Ultimate Evil

According to Fwiffo, the Spathi as a whole live in constant fear of an enigmatic, malicious alien race known simply as the Ultimate Evil. Since Fwiffo is the only Spathi to discuss the Ultimate Evil, it is unknown exactly how prevalent the belief in and fear of the Ultimate Evil is among the Spathi. Nothing is actually known about the powers, intentions, or even the true identity of this race. However, the race's furtive nature, lurking just beyond the reach of the most powerful long-range sensors, is evidence (according to the Spathi) of its nefarious intent. This cultural fear is so powerful that the Spathi contingent of the Earthguard, with the exception of the StarRunner and her captain Fwiffo, disobeyed orders from the Ur-Quan and returned to Spathiwa to defend against a possible surprise attack by the Ultimate Evil. Of course, there is always the possibility that the Ultimate Evil is simply non-existent, merely an essential element of a mythology from a culture and civilization based upon cowardice. Indeed, the fact that Paul Reiche III/Fred Ford didn't recall what the Ultimate Evil is when asked about it suggests that this is not an important plot point, but merely a product of the Spathi's paranoia.¹

The Spathi's description of the Ultimate Evil shares similarities with the mysterious interdimensional parasites mentioned by the Arilou, the entities which Science Officer Bukowski simply calls 'Them', and possibly the Orz; but, there is no evidence that any of these can be identified as the Ultimate Evil. In the case of the Orz, the Spathi admit that the Orz are 'creepy,' but do not associate them with the Ultimate Evil.

Notes and references

¹From the 1998 IRC chat with Toys for Bob (Fwiffo is both Fred Ford and Paul Reiche III here):

<_Stilgar> <Spyhunter> Fwiffo: "How does an "Ultimate Evil" -race in an SC2 -style game behave when meeting the player?"

<Fwiffo> You mean the big carnivorous teddy bears on Spathiwa?

<Xxyl> I believe those were those "Evil Ones"

<_Stilgar> <Spyhunter> Fwiffo: "No, I mean the main enemy in the game. ;)"

<Fwiffo> Oh yeah. Well, I rarely paint someone as absolutely "evil" -- it's all a matter of perspective. What is interesting is why people (aliens) do things that seem evil to you or me, and what prevents us from doing the same.