Spathi
| Spathi | ||||||||
| Spathi_comm.png Fwiffo, a Spathi Eluder Captain | ||||||||
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General
The Spathi are a cowardly race of "meta-mollusks." They have a colorful exoskeleton - possibly adopted by the Spathi due to their desire for safety1 -, a single jiggling eye, and jointed pinching claws, possessing the best qualities of both the clam and the dravatz. As a race, the Spathi are absolute cowards and paranoid.
If the remarks of the Spathi captain Fwiffo are true and representative of the species, Spathi families are very large. Fwiffo claims to have been "the youngest child of a family of 18,487" and mentions that being called by name by "the female parent" was a special occasion for him. Fwiffo's independance was not a voluntary choice; his parents merely "pried [him] from the doorjamb, and rolled [him] into the street". The Spathi youngsters are called "encrustlings".
The Spathi evolved on the lone planet Epsilon Gruis I (their name for the star is Yuffo and the planet, Spathiwa). Recently, their home planet has been beleaguered by a race of ravenous creatures called the Evil Ones who enjoy eating Spathi, prompting the entire Spathi race to take refuge on Spathiwa's moon.
Their ruling class is known most often as the Safe Ones, also called the Spathi Ruling Council, the High Spathi Ruling Council, the High Ruling Council of Spathiwa, and the Spathi High Council.
Hierarchy Status
When the Spathi surrendered to the Ur-Quan Kzer-Za, after only six hours of combat, they were offered the same choice given to each race, as dictated by the Path of Now and Forever: be a fallow slave(and thus send back a white rod) or Battle Thrall (sending back a black rod). The Spathi actually chose to be fallow slaves, being rather fond of the idea of being forever protected by an impenetrable Slave Shield. However, the Ur-Quan's Umgah servant who was to notify the Ur-Quan of the Spathi's choice mischeviously switched the color of the rod. The Spathi attempted to rectify this, but the Ur-Quan would hear none of it - they would be Battle Thralls forever.
According to them, the Spathi attempted to avoid combat as much as possible, only to recieve three violent reprimands from the Ur-Quan, "each more strident than the last." When the Spathi learned that they were on the verge of being exterminated outright for their repeated disobedience, they set about their duties as battle thralls "with renewed vigor."
Religion
The Spathi have a traditional daily prayer which reflects their general attitude towards life (which they name the "mortal helix"): "..Oh God... please don't let me die today! Tomorrow would be so much better!"
The Spathi also have a pre-death ceremony, the ritual of Wezzy-Wezzah. The completion of this short ritual ensures a place in their secure afterlife. A noted attribute of the Spathi's afterworld is the absence of immortal, devouring monsters. However, the ritual of Wezzy-Wezzah is invalid unless performed on the moon of Spathiwa, or so Fwiffo claims — it is a possibility that the whole ritual is made up in order to convince The Captain to take him home.
Leisure activities
A known leisure activity that the Spathi captains practice is playing a certain video game they recently bought, probably from the Melnorme, a game strikingly similar to Star Control 2.
They mention having been bored until they bought the game.
Ship
The Spathi pilot the very nimble Eluder-class ships.
Known individuals
- Fwiffo
- Pwappy
- Tuffa-Yuf
Gameplay notes
Sources of information
Fwiffo and the Melnorme are the only sources for learning the Spathi homeworld location and the Secret Spathi Cypher necessary to converse with The Safe Ones.
Relevance to the plot
Any relations with the Spathi are optional. You can ally with them to gain access to their ships. When the Spathi slave-shield themselves on Spathiwa, they leave behind the Umgah Caster on their moon, along with a note explaining what it is. The Spathi also share somewhat useful and vague information on various topics, such as the new Syreen homeworld and the natural QuasiSpace portal.
Notes and references
- 1From the #StarControl Efnet IRC chat of 1998-10-18 (Fwiffo is both Paul and Fred here):
- <Fwiffo> I think Spathi's didn't naturally have shells, but based on their desire for safety, they might adopt them as a fashion.