentors, which turned out to be the [[Humans]] of the [[New Alliance of Free Stars]] led by [[Captain Zelnick]]. Most of our communications with the Supox are thus distorted by a Supox culture that has studied human culture in detail and now openly imitates our own etiquette and imports terms from our own language in communicating with us.

==Involvement in the War==

When Zelnick restored the [[Utwig]]'s [[Ultron]], the Utwig valiantly led the charge to attack the [[Kohr-Ah]] and delay the outcome of the [[Doctrinal Conflict]], calling their Supox allies to assist them. The weaker Supox military took grievous initial losses in this combat, but Utwig strategists soon learned how to use the Utwig's superior defensive capabilities to compensate for the weaknesses of the delicate Supox [[Blade]] ships, and use the Supox ships' superior speed and manueverability to strike where the Utwig could not. The Supox forces thus became a critical factor in delaying the Kohr-Ah victory and allowing the New Alliance to complete their desperate plan to destroy the [[Sa-Matra]]. Though their contribution here as elsewhere is often overshadowed by that of the Utwig, they nonetheless deserve the galaxy's thanks.

==It's not easy being green==

Before meeting the Supox, human xenologists had theorized that the development of intelligent, tool-using life among plant-like life forms was highly unlikely. They presumed that it would be much more difficult for plantlike cells, separated by cell walls, to develop the complex specialization needed for a sentient brain, and much less likely for a photosynthetic niche that encouraged a sessile lifestyle to lead to intelligent behavior. Interestingly, in studying their own origins Supox scientists came to very similar conclusions, expressing confusion among themselves as to why Supox should have achieved sentience rather than an animal-like species, and how the complex, incredibly unlikely seeming structures that allowed Supox intelligence and motility ever evolved. Many Supox saw these factors as a convincing argument that the Supox had been divinely created or at least artificially created.

The Supox are thus aware of their unusual place among sentient species as well as the tendency of most species, descended from animal-like life forms, to see the Supox as descendants of a kind of life they only thought of as background vegetation or food. The Supox generally take derogatory references to their plant nature in good humor, though they do take moral offense at the assumptions of animal-based life forms that sentience, even in its most primitive forms, is something only animals share. They are particularly offended by animal-based sentients that adopt a vegetarian lifestyle for moral reasons, who assume there is a degree of sinfulness in killing even the least intelligent animal but that all plants are free for animals to consume. Given their own long struggles to survive on their planet's surface and their history of constantly attempting to peacefully cooperate with species of all kinds — plant and animal, sentient and nonsentient — they take grave offense at animal sentients who see them as food (even in a vague, indirect sense) simply because they are plants.

[[Category:Races]]

Rosy Sphere

2004-10-21T18:12:35Z

Mudlock: ...and 3.

One of a trio of [[Precursor]] artifacts whose mystical link to each other has been sensed by [[Pkunk]] psychics, given simple names based on their color and shape. (The other two artifacts being the [[Aqua Helix]] and the [[Clear Spindle]].) Also one of many apparently useless Precursor relics obtained by the [[Druuge]] from the [[Utwig]] in exchange for the [[Ultron]]. The Utwig, using the Ultron's own power, predicted that in this storehouse of unidentifiable, unusable Precursor relics they had accumulated would be hidden the secret of changing and purifying the racial nature of the Druuge, and gave them these relics as a charitable act. The Druuge, angry at being cheated of their truly sought prize, the incredibly powerful [[Utwig Bomb|Precursor bomb]] the Utwig had found, proceeded to unload as many of these relics on foolish travelers as they could.

Ironically, one of these relics was a copy of a component of the Ultron itself that became necessary to repair the Ultron after it was damaged by the Utwig High Proctor. The Druuge perhaps realized this, since they kept the Sphere in a special secure vault separate from their other wares, perhaps hoping to offer to repair the Ultron in exchange for the Bomb. However, they generally seemed to place very little value on the Sphere, and when Zelnick arrived bearing objects valuable to the Druuge willing to trade the Sphere to the human [[The Captain|Captain Zelnick]] without even requiring the customary trade of slaves that they demanded for other Precursor artifacts. This allowed Zelnick to complete his own project of repairing the Ultron and gaining the gratitude of the Utwig, allowing him to claim the Bomb himself.

The sphere is relatively small, about 5 centimeters in diameter, translucent and perfectly smooth, possessing the unusual property of being ferromagnetic while completely non-conductive to electric current.

[[Category:Alien Artifacts]][[Category:Precursor Technology]]

Clear Spindle

2004-10-21T18:11:48Z

Mudlock: 2 out of 3...

The '''Clear Spindle''' is one of a trio of [[Precursor]] artifacts whose mystical links to each other were first sensed by [[Pkunk]] psychics. (The other two artifacts being the [[Aqua Helix]] and the [[Rosy Sphere]].) The three artifacts were given simple names based on their color and shape.

The Pkunk were only able to obtain for themselves the Clear Spindle; sensing its power and significance to future history, they were unable to divine anything about its function or internal operation, and therefore kept it for years as a work of art and paperweight due to its unusual luster and near-perfect transparency. Over time they slowly divined more information about the other devices to which the Spindle was mystically linked. This culminated in their guide spirits' compelling them to give the Spindle to the human [[The Captain|Captain Zelnick]] and guide him in reuniting it with its companion devices, resulting in the reconstruction of the [[Ultron]]. As with other Precursor artifacts, the Spindle's composition and method of operation are unknown, though testing has shown the Spindle to become a superconductor between the temperatures of 18 and 22 degrees C.

[[Category:Alien Artifacts]][[Category:Precursor Technology]]

Aqua Helix

2004-10-21T18:11:05Z

Mudlock: added references to clear spindle and rosy sphere; on to edit those...

The '''Aqua Helix''' is one of a trio of [[Precursor]] artifacts whose mystical links to each other had been sensed by [[Pkunk]] psychics. (The other two artifacts being the [[Clear Spindle]] and the [[Rosy Sphere]].) All were given simple names based on their color and shape. The Aqua Helix is a crystalline gemstone, composed of a homogeneous substance, that appears to have been naturally grown in the shape of a flat strip twisted in a three-dimensional spiral. It is extremely hard (rated Mohs-13, able to scratch a diamond) and its internal structure remains unknown.

The [[Thraddash]] revered it as a holy object, and constructed a shrine for it in a mountainous cave of the continent of Funt on one of their colony planets, Zeta Draconis I. While housed there, the Helix constantly gave off pulses of intensely bright light by an unknown process; control of the shrine and the Helix was regarded as the ultimate symbol of the ruling authority of each successive Culture, and within the shrine was inscribed in ritual hieroglyphics the history of each Culture. This custom has lasted for all 2,000 years of Thraddash history, only briefly challenged by the two-week reign of the heretic Culture Nine. Except for that one exception, the Thraddash dogmatically insist on veneration of the Helix as the one constant factor that keeps their civilization continuous through all the countless wars and power shifts that make up their history, despite the fact that the Thraddash have long forgotten what the original symbolic significance of the Helix is. (Some speculate its helical shape may be related to the Thraddash's conviction that social evolution must come through a cycle of destruction and rebuilding.)

The ascension of Thraddash Culture Twenty, based around the teachings of the human [[The Captain|Zelnick]], led to an invitation by the Thraddash to allow their new leader to view their most sacred artifact. Having learned something of the Helix's nature from the Pkunk, Zelnick allowed his crew to violate the Thraddash shrine and steal the Helix, disturbing its structure and quelling its ancient glow, causing the Thraddash to turn against their great Teacher and throwing Culture Twenty into turmoil. This decision however proved wise, as the Helix proved to be one of the parts necessary to repair the [[Utwig]]'s [[Ultron]].

[[Category:Alien Artifacts]][[Category:Precursor Technology]]

Talk:Melnorme

2004-10-21T18:08:37Z

Mudlock:

"if one manages to find enough credits the Melnorme might even sell the information about turning purple"

This is one of the more debated topics on many forums :)

So what _I've_ heard (from the TFB chats), is that your bio data rolls over at 64k (quite short of the 200,000 necessary), and secondly, you're never given the option to ask about the color changes again after the first occurance (which happens when you are guarenteed to have percisely 0 credits).

[[User:Mudlock|Mudlock]] 20:08, 21 Oct 2004 (CEST)

Talk:Melnorme

2004-10-21T18:06:18Z

Mudlock: ...moved commentary from article to here.

"if one manages to find enough credits the Melnorme might even sell the information about turning purple"

This is one of the more debated topics on many forums :)

Melnorme

2004-10-21T18:05:08Z

Mudlock: Moving commentary to the Talk page...

The '''Melnorme''' (prounounced /[[media:Melnorme_as_pronounced_by_Greenish.ogg|'mɛlnɔːmeɪ]]/), as far as we know, are a race of traveling traders in information and technology. They appear as several yellow globs piled on top of each other, with a large smile and a single eye.

The Melnorme's basic culture revolves around exchanges of items, information, and commodities. They believe that giving without receiving is barbaric. The Melnorme lustly search for new information about biological creatures and the ominous [[Precursor]] [[Rainbow Worlds]], but to what end is unknown, although, it is probably safe to assume that they sell the information to someone else.

Melnorme are highly sensitive to color. Their bridge has a colorful background that changes to fit their mood or activities. Red is for travel, purple is generally assumed to be for trade (if one manages to find enough credits the Melnorme might even sell the information about turning purple) and when you meet a Melnorme with a blue bridge, know that he is locking his weapons systems on your ship.

It is suspected that the Melnorme are the [[Mael-Num]], or at least their descendants or an offshot species, but the Melnorme say nothing about it. The evidence does point that way, both because of their similar names and because the Kohr-Ah have referred to the Mael-Num as "one-eyed creatures". The fact that the Melnorme keep the locations of their homeworlds secret adds weight to the claim.

The Melnorme are never found in [[Hyperspace]] (unless they come looking for you) and are generally encountered only around supergiant star systems. It is suspected, though unsubstantiated, that they use some property of these stars to power some other form of propulsion for even faster interstellar travel; or perhaps not "travel" per se, but some sort of multi-presence, as Trademaster [[Greenish]] seems to always be located at every supergiant star in the quadrant.

The Melnorme's [[Trader]] ship, while not designed as a warship, is still capable of defending itself. Its charging Powerblaster Fearton Torpedos are known as the one thing that can actually absorb an Ur-Quan Fusion Blast and the Confusion Ray is capable of half crippling a ship's navigation and special systems.

[[Category:Races]]

Sentient Milieu

2004-10-21T18:01:50Z

Mudlock: Being bold, and incorporating the changes discussed on the Talk page.

The '''Sentient Milieu''' was an association of starfaring races that existed 25,000 years ago. It was formed over the course of several thousand years to "mutually enrich their respective cultures, to provide a safe creche for emerging sentient species and to afford themselves a degree of protection from external hostilities via military alliance," as the [[Melnorme]] put it.

The seven major members of the Sentient Milieu were
*the [[Drall]], one of the four founding members
*the [[Faz]], joining about 22,000 years ago
*the [[Mael-Num]], one of the four founding members
*the [[Taalo]]
*the [[Ur-Quan]] (still one race at that time), the last major race to join
*the [[Yuli]]
*the [[Yuptar]]

The Milieu may have incorporated other races, as the [[Melnorme]] refer to the "seven most active Milieu members", but they are unlikely to have played an large role. The [[Ur-Quan Kzer-Za]] refer to the "six races of the Sentient Milieu" and the [[Ur-Quan Kohr-Ah]] plainly refer to "all six of the other races in the milieu". There are no other known references to additional Milieu members.

Doctrinal Conflict

2004-10-21T17:50:56Z

Mudlock: reference the Dynarri and the slave revolt

The [[Ur-Quan]] '''Doctrinal Conflict''' or '''Doctrinal War''' is the method by which the [[Ur-Quan Kzer-Za]] and [[Ur-Quan Kohr-Ah]] decide whose Doctrine (either the [[Path of Now and Forever]] for the Kzer-Za or the [[Eternal Doctrine]] in the case of the Kohr-Ah) is superior.

The Conflict began when the two Ur-Quan subspecies first started enforcing their Doctrines, immediately following the successful revolt against enslavement by the [[Dnyarri]]. The Kzer-Za had already enslaved the [[Faz]] and the Kohr-Ah had burned the worlds of the [[Yuptar]]. The two great fleets met above the homeworld of the [[Mael-Num]], the last free race of the [[Sentient Milieu]]. The Kohr-Ah had come to destroy it and the Kzer-Za to imprison it.

The ensuing battle was long and violent enough for the Mael-Num to escape. The Kzer-Za fleets were loosing and the Kohr-Ah would have won had a mysterious [[Precursor]] warship not been found by the Kzer-Za. This vessel, later called the [[Sa-Matra]], turned the tide of the battles. The Kohr-Ah fleets were reduced to a fraction of their original numbers as the Sa-Matra devestated their ranks.

The Kzer-Za, victorious, still recognized that they could be in error and that it was possible that the Kohr-Ah were correct. Because of this belief, rather than enslaving the Kohr-Ah, they sent them out into the unknown of the galaxy and instructed them to carry out the Eternal Doctrine as they orbited it. The Kzer-Za moved out in the opposite direction, taking the Sa-Matra with them. It was decided that when they next met, the two subraces would fight a ritual war to discover the true superiority between the Doctrines. The loser would step aside and the winner would take the Sa-Matra as a prize and use it to enact their will upon the galaxy.

It is during this Second Doctrinal Conflict that [[The Ur-Quan Masters]] occurs.

User:Mudlock

2004-10-21T17:45:20Z

Mudlock:

Normally, I don't go much in for "talking about myself", but I was tired of being the only name listed in red on the "recent changes" page.

Umm... yeah. Star Control is great, Wiki is great; two great thoughts that think great together.

I'm most intrigued by the relationship between [[Humans]] and [[Syreen]] (and the spin-off [[Androsynth]]) and the intervention of the [[Arilou]] to create and maintain it, as well as [[Orz]]'s place in that mix.

I live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, where I'm desperately seeking a job as a computer engineer.

Talk:Ur-Quan

2004-10-21T17:32:43Z

Mudlock:

Would it be prudent to break out the parts of this article about the [[Dnyarri Slave Revolt]] and the [[Doctrinal Conflict]], and put the information in their own articles?

Eternal Doctrine

2004-10-21T17:30:00Z

Mudlock: linkinglinkinglinking

The [[Ur-Quan Kohr-Ah]] species follows the '''Eternal Doctrine'''. It states that all non-[[Ur-Quan]] sentient species are to be exterminated. The Kohr-Ah are, also, taken with the belief of reincarnation. They believe that by destroying other sentients, cleansing them, they will allow those beings the opportunity to be reborn as Ur-Quan. The Kohr-Ah are thus completely remorseless killers, able to stare down into the eyes of a newborn child and kill it without drawing breath inbetween.

The vast size of the Kohr-Ah fleet makes the race immensely powerful, and as the Ur-Quan Kzer-Za lost a large part of their fleet during the "Blaze of Glory" cataclysm caused by the [[Shofixti]] near the end of the [[First War]] as they detonated a device similar to the [[Utwig Bomb]] inside their sun, the Kohr-Ah are currently more than a match for their cousins.

Ur-Quan Kohr-Ah

2004-10-21T17:21:36Z

Mudlock: Paragraph and link to Kohr-Ah (Character)

The '''Ur-Quan Kohr-Ah''' are one of the two races of the [[Ur-Quan]] species. They share many physical characteristics with their [[Ur-Quan Kzer-Za]] brethren, except that their skin is black instead of green. Their race was genetically engineered by the [[Dnyarri]] from the main-line of the Ur-Quan species during the height of their slave empire. The Kohr-Ah were designed to be the "effectors" of the slave empire: the builders and warriors.

The Kohr-Ah are named for one their greatest surviving leader following their successfull revolt against the Dnyarri; see: [[Kohr-Ah (Character)]]. Kohr-Ah (the individual) developed the [[Eternal Doctrine]], which all Kohr-Ah (the subspecies) adhere to.

Currently, the Kohr-Ah are involved in the [[Doctrinal Conflict]]. It is an agreement between themselves and the [[Ur-Quan_Kzer-Za|Kzer-Za]], whereby both species move in opposite directions across the galaxy, promoting their doctrine upon the worlds they encounter. When the two races meet, they engage in a war to determine which doctrine becomes ascendent and lays claim to the ancient [[Sa-Matra]], a [[Precursor]] Battle Platform of immense power.

[[Category:Races]]

Ur-Quan Kzer-Za

2004-10-21T17:08:28Z

Mudlock: Added paragraph and link to Kzer-Za (character)

The '''Ur-Quan Kzer-Za''' are one of the two races of the [[Ur-Quan]] species. They share many physical characteristics with their [[Ur-Quan Kohr-Ah]] brethren, except that their skin is green rather than black. Their race was genetically engineered by the [[Dnyarri]] from the main-line of the Ur-Quan species during the height of their slave empire. The Kzer-Za were designed to be the "thinkers": the scientists and overseers of the Dynarri slave empire.

The Kzer-Za named themselves after the initiator of their revolt against the Dnyarri; see: [[Kzer-Za (Character)]].

The Kzer-Za follow the [[Path of Now and Forever]]. This doctrine states that they must seek out all sentient life and offer them two choices: annihilation or subservience to Kzer-Za rule. A species is allowed to chose the way they will serve the Kzer-Za. They may serve as a combat thrall species, whereby they are allowed some autonomy of action including the right to travel through space. Alternatively, a species may chose to become a "fallow" species; these species are forced to live on their homeworld beneath an impenetrable slave shield. The punishment for stepping out of line is annihilation, either for the individuals responsible, or, if the crime is particularly egregious, for the entire species as a whole.

Currently, the Kzer-Za are involved in the [[Doctrinal War]]. It is an agreement between themselves and the Kohr-Ah, whereby both species move in opposite directions across the galaxy, promoting their doctrine upon the worlds they encounter. When the two races meet, they engage in a war to determine which doctrine becomes ascendent and lays claim to the ancient [[Sa-Matra]], a [[Precursor]] Battle Platform of immense power.

The Ur-Quan Kzer-Za do battle in their [[Dreadnought]] starships.

[[Category:Races]]

Tobermoon

2004-10-21T15:01:21Z

Mudlock: Changed to a historical, rather than game-play, voice.

The '''Tobermoon''' was an [[Earthling]] [[Cruiser]] Captained by [[I. Burton]]. It was part of the research project in the [[Vela]] system. The Tobermoon attempted to return to [[Earth]] with news that the [[Precursor]] installation was not destroyed, but it was disabled (killing all aboard, including the acting captain [[Chi]]) in the Oort Cloud surrounding Vela.

Once the [[SIS]] was sent to head to Earth, the Tobermoon's wreck was recovered before the push to HyperSpace. Commander Burton recrewed and captained the ship herself, but she was killed in an attack by a [[Slylandro]] [[Probe]]. The ship itself survived, and escorted the SIS on its trip to Earth.

[[Category:Ships (Specific)]]

Mael-Num

2004-10-20T19:45:55Z

Mudlock:

We know little of the '''Mael-Num''', as with many of the species of the [[Sentient Milieu]]. Along with the [[Ur-Quan]] they were mentally enslaved by the [[Dnyarri]] and carried out genocides against other members of the Sentient Milieu. During the first [[Doctrinal War]], they fell to one of the Ur-Quan Doctrines.

Given that the [[Ur-Quan Kohr-Ah|Kohr-Ah]] refer to them as "one-eyed creatures", and the similarity of their names, it is suspected that the Mael-Num are the ancestors of the [[Melnorme]]. [This assumption has been acknowledged true by [[Paul Reiche III]] and [[Fred Ford]] in the [[TFB chat protocols|October 1998 IRC chat]].]

[[Category:Races]]

I. Burton

2004-10-20T19:43:50Z

Mudlock: On second though, should be Earthling Cruiser, not Earth Cruiser.

'''I. Burton''' was the Captain of the [[Earthling]] [[Cruiser]] [[Tobermoon]]. After deciding to disobey the order to evacuate the [[Vela]] scientific expedition on [[Unzervalt]] and destroy the [[Precursor]] base, Burton's First Officer and fiance, Commander [[Chi]], was ordered to return to Earth with the Tobermoon to inform [[Star Control (Organization)|Star Control]] of Burton's decision.

On Captain Burton's later return trip to [[Earth]], the Tobermoon was discovered drifting in Vela's Oort cloud, damaged by energy blasts that matched that of an [[Ur-Quan]] [[Dreadnought]]. No remains of the crew nor of First Officer Chi were found.

[[Category:Minor Characters]]

I. Burton

2004-10-20T19:42:52Z

Mudlock: Linked Vela, other minor edits

'''I. Burton''' was the Captain of the [[Earth]] [[Cruiser]] [[Tobermoon]]. After deciding to disobey the order to evacuate the [[Vela]] scientific expedition on [[Unzervalt]] and destroy the [[Precursor]] base, Burton's First Officer and fiance, Commander [[Chi]], was ordered to return to Earth with the Tobermoon to inform [[Star Control (Organization)|Star Control]] of Burton's decision.

On Captain Burton's later return trip to Earth, the Tobermoon was discovered drifting in Vela's Oort cloud, damaged by energy blasts that matched that of an [[Ur-Quan]] [[Dreadnought]]. No remains of the crew nor of First Officer Chi were found.

[[Category:Minor Characters]]

Clear Spindle

2004-10-20T19:36:43Z

Mudlock: "were", not "was"

The '''Clear Spindle''' is one of a trio of [[Precursor]] artifacts whose mystical links to each other were first sensed by [[Pkunk]] psychics. The three artifacts were given simple names based on their color and shape.

The Pkunk were only able to obtain for themselves the Clear Spindle; sensing its power and significance to future history, they were unable to divine anything about its function or internal operation, and therefore kept it for years as a work of art and paperweight due to its unusual luster and near-perfect transparency. Over time they slowly divined more information about the other devices to which the Spindle was mystically linked. This culminated in their guide spirits' compelling them to give the Spindle to the human [[The Captain|Captain Zelnick]] and guide him in reuniting it with its companion devices, resulting in the reconstruction of the [[Ultron]]. As with other Precursor artifacts, the Spindle's composition and method of operation are unknown, though testing has shown the Spindle to become a superconductor between the temperatures of 18 and 22 degrees C.

[[Category:Alien Artifacts]][[Category:Precursor Technology]]

Clear Spindle

2004-10-20T19:31:12Z

Mudlock:

The '''Clear Spindle''' is one of a trio of [[Precursor]] artifacts whose mystical links to each other was first sensed by [[Pkunk]] psychics. The three artifacts were given simple names based on their color and shape.

The Pkunk were only able to obtain for themselves the Clear Spindle; sensing its power and significance to future history, they were unable to divine anything about its function or internal operation, and therefore kept it for years as a work of art and paperweight due to its unusual luster and near-perfect transparency. Over time they slowly divined more information about the other devices to which the Spindle was mystically linked. This culminated in their guide spirits' compelling them to give the Spindle to the human [[The Captain|Captain Zelnick]] and guide him in reuniting it with its companion devices, resulting in the reconstruction of the [[Ultron]]. As with other Precursor artifacts, the Spindle's composition and method of operation are unknown, though testing has shown the Spindle to become a superconductor between the temperatures of 18 and 22 degrees C.

[[Category:Alien Artifacts]][[Category:Precursor Technology]]

Dramya

2004-10-20T19:29:06Z

Mudlock:

The '''Dramya''' are species that were mentioned by Trade Master [[Greenish]], when he warned [[the Captain]] of his agressive attitude. Apparently they once tried to steal technology from the [[Melnorme]]. The Melnorme hinted that they punished them severely because of this, but any other information about the Dramya or their punishment has never been revealed.

[[Category:Races]]

Hayes

2004-10-20T19:27:31Z

Mudlock: Changed to past-tense; made article sound more historical than game walk-through-ish.

'''Starbase Commander Hayes''' was the leading officer aboard the [[Human]] [[Earth Starbase|Starbase]] orbital space platform around [[Earth]] in the [[Sol]] planetary system during the time of the [[Second War]]. He was transferred there 10 years after the [[Ur-Quan Hierarchy]] erected the [[slave shield]] around Earth.

During the [[First War]], Hayes had served on board several [[Alliance of Free Stars|Alliance]] ships, including a [[Shofixti]] [[Scout]] and an [[Earthling]] [[Cruiser]]. He is one of the survivors of the terrible battle at Draco, where the [[Ilwrath]] and Earthlings clashed.

Commander Hayes was not only a military man; he was also an intellectual and knew a good bit of information about most alien [[:Category:Races|races]], recent history, the art of war, and current events. His knowledge was of great assistance to [[The Captain]], as was his willingness to have his crew provide facilities for the [[Vindicator]] and the fleet of [[New Alliance of Free Stars|New Alliance]].

[[Category:Game Characters]]

Falayalaralfali

2004-10-20T19:18:49Z

Mudlock: embolded self-ref, mention similarity to Earth

'''Falayalaralfali''' is the home planet of the [[Arilou]], and is located somewhere in [[QuasiSpace]]. There are wonders there not matched anywhere else, like The Mountain Clouds of Thought, the Tangible Wish, the Dark...
However [[Humans]] can't go to the surface yet because their sanity probably wouldn't last long there... maybe someday.

From orbit, the planet looks surprisingly similar to [[Earth]].

[[Category:Locations]]

Template talk:Safe

2004-10-20T15:05:42Z

Mudlock:

[[Template:spoilerlinks]] was not enough? -- [[User:Svdb|SvdB]]

But this one is new, and longer, and green! Don't you like the shiny template? ;) Really though, I agree. "safe" is a better template name than "spoilerlinks", so I think we should delete spoilerlinks, spoiler, and some others and make this one a bit more concise. --[[User:Jacius|Jacius]]

I don't think we will ever actually need [[Template:Spoilers]]. If you have reached a page with spoilers from a non-spoiler page, you will already have been given a warning (you don't want to mark every page as containing spoilers).
[[Template:spoilerlink]] is meant for a single link that leads to a page with spoilers, which makes it different from [[Template:spoilerlinks]] and [[Template:safe]] which say that '''every''' link on a page may lead to a spoiler. But [[Template:spoilerlinks]] and [[Template:safe]] seem to have the same function. And you're not marking a page as safe, you're marking a page as leading to spoilers, which to me means that the former would be a better name. -- [[User:Svdb|SvdB]] 09:20, 19 Oct 2004 (CEST)

The purpose of the Safe template (as I thought we agreed on in the editting essentials talk, but I guess that's not true) was to mark all of the (very few pages) which '''''definitely''' did not'' have spoilers (i.e. the pages that were safe). The addition of the last clause (not guaranteeing the links) is a nod to the reality that I don't think it's feasible to to give any stronger guarantee (such as that the page ''and everything linked from it'' is safe). The intended usage is that all safe pages get the Safe template and that everything else is just left alone. (again, see [[Ultronomicon talk:Editing Essentials]] for that discussion.) A new reader gets his warning on the main page and knows that any page lacking the happy green color is something he wants to avoid and hit the back button when he finds. Sorry for any confusion; as I said, I thought there was a concensus and I'm sorry if I jumped the gun. [[User:Mmrnmhrm|Mmrnmhrm]] 17:22, 19 Oct 2004 (CEST)

My last remark on that page (which I appearantly forgot to sign) was "Why mark every safe page when it is enough to just let the reader know when he/she is leaving the safe zone?". Also Jacius seems to have been saying something to that respect. Noone else replied after that. -- [[User:Svdb|SvdB]] 19:03, 19 Oct 2004 (CEST)

(In response to SvdB) It seems easier to me. It's a matter of preference. I can't give a good reason other than this: Each page is a distinct unit, and the less we have to worry about the interactions of those units, the better. If a page is marked Safe, future editors know to keep it that way. If a link is marked Safe, then people editing its target may not be aware of that. Maintainence seems easier with this scheme. Again, just my opinion. [[User:Mmrnmhrm|Mmrnmhrm]] 14:49, 20 Oct 2004 (CEST)

I see where you're coming from. Perhaps we can compromise by including a REM statement at the beginning of each safe page, visible to editors but not to readers, ex:
<nowiki> <-- This page is intended as spoiler-free. Please be considerate by
not linking to articles which contain spoilers. If you feel you must insert
such links, please denote them with with a {{spoilerlink}}. --></nowiki>
-[[User:Fadookie|Fadookie]] 16:54, 20 Oct 2004 (CEST)

Fadookie, that's a great idea. Now, is there an easy way to do that, that doesn't involve typing or cut/pasteing that whole bit into every safe page? My guess is no... well, time to get crackin'!
[[User:Mudlock|Mudlock]] 17:05, 20 Oct 2004 (CEST)

Human

2004-10-19T17:42:25Z

Mudlock: Capitalized "Human" (it's a race; all other races are capitalized); put arilou/syreen relations in sub-section; tried to clean up syreen relations bit, but it's still awkward

'''Humans''', or '''Humanity''' — also '''[[Earthling]]''' — is the race of hominid life forms native to the third planet, [[Earth]], of the Sol system. Since this species is the one responsible for creating this encyclopedia, we presume the details of Human's physical nature, history and social organization are familiar to most of our readership. Those seeking more details can look to other Human knowledge bases, including this article from a Human general-knowledge repository: [[wikipedia:Human]]. We will here consider those features of the Human species pertinent for xenologists, and also to the events leading up to and beyond first contact with other sentient species.

==Description, Early History==

Humans, rather than being descended from pure predators like the [[Yehat]] or grazers and insectivores like the [[Zoq-Fot-Pik]], are descended from primates; omnivorous, social creatures that had to cooperate and use clever strategies to scrounge food and defend themselves from larger predators. Other species find the evolutionary niche from which Humans evolved amusing, referring to them derogatorily as "monkeys" or "apes". It seems that Humans have developed in a few unique ways due to their ancestry. For one thing, humans have an unusually strong tension between their ideals of individual rights and community loyalty, causing them to turn to inefficient and complex means to hold their society together. Though all governments have some degree of bureaucracy, only among Humans has this practice, essentially an attempt at coercion through the mechanistic application of increasingly complex formal legal structures, become the central aspect of governance.

The odd Human tendency to maintain long-term tension between opposing drives also led to the phenomenon of the "Cold War" in their recent history, as competing Human nation-states, too stingy of their peace and prosperity to engage each other in combat outright yet too set in their ideological boundaries to negotiate a true settlement, played games of brinkmanship with each other, endlessly amassing stockpiles of ever-more-powerful weapons in an attempt to indirectly coerce each other into submission. This practice of endlessly vacillating between threats and appeasements may make Humans appear scattered and confused to more straightforward races (though one such race, the [[Thraddash]], admired this ability in the humans and sought, unsuccessfully, to mimic it); however, in the long run the flexibility gained by this Human mindset seems to have served them well.

Perhaps it was this odd balance that gave Humans their technological precocity. All we know is that in the last few centuries of pre-interstellar Human development (the 18th to 20th centuries), Human technological progress and industrial development exploded at a rate that intrigued even such mighty races as the [[Ur-Quan]]. As Earth developed increasingly powerful radio transmission capabilities in the 1930s, the spacefaring races of the nearby stars began to watch this new race and attempt to judge their potential. Though their technology and social organization resembled in many ways those of a typical early modern (post-atomic) civilization, their social infrastructure somehow allowed them to very quickly establish an industrial capacity that rivaled that of advanced races like the [[Chenjesu]], and the speed with which this was followed by their discovery of space travel and exploration of their home satellite in the 1960s sparked intense discussions in their vicinity of space. The Chenjesu, their most powerful close neighbors, considered making contact with the Humans but still considered them too young and volatile for such contact to be conducted responsibly; the [[Ur-Quan Kzer-Za]], meanwhile, made Earth a priority world to invade and conquer, despite their contemptuous opinion of Human innovation. Surprisingly, no other races, advanced or otherwise, made successful efforts to contact Earth in all of this time; during a phase of technological development when many other races would have made contact with other races and at least partially been uplifted, Earth happened to be in a region of space where no one was available to make the offer. Humans were forced to make the difficult transition to a high-technological society on their own, a fact that has earned them respect from species like the Yehat.

==Recent History==

The recent history of Human society has seen the slow combination of the various squabbling empires, tribes and kingdoms of humanity into large, self-organized nation-states that themselves combined into complex alliances; the final and greatest pair of opposing alliances formed after the so-called Second World War in the 1940s, the point at which alien surveillance of Earth began in earnest. The capitalist states led by the United States of America and the communist states led by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, unable to curb the warlike, competitive urge that had poisoned Human cooperation since the beginning of their history, engaged in the aforementioned Cold War brinkmanship tactics, maintaining a tense peace based only on the threat of universal destruction by both sides' arsenals of jealously hoarded nuclear missiles if hostilities ever broke out.

This Cold War lasted until, in the year 1991, the United States and its allies declared a victory that turned out to be short-lived. The communist nations' centrally planned economies proved less robust than the market-based capitalist economies. When the United States began their (never to be fully completed) "Star Wars" project, creating massive orbital laser arrays to intercept and harmlessly destroy any Soviet missile attack and giving the United States an unanswerable advantage in any future missile exchange, the Soviets attempted to expand their arsenals in response but lacked the funds, leading to the economic collapse of themselves and their allies. Their deadly nuclear arsenals, hoewver, remained, and poverty-stricken Soviet officials proved willing to sell them off to the highest bidder. With nuclear missiles now owned piecemeal by numerous local dictators and warlords, the formerly stable set of alliances broke down; nations formerly dominated by the Soviet Union or too weak to be aligned in the Cold War now became dangerous nuclear threats, and without a common enemy the great capitalist nations turned against each other.

The tenuous illusion of peace finally shattered in the so-called [[Small War of 2015]] in the region known as the Middle East, a region that had been the origin of many of Earth's oldest societies and religions and long a hotbed of Earth's deepest, oldest cultural conflicts. Combatants in a local dispute, secretly backed by the world's remaining great powers, initiated a strategic nuclear exchange of less than a dozen missiles. Even the use of such a small percentage of the available nuclear arsenals killed millions of Humans and decimated all civilization in the area, and it later became known that a retaliatory global strike had almost been launched by the combatant nations' larger sponsors and only averted at the last minute.

This shocking catastrophe, and the holocaust that almost accompanied it, finally provided the spur for Humans to overcome their deep-seated ideological disagreements, vesting supreme political power in an organization known as a United Nations that had originally been a mere arbitration council with nominal powers over Earth's many sovereign states. Though Earth's nations retained their cultural identity, the United Nations was allowed to attain military ascendancy with a worldwide peacekeeping army and police force. The immense stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction produced during the nations' Cold War madness were impounded by the United Nations and their production became one of Earth's greatest taboos. Even so, Humans' inborn paranoia kept them from destroying these weapons utterly, and their disassembled components were stored as reminders of the past in giant Peace Vaults. A ten-year concerted effort by the United Nations and the leaders of its member states finally led to the abolition of intraspecies war among Humans in the year 2025. The United Nations became a true, unified political entity, although it was still seen as a sort of meta-nation by many humans, and observed this tradition in several ways; for instance, it had no permanent capital, instead rotating its base of operations from national capital to national capital every ten years.

It was in this time that the humans gave rise to the phenomenon of the [[Androsynth]], a race of artificial clones of humans, whose right to be recognized as fellow humans had been withdrawn due to a wave of religious hysteria. Their enhanced strength and intelligence as well as their easily exploitable legal status made them highly useful tools for humans in the coming century of high technological development.

It was in the 21st century that human sublight space travel became highly advanced, allowing humans to explore, exploit and colonize most of their own inner star system, concentrated mostly in factory bases on their own satellite, Luna, and in the asteroid belt between the inner and outer systems. The United Nations formed its first major new military arm since the Peacekeeping Army, a space-based regulatory office known as [[Star Control (Organization)|Star Control]], established with a permanent headquarters in the city of Geneva, Switzerland. Humans began working on discovering the secret of Hyperspatial travel; unfortunately for them, the highest-level workers on [[Hyperspace]] included many Androsynth, and in the [[Slave Revolt of 2085]] all Androsynth, with the help of human sympathizers, managed to successfully hijack all of Earth's orbital space stations. The Androsynth used their high intelligence and the many technological secret they had hoarded from their masters to modify the space station's equipment into technology far beyond anything humans had yet seen; defending themselves from Star Control forces with powerful MASER weapons, they soon created the first Hyperdrive systems known in Sol space and pushed up out of Human history for the rest of the century.

==First Contact==

It was at the beginning of the 22nd century, in the year 2112, when humans first made contact with a truly alien race. The [[Chenjesu]], who had been aware of Humanity since the 1930s, now saw that the situation with the [[Ur-Quan Kzer-Za]] had grown desperate; Ur-Quan hostilities had broken out within range of Sol and, though great in technological sophistication, the Chenjesu and their [[Mmrnmhrm]] allies lacked the resources and labor to expand their fleets quickly enough to match the swelling [[Hierarchy]] of [[Battle Thralls]], while their new [[Yehat]] and [[Shofixti]] allies were too far away to assist in the major conflict. As a race with a large population, powerful industrial technology, and easy access to many natural resources, the humans were the ally the Chenjesu desperately needed. Three years before, humans had pushed out the farthest they ever had from their sun, building a major installation on the asteroid Ceres. Now, a messenger ship from the Chenjesu accosted the humans at Ceres Base, begging for their help in what they termed the "Great Crucible of Sentience".

The humans were immensely shell-shocked, having been in the unusual state of utter isolation from alien races for their whole history. They rallied admirably, though, and persuaded by the Chenjesu's storytelling skills and detailed records of Ur-Quan atrocities, the highest official of the United Nations, High Provost [[Ivana Or-Kachov]], along with [[Star Control (Organization)|Star Control]]'s General [[Juan O'Reilly]], signed a concord with the [[Alliance of Free Stars]]' civilian Secretary of Space [[Zeep-Eep]] (of the Yehat) and Commander-in-Chief [[Bzrrak Ktazzz]] (of the Chenjesu) pledging Earth's full commitment to the war in return for Alliance protection.

The speed with which humans were thrust into such a perilous situation without even a basic experience in dealing with other sentient races made humans appear to be clumsy and provincial next to the more sophisticated races of the Alliance, leading to such diplomatic blunders as the Human/[[Syreen]] crew exchange, an accidental human attack on an [[Arilou Lalee'lay|Arilou]] fleet, and the inadvent insulting of the [[VUX]]. Nonetheless the human industrial base became crucial in the war effort; a massive, worldwide effort was made to reignite the engines of war formerly concentrated in the nation of the United States of America. In a nod both to expediency and tradition, the final assembly centers for the new starships of Earth were established in the city of Detroit, Michigan, long a bastion of Earth's original Industrial Revolution. Moreover, it was Human-developed skills in intelligence and profiling that led to the creation of Star Control's division of [[SSRII|Synthetic Special Reconstruction and Intergalactic Intelligence]], which pieced together diverse data to come up with the first detailed profiles on Hierarchy races available to the Alliance -- though these profiles are seen as flawed and biased today, they were nonetheless a triumph of Human ingenuity. Star Control itself in this era became one of the major operations centers of the Alliance, directing the operations of many fleets of many races.

Interestingly, it was Earth's entrance into the Alliance that coincided with the sudden appearance of a fleet of the Arilou Lalee'lay, a race no other race had ever encountered before, around Luna with desires to join the Alliance. Suspicions of some connection between the Arilou and Humans seem to have been borne out by recent events. Similarly, the discovery of the Syreen sent shockwaves through human society as the obvious connection between the two races was recognized.

Humans fought bravely in the war, producing a relatively crude but numerous and flexible fleet that fought on multiple fronts, while also providing many officers and crew for allied fleets. Those who had chosen to maintain the Peace Vaults in the first days of the Peacekeeping Army were vindicated; even the Chenjesu were shocked by the total destructive power represented by the sheer number of the old alliances' nuclear warheads and the United States' half-finished orbital laser defense systems. Primitive as they were, refitted for ship-to-ship combat they became the reliable and ubiquitous weapons system of the Earthling [[Cruiser]]. Unfortunately, the Alliance proved unable to hold off the Hierarchy forces forever, and once the [[Sa-Matra]] came into play the Alliance was doomed. The Ur-Quan Kzer-Za, having very little respect for the complex bureaucratic jumble that characterized human government, insisted that the human terms of surrender be decided upon by a purely democratic vote, which led to humans becoming a [[slave-shield]]ed fallow species in the year 2134.

==After the War==

By chance, however, it had been a Human expedition that went to the [[Precursor]] ruins on [[Vela]] 1 in that same year, just before the war ended; when the humans were marooned there, the world was renamed [[Unzervalt]] ("Our World"). The story is well known of how the Humans activated the Precursor factory there and created a great [[SIS|Precursor ship]], the equivalent of an all-purpose cruiser/service tug, which they managed to send away from the planet before they were discovered and shielded by the Ur-Quan. It was this Precursor ship, the Vindicator, commanded by the famous young [[The Captain|Captain Zelnick]], that returned to Earth in 2155 and joined with Commander [[Hayes]] of the Hierarchy Starbase the humans maintained in Earth orbit, launching the series of guerrilla actions against the Hierarchy known variously as the War of Liberation or the [[Second War]] of the Alliance. The ragtag fleet known as the [[New Alliance of Free Stars]] was led by these Humans for most of its career, and it was their cunning and persistence that eventually led to the downfall of both Ur-Quan subspecies in 2159, freeing the [[Kzer-Za]] slaves and preventing a wholesale [[Kohr-Ah]] genocide. For all their faults, the free races of the galaxy owe the Humans a great debt.

==Relations to other races==

Physically, humans appear to follow a similar body plan to many (though not all) spacefaring species, the generally useful one of a bipedal configuration with mobile graspers (hands and arms) with a wide range of motion and a dedicated sensory appendage (a head), leading some human chauvinists to describe most sentient races as "humanoid" (though there are still very great biological differences among "humanoid" species). Some of Human beings' personality traits may come from their status as a "naked ape", having a highly flexible body capable of using many tools but itself greatly lacking in resilience or natural defenses, compared to races with protective exoskeletons or natural venom weapons. One consequence of this combination of humans' relatively high awareness of danger with their relatively vulnerable bodies is that their potential for the experience of pain and fear is very high, making them a favorite victim of [[Ilwrath]] religious rituals.

Interestingly, the [[VUX]] race has had a highly negative history with humans. The VUX race appears highly distasteful to Human eyes, and Humans had long regarded Captain [[Jeffry L. Rand]]'s inadvertent insult of a VUX captain as one of their greatest diplomatic missteps. However, it later transpired that the VUX culture, placing far more emphasis on vanity and personal appearance than humans did, was repelled by Human appearance to a far greater degree, and the VUX had only played up the incident of the Insult to justify their own irrational desire to destroy the Human species because of their visceral reaction to its appearance.

Other notable relationships to aliens include the unusually strong fraternal bond between Humans and [[Yehat]]. The Yehat found a great deal more in common with the Humans than with other races, greatly respecting the fact that humans, like the Yehat, had progressed to the age of space travel through a bloody history of intraspecies war and cultural conflict without the civilizing influence of "higher" races. Humans' similar long experience with warfare had led them to develop a concept of "honor", strong personal integrity among even enemies, similar to the code that formed the basis of Yehat law and morality. The Yehat thus saw the humans as spiritual siblings, and in communication with humans consciously chose to name many of their cultural concepts after similar concepts from human history, primarily the milieu of medieval Europe; similarly they drew many parallels between the hybrid culture that their [[Shofixti]] charges developed and that of feudal Japan. Zelnick's own human upbringing gave him enough sympathy for the Yehat, and enough Yehat sympathy for him, that he was able to successfully engineer the Yehat Revolution against their Ur-Quan-allied Veep-Zeep rulers in the Second War.

====Relations with the Arilou and Syreen====

The most interesting connection humans have with other races, however, is with the [[Arilou Lalee'lay]]. The name "Arilou Lalee'lay" is a name from an ancient human culture, the Celts; though there was little opportunity to discuss this matter during the war. From the Arilou's first appearance Humans recognized their disc-shaped ships and their appearance, as small, hairless humanoids with luminescent large eyes, as being identical to that of the beings from the human 20th century known as "Roswell Grays". Recent Human history was peppered with incidents of Humans claiming to have observed disc-shaped alien craft traveling through the atmosphere (such as in the famous incident over Roswell, New Mexico), even of memories of being captured, studied and modified by small, mysterious beings inside such craft, often resulting in repeated visits to check up on the progress of their "patients", sometimes resulting in mysterious and sudden pregnancies. Though often dismissed as cases of hysteria and rumor, modern investigations found top-secret records from studies conducted by that time's national governments, such as the United States Army's Project Blue Book, of legitimate, unexplainable instances of encounters with aliens whose descriptions exactly matched the Arilou. On closer investigation, vaguer references from Humans' past about such creatures as elves, faerie, duendes, and so on seem to resonate with the modern stories of UFOs.

Widespread suspicion and hostility toward the Arilou continued throughout the course of the war, and during the Second War, when the Arilou reappeared as Zelnick's personal benefactors, Zelnick was able to confront them about these rumors, which, surprisingly, they gladly confirmed, naming themselves as the elves and Roswell Grays of human mythology, though maddeningly reluctant to give specific details.

It now seems undeniable that humans' reputation for being an isolated race with no outside contact was exaggerated; indeed, that very situation may have been purposely engineered by the one race that had a close and continued yet clandestine and one-sided relationship with Humans for their whole history. The Arilou have implied they have been intimately involved with the development of the human species from the very beginning, perhaps being responsible for the evolution of the human species itself, or at least for the origins of human civilization; we know that their only real purpose in joining the Alliance was to protect humanity from possible total destruction, and after the slave-shielding of Earth they immediately withdrew. The Arilou hold a paternal attitude toward humans which they insist is benevolent; they seem to have, in a series of carefully timed interventions, been steering the human race toward a specific destiny, as the Arilou's tools — or perhaps their heirs. For this purpose the main procedure seems to have been the careful crafting of the structure of Human instinct (instinct being a characteristic the Arilou claim to entirely lack) through both genetic and social engineering. The Arilou claim to have been primarily responsible for preventing human interaction with extra-dimensional entities like the [[Orz]], the perils of which very quickly consumed the [[Androsynth]] after their separation from the main Human species. Some even speculate a connection between the Arilou and Zelnick's affinity for Precursor technology that made the Second War possible, given that the Arilou claimed to have visited Unzervalt close to the time of Zelnick's birth.

Arilou engineering might lend an explanation to the odd relationship humans have with the [[Syreen]]; the two species are physiologically almost identical, the only difference being a blue-colored element in Syreen skin pigmentation and various signs of their having been adapted to a higher-temperature climate; moreover, the two species are ''genetically'' almost identical, and have in fact proven to be cross-fertile and capable of sexual reproduction. This is a statistically impossible coincidence, and indicates the two races must have a common ancestor and must have been separated very recently in their evolutionary history. The obvious explanation is that the Arilou either took Syreen stock to Earth to begin breeding humans or human stock to Syra to begin breeding Syreen -- Arilou attitudes toward the two indicate the former is more probably true.

If this is so, there is a very good chance that the Syreen either function as a control group for the Arilou/human experiment, or else are simply an abandoned original population. Indeed, the Arilou had been guarding a Syreen region of space and vanished to leave the Syreen defenseless once they heard the humans had been safely slave-shielded, indicating their lack of interest in the Syreen.

This relationship appears even more likely when we examine the resemblance Syreen society bears to human society. The Syreen's natural mode of existence, based on peaceful cooperation, balanced and harmonious relationships with natural forces, and strong appreciation of sensual and aesthetic pleasures closely resembles the paradise long dreamt of by human mystics and philosophers and striven for by human political reformers, but never achieved in human history. Syreen historical development followed a path of combining hunter-gatherer tribes into agricultural collectives, until society was unified into a peaceful agrarian super-community. Humans, for some reason, never experienced this sociological transformation; the Agricultural Revolution, rather than putting military dominance and political power into the hands of a collective agrarian system, instead served to funnel resources to the hunting and raiding cultures, whose competitive, expansionist cultural system absorbed the agrarian societies and forced them into a resource-hoarding, conquest-seeking model of society, leading to the system of militaristic empires and nation-states that defined Earth history.

Furthermore, the Syreen, like the Humans, defined much of their society's roles based on a gender binary based on sex, but unlike in Humans, in Syreen society the feminine dominated the masculine. Human society almost became the inverse of the Syreen, with the masculine, for most of their history, seen as having natural priority over the feminine, so that Earth's leadership and military even now is male-dominated, just as the Syreen's was female-dominated.

Humans, in other words, lived as though they had the instincts and ecological niche of predators like the Yehat, even though their ecological niche as farmers and builders should have created a Syreen-like society. It seems plausible that this is the Arilou's doing, using the Humans' combined desire for prosperity in peacetime and victory in wartime in order to push the Humans to great technological sophistication far in advance of the unaltered Syreen.

The molding of humans into a high-technology competitive society may also be responsible for another major difference between Humans and Syreen; though Humans have long been known to have detectable psychic potential, training in the use of psychic abilities has never existed beyond the most rudimentary degree in human society, while in Syreen society it has been commonplace and formed part of the basis for the Syreen's complex rituals of social interaction, as well as being the technological foundation of the Syreen's defense systems. Human psychic abilities seem to have been purposely locked up by the Arilou, perhaps as part of the Arilou's system of protecting Humanity from extra-dimensional threats.

[[Category:Races]]

Syreen

2004-10-19T16:39:53Z

Mudlock: Improved "teaser" paragraph, other minor edits

The '''Syreen''' are a race of bipedal hominids astonishingly similar to the [[Humans]]. There has been much speculation about the relationship between Humans and Syreen, including possible intervention on the part of the [[Arilou]].

==Physiology==

Physiologically and genetically, Syreen ''are'' [[Human]]: the only visable differences between the races are that Syreen skin tint is somewhat more bluish and their retinas reflect light like an Earth cat's. Additionally, the typical Syreen is more comfortable in a slightly warmer and more humid environment than the typical Human.

Syreen are also more psychicly active than humans, to such an extent that the captain of a [[Penetrator]] starship can make use of a psychic amplifier to coerce enemy crew. It is not known if Penetrator captains are chosen for exceptional psychic potential, or how common psychic potential is in the general Syreen population, although they do not evince casual telepathic powers that races such as the [[Pkunk]] or even the [[Zoq-Fot-Pik]] do.

On Earth, stereotypes of the Syreen are rampant: matriarchal, "Space Amazons," "Space Gypsies," "warm, breathing pinups," and other sorts abound. Of course, the truth is more complex than such stereotypes would imply.

==History==

Syreen society, like Human society, developed from hunter-gatherer tribes. But unlike Humanity, the Syreen were unplagued by war or other great social upheaval, instead joining together until their whole world was a single, peaceful, agrarian super-community. Also unlike Humanity, Syreen society and Syreen military roles were dominated by the females of the species. How connected these two facts are is a topic of some debate in both Human and Syreen intellectual circles.

Shortly before the advent of the [[First War]], the Syreen suffered a terrible set back. Their homeworld, [[Syra]] (located around the star Beta Copernicus I), was by all accounts a tropical eden. However, a catastrophe destroyed nearly all life on the planet, reducing the population to those stationed in orbit as part of the Syreen Space Patrol (the vast majority of which were female) and a few planet-bound survivors. The Syreen gathered the remains of their species into space habitats (which were mostly incapable of independant [[HyperSpace]] travel) and began to search the galaxy for a new home.

As the First War began, and with no homeworld to fall back to, the Syreen maneuvered into Human space to avoid [[VUX]] raiders. It is implied but not explicitly acknowledge that Humanity's industrial base supported the Syreen fleet. The Humans and Syreen also participated in at least one crew exchange, confirming the viability of Human/Syreen crossbreeding and bolstering the Syreen's flagging population.

After the defeat of the [[Chenjesu]], the [[Mmrnmhrm]], and finally Humanity, the Syreen were abandoned by the remainder of the [[Alliance of Free Stars|Alliance]] and left to face the [[Ur-Quan Kzer-Za|Ur-Quan]] alone. They surrendered, and in exchange the Ur-Quan searched their planetary database to find them a new homeworld. This homeworld, renamed [[Gaia]], orbits the star Betelgeuse.

The Syreen were content to remain neutral at this point until [[The Captain|Zelnick]] proved to them that the destruction of Syra was in fact engineered by the [[Mycon]] using a [[Deep Child Egg Case Fragments|Deep Child]]. After wreaking their revenge upon the Mycon, the Syreen joined with the [[New Alliance of Free Stars|New Alliance]].

==Notable individuals==

The only named Syreen of note in [[The Ur-Quan Masters]] is Starbase Commander [[Talana]].

[[Category:Races]]

Ur-Quan Masters Universe

2004-10-18T19:32:06Z

Mudlock: added First and Second War links

{{stub}}

*[[List of Characters]]
*[[List of Races]]
*[[List of Ships]]
*[[List of Homeworlds]]
*[[List of Alien Artifacts]]
*[[SIS Modules|List of SIS Modules]]
*[[List of Star Types]], [[List of Planet Types]], [[List of Mineral Types]], [[List of Bio Types]]
*[[Sentient Milieu]], [[Alliance of Free Stars]], [[Ur-Quan Hierarchy]]
*[[Timeline]]
*[[First War]], [[Second War]]
*[[TrueSpace]], [[HyperSpace]], [[QuasiSpace]]

Fighting Hints

2004-10-18T18:52:26Z

Mudlock: linked Probe

{{Safe}}

* Having trouble fighting a certain species? Practice against them in [[Super Melee]] using just the ships you have on hand.
* There are no perfect ships and useless ships. Every ship has its advantages and disadvantages, and if you learn them well, you will be a good fighter.
* Early on the Spathi [[Eluder]] is the most useful ship you have. It has a stand-off weapon and its fast enough to escape or dodge most anything.
* Raw firepower does not decide everything. The Chmmr [[Avatar]], the Ur-Quan Kzer-Za [[Dreadnought]] and the Ur-Quan Kohr-Ah [[Marauder]] have the most firepower in the game, but there are lots of ways to defeat them with other ships with less firepower.
* Use the planet well. Slow ships can use it to accelerate beyond their maximum velocity using the [[Gravity Whip]] maneuver, luring a fast ship near the planet can make it easier to hit, and the [[Avatar]] can force the enemy ship to collide with the planet with its special ability.
* Don't forget about your emergency warp escape (unless you are very low on fuel). Escort vessels can be recalled from battle (and suspended for the remainder of the melee) by pressing the ESC key. Doing so with your flagship will evacuate your entire fleet.
* A ship is a sitting duck for about six seconds when it is preparing to escape combat (on the upside, it is not affected by gravity). Flying very close to the planet before initiating a warp escape will usually keep you out of trouble, as the intense [[gravity well]] is hard to navigate for most ships and some projectiles.
* Notice how in mid-range combat your two ships tend to be directly opposite each other? Hmmm...
* Know where the planet is. Nothing is worse than being in a close range fight and smacking into the planet.
* The computer opponent is very predictable.
* The computer is very quick and accurate at close range. Keep at standoff range until you get better.
* Max out the turning jets and thrusters on your Precursor vessel ASAP.
* Put a rear firing gun on your Precursor vessel. Now you can fire while having the option to run away.
* Don't bother initially with the side or off-center firing guns. They just drain power.
* The Slyandro [[Probe]] will usually back off if you point your guns at it.

Ultronomicon:Requested Pages

2004-10-18T18:10:45Z

Mudlock:

If you think it would be a good idea to have a page on some subject which is not linked to from an existing page, but you don't have the time to immediately add it yourself, this is the place to list it.

*First Doctrinal War (see [[Doctrinal War]]
*Second Doctrinal War (see [[Doctrinal War]]
*[[Coreward]], [[Galactic Core]]
*[[Veep-Neep]], [[Veep-Neeps]], [[Veep-Neep Clan]], [[Veep-Neep Dynasty]] (the starbase commander refers to them as the [[Veep-Zeeps]])
*[[DataPlate]]
*[[AIQR]]

Androsynth

2004-10-18T18:07:54Z

Mudlock: More links and reworked sentence- paragraph- and section-structure.

The '''Androsynth''' were a genetically engineered off-shoot of [[Humans]], developed after the [[Small War of 2015]] but before the [[First War]]. Abused for both religious reasons and for their legal expendability, they abandoned their progenitors in a feat of mass-exodus. They eventually settled in the Velpeculae constellation, one-time homeworlds of the vanished [[Taalo]]. Later, the Androsynth were conqured by, and then joined, the [[Ur-Quan Kzer-Za|Ur-Quan]] [[Hierarchy]] of [[battle thralls]], fighting against humanity and the [[Alliance of Free Stars]] in the First War. Several years after the war's end, they were apparently wiped out by the [[Orz]], who seemed to come from out of nowhere, possibly drawn to Velpeculae by the Andosynth's [[Dimensional Fatigue]] experiments.

==Origins==

The story of the Androsynth begins in the initial renaissance of peaceful development of science and technology in the first days after the [[Small War of 2015]], when the warring nations of [[Earth]] were united under the United Nations. The UN, fearing a future global holocaust if the development of weapons of mass destruction continued, began forcibly trying to steer [[Human]] innovation toward peaceful applications that could benefit a unified, cooperative Human race. They specifically restricted work related to existing "Mass-Kill" devices, barring physicists and engineers from many cutting-edge fields including the study of nuclear power or high-energy lasers. With human creativity thus stymied in the areas it had been strongest for most of its recent past, humans began exploring the new and fruitful field of biotechnology.

A brilliant Swiss scientist named [[Hsien Ho]] at the Zurich BioTeknik, one of the institutions that sprung up to meet the new demand for biotech research, did an extensive study of the completed map of the human genetic code that the Human Genome Project had finished decades before. Modern technology now allowed him to use this information to edit human genes at will and then develop a reliable, cost-effective method of parthenogenesis — eventually not even requiring a biological host mother — to grow living individuals based on those genes. Ho had realized the dreams of generations of engineering and cloning researchers — being able to produce artificially designed human beings.

In 2019, Ho began creating a series of such "designer people". None of their genetic traits were outside the normal capacity of human beings, but Ho's engineering created an improbably "perfect" genetic code, with any possibility for genetic disease or disability wiped out, and the chances for physical health and fitness, very high intelligence, and a strong and balanced personality maximized. The new humans were all genetic near-clones of each other, with only slight differences between individuals. In order to prevent the various potential complications linked to reproduction (both flaws that might show up in his genetic sequencing, and political opposition from those who saw the clones as a threat to "normal" humans) Ho made all his clones male and congenitally sterile.

The original hopes of Hsien Ho were that, as the clones matured, they would be slowly integrated into Human society and, serving as great scientists, artists and engineers, open the door for future improvement of the human race through. Unfortunately, these hopes would not be realized, thanks to the vagaries of Human politics. Many Humans, still traumatized by the near-brush with total destruction of their species in the Small War, found themselves bereft of spiritual solace. Many of the world's oldest and most powerful religions had collapsed, or had their foundations deeply shaken, as their most sacred sites in the Middle East had been melted to glass by nuclear weapons. Filing this vacuum came the teachings of one [[Jason MacBride]], a man who had formerly made his living selling used ground-transport vehicles before he received what he believed to be a divine revelation.

==Repression==

MacBride believed the Millennium was near — a profound shift of the nature of existence, an end to the metaphorical "thousand years" of Human history and the beginning of a new "thousand years". In this new Millennium, Humans would ascend to a godlike, wholly spiritual existence, free from struggle or doubt. MacBride predicted a specific date — March 11, 2046 — on which normal human existence would end and any of sufficient faith and virtue would attain this ascension. Whether it was MacBride's strong personal charisma or just the novelty of a sincere new religious movement, one unaffiliated with the discredited religions of the past and unafraid to make boldly optimistic claims in a pessimistic time, MacBride's influence spread like wildfire and he soon became one of the most influential leaders on Earth, though he never formally considered himself more than the first among equals in his movement, taking no title other than "Brother Jason".

MacBride claimed that he and his followers were the Homo Deus, or "Godly Men". The use of the Latin term was to imply that his followers would become a new Human species, superior to ordinary men and women, at the moment of the new Millennium. MacBride's religion, acting as a cultural opponent of the United Nations' humanist, materialist, technological plans for a future utopia, thus saw the creation of an ''artificial'' race of humans, using godless science to further human evolution, as the ultimate blasphemy.

MacBride thus began a public campaign attacking the adolescent clones. He named them "Android Synthetica" or "Built Man-Like Things" (idiomatically, the "Artificial False Men"), a conscious parallel to his "Homo Deus". This name, interestingly, uses Greek words rather than Latin; whether this was intentional or not (MacBride was no scholar), it soon gained the connotation among the Homo Deus of defining Androsynth as not even worthy of an ordinary Latin genus-species name, placing them outside of the taxonomy of "natural" animals.

The rest of the world, grown complacent in their material peace and prosperity after the Small War, allowed the Homo Deus movement to win legal battle after legal battle, stripping away the clones' rights and increasingly defining them as non-human. The "Android Synthetica" term used by Homo Deus, shortened to "Androsynth", eventually became the commonly used name for them, and by the time the clones reached adulthood they had attained a legal status more or less parallel with slavery. They were immensely valuable both as scientific curiosities and for their native genetic talents that made them excellent at refined intellectual work, and were pampered and sheltered wherever they went. However, the corporations who had sponsored their development effectively owned them as chattels. They lacked the basic rights to bargain for their wages, choose what projects they wished to work on, or freely express their views and participate in governance and independent economic activity, a state that the enlightened governments of Earth at this point would never have tolerated for any Humans had not the dehumanizing rhetoric aimed at them by the Homo Deus not infected Earth's culture to such a degree.

The day March 11, 2046 came and went, and no detectable change in the human condition took place. MacBride, shamed and discredited, claimed that the that the vast majority of his followers had been deceiving him about the purity of their hearts and motives, and that their faithlessness poisoned the movement and prevented the Millennium. Soon, the Homo Deus movement dissipated, and MacBride faded from public life, leaving the legitimacy of his most enduring political legacy, the definition of the Androsynth as non-human non-citizens, in question. Nonetheless opportunistic corporations continued to finance the creation of new generations of Androsynth to join Ho's original creations.

Whatever the ethical issues involved, the prospect of having preternaturally talented and competent employees whom one could legally control with absolute authority was irresistible. By the 2070s, tens of thousands of Androsynth existed all over the world, and the cutting edge of human technological research was dependent on the Androsynth as an easily exploitable intellectual resource. In particular, Androsynth researchers were deeply involved in humanities most ambitious technological project to date, the creation of a hyperdrive that would allow them to break the speed-of-light barrier and reach the stars.

==Exodus==

It was, in retrospect, inevitable that a group whose usefulness came from their high levels of education, intelligence and resourcefulness, with a cultural sense of ethics and morality that was, after all, essentially human, would grow to understand their uniquely subjugated position in the world, find it intolerable, and find a way to escape it. This was reinforced by the Androsynth's knowledge that they were designed to be superior to the ordinary Human population by every Human standard. Finding themselves slaves in a society that they increasingly began to see as beneath their level, they began an intense series of secret communications with each other and with a growing worldwide network of Human sympathizers.

The last humiliation was when a group of scientists in the Eurasian Region of the United Nations used several Androsynth as disposable guinea pigs in a highly dangerous physics experiment that left many maimed or killed. The experiment would have been impossible to conduct without subjects who were both humanly intelligent and resourceful, yet legally expendable; even then, the project would have been unthinkable in earlier decades when Androsynth had been rarer and more valuable. Outraged Eurasian Androsynth responded to news of these abuses with the abortive Hamburg Revolt, in which isolated Androsynth rioters briefly seized control of that city before they were violently suppressed by the UN Peacekeeping Army. It was this incident that crystallized for the Androsynth community how impossible it would be for them to live in peace with Human masters who saw them as property, and it drove them to universally commit to planning for revolution and escape.

Utilizing their refined organizational skills, and a number of technological breakthroughs they had carefully kept secret from their masters, in the spring of 2085 the Androsynth and their human friends staged the violent Clone Revolt. With quick and deadly precision, the Androsynth captured almost every spaceport on the planet. Androsynth engineers and managers had been integral to the operations of the world's largest spaceflight centers, and had used their influence there to secretly siphon off over a thousand spacecraft from the world's shipping, keeping them fueled and ready in preparation for a mass Androsynth exodus. Within 48 hours, all Androsynth had left the Earth's surface and seized control of all of Earth's orbital and lunar stations.

Shocked and terrified, the authorities of Earth mobilized [[Star Control (Organization)|Star Control]], a wing of the United Nations military created to maintain order in extraterrestrial space. Facing the greatest breakdown of order imaginable, Star Control forces launched strike after strike against the Androsynth. However, the Androsynth, in defiance of the UN ban on exploring laser technology, had earlier researched a cheap and effective means of converting ordinary radio transmitters into huge microwave-frequency lasers (that is, MASERs), far more powerful than anything available to the stagnant Earth military-industrial complex. They jury-rigged a large arsenal of MASERs from the peaceful stations' formerly benign communications arrays and used them to effortlessly demolish Star Control invasion forces for two months.

The Androsynth, rejected from the Human race and now no longer considering themselves Human, now blockaded vital traffic between Earth and its mining and manufacturing outposts in the inner system, and were in prime position to attack their former masters with whatever weapons of mass destruction they might possess or eventually create. A numbed United Nations now faced a dangerous, unpredictable, ''inhuman'' enemy inside their jurisdiction; seeing no other options, they steeled themselves to unlock the [[Peace Vaults]], where Earth's ancient stockpiles of nuclear warheads and orbital lasers had been kept in reserve for an event such as this.

Whether the Androsynth became aware of the UN's plans or not is unknown, but in all probability they recognized that their hold on near-Earth space was not tenable in the long term. Before Earth's arsenals could be refitted for duty, Star Control observers saw eight of the largest orbital stations, including the recently finished StarLight Hilton, an exotic luxury hotel, accelerating toward the outer system.

The Androsynth engineers had somehow modified huge, ungainly orbital habitats into fast, powerful spacecraft. Despite the stations' great mass, their new engines were able to accelerate them quickly enough that Star Control's fastest interception vessels were unable to stop them or even catch up with them. However, one of the faster ten-thruster ore freighters in the asteroid belt, taking advantage of the Androsynth's abandonment of their near-Earth strongholds to return to Earth with its cargo, detected the Androsynth fleet passing it and was able to intercept the Androsynth by pushing its engines to their limits. Before the freighter's pilot could act, he saw the Androsynth vessels surround themselves with a glowing, rotating energy field, which then suddenly moved to a point 500 meters ahead of the vessels, creating a huge glowing red region of space like a "great hole". The vessels accelerated into the hole, at which point vessels and hole suddenly vanished.

In the years to come, humans would correctly identify this phenomenon as a hyperdrive "pushing up" into [[HyperSpace]] by opening a portal (a region of Hyperspatial overlap with [[TrueSpace]]), a sight familiar to spacefaring races. Not only had the Androsynth created a working hyperdrive in secret, they had managed to fit all eight of their habitats with hyperdrives powerful enough to carry those huge structures out of the Sol system. The Humans of Earth would never make that last leap into technological modernity on their own, only acquiring hyperdrive technology when given it by the [[Chenjesu]] at the founding of the [[Alliance of Free Stars|Alliance]].

==The War==

Little is now known about the Androsynth's history after their "Emigration", as they called it. However, we can infer that they eventually arrived at the Vulpeculae constellation, the same place the long-dead [[Taalo]] race had made their home in the days of the [[Sentient Milieu]]. Finding the second planet of the star Eta Vulpeculae a suitably Earthlike world, they settled there and began expanding, soon having a bustling population and a colonial sphere of influence throughout Vulpeculae space, even establishing uneasy but peaceful interstellar relations with their [[Spathi]] neighbors.

Unfortunately, they had barely been free for thirty years when the [[Ur-Quan Kzer-Za|Ur-Quan]] [[Hierarchy]] entered the quadrant. Turned away by the [[Chenjesu]] and [[Mmrnmhrm]]'s initial defense force, which had halted the Ur-Quan fleet's rimward advance towards Sol, headed spinward to accumulate more local [[Battle Thralls]] for the war ahead. With the prized resources and industrial capacity of [[Earth]] inaccessible to them, and the [[Chenjesu]] already busily recruiting the Humans into their [[Alliance of Free Stars]], the Ur-Quan decided to use the Humans' wayward children against them.

The Androsynth, upon hearing the Ur-Quan's demands of fealty, had no wish to again be enslaved, and fought bitterly to retain their freedom. Unfortunately, their relatively small population and underdeveloped military was no match for the Hierarchy's might. Faced with humiliating defeat in the year 2112, the Androsynth, as the Ur-Quan most likely predicted, chose to accept the status of Battle Thrall and maintain the illusion of freedom. Cementing this illusion in their own minds, Androsynth culture accepted their place in the Hierarchy by rationalizing it, not primarily as serving their new Ur-Quan masters, but as an opportunity to wreak revenge upon their former Human masters.

The rebuilt Androsynth military thus became an enthusiastic supporter of the Hierarchy, demanding to primarily be placed in combat against the Humans as a condition of their service; the Ur-Quan gladly indulged them in this, as had been their plan, and found them to be a highly effective weapon against the Humans. Androsynth ship designs and tactics were optimized for use against the comparatively more primitive Star Control forces, and Androsynth commanders, filled with bloodlust, would go outside their Ur-Quan-given orders and purposely seek out Earth-built vessels to hunt for sport.

Androsynth became one of the Humans most feared enemies in the war, second only to the [[Ilwrath]]. Humans found it terrifying to fight an enemy that they saw as a genetically enhanced version of themselves, the "next step of human evolution". Moreover, humans experienced deep collective guilt at being asked to direct their strength against an enemy whom their own mothers and fathers had been complicit in cruelly oppressing, a sense that the Androsynth's hatred of Humanity was justified and Humanity's defeat at Androsynth hands would be deserved. These psychological factors, combined with the incredible speed and manueverability of Androsynth [[Guardian]] vessels in Blazer attack mode, which made them almost impossible to detect with primitive Human laser-scanning arrays — a fact the Androsynth utilized to great effect in their hit-and-run tactics against human fleets — made patrolling Androsynth-contested space one of the most dreaded tasks for Human commanders in the war. Human captains in Androsynth territory became obsessed with their invisible enemies and their inevitable vengeance, often mistaking nearby asteroids for Guardians and madly destroying them in bursts of what Star Control officers colloquially termed "clone fever".

As thralls, the Androsynth saved their energies for their anti-Human war, choosing to keep a low profile within the Hierarchy. Though they achieved a fearsome reputation as warriors, especially among their Spathi neighbors, few other thralls had much contact with them. The [[VUX]], for instance, knew of them and found their appearance as repellent as that of the Humans, but chose for various reasons to vent their xenophobic hatred on the main human race and mostly ignored the Humans' clones.

After the war ended in 2134, with the Humans defeated and Earth [[Slave Shield|slave-shield]]ed, the Ur-Quan left for their [[Doctrinal Conflict]], leaving their slaves more or less unattended. The Androsynth, gratified to have participated in the defeat and humiliation of their former masters, re-embarked on their peaceful programs of scientific research and self-improvement.

==Disappearance==

A decade after the end of the war, an Androsynth Guardian, performing a long-range high-speed scouting mission in Blazer form, detected a [[Precursor]] artifact in Alpha Lalande, which it recovered. The device used generated waves of alteration in [[TrueSpace]] — a phenomenon Androsynth scientists dubbed [[Dimensional Fatigue]], or DF — that allowed them to observe numerous other realities separated from ours, aside from the previously discovered and easily accessible [[HyperSpace]].

What happened next is extremely unclear. The story only became known during the [[Second War]], when [[Captain Zelnick]] of the [[Vindicator]] began investigating strange reports from the Spathi of the Androsynth's recent disappearance from interstellar affairs. What had once been Androsynth space was now populated by a new sentient race that seemed to have come from nowhere, fish-like beings calling themselves [[Orz]]. They had made their home on the nearby world of Gamma Vulpeculae 1, and spoke a bizarre tongue that human linguists had great difficulty in translating even with Precursor computer technology, and were singularly unwilling to discuss the fate of the Androsynth.

The Captain sent Science Officer [[Bukowski]] to lead an ill-fated expedition onto Eta Vulpeculae 2 to investigate the Androsynth's fate. From pieced-together computer records, he learned of the Androsynth's acquisition of the Precursor artifacts and their discovery of DF phenomena. Eager to potentially use newly discovered extradimensional spaces as media for transport and communication with even more compressed distances than HyperSpace, they began experiments, only to make contact with some sort of sentient being living in another space. The entity or entities then began to make reciprocal contact with them, manifesting itself in the form of anomalous, supernatural-seeming physical events eerily similar to those described in Earth paranormal studies; fundamental forces like gravity experienced wild fluctuations in their strength, sensors began to inconsistently perceive nonexistent objects, and physical objects appeared to undergo motion and stress from sourceless, disembodied forces. The Androsynth frantically consulted their sketchy records of such phenomena, derived from a few Earth studies rarely seen as reputable, but to no avail.

Though we can never know the details, the Androsynth at some point appear to have waged some sort of massive ground war, with no sign of any opponents having invaded from space or even to have fought at all. With the cities devastated by nuclear explosions that somehow detonated from within, all Androsynth bodies appear to have mysteriously vanished; no biological traces of the Androsynth remained on the planet. And then, somehow, there were the Orz.

We might have learned more had Bukowski not himself gone insane during his investigations, claiming that his increasing knowledge of [["They"|"Them"]] — the entities responsible for the Androsynth's disappearance — had allowed "Them" to make a psychic link with him personally, and that further research would draw "Their" attention and cause the human race to be destroyed as the Androsynth had. He was found by his team in the process of destroying all remaining Androsynth computer records, bleeding heavily from self-inflicted wounds (though some witnesses reported seeing wounds spontaneously appear on his body). He was rushed back to Earth's [[Starbase]] for psychiatric treatment and the expedition was scrapped. Though Bukowski later achieved some level of recovery, he never again spoke of anything he'd learned on the Androsynth homeworld.

Speculation rages as to why the Androsynth vanished. It may have just been their bad luck to discover DF at all, or to have studied the particular dimensional space that they did. Or it may be that human psychology, after ages of having been engineered by the extra-dimensional [[Arilou]], is particularly vulnerable to attack from extra-dimensional entities for one reason or another. Once the Androsynth left the fold of the main Human race, they seem to have left whatever form of protection the Arilou claim to have placed on the Human race to prevent an attack by "Them".

It may also be that they were unfortunate in their choice of a home. Zelnick confirmed speculations by xenohistorians that the Taalo homeworld had been the second moon of Delta Vulpeculae 3. If some translators interpret particular statements by the Orz correctly, the Taalo had some mastery of DF technology themselves and were able to use this technology to travel between realities, using it to escape destruction from the [[Dnyarri]] Slave Empire. This action in the past might have contributed to attracting the attention of extra-dimensional entities to the physical vicinity of the Vulpeculae constellation and put the Androsynth at greater risk, though our understanding of the relationship between physical places in our space-time and "Theirs" is hazy at best.

==Appearance, Society, Culture==

The original Androsynth were all created from a single genetic encoding of what was meant to be a physically optimal human being. Their shared genome causes them all to look very similar, if not identical. Their features appear more or less like those of an average man of the Caucasian race, though part of Hsien Ho's enhancements were to make their features unusually regular and symmetrical, and therefore unusually attractive by human convention. Perhaps in defiance of their original creator's insistence on the perfect symmetry of their faces and bodies, the later generations of Androsynth on Earth adopted an asymmetrical hairstyle, all brushing their hair meticulously to the right of their heads. This was their one stylistic affectation. On Earth, Androsynth were constantly required to wear uniforms with a triangular insignia informing others of their Androsynth status, along with a headset keeping them constantly in radio contact with their work supervisors. This uniform was supplemented with a small tattoo under the right eye of the same Androsynth insignia in case an Androsynth escaped his supervisors and attempted to disguise himself.

After the Slave Revolt and the Emigration, the Androsynth appear to have kept many of these markers of their former slavery as a conscious badge of pride, continuing to wear the uniforms and tattoos and use the headsets (later incorporating visors to add communication of visual data) in memory of their ancestors' way of life. They did, however, abandon the distinctive hairstyles; they also apparently made modifications to the base Androsynth genome, adding melanin to their skin and hair to make themselves more resilient against solar radiation in their colonizing efforts.

The Androsynth, all male and without functioning testes, continued to produce new generations using their own version of Ho's parthenogenesis process. Rather than adopt the naming conventions of their human oppressors, they continued to wear the impersonal alphanumeric callsigns given to them by their masters as another badge of pride, with each clone identified by a set of letters corresponding to the "batch" in which he was created, then a number identifying the order in which he'd been born from that batch.

Sexual relationships and family structures among the Androsynth were, obviously, normatively "homosexual," as no female gender existed in their ranks. Androsynth revolutionary theory seemed to consciously identify itself with ideas similar to those expressed in the gay-rights movement of the late 20th and early 21st century, as the Androsynth, like homosexuals, had to confront and reject traditional religious and cultural definitions of "humanity" based on one's being part of an unbroken chain of sexual reproduction that defined one's family line. This may be why the Androsynth after the Emigration consciously changed the Androsynth insignia from a black inverted triangle to a pink one, imitating the 20th-century symbol of homosexual liberation.

This perceived parallel may have tied into human perceptions of the Androsynth as having the mannerisms of a refined, patrician elite, free of the coarser inclinations of ordinary human males (a stereotype often applied to homosexual male humans even in modern times). It is true that the Androsynth, due to their training and professions, apparently developed a desire for engineering elegance and aesthetic purity that appears extreme next to human culture.

This perception is exacerbated by their choice to model their fleet of Guardian vessels after the original space stations in their escape fleet, so that each Guardian has the features of a complete, self-sustaining spaceborne habitat, packing in as much useful living and working space as possible using the StarLight Hilton's avant-garde intriciately layered architecture. Rather than sacrificing this space for the increased acceleration and manueverability of a lower-mass ship when designing military vessels, Androsynth engineers discovered a more intricate, complex and elegant solution (if a more unwieldy one). Perhaps the most amazing engineering accomplishment was the invention of the "Blazer", a retrofitting of Guardian vessels allowing them to change configuration in a deceptively simple manner, allowing for much more efficient thruster use and the ability to use their own large mass as a weapon, instantly changing the existing quasi-civilian Guardian habitats into one of the sector's most powerful battle fleets. The development of such an alien-seeming technology is perhaps the best demonstration of how far Androsynth scientific and cultural development diverged from humans' during their separation.

What little else we know of Androsynth civilization comes from our encounters with them in combat. Both naturally blessed with great intellectual quickness and with a culture that encouraged constant communication through the ubiquitous headset-visors, Androsynth were able to function in concert as crews more easily than Humans, with small teams able to carry out most of a ship's command functions with little computer equipment or verbal communication in comparison with a Human bridge. They also required far fewer amenities in battle conditions, their bodies being physically hale enough to function under much greater stresses than that of the average human crewman.

Before their disappearance, they had a well-developed urban culture on their own planet, with several large cities whose daily activities were all linked by a giant computer network based on an enormous central server, with smaller mainframes serving the central-computing needs of each city and dedicated research station. The Androsynth emphasized centrally coordinated research and information storage, and their intricate library system did not begin to break down until the early stages of their disappearance. The meticulous record-keeping of their computers is the main reason we have even as complete a picture of their last days as we do today.

[[Category:Races]]

Resource Units

2004-10-18T15:25:57Z

Mudlock: Resource Units moved to Resource units

#REDIRECT [[Resource units]]

Hawkins

2004-10-18T15:10:21Z

Mudlock: linked "beast"

Junior Scientist '''Hawkins''' was hastily promoted to write the report on the [[VUX Beast|beast]] that [[The Captain]] captured for [[ZEX|Admiral ZEX]] after it incapacited [[Chu|Dr. Chu]].

[[Category:Minor Characters]]

Chu

2004-10-18T15:05:43Z

Mudlock: linked "beast"

Dr. '''Chu''' is the Xenobiologist at the [[Earth]] Starbase. He was severely injured when the [[VUX Beast|beast]] that [[The Captain]] captured for [[ZEX|Admiral ZEX]] took a swipe at him. Junior Scientist [[Hawkins]] was promoted to take his place.

[[Category:Minor Characters]]

Inter-Dimensional Fatigue

2004-10-14T14:36:11Z

Mudlock: Reverting more over-bolded text.

'''Dimensional fatigue''' — also '''Inter-Dimensional Fatigue''', or '''IDF''' — is a process or force that weakens the boundaries between dimensions. It is most used to access [[QuasiSpace]] from [[TrueSpace]]. Dimensional Fatigue can be projected by devices, and occasionally occurs naturally.

IDF research is believed to be incredibly dangerous, a stance strongly supported by the [[Arilou]].
The Androsynth performed IDF research after departing [[Earth]], but were destroyed utterly, perhaps by the [[Orz]], possibly because their research attracted that race's attention.

Talk:Inter-Dimensional Fatigue

2004-10-14T14:34:33Z

Mudlock:

Is IDF just for hyperspace to quasispace jumps? If so, what is the technology called for entering hyperspace then? I, too, had always assumed IDF was just for q.space, until I read an earlier version of this article (which I then expanded on). Then, the description of "traveling between dimensions" seemed to fit pretty well into the description of entering h.space, so I went with it. It's been so long since I played SC2, and I don't remember these details to well; but this article contained some interesting information, and I'd hate to see all of it disappear, particular if the "IDF = q.space" assumption is incorrect.

[[User:Mudlock|Mudlock]] 16:34, 14 Oct 2004 (CEST)

Orz

2004-10-14T14:25:22Z

Mudlock: Revert. Someone got markup happy; you only need to enbolded the first self-reference, and you don't need to link every occurance of a word, usually one per section is enough.

The '''Orz''' are — or perhaps "is" — an alien species first encountered by [[The Captain]] in the space near where the [[Androsynth]] had been known to reside. Despite a notable distaste for the human-derived Androsynth and for the mysterious [[Arilou]], Orz happily joined with the [[New Alliance of Free Stars]] and provided its powerfull [[Nemesis]] starship design to aid in the Second War.

==Description==

Orz appear as gill-breathers who resemble yellow parrotfishes with eyestalks, though it is not known if this is their actual true form. It is likely that Orz come from another dimension, and when asked about their origins, Orz explain that the [[Arilou]] are from *above* and that Orz is from *below*. The precise meaning of this explanation is still up to debate, although the Arilou make it clear that Orz is not from [[QuasiSpace]].

There has been some discussion that Orz as it is seen in normal space is actually a projection of some higher-dimensional being studying our reality. Orz refers to what is seen of itself in the known dimensions as its *fingers* and explains that it is not like other races who are *many bubbles*. Additionally, Orz always refers to itself in the singular third person, although whether this is another quirk of Orz's odd speach pattern or a reference to its possible true form is unclear.

==Origin==

Orz is a newcomer to [[TrueSpace]], that appeared suddenly in the vicinity of the Vulpeculae constellation, the adopted homeworlds of the [[Androsynth]]. As the Androsynth vanished about the same time Orz arrived, it is reasonable to think that Orz did something to them, but asking Orz about the subject infuriates it. It is possible that the [[Dimensional Fatigue]] Experiments that were being performed by the Androsynth (and apparently the [[Taalo]] before them) may have been what brought the constellation to Orz's attention.

Where Orz resided before arriving in the area of Vulpeculae is unknown.

==Theories==

The following is unproven in game and not completely accepted by the community.

Orz is a single being that exists in another dimension. The trueSpace entities perceived by the other races are projections of this being that give the appearance of individual life forms. They live, they die, they might even breed, but they are only *fingers* of the one entity called Orz.

Orz is in some kind of long term and (mostly) non-violent conflict with the Arilou. The nature and exact purpose of this conflict are unknown. The Arilou are known to be long-term and loyal allies (or at least protectors or mentors) to the [[Syreen]] and [[Humans]], and to a lesser extent the [[Androsynth]]. They seem to believe that these races have a destiny that makes them very important to the Arilou race. This is not part of the Arilou/Orz conflict however. Even though Orz destroyed the Androsynth, he will readily assist [[The Captain]] in battling the [[Ur-Quan]]. The destruction of the Androsynth seems to be motivated entirely by their [[Dimensional Fatigue]] Experiments. This may have been seen by Orz as a threat, possibly a gateway to whatever dimension Orz inhabits.

It may also be possible that *above* and *below* refer not to ''where'' the Arilou and Orz originate, but to ''when'' they originate.

==Translating Orz Communications==

Translating Orz speech is problematic at best. Even the most sophisticated and powerful translators can't fully process its bizarre alien language, having to use many lingual best-fits in conversation. These are marked in text by surrounding the word with asterisks (*).

* *camper* — starfaring or sentient races? an individual or species who is liked by Orz? — "Happy *campers* are the best."
* *frumple* — get angry or violent — "Do not ask about them. You make me *frumple*."
* *dance* — combat — "I am *frumple*. It is *dancing*."
* *party* — alliance? conversation? opportunities for *dancing*? — "Better *parties* in *the middle* for sure!"
* *playground* — this galaxy/dimension? a place for *dancing*?
* *sad animal* — one who is disliked by the Orz — "The Kohr-Ah are *sad animals*."
* *above* — where the Arilou come from
* *below* — where Orz comes from
* *the middle* — not *above* or *below*, between *above* and *below*?, this dimension?
* *fingers* — an "individual" Orz; see *many bubbles*
* *many bubbles* — the numerous distinct individuals of a species — "Orz is not *many bubles*, Orz is *fingers*."

[[Category:Races]]

Chenjesu

2004-10-08T16:11:17Z

Mudlock:

The '''Chenjesu''' are a race of silicon-based, crystalline beings native to the Sapphire World of Procyon 2. They are photo/chemovores, and have no natural predators, nor need for prey. They are naturally non-hostile.

They also have natural receptors in the HyperWave band, which gave them the first inkling of the [[Ur-Quan Kzer-Za|Ur-Quan]] invasion. They formed a military alliance with the [[Mmrnmhrm]] to form the basis of the [[Alliance of Free Stars]].

The Chenjesu were the first race to officially contact [[Humans|Humanity]]. Their star charts of [[HyperSpace]] form the standard that the races in this region of space use.

The Chenjesu, while silicon-based, are not at all like the [[Taalo]] — Chenjesu are crystalline rather than rocklike, and unlike the entirely pacifist Taalo, the Chenjesu have no qualms about unleashing awesome destructive powers against those who threaten them. Their starship, the [[Broodhome]], possessed more raw power (and raw material) than any other Alliance ship, even if, in general, it was not the most effective in combat.

Images of the Chenjesu captains imply that they have limited control over electrical discharges, which they use to control their equipment.

After the [[Sa-Matra]] was deployed against them by the Ur-Quan, they and the Mmrnmhrm requested to be shielded together on the Chenjesu homeworld. The Ur-Quan permitted this, and the two races began to synthesize into the [[Chmmr]].

The reasons for this are fairly clear for the Mmrnmhrm, as that race had lost the ability to reproduce on its own. The motivations of the Chenjesu are still unclear. The ''[[Role Playing Resource Guide]]'' indicates that the Chenjesu probably decided to do this because they felt their culture had become so advanced that it had stagnated entirely, and that the modification of their species into a transChenjesu synthesis would reinvigorate their society.

The Chenjesu were respected and admired by the other races in the Alliance, and many considered them its leaders, although they refused to take that title officially.

[[Category:Races]]

Mmrnmhrm

2004-10-08T16:04:17Z

Mudlock: X-form, not X-Form

The '''Mmrnmhrm''' were mechanical beings, that were churned out of the huge Mother-Ark about a millenia ago on some planet in the Virginis constellation. The Mother-Ark was a huge factory ship sent from an unknown origin which created millions of sentient machines who called themselves "Mmrnmhrm". It then broke down.

In time the Mmrnmhrm met the [[Chenjesu]] and their co-operation and friendship became the foundation for the [[Alliance of Free Stars]]. After the Alliance lost to the [[Hierarchy]] in the [[First War]], the Mmrnmhrm, along with the Chenjesu, asked to be encased within a [[slave shield]] on Procyon II.

During the First War, the Mmrnmhrm flew their adaptable [[X-form]] starships.

The Mmrnmhrm are no more, having been synthesized with the Chenjesu to form a new hybrid race, the [[Chmmr]], to fight against the Hierarchy. This was a logical solution for the Mmrnmhrm, as no more of their species could be made after the Mother-Ark shut down.

[[Category:Races]]

Mmrnmhrm

2004-10-08T15:49:39Z

Mudlock: linking linking linking

The '''Mmrnmhrm''' were mechanical beings, that were churned out of the huge Mother-Ark about a millenia ago on some planet in the Virginis-constellation. The Mother-Ark was a huge factory ship sent from an unknown origin which created millions of sentient machines who called themselves "Mmrnmhrm". It then broke down.

In time the Mmrnmhrm met the [[Chenjesu]] and their co-operation and friendship became the foundation for the [[Alliance of Free Stars]]. After the Alliance lost to the [[Hierarchy]] in the [[First War]], the Mmrnmhrm, along with the Chenjesu, asked to be encased within a [[slave shield]] on Procyon II.

During the First War, the Mmrnmhrm flew their adaptable [[X-Form]] starships.

The Mmrnmhrm are no more, having been synthesized with the Chenjesu to form a new hybrid race, the [[Chmmr]], to fight against the Hierarchy. This was a logical solution for the Mmrnmhrm, as no more of their species could be made after the Mother-Ark shut down.

[[Category:Races]]

Ur-Quan Slave War

2004-10-08T15:38:20Z

Mudlock: Broke into paragraphs

The [[First War]] lasted from 2098 to 2134 AD in our quadrant of the galaxy. It began when the [[Ur-Quan Kzer-Za]] first entered the quadrant, and ended with the enslavement of all other major races in the quadrant by the Ur-Quan.

The [[Chenjesu]] were the first race to become aware of the impending threat, sensing the Ur-Quan's hostile presence. They observed as the Ur-Quan conquered the [[Umgah]] and began moving towards [[Ilwrath]] space, and so quickly formed a military alliance with the the [[Mmrnmhrm]]. Together the two races were able to temporarily repel the Ur-Quan, who refocused their aggression towards the [[Spathi]] and [[Androsynth]]. The Umgah, Ilwrath, Spathi, and Androsynth all chose to become [[Battle Thralls]] to the growing Ur-Quan [[Hierarchy]].

The Chenjesu forged additional alliances with the [[Yehat]] and [[Shofixti]], bolstering their ranks. In 2115 they made formal contact with the [[Humans]], inviting them into the budding [[Alliance of Free Stars]]. This prompted the [[Arilou]] to join as well, if only to oversee the well-being of the humans and the [[Syreen]], who were already fleeing in the direction of Earth to seek safe harbor from the [[VUX]], who along with [[Mycon]] would also join the Hierarchy.

Escalation occurred, and soon both sides were throwing everything they had at each other. The Ur-Quan now commanded a vast armada of Battle Thralls in addition to their deadly [[Dreadnought]] ships. The Alliance established a coreward front along the Indi-Mira line. They were able to hold the line until 2134, when the Ur-Quan pushed the Alliance back beyond Raynet. The Chenjesu forces were exhausted from holding their position near Rigel, and the Ur-Quan seized this opportunity to launch a massive assault on their homeworld at Procyon II. The Hierarchy assault eventually prevailed, and the Chenjesu, rather than join the Hierarchy, chose to become fallow slaves and be [[slave shield|shield]]ed with the Mmrnmhrm on their devastated homeworld.

Following the defeat at Procyon II, the humans were quickly defeated by a massive, multilateral attack, and Hierarchy set a course for the Gorno system, home of the Shofixiti. As the Hierarchy reached the system, the Yehat withdrew, leaving the Shofixti to fend for themselves. The Shofixti fleet was decimated, but in a final act of defiance, the surviving Shofixti lowered a [[Precursor Bomb]] into their sun, causing Delta Gorno to flare and destroy everything in its vicinity. The Shofixti were all but wiped out, along with nearly a third of the Ur-Quan fleet.

This may have given enough of an edge to the Yehat and Syreen in order to achieve victory, but they surrendered. The Yehat chose to become Battle Thralls, while the Humans and Syreen opted to become fallow slaves. The Arilou, seeing that the Humans were now safe, vanished into [[QuasiSpace]].

==Campaigns==

The Campaigns of the First War are as follows (taken from [[Star Control]] for Genesis, in rough chronological order):
* First Encounter - When spheres of influence meet, battle is inevitable.
* The Art Of War - Match your strength against your enemy's weakness.
* Exterminate! - The Hierarchy must curb rampant Shofixti breeding!
* VUX Incursion - A VUX task force attacks an Alliance StarBase.
* Proving Ground - The Spathi fleet meets the Mmrnmhrm in deep space.
* Lost in Space - A solitary Chenjesu must survive a harsh universe.
* Beginner's Luck - A lone syreen must prevent Androsynth deployment.
* Escalation - A war of production.
* Target Earth - Planet Earth comes under surprise attack.
* Syreen's Song - A Syreen recruitment drive begins.
* Mushroom Cloud - A bold Alliance attack on the Mycons.
* The Nebula - The Hierarchy assaults the Yehat homeworlds.
* Onslaught - The Ur-Quan offensive begins!
* Counter Attack- The Alliance strikes back!
* Total War - Two full fleets face off in a battle to the death!

The Captain

2004-10-08T15:03:17Z

Mudlock: +more linking

'''The Captain''' has gone by many names, by many historians. However, most final historical records indicate that the key figure in the defeat of the [[Hierarchy]] was a [[Human]] named Zelnick. [In the first release of [[Star Control II]], there was no default name; the first act in a new game was to name the commander and the flagship. The later released 3DO version named the captain Zelnick and the flagship the ''[[Vindicator]]''.]

Zelnick was born on the the colony world of [[Unzervalt]] in the [[Vela]] system, and showed an unusual aptitude for reverse-engineering [[Precursor]] technology. He captained and piloted the [[SIS]] from Unzervalt back to [[Earth]], and is generally agreed to have played a pivotal role in the events of the quadrant from 2154-2159.

Full details on The Captain are sketchy. Only one known image, taken during his escape from the destruction of the [[Sa-Matra]] via an [[Escape Pod]], is available of Zelnick during his time as a captain. From it, and from knowledge of the history of Unzervalt itself, we can conclude that Zelnick was Human, male, probably Caucasian, and under 20 Earth years old at the beginning of his mission.

Zelnick is believed to have had other adventures besides this one, but is known to have eventually retired peacefully with the [[Syreen]] [[Talana]] to Unzervalt.

He is one of the most legendary humans ever to travel the stars.

[[Category:Game Characters]]

Super-Melee

2004-10-08T13:58:27Z

Mudlock: linked "ships" to the category "ships"

[[Super Melee]] was first introduced in [[Star Control II]]. It is an improvement over the standard melee found in [[Star Control I]] which pitted the [[Ur-Quan Hierarchy|hierarchy]] against the [[Alliance of Free Stars|alliance]] in a series of dogfights. Super Melee allows melee-style combat between two parties of up to fourteen ships each. Teams can be made up of any of the twenty-five [[:Category:ships|ships]] available in Star Control II.

Each team can either be controlled by a human or a cyborg. Cyborg opponents have three levels of experience - weak, good, and awesome. In addition, each party is assigned a point value depending on how powerful the constituent ships are.

For tips on playing, see [[Multiplayer Melee Suggestions]].