Glilandy

Glilandy is the name given for the Dnyarri homeworld by the neo-Dnyarri captured by The Captain during the events of Star Control II.¹ Very little is known about it, other than that it first came to the attention of Ur-Quan explorers from the Sentient Milieu because of odd energy readings from its surface, similar to that of some Precursor installations. These energy readings turned out to be generated by the incredibly powerful psychic fields of the Dnyarri race, perhaps the most powerful mental compulsion-capable race in the history of known space.

When a single Ur-Quan scout was sent to investigate Glilandy, he immediately went under Dnyarri control; learning of the wealth and power to be had in the Sentient Milieu, huge numbers of Dnyarri forced the Ur-Quan to transport them back to the Milieu capital. In the ensuing years Glilandy itself was almost depopulated as the enslaved Milieu forces transported shipment after shipment of Dnyarri across the galaxy to form the Dnyarri Slave Empire.

After the success of the Ur-Quan Slave Revolt, all Dnyarri throughout the Slave Empire were killed; the only living members of the species were those who had stayed behind on Glilandy. These other Dnyarri were found and captured by Ur-Quan protected by Excruciators and engineered into the Talking Pets, leaving the surface of Glilandy free of Dnyarri.

What has happened on the planet in the meantime, and where that planet might now be found on starmaps, is unknown, though we can assume it most likely resides in one of the reaches of Milieu space still unmapped by the Chenjesu.

The neo-Dnyarri's description of Glilandy before its discovery by the Ur-Quan as a peaceful utopia dedicated to political harmony and the pursuit of aesthetic arts and crafts is almost certainly a fabrication. However, its description of Dnyarri society as predicated on the power of stronger Dnyarri to psychically compel weaker Dnyarri or, perhaps, other, more physically powerful native species to perform unpleasant tasks for them is probably accurate, given the degree to which Dnyarri physiology and psychology were already optimized for the role of psychic slave master when the Dnyarri were first discovered.

Notes and references

¹The name "Glilandy" originally appeared in the PC version of the game. This was changed to "Benteflork" in the voice files of the 3DO version of Star Control II. Currently, The Ur-Quan Masters (v0.6.2), which is based on the 3DO code, uses the sound "Benteflork" and has adjusted the subtitle text to match. Note that it is not known whether "Benteflork" is meant to be the correct spelling.