Ultronomicon - User contributions [en]

Human

2004-09-11T19:26:51Z

Sara: Another spelling fix.

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: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human

We will here consider those features of the human species pertinent for xenologists. 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 what the humans term "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 human development (the 18th to 20th centuries, as measured in the human universal calendar based on the religion known as Christianity), 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, 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 the 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.

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 pair of opposing alliances formed after their so-called Second World War in the 1940s, grouped into the capitalist states led by the United States of America against 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, these alliances engaged in the aforementioned Cold War brinkmanship tactics, only brought to a halt with the so-called Small War of 2015, when powerful nuclear weapons were detonated 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. The shocking catastrophe 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, 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.

It was at the beginning of the 22nd century, in the year 2115, when humans first made contact with a truly alien race. The Chenjesu, who had been watching humanity all along, now saw that the situation with the Ur-Quan Kzer-Za had grown desperate; Ur-Quan hostilities were now 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, humans made an indispensable ally. 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 shocking 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, and of Star Control, 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 or an accidental human attack on an Arilou Lalee'lay fleet. 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 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.

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 at the sheer total destructive power represented by the total number of Earth's nuclear warheads and laser banks, primitive as they were, and refitted for ship-to-ship combat they became the well-known 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-shielded fallow species.

By chance, however, it had been a human expedition that went to the [[Precursor]] ruins on Vela I; 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 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 joined with Commander Hayes of the humans' Hierarchy Starbase maintained over Earth and launched 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, 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.

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 [[Jeffrey 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.

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 the "natural" path of combining hunter-gatherer tribes into agricultural collectives, until society was unified into a peaceful agrarian super-community; the Syreen, like the humans, defined much of their society's roles based on a gender binary based on sex, in which the feminine dominated the masculine. Hummans, 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, simply 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. Their 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.

Skiff

2004-09-11T19:22:19Z

Sara: Link addition

The [[Arilou Lalee'lay|Arilou]] Skiffs main weapon is a short range auto-aiming laser.

It's special weapon is a short range hyperspace shunt (random teleport).

Arilou ships are extremely maneuverable, and contain advanced inertialess drives that stop the ship instantly when it stops thrusting.

Human

2004-09-11T19:20:43Z

Sara: Link additions and typo fixes.

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: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human

We will here consider those features of the human species pertinent for xenologists. 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 what the humans term "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 human development (the 18th to 20th centuries, as measured in the human universal calendar based on the religion known as Christianity), 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, 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 the 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.

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 pair of opposing alliances formed after their so-called Second World War in the 1940s, grouped into the capitalist states led by the United States of America against 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, these alliances engaged in the aforementioned Cold War brinkmanship tactics, only brought to a halt with the so-called Small War of 2015, when powerful nuclear weapons were detonated 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. The shocking catastrophe 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, 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.

It was at the beginning of the 22nd century, in the year 2115, when humans first made contact with a truly alien race. The Chenjesu, who had been watching humanity all along, now saw that the situation with the Ur-Quan Kzer-Za had grown desperate; Ur-Quan hostilities were now 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, humans made an indispensable ally. 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 shocking 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, and of Star Control, 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 or an accidental human attack on an Ariloula'leelay fleet. 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 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.

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 at the sheer total destructive power represented by the total number of Earth's nuclear warheads and laser banks, primitive as they were, and refitted for ship-to-ship combat they became the well-known 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-shielded fallow species.

By chance, however, it had been a human expedition that went to the [[Precursor]] ruins on Vela I; 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 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 joined with Commander Hayes of the humans' Hierarchy Starbase maintained over Earth and launched 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, 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.

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 [[Jeffrey 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.

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 the "natural" path of combining hunter-gatherer tribes into agricultural collectives, until society was unified into a peaceful agrarian super-community; the Syreen, like the humans, defined much of their society's roles based on a gender binary based on sex, in which the feminine dominated the masculine. Hummans, 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, simply 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. Their 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.

Guardian

2004-09-11T19:10:36Z

Sara: Added a link.

The [[Androsynth]] Guardians main weapon fires acid bubbles that slowly home in on enemies using the Chaos(tm) tracking system.

It's special weapon transforms it into a flaming comet, which is extremely fast and maneuverable, and inflicts damage upon impact.

Gg

2004-09-11T19:09:51Z

Sara: Changed the links to standard internal form.

The Gg (pronounced "Geg") were known only by the now-extinct [[Burvixese]], who communicated with the Gg via long-range HyperWave broadcasts. It was the Gg who warned the Burvixese of the approach of the hostile [[Ur-Quan Kohr-Ah|Kohr-Ah]], as well as the accurate conjecture that the Kohr-Ah used HyperWave transmissions to locate their prey. Since the Gg were loath to engage in visual transmissions, their appearance is likely to remain an eternal mystery, as their world was incinerated by the Kohr-Ah in 2142.

No known formal affiliations.

Broodhome

2004-09-11T19:09:03Z

Sara: Added a link.

The [[Chenjesu]] Broodhome main weapon fires crystals that keep traveling until you lift the fire button, when they explode into many small fragments.

It's special weapon launches DOGIs that seek the Chenjesu's target and drain their battery.

Arilou

2004-09-11T19:08:32Z

Sara: 'Bastards.'? Was this really necessary?

Star Control II 3DO Credits

2004-09-08T17:11:57Z

Sara: A link addition

==Original Programming & Technology==
* [[Fred Ford]]

==Game Design & Fiction==
* [[Paul Reiche III]]

==3DO Programming==
* Ken Ford
* [[Fred Ford]]
* Brad Van Tighem

==Producer==
* Mark Wallace

==3DO Production==
* [[Paul Reiche III]]
* Richard Antaki

==Starring the Voices of==
===Richard Antaki===
* Thraddash
===Alex Bennett===
* Starbase Commander
===Rick Betz===
* Ariloulaleelay
* Druuge
===Roy Blumenfeld===
* Zoq-Fot-Pik
===David Bryce===
* Kohr-Ah
* Ilwrath
* Shofixti
* Spathi
===Lauren Forcella===
* Supox
===Greg Johnson===
* Orz
* Pkunk
* Utwig
===Bruce Leyland===
* Yehat
===Erol Otus===
* Chmmr
===[[Paul Reiche III]]===
* Mycon
* Talking Pet
===Brad Van Tighem===
* Slylandro Speaker
===Madeleine Wild===
* Zoq-Fot-Pik
* Syreen
* VUX
===Larry Zee===
* Umgah
* Melnorme
* Ur-Quan
===840-AV===
* Slylandro Probe
===Paul II, Paul III, Arianna & Devin Reiche===
* Victory Sequence

==Voice Effects==
* Jeff Forehan
* Burke Treischmann
* Mark Miller

==Voice editing==
* Richard Antaki
* [[Paul Reiche III]]
* Burke Treischmann
* Steve Henefin
* Jeremy Bredow
* Erik Griss
* Brad Van Tighem

==Art and Animation==
* George Barr
* Paul Reiche III
* Erol Otus
* Greg Johnson
* Kyle Balda
* Jeff Rianda
* Taunya Shiffer
* Leonard Robel
* Greg Hammond
* Armand Cabrera
* Silicon Knights

==Additional Writing==
* Greg Johnson
* Mat Genser
* Robert Leyland
* Iain McCaig
* Tomi Quintana
* Erol Otus
* Leonard Robel
* John Estes

==Music==
* Burke Treischmann
* Dan Nicholson
* [[Riku Nuottaj%C3%A4rvi]]
* Eric Berge
* Erol Otus
* Marc Brown
* Aaron Grier
* Kevin Palivec
* Tommy Dunbar

==3D Cinemagraphics==
* Gene Bodio
* Phil Le Marbre

==TrueMotion® "S" Video Compression==
* The Duck Corporation

==Product Marketing Manager==
* Jim Curry

==3DO Testers==
* Susan Michele
* Joe Ganis
* Jeremy Bredow
* Chang Fedel
* Wes Gittens
* Erik Griss
* Ty Johnson
* Eugene Law
* Tate Schieferle
* Mark Ybarra
* Carolina Esmurdoc
* Steve Groll
* Rob Johnson
* Tim Jordan
* Kevin Kwan
* Matt Young

==Special Thanks To==
* Greg Johnson
* John Ratcliffe

==Got Us 86'ed Out of a Restaurant in Las Vegas==
* Madeline Canepa ''(but we love her anyway)''

Riku Nuottajärvi

2004-09-08T17:10:04Z

Sara: Oops. Link fix.. x.x;;

When it comes to [[Star Control II|SC2]] Music, THE man. He made the legendary [[HyperSpace]] theme as well as the [[Mycon]], [[Thraddash]], [[Yehat]] and [[Hayes|Commander Hayes]] themes.

Riku Nuottajärvi

2004-09-08T17:09:50Z

Sara: Link additions

When it comes to [[Star Control II|SC2] Music, THE man. He made the legendary [[HyperSpace]] theme as well as the [[Mycon]], [[Thraddash]], [[Yehat]] and [[Hayes|Commander Hayes]] themes.

Pages of Now and Forever

2004-09-08T17:09:01Z

Sara: Link addition

[http://www.star-control.com '''PNF''']

Home of the SC community and largest source of SC related material on the net.

Wimbli's Trident

2004-09-08T17:07:39Z

Sara: Link additions

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.

Wimbli's Trident appears to be nothing but a three-pronged polearm fashioned out of ordinary metal. The name "Wimbli" is carved on the shaft, though the crudeness of the inscription signifies that it may be a later addition by the Druuge to enhance the perceived value of the artifact. Their claims that the Trident grants the power to fire energy blasts or travel between dimensions seem baseless. In what may be an odd coincidence or something more, however, ancient [[Earth]] legends speak of a similar artifact with a similar name that did have great powers, bestowed by a frog named Wimbli on a knight named Chauncey in the kingdom of Franzkapowi. How the Druuge could have learned about this ancient artifact and used its name for their attempt at fraud, if indeed that is what they did, is unknown.

VUX Beast

2004-09-08T17:06:33Z

Sara: Small link fix

A legendary monster, only one living individual of which is known to exist. This beast was described in ancient literature as being unmatched in ferocity and power, leading [[Admiral ZEX]], an obsessive collector of grotesque fauna, to become obsessed with acquiring it. The only known reference to its location was an ancient wildlife book written by an unknown alien author, which ZEX had found and studied. The Beast was said to live in a yellow star in the constellation "Linch-Nas-Ploh", an eight-star constellation -- "Linch-Nas-Ploh", in the aliens' language, meant "the snake-like creature who has swallowed the elephantine beast".

ZEX challenged [[The Captain|Captain Zelnick]] to find this Beast for him before he would turn over his captured [[Shofixti Maidens]]. Zelnick agreed, and finally heard of a Beast that might fit this description in his dealings with the [[Thraddash]], finally learning that the yellow star of "Linch-Nas-Ploh" was the Delta star of the constellation humans had named Lyncis.

The creature appears to be the only extant, extremely long-lived member of its species, though there may be an alternate explanation for why only one was found and why the ancients referred to it in the singular. It is classified by [[Earth]] xenologists as a "xenoteratomorph", or "alien monster form" -- a creature much larger and stronger than roughly equivalent Earth species. In appearance it has a huge head surrounded by barbed tentacle-like appendages along with two longer, three-jointed armlike appendages covered with spikes and blades at the base, with green skin and a red tongue. Because of its large size and robust nervous system, it is highly resistant to stunner bolts, and required several batteries' worth of stun charges from Zelnick's crew's lander before it was incapacitated. Even then, it only took it a few seconds to recover from the stun effects, and required extremely strong magnetic restraints to hold in place. Its extreme aggression and the length and flexibility of its "arms" made it very dangerous to approach; it attacked and injured many members of the Starbase's scientific crew while it was kept there, including xenobiology research team leader [[Chu|Dr. Chu]]. It appeared to have an instinctive urge to constantly eat, attempting to eat anything it could find, constantly chewing up objects with its extremely sharp, hard teeth- the Tech Team stated that "Whatever it doesn´t eat, it chews, and what it doesn´t chew, well, it just breaks it up into tiny little pieces." This is true indeed, and the Beast is a force to be reckoned with.

Due to the dangerous nature of the Beast, Zelnick transported it to ZEX's private world as quickly as possible. It was unsurprising that ZEX proved overconfident in his ability to control the Beast, and it quickly escaped the control of its handlers and laid waste to the menagerie, killing ZEX and his subordinates, before it ran away into the wilderness, leaving Zelnick free to salvage what he could from the ruins.

VUX Beast

2004-09-08T17:06:11Z

Sara: Link additions

A legendary monster, only one living individual of which is known to exist. This beast was described in ancient literature as being unmatched in ferocity and power, leading [[Admiral ZEX]], an obsessive collector of grotesque fauna, to become obsessed with acquiring it. The only known reference to its location was an ancient wildlife book written by an unknown alien author, which ZEX had found and studied. The Beast was said to live in a yellow star in the constellation "Linch-Nas-Ploh", an eight-star constellation -- "Linch-Nas-Ploh", in the aliens' language, meant "the snake-like creature who has swallowed the elephantine beast".

ZEX challenged [[The Captain|Captain Zelnick]] to find this Beast for him before he would turn over his captured [[Shofixti Maidens]]. Zelnick agreed, and finally heard of a Beast that might fit this description in his dealings with the [[Thraddash]], finally learning that the yellow star of "Linch-Nas-Ploh" was the Delta star of the constellation humans had named Lyncis.

The creature appears to be the only extant, extremely long-lived member of its species, though there may be an alternate explanation for why only one was found and why the ancients referred to it in the singular. It is classified by [[Earth]] xenologists as a "xenoteratomorph", or "alien monster form" -- a creature much larger and stronger than roughly equivalent Earth species. In appearance it has a huge head surrounded by barbed tentacle-like appendages along with two longer, three-jointed armlike appendages covered with spikes and blades at the base, with green skin and a red tongue. Because of its large size and robust nervous system, it is highly resistant to stunner bolts, and required several batteries' worth of stun charges from Zelnick's crew's lander before it was incapacitated. Even then, it only took it a few seconds to recover from the stun effects, and required extremely strong magnetic restraints to hold in place. Its extreme aggression and the length and flexibility of its "arms" made it very dangerous to approach; it attacked and injured many members of the Starbase's scientific crew while it was kept there, including xenobiology research team leader [[Dr. Chu]]. It appeared to have an instinctive urge to constantly eat, attempting to eat anything it could find, constantly chewing up objects with its extremely sharp, hard teeth- the Tech Team stated that "Whatever it doesn´t eat, it chews, and what it doesn´t chew, well, it just breaks it up into tiny little pieces." This is true indeed, and the Beast is a force to be reckoned with.

Due to the dangerous nature of the Beast, Zelnick transported it to ZEX's private world as quickly as possible. It was unsurprising that ZEX proved overconfident in his ability to control the Beast, and it quickly escaped the control of its handlers and laid waste to the menagerie, killing ZEX and his subordinates, before it ran away into the wilderness, leaving Zelnick free to salvage what he could from the ruins.

Utwig Bomb

2004-09-08T17:04:41Z

Sara: Link additions

One of the most fearsome weapons in known space. This device releases a large amount of antimatter upon detonation, on average annihilating all matter within a 500-km radius, creating a powerful explosion whose blast radius extends for several AU. The energy released by the explosion is great enough to completely disperse a small moon into dust or to blast a larger planetary object into chunks; scientists speculate that planetary engineering may have been the primary purpose of the device, since as a weapon of war it is highly dangerous and imprecise.

At least two examples of such weapons have been found. The first known to the Alliance was found by the [[Shofixti]] and kept as a secret weapon, an ultimate version of the Glory Device they favored as a final option in combat. When the Shofixti were on the brink of destruction at the hands of the [[Ur-Quan Hierarchy|Hierarchy]], they lowered the Bomb into the outer layers of their home star and activated it, causing an immense storm of solar flares similar to a minor nova. The flood of radiation killed all life in the ships occupying the system at the time, as well as burning out all life on the Shofixti homeworld Kyobetsu. The [[Ur-Quan Kzer-Za]] fleet was reduced in size about 30 percent from that battle alone, giving them a crucial disadvantage in the coming Doctrinal Conflict.

The second device found by the Alliance was discovered by [[The Captain|Captain Zelnick]] in his dealings with the [[Utwig]]. The Utwig related to him how they had discovered an identical Bomb device in a damaged protective container in an abandoned [[Precursor]] supply depot. Their superstitions about the [[Ultron]] led them to believe that the sheer destructive power of the Bomb had been granted to them as part of their history-shaping destiny, and when the [[Druuge]] came to trade the Ultron for the Bomb they avoided doing so, whether because of a clever ruse or because of the guidance of the Ultron none can say. When the Ultron was lost and the Utwig sank into a deep depression, they reasoned that the purpose of the Bomb may have been to allow them to commit painless suicide in atonement for their act, but then wondered if a greater atonement might not be to live in misery and guilt for their foolish destruction of the Ultron. While weighing this decision, they kept the Bomb in safekeeping on a special world reserved for that purpose, to protect innocent worlds from an accidental detonation.

When Captain Zelnick came to the Utwig, seeking a device powerful enough to destroy the [[Ur-Quan]]'s Sa-Matra, he had to repair the Ultron for the Utwig before he -- or the Ultron itself, according to the Utwig -- convinced them to let him hold stewardship over it. Unfortunately, while Zelnick and the Utwig Proctors were in negotiation, the Druuge had meanwhile attacked the Bomb world and seized control of it. Fortunately, the Utwig had wisely masked the Bomb's location against the Druuge's scanners, and Zelnick was able to defeat the Druuge and recover the Bomb before they could find it. However, even the Bomb in its unmodified state could not generate an explosion powerful enough to guarantee the irrevocable destruction of the Precursor-engineered Sa-Matra. Luckily, the Bomb's manufacture bore some similarities to [[Chenjesu]] manufacturing, so that the [[Chmmr]] were able to use their technology to couple the Bomb to the Vindicator's energy generation systems, greatly augmenting its power. It was the sacrifice of the Vindicator, detonating the Bomb inside the Sa-Matra's docking bay, that finally destroyed the Ur-Quan's Great Prize and ended the war.

In physical appearance, the Bomb was a squat black cylinder, the size of a small ground-car. On it was written a very recognizable Precursor inscription, repeated over and over all over its surface; though it has not been completely translated, it seems obvious that the message is a warning. Though human scientists deemed it unsafe to conduct many tests with the device, the level of radiation output detected near it suggests a powerful, constantly running energy generation system similar in capacity to the Vindicator's own engines.

Ur-Quan Warp Pod

2004-09-08T17:02:12Z

Sara: Small link addition

A basic piece of starship machinery, this is a device for generating a field of unconventional space-time conditions that allow starships to "push up" from [[TrueSpace]] into [[HyperSpace]]. Warp pods are a basic feature of starfaring technology, and the engineering principles involved in building them are almost identical from race to race. However, the larger the mass that must be transported, the more intense the field must be and the more powerful the warp pod must be. Therefore building a massive ship the size of an [[Ur-Quan Kzer-Za]] [[Dreadnought]] or [[Ur-Quan Kohr-Ah|Kohr-Ah]] [[Marauder]] requires a highly energy- and space-efficient warp pod technology, one reason that no local species other than the [[Ur-Quan]] and the [[Chmmr]] have built Dreadnought-sized vessels.

The only Ur-Quan warp pod ever recovered and studied by Alliance scientists was recovered by [[The Captain|Captain Zelnick]] in the Second War; by some freak accident, a Kzer-Za Dreadnought had managed to make a soft landing on the surface of Alpha Pavonis VII, and failed to engage its automatic self-destruct mechanism on the death of its crew. The [[Arilou Lalee'lay]] may have somehow been involved in this incident; whatever is the case, they observed it and, after salvaging the wreck for what they could, informed Zelnick that he could obtain Ur-Quan technology from the wreck if he chose. This was especially necessary if he wished to use [[QuasiSpace]] travel; the same exotic energy field used to enter Hyperspace, carefully modified, can be used to generate an overlap (or "portal") from Hyperspace to QuasiSpace using the phenomenon known as Dimensional Fatigue, though this is much more difficult and requires specialized technology only, to our knowledge, possessed by the Arilou. Their own [[Portal Spawners]] are powered by comparatively weak warp pods; since their purposes involve reconaissance and subterfuge more than large-scale transport or combat, they prefer to build their Arilou Lalee'lay [[Skiff|Skiffs]] as small, quick vessels. In order to fit such a device on [[Super Integrated Starship|the Vindicator]], they required a much more powerful warp pod, and since it was impossible to reach or modify the Vindicator's own warp pod hidden inside its [[Precursor]] framework, they had to use the Dreadnought's surviving starboard warp pod.

Speculation continues as to whether the manipulative Arilou engineered the unusual wreck in order to allow the creation of [[QuasiSpace Portal Spawner|the Vindicator's Portal Spawner]] and the neo-Dnyarri, as both proved invaluable to the Alliance's victory in the Second War.

Ur-Quan Warp Pod

2004-09-08T17:01:30Z

Sara: Link changes, typo fix

A basic piece of starship machinery, this is a device for generating a field of unconventional space-time conditions that allow starships to "push up" from [[TrueSpace]] into [[HyperSpace]]. Warp pods are a basic feature of starfaring technology, and the engineering principles involved in building them are almost identical from race to race. However, the larger the mass that must be transported, the more intense the field must be and the more powerful the warp pod must be. Therefore building a massive ship the size of an [[Ur-Quan Kzer-Za]] [[Dreadnought]] or [[Ur-Quan Kohr-Ah|Kohr-Ah]] [[Marauder]] requires a highly energy- and space-efficient warp pod technology, one reason that no local species other than the [[Ur-Quan]] and the [[Chmmr]] have built Dreadnought-sized vessels.

The only Ur-Quan warp pod ever recovered and studied by Alliance scientists was recovered by [[The Captain|Captain Zelnick]] in the Second War; by some freak accident, a Kzer-Za Dreadnought had managed to make a soft landing on the surface of Alpha Pavonis VII, and failed to engage its automatic self-destruct mechanism on the death of its crew. The [[Arilou Lalee'lay]] may have somehow been involved in this incident; whatever is the case, they observed it and, after salvaging the wreck for what they could, informed Zelnick that he could obtain Ur-Quan technology from the wreck if he chose. This was especially necessary if he wished to use [[QuasiSpace]] travel; the same exotic energy field used to enter Hyperspace, carefully modified, can be used to generate an overlap (or "portal") from Hyperspace to QuasiSpace using the phenomenon known as Dimensional Fatigue, though this is much more difficult and requires specialized technology only, to our knowledge, possessed by the Arilou. Their own [[Portal Spawners]] are powered by comparatively weak warp pods; since their purposes involve reconaissance and subterfuge more than large-scale transport or combat, they prefer to build their Arilou Lalee'lay [[Skiff|Skiffs]] as small, quick vessels. In order to fit such a device on [[Super Integrated Starship|the Vindicator]], they required a much more powerful warp pod, and since it was impossible to reach or modify the Vindicator's own warp pod hidden inside its [[Precursor]] framework, they had to use the Dreadnought's surviving starboard warp pod.

Speculation continues as to whether the manipulative Arilou engineered the unusual wreck in order to allow the creation of the Vindicator's Portal Spawner and the neo-Dnyarri, as both proved invaluable to the Alliance's victory in the Second War.

Umgah HyperWave Broadcaster

2004-09-08T16:58:50Z

Sara: Link additions

A special high-power Hyperwave Broadcaster developed by the [[Umgah]] race for their own purposes. Built by the Umgah using standard technology common to the Home Quadrant species of the First War, it is built according to the same specifications as ordinary starship Hyperwave Casters, except on a much larger scale, comprising a large, self-contained blue machine encased in the amorphous organic plastic used by the Umgah in most of their bioengineering-based industry. The Umgah spent a great many resources to build this very expensive machine; the ability to transmit messages from much greater ranges and more obscure locations than others would expect was invaluable for their brand of entertainment. They first caused the [[Ilwrath]] revolt against their priest class by impersonating the deities [[Dogar and Kazon]] themselves, broadcasting on a popular Ilwrath entertainment channel; they were thus able to directly manipulate the fanatically religious Ilwrath into causing endless chaos throughout their region of space. They also began a campaign of sending long-range Hyperwave transmissions to nearby sentient races as elaborate practical jokes, stirring cultures into panic of attack from "Jud the Ineffable Vug", "Killmaster 18" and "The Grand Master Planet Eaters". The [[Spathi]], the Umgah's favorite torture victims, were particularly gullible for this sort of ploy. However, the Umgah employed it against them one too many times, and the Spathi finally caught on and launched a successful military attack to capture the Umgah's Caster. The Umgah, lacking the resources to build another such device in the near future, were forced to end their games. The Spathi were unable to find any use for the Caster themselves, and bestowed it as a parting gift to the human [[The Captain|Captain Zelnick]] after they withdrew from his New Alliance; he proceeded to use it, and the impersonation programs built into it, for various useful purposes, including controlling the Ilwrath himself.

Ultron

2004-09-08T16:57:04Z

Sara: Link additions

Probably the most powerful and mysterious [[Precursor]] artifact in existence. The name "Ultron" comes from [[Utwig]] mythology, a human translation for an Utwig morpheme signifying "beyond". Trapped by various factors in their cultural evolution into an oppressive and hidebound Mask Culture, the Utwig for some unknown reason developed a deep, abiding societal fixation on some future messianic event, the recovery of a device that would restore to them all the potential hidden and restrained by their Mask Culture, providing the deep philosophical meaning and purpose that the Mask Culture's seemingly arbitrary rules lacked, redeeming the senselessness of the bloody Morality Riots and fulfilling the Utwig's destiny to be shapers of the whole galaxy's history.

According to Utwig philosophy, possession of the Ultron grants the user a deep, intuitive understanding of the universe's teleology, compelling them not only to have a near-telepathic insight into others' psychology, but also to take actions that appear irrational even to themselves but that always turn out to be central turning points in the racial evolution of each species they interact with, pushing sentient life toward its mysterious final destiny. Other, apocryphal stories of the Ultron speak of its influence slowly causing the Utwig to manifest true supernatural powers, including the power to see the spirit world, to directly view the past and future, and to resurrect the dead.

Interestingly, the Utwig's mythological conception of the Ultron bore an uncanny resemblance to descriptions of a real Precursor artifact. The clearest known reference known by the Alliance to such a device before first contact with the Utwig was a text fragment recovered from Precursor datastores in the Rigel system, tentatively translated as a reference to the "Appendages of Dawn", a device said to be a "mental amplifier", used for "discrete change". What this means is unclear, though events involving the Ultron's recent history may indicate the Ultron has some sort of mysterious, selective power to suddenly and radically change a species' psychological development and racial personality.

The Appendages of Dawn are a device containing many eclectic components embedded in an armlike device composed of golden metal, constantly emitting distinct patterns of light and sound from each of its components; it is these components that, according to the Utwig's beliefs, generate "metawave gyrations" that interact with organic brains, slowly allowing them to perceive the supernatural forces that underly physical reality. The origins of the Appendages are unknown, but they fall within a certain class of Precursor artifacts, along with the "Empties", "Singing Hoops" and "Big Dud", all of which generate characteristic energy patterns in certain tests that confirm their Precursor origin, and all of whose internal functions and intended purposes are highly mysterious. Interestingly, while the Utwig believe the Ultron is a universal tool that can unlock such perceptions for all races, the Appendages of Dawn have had no observable effect at all on all known races that have been in contact with it until the Utwig obtained it, suggesting that perhaps whatever abilities the Utwig possess are innate and unlocked by some effect of the Ultron on Utwig psychology.

The last possessors of the Appendages of Dawn/Ultron before the Utwig were Druuge traders who, having learned of the Utwig's obsession, as well of the Utwig's acquisition of an incredibly powerful Precursor bomb, hurried to the Utwig homeworld to trade what they thought was a useless Precursor toy for an immensely powerful weapon, pretending that they themselves subscribed to Ultron-worship and had been irrationally compelled by the Ultron's power. Though the Utwig's allies, the Supox, were deeply suspicious of this offer, the Utwig immediately accepted the Druuge's story. The Druuge made a strategic error, however, in allowing the Utwig High Proctor to handle the Ultron before buying it. Upon making contact with it, the High Proctor suddenly collapsed into a seizure, then just as suddenly recovered, exhibiting a state of unnatural mental focus and concentration. She pronounced that the Ultron's powers had given her supernatural knowledge of the proper trade good to offer the Druuge, and before the Druuge could request the bomb they had intended to purchase, had offered them a storehouse of assorted, apparently nonfunctional Precursor relics.

The Druuge were trapped; unable to argue against the Ultron's powers of revelation without undermining both their original story and the reason for the Utwig's purchase of the Ultron in the first place, they were forced to accept the Utwig's judgment and take the relics as payment. The Utwig have since made a prediction to the day of when the Druuge's possession of these artifacts will somehow change their basic nature as a race and redeem them to a lost state of nobility.

Feeling deeply focused and fulfilled by the Ultron's presence, the Utwig proceeded to make important decision after decision, claiming that they and their allies' prospects were entering an unprecedented era of prosperity (to the skepticism of the Supox). Unfortunately, at a ceremonial Chinz-Rahl celebration, the Utwig High Proctor was meant to ceremonially pass the Ultron to the Chief Groo. The circumstances of the event have since been obsessively studied over and over again by the Utwig, but the best guess is that the Chief Groo merely found the Ultron unexpectedly heavy and slippery, allowing it to drop from his hand to the ground. The impact damaged a few of the Ultron's components, causing its activity to cease. The euphoria bestowed by the Ultron was immediately replaced by a powerful depression akin to addictive withdrawal, throwing the Utwig into an endless cycle of self-recrimination and despair and bringing their civilization to a halt. Finding it unbearable to look at the damaged Ultron, they entrusted it to their Supox friends for safekeeping. The Supox attempted several times to help their friends by repairing it, but found that the broken components were of mysterious Precursor make and could not be replaced by ordinary parts.

Luckily, the faraway Pkunk were able to use their psychic perception to see the link between the broken Ultron and three scattered Precursor artifacts that could be used as replacement components, one of which, the one they named the Clear Spindle, they already possessed. They informed their friend the human Captain Zelnick of their knowledge of this connection, and, humoring them, he attempted to collect these components for them, eventually discovering the Utwig and realizing the Ultron's importance. He was able to repair the Ultron by replacing its Clear Spindle, Aqua Helix and Rosy Sphere; the Utwig, with the Ultron returned, found themselves filled with renewed purpose and understanding and became an integral part of the New Alliance of Free Stars.

The Ultron's effect on the Utwig was quite impressive; the Utwig, who had previously taken no notice of the events surrounding them in their apathy, were suddenly able to correctly identify the nature of the Ur-Quan Doctrinal Conflict and the Alliance's role in opposing it almost immediately after reacquiring the Ultron, and almost immediately after that formulated an effective battle plan for interfering with the Conflict. There are other signs, such as the uniquely powerful technological capabilities of the Utwig's Jugger ships, that the Utwig civilization has progressed at a much faster rate than those around it. However, some continue to maintain that the Utwig's cultural development had merely made them extremely receptive to certain myths and stories, exacerbated by the Druuge's shameless advertising by their Ultron, and the Ultron is merely a psychological crutch that allows the Utwig to utilize their own amazing intellectual abilities. Also arguing against the Utwig's view of the Ultron is their assertion that the Ultron could have had such powerful manipulative effects on all the other races involved in its history, the Druuge, Supox and humans, for example, without their even being aware of it. Of course, the Pkunk's relationship to the Ultron would seem to tip the scale in the other direction; in any case, the Utwig believe that it is only to be expected that many under the Ultron's influence would be required by their own destinies to be unaware of it.

The Utwig and Supox seemed poised to leave their isolation and take a prominent place in the politics of the Home Quadrant after the war; however, rumors indicate that in a post-war celebratory dance the High Proctor may have again damaged the Ultron, with potentially grave consequences for the Utwig and their allies, necessitating yet another desperate search for Precursor components.

Talking Pet (device)

2004-09-08T16:55:04Z

Sara: Link fix. Oops!

The first and last of its race, a new life form created by the [[Umgah]] gengineers, perhaps the most dangerous creature in the known galaxy before its death. The [[Arilou Lalee'lay]] observed the crash of a [[Ur-Quan Kzer-Za|Kzer-Za]] [[Dreadnought]] in the Alpha Pavonis system during the Doctrinal Conflict; seeing that the Dreadnought's self-destruct function had malfunctioned, for unknown reasons they chose to investigate the wreck and salvage it. The starboard [[Ur-Quan Warp Pod|warp pod]] from this wreck was used to build the [[QuasiSpace Portal Spawner|Portal Spawner]] they gave to [[The Captain|Captain Zelnick]], while the only surviving life form from the wreck, the Kzer-Za Lord's Talking Pet, was taken by the Arilou for medical care. Since biology was not their field of expertise, the Arilou decided to take the Talking Pet to their Umgah friends to be treated.

The Umgah, rather than merely healing the Talking Pet's physical wounds, grew curious about its genetic code, finding long sequences of apparently useful genes that had been deactivated by artificial processes. Not knowing about the process by which the [[Ur-Quan]] had enslaved the [[Dnyarri]] and devolved them into the Talking Pets, they repaired the Talking Pet's DNA, both reactivating the racial memory system stored naturally in Dnyarri genes and restoring the Talking Pet's full intelligence and use of its psychic powers. Indeed, speculation exists that the Umgah gengineers' work enhanced the creature's psychic range and sensitivity far beyond that of its Dnyarri ancestors, since the original Dnyarri had needed to station themselves one to a planet to maintain their Empire while the neo-Dnyarri was able to exert dominance over the entire Umgah sphere of influence. However, this may have been a difference of subtlety in technique rather than increased power; it did not exert direct psychic control over all entities in the Umgah sphere of influence, since the Vindicator passed through Umgah space during the neo-Dnyarri's reign without its crew becoming possessed. Instead, it seems to have been able to implant post-hypnotic commands in its slaves that persisted for some time upon leaving its psychic field before wearing off; it was able to use this ability to fend off Zelnick's initial investigations by compelling him to fly to the Crateris constellation and attack the Sa-Matra.

Upon its awakening, the neo-Dnyarri, mentally taking stock of the events of the past 20,000 years, almost immediately embarked on a program of conquest and revenge. It quickly seized control of the Umgah homeworld, then began to send brainwashed Umgah slaves out of its sphere of psychic influence to search for information on the Ur-Quan and how they might be defeated. Unfortunately for its plans, the Umgah proved less than competent at deflecting the attentions of the nascent New Alliance of Free Stars. The human Captain Zelnick, armed with his [[Taalo Shield]] and his enormous [[Precursor]] starship, was able to fight past all the neo-Dnyarri's defenses. Planning to kill the neo-Dnyarri, he found that the Dnyarri's powerful instinct of self-preservation gave it enough strength to protect itself even with the Shield active, forcing Zelnick to spare its life and take it into his protection on the Vindicator. However, the Shield's power, as well as Zelnick's own strength of will, kept the neo-Dnyarri's powers mostly muzzled during its time on the Vindicator.

Details about the neo-Dnyarri's nature were hard to come by during its residence on the Vindicator, since it was not above using minor psychic compulsions to turn aside inquiries about itself, particularly its psychology and its psi abilities; initial tests, before the neo-Dnyarri began openly manipulating its testers to falsify results, showed its measured IQ to be far above that of the greatest human geniuses and its personality to be classified in the category labeled "Furtive-Hateful" by human xenologists, due to its antisocial habits and its direct, sadistic desire for others' pain and suffering. Physically it appeared, like all Talking Pets, as a quadruped similar in size to a small dog, with small, atrophied limbs, a grossly bulging cranium, and a human-like face. Capable of communicating either by telepathy or speech as it chose, its recall of both ancient racial memories and of recent events was incredibly detailed, and it was able to learn both Umgah and human language, culture, and mannerisms at a prodigious rate. Its life on board the Vindicator was a constant series of petty demands that its handlers were incapable of refusing, and twisted mind games played by spreading gossip and false rumors based on its telepathic reading of the crew's thoughts. It was well known for repeatedly attempting to deceive humans about the history of the Dnyarri Slave Empire to put itself in a better light; what humans have learned both from the Ur-Quan themselves and more apparently neutral parties like the [[Melnorme]] and the [[Chmmr]] indicate that almost no historical information obtained from the neo-Dnyarri can be considered reliable.

Zelnick accepted the neo-Dnyarri's proposed plan for allying to defeat the Ur-Quan, with the knowledge that he must at the same time seek a way to betray and destroy it before it could escape and conquer the galaxy. The neo-Dnyarri, deeply familiar with the thought-patterns of its ancestors' favorite slaves, was able to launch the Ur-Quan defenders of the Sa-Matra into mindless confusion even through the Taalo Shield's influence, allowing Zelnick to advance his bold scheme of using the Vindicator as a suicide bomb against the Sa-Matra. Luckily, it seems like Zelnick was able to confuse his own conscious intentions about the plans for this battle even to himself, putting himself in an fearful emotional state in which he was able to "accidentally forget" to enact any plans to bring the neo-Dnyarri with him on the escape pod before the Vindicator exploded, a fact which the neo-Dnayarri, sneering at Zelnick's scatterbrained anxiety, only realized just before its death.

The neo-Dnyarri is now presumed dead, though many urge continued vigilance; given the Dnyarri's deep intelligence and natural ability to multi-task and plan for contingencies, there is a possibility it was able to use its psychic abilities to wrangle a way off the Vindicator. If this is so, its vengeful, greedy and sadistic nature are likely to ignite the next great galactic conflict; its propensity toward voyeurism and cruel experimentation with other races indicate this conflict would be unnaturally rich in violence, emotional tension and gratuituous trans-species sexual interaction.

Talking Pet (device)

2004-09-08T16:54:46Z

Sara: Link additions

The first and last of its race, a new life form created by the [[Umgah]] gengineers, perhaps the most dangerous creature in the known galaxy before its death. The [Arilou Lalee'lay]] observed the crash of a [[Ur-Quan Kzer-Za|Kzer-Za]] [[Dreadnought]] in the Alpha Pavonis system during the Doctrinal Conflict; seeing that the Dreadnought's self-destruct function had malfunctioned, for unknown reasons they chose to investigate the wreck and salvage it. The starboard [[Ur-Quan Warp Pod|warp pod]] from this wreck was used to build the [[QuasiSpace Portal Spawner|Portal Spawner]] they gave to [[The Captain|Captain Zelnick]], while the only surviving life form from the wreck, the Kzer-Za Lord's Talking Pet, was taken by the Arilou for medical care. Since biology was not their field of expertise, the Arilou decided to take the Talking Pet to their Umgah friends to be treated.

The Umgah, rather than merely healing the Talking Pet's physical wounds, grew curious about its genetic code, finding long sequences of apparently useful genes that had been deactivated by artificial processes. Not knowing about the process by which the [[Ur-Quan]] had enslaved the [[Dnyarri]] and devolved them into the Talking Pets, they repaired the Talking Pet's DNA, both reactivating the racial memory system stored naturally in Dnyarri genes and restoring the Talking Pet's full intelligence and use of its psychic powers. Indeed, speculation exists that the Umgah gengineers' work enhanced the creature's psychic range and sensitivity far beyond that of its Dnyarri ancestors, since the original Dnyarri had needed to station themselves one to a planet to maintain their Empire while the neo-Dnyarri was able to exert dominance over the entire Umgah sphere of influence. However, this may have been a difference of subtlety in technique rather than increased power; it did not exert direct psychic control over all entities in the Umgah sphere of influence, since the Vindicator passed through Umgah space during the neo-Dnyarri's reign without its crew becoming possessed. Instead, it seems to have been able to implant post-hypnotic commands in its slaves that persisted for some time upon leaving its psychic field before wearing off; it was able to use this ability to fend off Zelnick's initial investigations by compelling him to fly to the Crateris constellation and attack the Sa-Matra.

Upon its awakening, the neo-Dnyarri, mentally taking stock of the events of the past 20,000 years, almost immediately embarked on a program of conquest and revenge. It quickly seized control of the Umgah homeworld, then began to send brainwashed Umgah slaves out of its sphere of psychic influence to search for information on the Ur-Quan and how they might be defeated. Unfortunately for its plans, the Umgah proved less than competent at deflecting the attentions of the nascent New Alliance of Free Stars. The human Captain Zelnick, armed with his [[Taalo Shield]] and his enormous [[Precursor]] starship, was able to fight past all the neo-Dnyarri's defenses. Planning to kill the neo-Dnyarri, he found that the Dnyarri's powerful instinct of self-preservation gave it enough strength to protect itself even with the Shield active, forcing Zelnick to spare its life and take it into his protection on the Vindicator. However, the Shield's power, as well as Zelnick's own strength of will, kept the neo-Dnyarri's powers mostly muzzled during its time on the Vindicator.

Details about the neo-Dnyarri's nature were hard to come by during its residence on the Vindicator, since it was not above using minor psychic compulsions to turn aside inquiries about itself, particularly its psychology and its psi abilities; initial tests, before the neo-Dnyarri began openly manipulating its testers to falsify results, showed its measured IQ to be far above that of the greatest human geniuses and its personality to be classified in the category labeled "Furtive-Hateful" by human xenologists, due to its antisocial habits and its direct, sadistic desire for others' pain and suffering. Physically it appeared, like all Talking Pets, as a quadruped similar in size to a small dog, with small, atrophied limbs, a grossly bulging cranium, and a human-like face. Capable of communicating either by telepathy or speech as it chose, its recall of both ancient racial memories and of recent events was incredibly detailed, and it was able to learn both Umgah and human language, culture, and mannerisms at a prodigious rate. Its life on board the Vindicator was a constant series of petty demands that its handlers were incapable of refusing, and twisted mind games played by spreading gossip and false rumors based on its telepathic reading of the crew's thoughts. It was well known for repeatedly attempting to deceive humans about the history of the Dnyarri Slave Empire to put itself in a better light; what humans have learned both from the Ur-Quan themselves and more apparently neutral parties like the [[Melnorme]] and the [[Chmmr]] indicate that almost no historical information obtained from the neo-Dnyarri can be considered reliable.

Zelnick accepted the neo-Dnyarri's proposed plan for allying to defeat the Ur-Quan, with the knowledge that he must at the same time seek a way to betray and destroy it before it could escape and conquer the galaxy. The neo-Dnyarri, deeply familiar with the thought-patterns of its ancestors' favorite slaves, was able to launch the Ur-Quan defenders of the Sa-Matra into mindless confusion even through the Taalo Shield's influence, allowing Zelnick to advance his bold scheme of using the Vindicator as a suicide bomb against the Sa-Matra. Luckily, it seems like Zelnick was able to confuse his own conscious intentions about the plans for this battle even to himself, putting himself in an fearful emotional state in which he was able to "accidentally forget" to enact any plans to bring the neo-Dnyarri with him on the escape pod before the Vindicator exploded, a fact which the neo-Dnayarri, sneering at Zelnick's scatterbrained anxiety, only realized just before its death.

The neo-Dnyarri is now presumed dead, though many urge continued vigilance; given the Dnyarri's deep intelligence and natural ability to multi-task and plan for contingencies, there is a possibility it was able to use its psychic abilities to wrangle a way off the Vindicator. If this is so, its vengeful, greedy and sadistic nature are likely to ignite the next great galactic conflict; its propensity toward voyeurism and cruel experimentation with other races indicate this conflict would be unnaturally rich in violence, emotional tension and gratuituous trans-species sexual interaction.

Taalo Shield

2004-09-08T16:51:11Z

Sara: Link additions

An incredibly valuable experimental defensive weapon, the last known artifact of the ancient [[Taalo]] race. The Taalo's unusual silicon-based, mineral-like physiology somehow made their minds alone, of all members of the [[Sentient Milieu]], immune to psychic compulsion from the [[Dnyarri]] conquerors. The pacifistic Taalo, unwilling to take up arms against their former friends, worked desperately to find an artificial method of imbuing this immunity into the minds of non-Taalo. Unfortunately, they were unable to develop such a device in time to stop the Dnyarri conquest, and when hordes of Dnyarri-controlled [[Ur-Quan]] invaded the surface of the Taalo homeworld, only one prototype Shield had been constructed before the Taalo's final disappearance. [[The Captain|Captain Zelnick]]'s research into the ancient Taalo allowed him to recover this device from the Taalo homeworld 20,000 years later, when it played a crucial role in the Second War.

The Taalo used technology similar to their own biology to build the Shield, which appears to the naked eye as a huge, glowing boulder. The subtlety and complexity of their engineering is staggering, outpacing even the genius of the [[Chenjesu]]. All human attempts to analyze the Shield show it to be nothing more than an apparently randomly mixed, undifferentiated lump of common minerals. However, its fluorescence by an unknown process, unaccounted for by any naturally fluorescing substances within the rock, as well as its regular shape and structure are clear signs that it is artificial. Its anti-psi abilities were discovered by accident; even in its quiescent state, any esper-capable [[humans|human]] who approached it was plagued by headaches and mental confusion as the Shield warred against their natural, unconscious psychic probing. Experimentation discovered that running even a small electric current anywhere on the Shield's surface greatly multiplied this effect until all psi interaction in the Shield's vicinity was completely canceled, at least to the limits of measurements available by human methods.

This jury-rigged system was undoubtedly not the original intended use of the Shield, and this method of generating an anti-psi field was probably much weaker and less efficient than a fully completed Shield would have been. The neo-Dnyarri perceived this, and, realizing its psi abilities were amplified and refined enough to exert some influence even in the Shield's presence, was able to compel Zelnick to keep it in his protection, though it could not enslave him.

Syreen Shuttle

2004-09-08T16:47:49Z

Sara: Link additions

The first delegation officially sent by the [[Syreen]] to the New Alliance of Free Stars in the Second War. As with the [[humans]], the Syreen were required to maintain a Starbase above their homeworld, aboard which their best-trained starship crew served, maintaining and repairing [[Ur-Quan Hierarchy|Hierarchy]] ships. When the human [[The Captain|Captain Zelnick]] convinced Syreen Commander [[Talana]] to rejoin the war after uncovering the treachery of the [[Mycon]], Talana sent a handpicked delegation of her best officers and crew to accompany the Vindicator and recover the Syreen [[Penetrator]] fleet, which had been mothballed by the [[Ur-Quan]] on a faraway world at the end of the war. Given the sexual habits of Syreen and humans in close quarters, it was thought best to house the Syreen delegation in their own, separate vessel in order to maintain discipline. Even so, it proved impossible to prevent some field research in the area of human/Syreen xenology from taking place when the shuttle arrived at the [[Earth]] Starbase, and other useful work was impeded as requests to do field studies among the Syreen skyrocketed.

Sun Device

2004-09-08T16:45:37Z

Sara: Typo fix and link adds

A device apparently built by the [[Precursors]] to function as an artificial radiation source for cold planets. Containing an amazingly powerful exotic energy generator, the Sun Device is a relatively small apparatus that can produce 0.001 percent or so of the Sun's total radiation; however, this object can be placed in low orbit around a planet, meaning almost all of the radiated energy will be absorbed by the planet. This is a huge amount of energy to add to a planet at once, equivalent to giving the planet a new, artificial sun.

This apparently unique artifact was safeguarded by the [[Mycon]] for a very long time; whether it was intended for their use originally or merely found and used by them is unclear, but it was a very important tool in the Mycon's expansion, allowing them to augment the temperature of planets that would otherwise simply be too far from their stars to provide the heat the Mycon need to breed. The Mycon thus treated the Sun Device as a holy object and guarded it zealously. By using the [[Syreen]] fleet to lure most of the Mycon fleet into a trap, [[The Captain|Captain Zelnick]] was able to overpower the guards at the Sun Device's world and steal it, knowing that it was the only object capable of accelerating the Process of Unification between the [[Chenjesu]] and [[Mmrnmhrm]].

Ur-Quan Masters Universe

2004-09-08T16:43:15Z

Sara: Added artifacts to universe list

{{stub}}

*[[List of Characters]]
*[[List of Races]]
*[[List of Ships]]
*[[List of Alien artifacts]]
*[[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]]
*[[TrueSpace]], [[HyperSpace]], [[QuasiSpace]]

Shofixti Maidens

2004-09-08T16:42:11Z

Sara: Link additions and small fixes

The last surviving female members of their race after the [[Shofixti]]'s heroic self-destruction in the First War, they are a group of sixteen adolescent Shofixti captured by [[Admiral ZEX]] of the [[VUX]] during the war. These young beauties were kept unresisting, compliant, and preserved forever young despite them by freezing them in cryogenic suspension; ZEX kept them as part of his menagerie of strange, bizarre and dangerous creatures, both sentient and nonsentient. When [[The Captain|Captain Zelnick]] approached ZEX asking to trade for the Shofixti Maidens, ZEX first asked the captain to retrieve the [[VUX Beast|Beast of Linch-Nas-Ploh]], then reneged and demanded that Zelnick and his human crew join him in his menagerie, as his primary obsession with the grotesque had always centered on humans. ZEX's gambit failed, as after Zelnick had delivered the Beast ZEX's crew proved incapable of controlling it, leading to his menagerie's destruction. Zelnick was thus able to recover the Maidens and offer them as mates to Shofixti survivor [[Tanaka]]; Tanaka and his wives then began the process of repopulating the Shofixti species.

Rosy Sphere

2004-09-08T16:39:43Z

Sara: Link adds

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. 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, not realizing this, placed very little value on the Sphere, and were willing to trade the Sphere to the human [[The Captain|Captain Zelnick]] without even requiring the customary trade in slaves. This allowed him to complete his project of repairing the Ultron and ultimately foiling the Druuge's plans to steal the bomb from the demoralized Utwig by force.

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.

QuasiSpace Portal Spawner

2004-09-08T16:37:36Z

Sara: Small fix

A device constructed by the [[Arilou Lalee'lay]] for the [[Precursor]] [[Super Intergrated Starship|Service Vessel]] as a favor to its human [[The Captain|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 energy source was a black box, 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. 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.

QuasiSpace Portal Spawner

2004-09-08T16:37:00Z

Sara: Link adds & small typo fix

A device constructed by the [[Arilou Lalee'lay]] for the [[Precursor]] [[Super Integrated Starship|Service Vessel]] as a favor to its human [[The Captain|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 energy source was a black box, 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. 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.

Fwiffo

2004-09-08T16:32:12Z

Sara: Link adds

Captain Fwiffo is the only being left in the Sol system to monitor the [[Earth]] on behalf of the [[Ur-Quan]], having drawn the metaphorical short straw when the rest of his race's fleet decided to return to their homeworld (in an attempt to protect it from the almost certainly fictional "Ultimate Evil"). He has landed his [[Eluder]] on Pluto, this being the furthest point in the Sol system from Earth that can still be said to be in that system.

He is a typical [[Spathi]] commander, and thus may be assumed to be frightened out of his mind at all times.

Earth

2004-09-08T16:31:07Z

Sara: Link fix

'''Earth''' is the name of the home planet of the [[Humans]]. As such, it is the origin of the alternative name for Humans, Earthlings.
<p>
Earth is the third planet in the Sol system, which can be found at [[HyperSpace]] coordinates 175.2, 145.0.
It is a [[water world]] with a single moon.
It was [[slave shield|slave shielded]] by the [[Ur-Quan Kzer-Za]] after they destroyed the Earth forces in 2134 (or possibly early 2135).

Burvixese HyperWave Broadcaster

2004-09-08T16:24:58Z

Sara: Link fix

An extremely powerful [[Hyperwave]] transmitter constructed at great expense by the [[Druuge]] in a desperate effort to save themselves from destruction. The Druuge had blanketed their region of space with Hyperwave transmissions advertising and bargaining over their wares for trade, thus making themselves a prime target for the rapidly approaching [[Ur-Quan Kohr-Ah|Kohr-Ah]] death fleet. Luckily, the neighboring [[Burvixese]], a kind and altruistic race, had been in communication with the [[Gg]] race, first to be destroyed by the approaching Kohr-Ah. They offered the Druuge the Gg's intelligence data on the Kohr-Ah, including the Kohr-Ah's choice of the Druuge as their next target, as an act of goodwill. The amoral Druuge chose to shut down all Hyperwave transmissions and build an extremely powerful Hyperwave Caster, in secret, on the Burvixese homeworld's satellite, pointed directly antispinward at the Kohr-Ah fleet, tricking them into changing targets. By the time the Burvixese discovered this ruse, it was too late, and the Kohr-Ah homed directly in on them and destroyed them, allowing the Druuge to escape unscathed.

Though Druuge technology is crude and inefficient compared to Alliance technology, the total resources invested in building it give it a great deal more power and range than a standard Alliance transmitter, allowing it to reach ships traveling nearby through Hyperspace, and allowing it to penetrate thick barriers of matter and energy that block normal transmitters, even to the point of broadcasting, very faintly, through a Kzer-Za slave shield. Upon learning Captain Zelnick had recovered the device, the Druuge attempted to regain it through trade, perhaps because of the innate value of its expensive components or perhaps to cover up evidence of their treachery against the Burvixese.

Aqua Helix

2004-09-08T16:22:38Z

Sara: Fixes

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 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]] revere it as a holy object, and constructed a shrine for it in a mountainous cave of the continent of Funt on their home planet of 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, the Captain 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, 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]].

Precursor

2004-09-08T16:19:20Z

Sara: Typo fixes

The most advanced and mysterious race to ever travel the stars. They ruled the universe 250,000 years ago, and then simply vanished. They left behind powerful artifacts, ruins, and a wacko race of planeteering tools who resemble fungus.

The [[Slylandro]] told
*someone else write the rest, please?

Hellbore Cannon

2004-09-08T16:18:10Z

Sara: Link adds and cutoff fix

When it comes to powerful weapons, the first thing you might think of is the [[Ur-Quan]] Plasma Fusion Gun. This weapon module, the Hellbore Cannon, is just as powerful. It is unclear whether the [[Melnorme]] A.K.A. the [[Mael-Num]] developed this weapon or if it is of [[Precursor]] origin. No matter, it is the most powerful.

Marauder

2004-09-08T16:16:27Z

Sara: Oops -- Link fix

A very powerful vessel rivaling the [[Ur-Quan Kzer-Za|Kzer-Za]] [[Dreadnought]]. Armed with spinning sawblades and a destructive F.R.I.E.D. system.

The sawblades will travel until the fire button is released, effectively giving them unlimited range. They will slowly home on the enemy when they stop.

The FRIED aka Fiery Ring of Inevitable, Eternal Destruction
is a ring of superheated plasma that expands from the Marauder and F.R.I.E.S. anything in its path.

Overall, the [[Ur-Quan Kohr-Ah]] Marauder is one of the most powerful ships in the Quadrant.

Marauder

2004-09-08T16:16:14Z

Sara: Link additions

A very powerful vessel rivaling the [[Ur-Quan Kzer-Za|Kzer-Za] [[Dreadnought]]. Armed with spinning sawblades and a destructive F.R.I.E.D. system.

The sawblades will travel until the fire button is released, effectively giving them unlimited range. They will slowly home on the enemy when they stop.

The FRIED aka Fiery Ring of Inevitable, Eternal Destruction
is a ring of superheated plasma that expands from the Marauder and F.R.I.E.S. anything in its path.

Overall, the [[Ur-Quan Kohr-Ah]] Marauder is one of the most powerful ships in the Quadrant.

Mael-Num

2004-09-08T16:14:06Z

Sara: Link fix

The Mael-Num we know little of, except that the [[Ur-Quan Kohr-Ah|Kohr-Ah]] refer to them as "one-eyed creature", and given that, and the similarity of their names, it is sucpected that this means indeed the [[Melnorme]].

Ur-Quan Kzer-Za

2004-09-08T16:13:32Z

Sara: Spelling fixes

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 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 Conflict. 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.

Ur-Quan Kohr-Ah

2004-09-08T16:11:43Z

Sara: Typo fix

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 species follows the Eternal Doctrine. It states that all non-Ur-Quan 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]] 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.

Currently, the Kohr-Ah are involved in the Doctrinal Conflict. It is an agreement between themselves and the 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]]

Spathi

2004-09-08T16:08:49Z

Sara: Fixes.

The Spathi are a cowardly race of "meta-mollusks" as described by [[Fwiffo|Captain Fwiffo]]. Their membership in the [[Ur-Quan Hierarchy]] is a very dubious one, having been given the wrong straw so to speak by the mischievous [[Umgah]]. They live in constant fear of a non-existent phantom beyond the reaches of their most powerful sensors, called the [[Ultimate Evil]].

They evolved on the lone planet of Epsilon Gruis I, called Spathiwa. At the onset of [[The Ur-Quan Masters]], their planet is beleaguered by a race of ravenous creatures who enjoy eating Spathi, called the [[Evil Ones]] by the Spathi, so they live on the moon of Spathiwa until later in the game.

In combat their ships are quite useful, being highly maneuverable and able to run circles around even the more powerful [[Ur-Quan]] and [[Ur-Quan Kohr-Ah|Kohr-ah]] ships.

Ilwrath

2004-09-08T16:06:22Z

Sara: (Small fixes)

Psychopathically violent and religiously fanatical spider-like aliens. They worship their twin dark gods, [[Dogar and Kazon]], who supposedly speak through the HyperWave Channel 44, which coincidentally is the channel the [[Umgah]] love to send their prank messages on, one of these which almost led to the extinction of the [[Pkunk]]. In the end of SC2, the Ilwrath met their doom fighting the [[Thraddash]] in a war which led to both race´s annihilation. Good Riddance.

Dnyarri

2004-09-08T16:04:38Z

Sara: (A few fixes/link adds)

The Dnyarri were an extremely ancient and evil race who could control the minds of others. Their discovery by an young [[Ur-Quan]] scout led to the quick collapse of the [[Sentient Milieu]], to the thousands of years of Ur-Quan slavery and their race´s eventual splitting in to the [[Ur-Quan Kzer-Za|Kzer-Za]] and the [[Ur-Quan Kohr-Ah|Kohr-Ah.]]
*INCOMPLETE!

Kzer-Za (Character)

2004-09-08T16:02:14Z

Sara: Small link addition

Kzer-Za was a Green [[Ur-Quan]], a scientist, and it was he who found out how to defeat the [[Dnyarri]], as the creatures would disconnect from a dying or seriously injured slave. The Green Ur-Quan named themselves after him, and they refer to him as a Martyred Genius- indeed, as he injected himself with Acid Poison and transmitted his discovery to all [[Ur-Quan]] on the planet, just moments before dying. His research led to the eventual discovery of the Excruciator by the [[Ur-Quan Kohr-Ah|Kohr-Ah]], a violent device that is implanted directly into the brain and causes constant, horrifying pain.

Kzer-Za (Character)

2004-09-08T16:01:17Z

Sara: Typo fix

Kzer-Za was a Green [[Ur-Quan]], a scientist, and it was he who found out how to defeat the [[Dnyarri]], as the creatures would disconnect from a dying or seriously injured slave. The Green Ur-Quan named themselves after him, and they refer to him as a Martyred Genius- indeed, as he injected himself with Acid Poison and transmitted his discovery to all [[Ur-Quan]] on the planet, just moments before dying. His research led to the eventual discovery of the Excruciator by the Kohr-Ah, a violent device that is implanted directly into the brain and causes constant, horrifying pain.

Kzer-Za (Character)

2004-09-08T16:00:38Z

Sara:

Kzer-Za was a Green [[Ur-Quan]], a scientist, and it was he who found out how to defeat the [[Dnyarri]], as the creatures would disconnect from a dying or seriously injured slave. The Green Ur-Quan named themselves after him, and they refer to him as a Martyred Genius- indeed, as he injected himself with Acid Poison and transmitted his discovery to all [[Ur-Quan]] on the planet, just moments before dying. His reserach led to the eventual discovery of the Excruciator by the Kohr-Ah, a violent device that is implanted directly into the brain and causes constant, horrifying pain.

ZEX

2004-09-08T15:45:53Z

Sara: Typo fix

{{stub}}
One of the VERY few VUX that likes humans, he is the only one found and was placed on a planet at the end of the war. He greatly likes collecting creatures and is trying to get one, for the price of the maidens.

Fwiffo

2004-09-08T15:44:33Z

Sara: Small correction

Captain Fwiffo is the only being left in the Sol system to monitor the Earth on behalf of the Ur-Quan, having drawn the metaphorical short straw when the rest of his race's fleet decided to return to their homeworld (in an attempt to protect it from the almost certainly fictional "Ultimate Evil"). He has landed his Eluder on Pluto, this being the furthest point in the Sol system from Earth that can still be said to be in that system.

He is a typical Spathi commander, and thus may be assumed to be frightened out of his mind at all times.

Ultronomicon:Community Portal

2004-09-08T14:36:10Z

Sara:

[http://www.star-control.com The Pages of Now & Forever]

[http://sc2.sourceforge.net/ The Ur-Quan Masters homepage]

[http://uqm.stack.nl/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl The Ur-Quan Masters forum]

Spathi

2004-09-08T14:33:55Z

Sara:

The Spathi are a cowardly race of "meta-mollusks" as described by [[Fwiffo|Captain Fwiffo]]. Their membership in the [[Ur-Quan Hierarchy]] is a very dubious one, having been given the wrong straw so to speak by the mischievous [[Umgah]]. They live in constant fear of a non-existent phantom beyond the reaches of their most powerful sensors, called the [[Ultimate Evil]]

They evolved on the lone planet of Epsilon Gruis I, called Spathiwa. At the onset of [[The Ur-Quan Masters]], their planet is beleagured by a race of ravenous creatures who enjoy eating Spathi, called the [[Evil Ones]] by the Spathi, so they live on the moon of Spathiwa until later in the game.

In combat their ships are quite useful, being highly maneuverable and able to run circles around even the more powerful [[Ur-Quan]] and [[Kohr-ah]] ships.