1) This replaces all previous notes about races as contained in the UY-TSY fanfiction archive.
2) In addition to races introduced in UY-TSY, the races introduced in the UY TV/OVA/movie series which become directly involved in UY-TSY will also be covered.
The people of Earth, having long wondered if life really was out there, got their answer when the Urusians came to launch their first Tag Race. However, this was actually not the first time aliens have been involved in Terran matters. A Zephyrite colony of monks has lived in Hokkaido since the early 1950s. A Vosian observer has been posted to Earth since after the end of World War Two. And the Ipraedies were secretly kidnapping Terrans for scientific examination well over ten years before the first Tag Race.
In the wake of Lum's arrival, most people on Earth paid little attention to the insanity plaguing Tomobiki. The superpower rivalry between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. continued unabated. The Second Tag Race changed that. Realizing that there were races out there willing to destroy Earth virtually at a whim, the member nations of the U.N. granted the world body considerable legislative and judicial powers in dealing with aliens. Such became general knowledge when the U.N. instigated the Third Tag Race in the wake of revelations concerning the First Tag Race.
Most races surrounding Earth view Terrans as a backward, developing society, the type which deserves considerable protection under the Galactic Non-Interference Treaty. However, Earth sits on a galactic crossroads between the member states of the Galactic Federation, the Ipraedies Empire, the Seifukusu Dominion and the Republic of Zephyrus. If Earth fell under Ipraedies or Seifukusu sway, the Federation would be territorially shattered. If the Zephyrites assumed a dominant role, then the Federation would become vassal states to the Republic. For the leaders of the Federation, wooing Earth into their camp became of much greater importance than honouring the Non-Interference Treaty.
In the end, it took an extragalactic power...Sagussa...to permanently secure Earth's sovereignty, the Fifth Republic becoming the first state with which the U.N. officially negotiated mutual recognition and alliance packages. Shortly afterward, Triton extended the diplomatic hand of friendship, followed by Uru in the wake of the Imperialist Counter-Revolution. At series' end, negotiations are underway to forge a military-political alliance between Earth and Uru.
Neptune's ancient history is shrouded in myth and conjecture. Some believe it to be a terraforming project of the mysterious Race X, the people who seeded many worlds in the local cluster with iron-blooded carbon-based life. Others point to the Sagussan Fourth Republic as the founding race of Neptune. Still others indicate Vos as a potential source-world. Regardless, the Kingdom's modern history begins with tragedy: the conquest by the Seifukusu Dominion.
Neptune was one of the first worlds to feel the harsh grip of the Imperial Houses, during the time Europe was in the Dark Ages after the collapse of the Roman Empire. Its indigenous culture destroyed and swept aside, it became an industrial workhouse for the Dominion, its people enslaved. Within a generation, Neptune had become a desolate ecological ruin, its people starving and suffering from innumerable industrial-related diseases. When the Dominion were forced back, they simply abandoned Neptune, leaving their former slaves to a very gristly fate.
Then the Gatherer stepped in.
Using Sagussan technology to terraform Neptune's largest moon, Triton, into a smaller duplicate of their homeworld, the Gatherer opened a space-warp so that the Neptunians could migrate to safety. This, the legendary Great Migration, is marked as the founding day of the modern Kingdom. The leader of the Migration, Koori, was crowned Queen and a monarchy established. However, the basic rights of the people were steadfastly guaranteed in a constitution similar to Britain's Magna Carta. From that day forth, little change has occurred in Triton's political arena.
The Tritonians (who could also be called Neptunians, both names apply) are a studious, self-disciplined race. They are also attuned to Nature, never again wanting to succumb to the temptations of industrialization, such which lead to Neptune's near-destruction. Most native Tritonian technology centers around environmental upkeep. Weapons, computers and the like are usually imported from abroad. Further, the Tritonians also possess a very valuable piece of Sagussan technology: the Central Warp Chamber, which allows them to remove massive amounts of snow (Neptune is the eighth planet of nine in its home system) over intersystem distances, usually to Earth.
Tritonians are very fair skinned humanoids, possessing light shaded hair (blonde, strawberry, silver, white, platinum, lavender, pink and light purple). Many people's hair usually appears frozen (an off-shoot of their native cold-manipulating abilities). Hair can be melted and remolded, after which it usually freezes again. Tritonians on average live a thousand years.
Uru is the homeworld for two genetically-related branches of the same race, in much the same manner as Earth: Oni-Urusians (those possessing head-mounted horn buds) and Seishin-Urusians (those without the horn-buds). Seishin-Urusians are said to possess some distant relationship with Vosians, but such has yet to be really proven. Like Neptune, Uru's modern history began with its conquest by the Seifukusu Dominion.
With its pre-conquest culture destroyed, its people regulated to second-class citizenship by the invaders, Urusians developed both a sense of racial unity and a subconscious need to follow the example of others. When the time came to overthrow the Dominion, the Urusians simply established the Urusian Empire, governing it with the same type of Houses the Dominion used. Such a state of affairs lasted for six centuries.
During that time, while Urusians were busy consolidating and building their empire, they searched for a planet by which they could seek inspiration to rebuild their society. Ironically, they found it in Earth, the one planet in the local cluster to escape Dominion conquest. Equating the great medieval kingdoms to their own Houses, Urusian lords began to replicate Terran patterns of philosophy and culture. It became a sort of fad among the Houses.
Then the American and French Revolutions occurred on Earth. Urusians were stunned to watch as common people rose up and shattered their feudal monarchies, establishing elected forms of government nominally representing the wishes of all citizens, not just a select few. Such an example sparked the Union Revolution, which shattered the Houses' control over the people and brought down the monarchy. However, like the revolutions on Earth, the Union Revolution did not fully succeed in its purpose.
With the Houses shattered, larger entities called "tribes" came into vogue. The Emperor was replaced by a President elected by the Tribal Council, who were nominally elected by universal suffrage. However, the leaders of the Tribal Council were almost always descent of the old Imperial Houses, thus via a new name, they maintained the pre-Revolution balance of power. Further, the Tribal Council had direct control and command in the Urusian Defence Force (councilors were also active senior military officers), permitting considerable levels of graft and corruption within the defense establishment. And for the normal Urusian citizen, hardly anything changed.
Over the next two centuries, movements sprang up in response to the Union government. One, the Democratic Alliance, was committed to full democratic government, either on the American congressional model or the British parliamentary system. The other was an Imperial backlash against the destruction of the Houses. As best as possible, the Union government tried to be conciliatory to both extremes in Urusian society. But it was only a matter of time before the radicals would launch a violent attempt at overthrowing the government. Such came recently in the Imperial Counter-Revolution led by Yethis Seq. Before it was ended by a joint Terran-Sagussan intervention, the Counter-Revolution effectively destroyed both the Unionist and Imperialist causes, leaving a power vacuum for the democratic forces to sweep in and establish a more just order among Urusians.
The Urusians are a passionate, family-orientated people who care deeply about those they consider friends, are loyal to the point of fanatic over mates, and violently lash out against those who threaten their sense of order. Oni-Urusians possess complex social and mating rituals surrounding their horn-buds (tagging an Oni's horns is an automatic proposal for marriage, save when it is done in the midst of a Tag Race). Seishin-Urusians are more naturalist in thinking, basing their society on complex rituals surrounding the sharing of blood. Almost all Onis can fly and many younger Onis are developing paranormal abilities. Many Seishins can alter their facial features to make them look more Terran. All Urusians possess some mode of psionic ability, usually low-level telepathy. Urusians as a whole possess Terran-length lifespans.
Fukunokami's history is ancient, hardly affected by the influence of Vosian colonists who came at the time of Lecasur, or by the Seifukusu a millennium later. Ancient Fukunokami is said to have been founded by Queen Bensaiten, who united the Ten Tribes into a united kingdom from which modern Fukunokami grew. A race imbedded with a profound lust for battle, physical exertion, gambling, drinking and general merry-making, Fukunokami as a whole deserve the appellation usually applied to them: the Cosmic Lords of Luck.
Unlike Uru or Neptune, Fukunokami hardly suffered under Seifukusu occupation. The invading Houses were absorbed into the local tribal network, then promptly ignored by the local populace. When the Dominion began its roll-back, the Fukunokami barely noticed their departure. Life went on day after day even as technology expanded their horizons from their homeworld into space.
As a people, the Fukunokami could be considered tamer versions of Yehisrites. They are quick to fight, gamble, party or simply be passionate with friends, loved ones and family. Family matters are of less concern on Fukunokami than other worlds. The young are actively encouraged to become independent as soon as they can so they can contribute to society as a whole. Fukunokami are renowned for their love of music (their native instrument is the biwa), cycle-riding (Fukunokami airbikes set the galactic standard) and drinking (Fukunokami super-vodka ranks with Sagussan brandy as the galaxy's most potent alcoholic beverage). Fukunokami as a race are similar to Oriental Terrans, possessing a Terran-type lifespan.
The Fukunokami made contact with Uru sometime before the Union Revolution. Relations were frosty between the Urusians and the Fukunokami until an Urusian destroyer was destroyed saving a Fukunokami colony from Ipraedies raiders. To celebrate that legendary event, the Setsubun end-of-winter ball-toss is held between representatives of the two worlds every year. Uru and Fukunokami joined the Galactic Federation at the same time.
The Union of Fukunokami remained neutral as the Imperialist Counter-Revolution rocked Uru. As of this time, there is no plans to expand the Earth-Sagussa-Uru troika to include Fukunokami.
On the surface, the Galactic Federation's most technologically advanced member state, on par with Vos and Yehisril. In reality, now caught in a growing political crisis over an increasingly mentally deranged monarch. Elle is at a crossroads as its people decide whether to continue to follow their present Rose Queen or abandon her and emerge from their self-imposed isolation.
Ellsians are Sagussan by descent, the planet being first inhabited well before the advance of the age of Gisan'cha. Cut off from the homeworld by the War of Clone Rights, Ellsians continued on their own path, suffering various cultural and social setbacks over their long history. The last attribute they possess from their ancestral race is their subliminal empathic abilities, which only make themselves apparent when under extreme emotional duress. As a race, Ellsians are very handsome Caucasian-type humanoids who on average live somewhat longer than Terran norm.
The modern Kingdom of Elle was founded a thousand years ago in response to the growing Seifukusu threat fast approaching their world. Adam de Rosenbach forged a special defence corps to shield their world from the hordes of the Dominion, keeping the Imperial Houses at bay for generations. His primary achievement was the construction of a rose-shaped planetary defense screen still active to this day. Adam was rewarded for his success by being acclaimed the Rose Emperor and granted the right to establish a new world government. Adam carefully studied the governmental structures of the Seifukusu, the Vosians and the Yehisrites before establishing a dynasty which has renewed itself every generation. Each successive Ellsian head-of-state (since Adam's time, always a woman known by the name "Elle" or typically called the Rose Queen) was nominated by the Royal Senate when but a child. Separated from family at the death or abdication of the incumbent Rose Queen, the new Rose Queen is trained in the arts of statehood before being allowed to assume the throne. The Royal Senate is elected by direct franchise.
The Ellsians are profound lovers of natural beauty, which is easily reflected in their racial motif: a blooming pink rose. They are poets, bards, singers, lovers...the living epitome of peace and tranquility. Their cities are constructed in perfect harmony with Nature, usually build on and around kilometres-high trees. Waste and environmental abuse are unheard of on Elle; such would be degrading to their sense of inner harmony.
However, recently, their harmony has been corrupted by an evil source which remains unknown to this day. The present Rose Queen, Adam's descendant Amora de Rosenbach, the sixty-fourth Queen Elle, began at an early age to collect her many "lovers" in a great cryogenic suspension unit known as the Refrigerator of Love. By the time of the Urusian Imperial Counter-Revolution, 100,000 of these "cute boys" are in the Refrigerator. Further, Queen Elle has nearly gone to war with both Uru and Zephyrus on several occasions in a vain attempt to obtain the love of Sagussa's daimon'cha, Ataru Moroboshi. Finally, after offering sanctuary to Yehisrite expatriates, Elle is currently engaged in the forging of an indigenous corps of Freemason-trained warriors to be known as the Black Roses. One could only assume where such a course will lead the Rose Kingdom.
The Tengu are an ancient avian race who later socially merged with a Vosian-like humanoid race to forge the most unique society in the local cluster. Superb artisans and scientists, the Tengu are recognized galactic leaders in the arts of genetic research and medicine. Yet in other ways, they are a tradition-bound race still fractured and held back by ancient gender-based laws.
The Tengu avians (known simply as Tengu) forged their society over many millennia, since probably the time of the Sagussan Fourth Republic. However, recognizing that they would require a much stronger race to better protect themselves against the increasing numbers of hominoid races, they proceeded forth and brought humans to live with them on their world. The descendants of these immigrants (whose origins still remain a mystery) are known commonly as Tengu humanoids. Eventually, the Tengu humanoids were made political equals to their avian hosts, the relations developing to the point where the head-of-state on Tengu is nominally a humanoid. Tengu avians are extremely long-lived, but their exact lifespan is unknown. Tengu humanoids usually live double the lifespan of Terrans.
Both Tengu races live under a unified code of ethics and justice which force considerable social restraints on individuals. The most glaring example is the rights and entitlement expected of each gender, usually better demonstrated among humanoid Tengu. Tengu humanoid males (what few are born these days) are granted the right to participate in marriage. Tengu humanoid females cannot, but are still highly expected to bear many offspring. What occurs with avian Tengu is still relatively unknown. Further, all Tengu live by ancient codes passed down from generation to generation, codes which are so inflexible, the mere proposal of change would ostracize even the most politically powerful of Tengu.
The Tengu have suffered considerably over the last couple of millennia. The Seifukusu obliterated all humanoid male Tengu, thus forcing female Tengu leaders on nearly endless quests to seek mates to bear healthy offspring. Only recently have a small number of male humanoid children been born, all interracial matings. Then came an Ipraedies invasion centuries later, which was repulsed by the Vosians. After the Mikado's ascension to power, the Tengu, disgusted by his repressive form of dictatorship, shifted their political allegiance to the new Galactic Federation. They remain a weak military player in galactic politics, wedged between two large middle powers (Elle and Ipraedos) and one of the three local superpowers (Vos).
The Vosians are one of the most technologically and socially advanced races in the local cluster. One of the three local galactic superpowers (with Yehisril and Zephyrus), the Vosian Confederation has for nearly two millennia set the standard for relations between sentient races. Despite a recent period when the Confederation was ruled by a military dictatorship, Vosians retain much of the high levels of respect and admiration they spent centuries building.
Vosians are a Caucasoid-type humanoid race, their most apparent physical trait being their elegantly tapered ears. Born with five-century lifespans, Vosians age in the same manner as Terrans until age 14, when they experience Stop Time. Their aging process then ceases for five years, when they experience an Age Day (where they physically age one year in one day's time). Most Vosian-descent hybrids age in this same manner.
Vosians are also blessed with unique psionic powers. Their chief ability is their brainwave-tracking power, in which they can detect other sentient beings through naturally-produced psionic brain emanations (brainwaves). Their powers are physically demonstrated by a luminescence which appears in their eyes. They possess limited telepathic powers, mostly restricted to psi-linking. Vosians also have the ability to empathically bond themselves with any intelligent form of life. This act is known as pe'cha.
Finally, Vosians as a norm both psionically and genetically bond with potential life-mates in an act known as recognition. Recognition can only occur once per mate. Vosians can recognize all known iron-blooded carbon-based humanoid races, although their ability to recognize is almost always blunted when dealing with Sagussans and their inbred revulsion to any form of "genetic enslavement." When Vosians recognize a mate, the bond normally evolves into marriage. Further, because of the power of recognition, spousal abuse and divorce are almost unknown among Vosians.
While Vosians as a norm see each other as equals regardless of sex or sexual preference, Vosian females hang onto several indigenous gender traits. Vosian women do not cut their hair until having given birth or married. Lesbian Vosians cut their hair very short as a sign of their gender preference. The cutting of hair by anyone other than a woman's mate is seen as a severe form of rape.
Vosians possess a highly developed form of personal immodesty. Taboos surrounding nudity practically do not exist on Vos. Swimwear, underwear and other such garments are seen as socially regressive (but Vosians do acknowledge other races' taboos). However, while one can look, one cannot either make lewd comments or physical contact (unless one is a mate, then the latter is obviously permitted).
Vosians as a norm respect all sentient forms of life as equals regardless of their level of technology (or lack of same). The Prime Directive of Vos, which demands that no Vosian can interfere in the affairs of other races, is seen as the galactic standard.
For two millennia, Vos maintained a social democratic form of government based around a ceremonial president, an elected parliament and strong colonial governments. However, in recent times, social and governmental decay began to creep into the Confederation as Vosians became more exposed to other races and ways of life. As corruption and graft became widespread, a puritanical movement surged forth to depose the old government and install as ruler the Mikado, a famed war hero of the Vosian-Ipraedies conflict.
At first, the normal lives of Vosians were not affected as the Mikado eliminated all forms of social corruption. But as he became more hungry for power, basic civil rights were eroded away until the foundations of Lecasur's "free, just and equal" society were destroyed. Vosian children possessing the best tracking potential were kidnapped days after birth and methodically trained to become soldiers in a legion of psi-hunters serving as the Mikado's secret police. Relations between the Confederation and its neighbours, especially long-time ally Yehisril, became strained as the Mikado greedily eyed any opportunity to expand his sphere of power. Several brutal incidents (the Colony Four massacre, for example) kept the Mikado in check...and at the same time, forced Vosians to wonder if the Mikado was really a solution or just a new problem.
Sometime ago, Colony 71 was destroyed when the Mikado's secret police attempted to recapture a renegade hunter named Nassur. The mindless slaughter of 300,000 innocents was the last straw for many Vosians. A brutal civil war flared up as the colonies rebelled against the Mikado, determined to take back control of their lives. After three-and-a-half decades of harsh battle which soon involved many other planets, the Mikado was finally deposed, killed by Ataru Moroboshi in the second Colony Four massacre when his machinations involved Sagussa, Earth and Uru. At present, Vos is in the middle of a badly needed period of reconstruction, healing a century's worth of bitter wounds in the hopeful light of a promise for a new tomorrow.
The second of the local galactic superpowers, Yehisril is a blend of high technology and feudal tradition which has endured for over two millennia. This curious mix of past and present gives the Yehisrites a dynamic edge which makes them both feared and respected by many other powers.
Yehisrites as a race are typically Caucasoid-type humanoids with suntanned pink-brown skin. Usually quite muscular, Yehisrites are one of the fastest maturing races in the local cluster, reaching puberty by age 12 and maturity by age 16. Yehisrites are believed to be able to live for five hundred years, but such has been rarely demonstrated due to their lust for combat. Yehisrites, prior to entering puberty, undergo the Wild Time, a month-long period when their bodies undergo massive hormonal changes, eliciting a storm of uncontrolled emotions. Usually, when not in the heat of battle, Yehisrites are a reserved, somewhat socially detached people. Hair is normally cut short for both men and women (long hair is seen as a considerable disadvantage in battle).
The basic code-words of Yehisrite society are duty, loyalty and honour. Yehisrites are instilled with a strong code of behaviour reminiscent of the classic medieval knights of Europe or the samurai of Japan. It is the basic belief of Yehisrites that human beings exists to fight, so fight. In armed battle, Yehisrites are unmatched by any other race. They eschew firearms for edged weapons, thinking that guns are better used for more dishonourable foes. And their guns are quite nasty: the qu'f-piaqu'r particle photon musket is seen as one of the most deadliest hand-held weapons available today.
Yehisrites are a very rank-orientated race. Almost all Yehisrites see themselves as belonging to a feudal chain-of-command which extends from themselves to their local count or baron, then to their earl or duke, then to their laqu'r (crown prince) or the Lord Protector, their head-of-state. However, the numbers of ilfrim'rim (masterless warriors) are on the increase. Social rank on Yehisril is achieved in one of three ways: by the natural death of the immediate superior, by revenge-killing or by honour duels. The basic difference between Yehisril and medieval Japan is that while the warrior classes have the right to kill anyone they please, the common people have the intrinsic right to defend themselves. Thus, all Yehisrites are never seen without some sort of weapon regardless of social station.
Yehisrites are also a very family-orientated race. Fidelity to the head-of-house is expected and demanded of younger Yehisrites. To not know one's place of origin is seen as a terrible tragedy. Orphans practically do not exist on Yehisril; children and young adults without parents or any family to fall back on are quickly adopted by other families, usually considered step-children to the head-of-house (this is the relationship Nassur possesses with Varanko). Further, while feudal in outlook, Yehisrites are a very egalitarian society. No one regardless of sex is excluded from any possible position of service.
Yehisril was politically united fifteen centuries ago when the three ancient kingdoms of Falcros, Varakos and Kyotos united under one crown. This was also about the time of their first alien contact, with the Vosians. At first unstable due to the uncontrolled trading of technology from Vos to Yehisril (this was in the days before the Prime Directive), relations between the two interplanetary states eventually smoothed over. Yehisrites, while typically wary of aliens, believe it is dishonourable to impose their ways on other races. Further, many Yehisrites, to quench their thirst for battle, work as mercenaries, a career choice considered quite honourable.
Yehisril remained an empire until a century ago, when the central imperial family was eliminated, to be replaced by a Lord Protector nominated from the Central Council of laqu'rs. This allowed the principalities to maintain a powerful sense of autonomy while still forging a single government by which Yehisrites as a whole could deal with other races. By this time, contact had been initiated with the Galactic Federation and the Zephyrites. Further, the Yehisrites entered a state of undeclared war against the Ipraedies. Due to the civil war on Vos, the Federation was forced to turn to the Yehisrites for military protection and trade, which has certainly enhanced the personal fortunes of many local lords and merchants. However, a backlash against this exchange is expected from the more isolationist sect of Yehisrite society, centered around Kyotos' laqu'r, Sheko.
Yehisril possesses the galaxy's most famed law-enforcement agency, the Imperial Corps of Executioners. Independent of the laqu'rs' influence, the Corps are a dedicated band of warrior-lawmen who literally do not rest until they have tracked down their targets. The current Lord High Executioner, Varanko, has also earned a reputation for being Lord Protector Alko's personal hatchet-man whenever a problem needed solving (Varanko was the organizer of the first Colony Four massacre). However, recognizing the limits of his own powers, Varanko has walked around that by privately training independent bounty hunters to better extend his influence over the local cluster. It has worked; look at his two most famous students: Dakejinzou Shogai and Nassur.
The Ipraedies are a race born with zeal and passion, but have the ill-luck to be situated between two of the local superpowers (Vos and Yehisril), plus the strengthening Galactic Federation. A society in the midst of dynamic change, the Ipraedies have earned a vicious reputation for cruelty and brutality which, in truth, belies the true nature of these people.
Ipraedies are a green-skinned race possessing very swarthy features reminiscent of Arabians. They typically live Terran-type lifespans.
The Ipraedies are a proud and willful people, their pride normally bordering on arrogance which gives them a hideously jaundiced view of non-Ipraedies. Xenophobia is a common trait among many Ipraedies, although it is usually demonstrated with contempt, even hatred, for non-Ipraedies. Many Ipraedies believe it is their race's destiny to conquer the whole galaxy, so they condone all sorts of outrages which their agents and warriors unleash on other races. Unfortunately, most of the Imperial government are of this line of thinking, which has got the Empire into trouble with neighbouring races time and time again.
However, that is just the surface of Ipraedies society. In truth. the Ipraedies are a very socially tolerant people. Homophobia and sexism does not exist on Ipraedos. The Ipraedies are also very protective of friends and family. It is said that no one could conceive of acts of revenge better than Ipraedies.
Over the last few centuries, the inherent xenophobia in most Ipraedies was challenged by a philosophy of openness and acceptance of other peoples and their ways. First arising after Ipraedos' conquest of Aimaiyu, this philosophy, whose adherents call themselves Dowe'on (star guardians), has been gaining more and more acceptance with the common folk. In response, a Ipraedos-centric movement has risen to try to check the Dowe'on's growing grass-roots power. The Asan'on (home guardians) are just as committed to maintaining the standoffish approach Ipraedies take with other races. The conflict between Dowe'on and Asan'on is now reaching crisis proportions. Civil war is now seen as inevitable.
The Ipraedies, well over a century ago, overthrew their feudal monarchy and replaced it with a Soviet-style socialist regime espousing galactic revolution. Their interference in Vosian affairs sparked the brief Vos-Ipraedos War, which resulted in the first major humiliation for these people. Such resulted in the restoration of the monarchy, strongly controlled by the Asan'on. Further, their interference with other races has turned the borders of the Ipraedies Empire into areas of perpetual conflict. In an attempt to break out of their isolation, the Empire has tried to take control of the Earth-Triton sector in hopes of shattering the Galactic Federation. All attempts failed thanks to Urusian or Sagussan intervention. That, added onto other failures, has seriously brought into question the fitness of Emperor Schwartz to continue as head-of-state. The Dowe'on are now strongly backing Schwartz's overthrow, hoping the more liberally-minded Crown Prince Schwartzkoff can lead the Empire into a brighter future.
The largest and most powerful of the galactic Big Three, Zephyrus is an ancient world composing the last remnants of the Sagussan Fourth Republic. Steeped in dynamic theology, driven by a spiritual fervor which matches the Yehisrites' zeal for battle, yet like the Vosians, mindful and respectful of other societies and their faiths, the Zephyrites are a complex race whose power makes them feared and respected by everyone in the local cluster.
Zephyrites are Sagussan by descent. Their hair, eye and skin colours possess the same range as Earth although Zephyrites possess angular Caucasian-like facial features. They normally live eight to ten centuries. Like Sagussans, Zephyrites possess awesome telepathic and empathic powers, which usually work best via physical contact. However, the impact of their inherent abilities sent the Zephyrites down a far different path than the Sagussans.
Zephyrites are very spiritual, but prefer a doctrinal form of spirituality than the "faith in oneself" approach the Sagussans take. They believe in the Supreme Being (the creator of the Universe), the conflicting forces of Creation and Entropy, the story of Ashi and the creation of the Sagussan race and the story of how Ram and Atar, the legendary couple which destroyed the mythic Tomobiki, laid the foundations for Sagussan (and thus Zephyrite) society. However, while the Sagussans keep their ancient mythology in its place, these stories became the core of Zephyrite theology and society. Further, the Zephyrites, while paying homage and respect to the Ancient Homeworld, believe that their removal from Sagussa was divinely instigated so that the Zephyrites will not plunge down the dark path the Sagussans travelled which led them to the Clone Wars.
Over time, like the Christian church's evolution on Earth, the Zephyrite church also splintered as different interpretations of the holy texts became widespread. However, following their philosophy of not following Sagussan ways, the Zephyrite churches engaged in peaceful competition to win worshippers. Eventually, theological and political chains of command were united in one system...and over the millennia, Zephyrus became a model religious society the likes of which Christian and Islamic fundamentalists could only dream of!
Zephyrus' faithful are divided into six main church groups: Orthodox, Orthodox Reform, Protestant, Protestant Reform, Scripturalist and Social Reform. Orthodox and Orthodox Reform Zephyrites are normally centralist to right wing conservatives. Protestants and Protestant Reform Zephyrites are centralist to left wing liberals. Scripturalists are right-wing strict adherents to Zephyrite holy texts while Social Reformers are committed to the general separation of theology from politics. Minor cult-like groups also exist, but are given very little political or social power. Further, Zephyrites are warming to the idea of allowing their people to adhere to the beliefs of outworlders should they fall in love with them, although no outworlder church is allowed to send missionaries into the Republic.
Zephyrites regardless of church affiliation are not permitted to marry until they are chronologically 100 years old. While normal Terran-type forms of courting are common, another way of becoming engaged to a Zephyrite is to save his/her life, as Ataru Moroboshi did with Sunhair Windrider. However, should the person engaged to a Zephyrite be a short-lived outworlder, they normally would be cryofrozen until the Zephyrite is 100 years old before being allowed to marry. The Zephyrite government recently amended that law, allowing short-lived fiances to undergo genetic lifespan-enhancement treatment to give them a Zephyrite's lifespan. This certainly served to alleviate any potential marriage problems.
Zephyrites as a whole frown on any form of "heresy" against the good of their society, or when dealing with matters outside the Republic's borders, the good of galactic peace. To deal with these types of problems, the Republic has its own special force, which could be considered their version of the Executioners of Yehisril: the Holy Inquisition. Inquisitors are vigorously trained in both religious and legal doctrine. They are easily considered one of the most elite group of hunters in the local cluster. Those normally found guilty of gross heresy face excommunication (a vicious form of execution which is so physically and mentally painful, even senior Inquisitors are loath to describe it!).
Zephyrites, on rare occasion, bestow awesome bishop-level powers on non-believers who spiritually or temporally enhance the lives of normal Zephyrites. Such people are known as Righteous Gentiles. Such was the case when Nagaiwakai Moroboshi helped starve off famine on a dozen colony worlds through her vast knowledge of farming.
Finally, Zephyrites are a very tolerant people...except when you commit some form of heresy against their sense of galactic order. If it is just one person, then the Inquisition can handle the matter. But if it is a whole race, as the Seifukusu Dominion learned to their cost one day, then the Zephyrites unleash a Holy Crusade, which is total warfare at its worst. The mere threat of a Crusade has always hung over other races when dealing with the Republic.
In recent times, the Zephyrites have been called on by the United Nations of Earth to keep the more aggressive elements from both Uru and Ipraedos at bay. Further, the relations between Nagaiwakai Moroboshi and the Protestant Reform Church kept the Mikado from being more active against Nassur's many Terran allies until Ataru's connection to Sagussa became known to him. After Ataru officially became daite'cha of the Fifth Republic, Sagussa took over watching over Earth, allowing the Zephyrites to turn their attention elsewhere.
An isolationist race who are still recovering from their experience at being occupied by alien invaders, the Noukiites are firm believers in the ideas of predestination and reincarnation. Somewhat Buddhist in nature, Noukiites are a very caste-orientated society which are still resisting the necessary changes that could allow them to become a dynamic interplanetary power.
Noukiites are Oriental-type humanoids possessing a bony forehead prominence which extends over their heads and down their backs. Their hair and eye colours span various shades of green, blue and silver. Noukiites do not possess indigenous powers per se, but do have the potential to weld tremendous psionic powers if their DNA is properly manipulated. They on average live Terran-type lifespans.
Noukiites believe that when one is born into a particular caste, that is one's fate in life until death and reincarnation in a new caste and form. If one is born a slave, one must remain a slave, for example. This does not sour their outlook on life; quite the contrary, they look forward to death and a trip back to the reincarnation pool for their next go-around in this world. Noukiios could be seen as a more expressive version of India.
Noukiios became the first planet to be conquered by the new Urusian Empire when it broke into space three centuries ago. The Noukiites overthrew their alien masters a century later when the Union Revolution toppled the Houses. Still to this day, relations between Noukiios and Uru are very frosty. Noukiites would gladly watch the whole Urusian race die off and not be disturbed by it (in their eyes, Urusians would be reborn as dogs, the lowest animals in Noukiite culture).
Noukiios is presently suffering from widespread crop failures and famine, which is now being alleviated thanks to assistance from Sagussa. Her most famous daughter is a slave child, who later became Ataru Moroboshi's first child Reiko.
Hard work, determination, drive and no use for the middle man: the hallmarks of Zeiwanite society. Zeiwan is a dynamic young power, one of the cornerstones of the Galactic Federation. An advocate of peaceful relations between all galactic states. And all this arose from the most horrible war since Sagussa's Clone Rights Wars: Zeiwan's Atomic Wars.
Zeiwanites as a race are gold-skinned Oriental-type humanoids possessing angular, tapered physical features. Their hair and eye colours span the spectrum. They normally live Terran-type lifespans.
Zeiwan, three hundred years ago, was split apart between two warring factions similar to Earth's Cold War conflict. However, while Earth was able to extract itself from such a standoff, the Zeiwanites plunged into an atomic nightmare which nearly destroyed Zeiwan. However, while other races would have given up the ghost, the survivors of the Atomic Wars simply brushed themselves off and set out to rebuild their world. Impressed by their determination to survive and carry on, Yehisril extended economic and environmental aid. Within fifty years, Zeiwan was a healthy world again, its people breaking out into space. Fifty years after that, they became one of the founding nations of the Galactic Federation.
Zeiwanites possess Ipraedies-level tolerance towards gender and gender preference. Their native shamanist sect, Sensualism, which rose in the wake of the Atomic Wars, espouses the physical love of oneself and others. Sensualism is fast becoming one of the most active dynamic faiths in the Federation, attracting converts from all over. Ataru Moroboshi's sister Nokoko and her Nendo-kata friends used Sensualist handfasting rituals to bond with each other. Presently, theologians from as far away as Zephyrus and Vos are studying Sensualism, trying to better comprehend and perhaps adopt its anything-goes philosophy to their own indigenous faiths.
Zeiwanites are people who prefer direct contact with each other. Unions, lawyers, agents and other such personnel service occupations do not exist in the United Republic for the simple fact that they are not seen as being needed. Further, Zeiwan's government is a marketocracy, whose representatives are active businesspeople. Further, Zeiwan, as an outgrowth of its recovery from the Atomic Wars, is one of the largest users and exporters of artificial intelligence lifeforms (androids and sentient computers). One such android (in truth a cyborg), Ayara, became a close friend of Shinobu Miyaki before she was supposedly killed in the second Colony Four massacre.
Recently, the last chapter of the Atomic Wars came to a close when the Lost Ones of Zeiwan, refugees from the conflict who became empathic vampires due to radiation exposure, were cured with Sagussan assistance and repatriated to the Republic.
An imitative and passionate but very uncreative race, the Niphentaxians are the bane of the Galactic Federation. They could easily be accepted as dynamic members of the alliance were they not so passionate in venerating one person and one city: Lum and Tomobiki...not to mention trying to destroy another person: Ataru Moroboshi.
Niphentaxians are Vosian-like humanoids possessing Terran-type lifespans. They do not possess any forms of indigenous powers save for their keen ability to duplicate and master technology, social and cultural mores of other races.
The Niphentaxians, for as long as could be remembered, have always been on the lookout for some sort of person or object which they could focus their loyalty and spirituality on. While this may not be so different from what other races do, the Niphentaxians take it to an insane extreme, as witness their latest fad-turned-cult: the Church of Lum.
Twelve years ago, Oogi, the son of a magistrate, was saved from the horrors of the Terrible Swamps by Lum. Such a selfless act endeared the Oni to the Niphentaxian...and by the time he returned back to his homeworld, he had already formulated the basis of the new religion which was to sweep across Phentax Two like wildfire. In under five years, the whole planet had been terraformed to resemble a more Earth-like version of Uru. Urusian styles of dress and deportment were adopted. Urusian technology was carefully copied and employed. Urusian became the second language of Phentax Two. And when Lum was nearly killed by Mikado hunters, the Niphentaxians happily sent a biological warfare missile to Lecashuto, killing five million innocent civilians in the name of their goddess.
And then Lum moved to Tomobiki.
The Niphentaxians were utterly stunned to see that almost everyone in Tomobiki had in one way or another become endeared to the Oni they also worshipped. In a year's time, every city on Phentax Two became doubles of Tomobiki. The Church of Lum divided into numerous sects which venerated the Five Holy Apostles (Megane, Chibi, Paama, Kakugari and Mendou), the Holy Company (Benten, Oyuki, Nassur, Sakura, Cherry, Ten-chan and Ryuunosuke), even the Sinful Doubters (Lan and Shinobu)! Oogi himself underwent facial surgery and became a double of Shutaro Mendou. But there was a problem. One person in Tomobiki was not going along with what the others were doing: Ataru Moroboshi. In fact, to the Niphentaxians, Ataru seemed to be hogging their beloved Lum-sama all to himself. He immediately became the Great Evil, the devil-icon of the Church of Lum.
For two years, Lum succeeded in keeping the Niphentaxians at bay, preventing them from trying to kill her Darling. But days after Lum and Ataru forged their pre-nuptial agreement, the Niphentaxians went on the warpath, believing that the Great Evil was about to destroy their Beloved Goddess and Her Holy Company. Ataru blunted that attempt and, in trying to save Lum from a terrible curse, wound up destroying a Niphentaxian colony. Oogi never forgot that "crime" even if Lum ordered him to back off. Then they learned that Ataru was about to become Sagussa's daite'cha. They quickly teamed with Yethis Seq and the Urusian Imperials to try to destroy Ataru. Wrong move. Ataru and Sagussa turned around and in two decisive battles, pulverized the Niphentaxians, nearly destroying the Church of Lum; a prelude to the Urusian Imperial Counter-Revolution.
Phentax Two is now rebuilding. One could only guess as to the fate of the Church of Lum.
The Seifukusu Dominion were the galactic bad guys when the Ipraedies were still stuck on their swampy homeworld and the Niphentaxians were still in their Dark Ages. Having never changed over the fifteen centuries of its existence, the Dominion to this day remains a constant threat to the safety and security of the local cluster.
The Dominion is dominated by the Seifukusu, a blue-skinned Oriental-like humanoid race possessing no indigenous powers. Seifukusu hair and eye colours range between white, orange, green, blue, purple and black. Female Seifukusu are typically quite attractive, quick-witted and intelligent. Male Seifukusu are brutish, warlike and physically repulsive.
Over five centuries, the Seifukusu expanded their power over their sector of space, conquering planet after planet, absorbing many slave races into their sphere of influence. Then, a millennium ago, the Houses lashed out and conquered in quick succession Neptune, Uru, Fukunokami and Tengu, halted only by Elle and Vos. Over the next couple of centuries, the Seifukusu exploited the resources of these worlds before being rolled back when the individual Houses began to squabble amongst themselves over future expansion, which allowed the native races the chance to overthrow their masters. The Dominion quickly retreated into isolation as it tried to reassert control of what it still possessed. Future attempts at expansion were soon blunted by the Zephyrites, who excommunicated (executed) a whole planet to teach the Dominion a lesson it would not forget. Only recently has the Dominion come out of its isolation.
The Dominion is split among twenty Imperial Houses, each of which possess its own homeworld and various other colonies. Each of the Houses are lead by a Mage, the collection of which form the central ruling council of the Dominion, the Magate Round. In turn, the Round elects the First Mage, the Seifukusu head-of-state. Each of the Houses are very patriarchal in structure. Lineage is passed from elder son to elder son. Women, while having no political rights, do exercise considerable influence on their mates, which does heavily influence policy. Each of the Houses possesses its own armed forces, plus there is a Magate Round Fleet serving the First Mage.
Despite its obvious feudal structure, the Seifukusu Dominion is not a harsh place for its inhabitants. Seifukusu who do not belong to the Imperial Houses can form their own Houses if they perform some meritous deed for the Dominion. Even more, the slave races possess considerable social autonomy, a natural outcome of the bad experiences the Dominion had with the Neptunians and the Urusians. Native culture is slowly reviving among the Dominion's component races. Minor colonies are run by Umanoshippo synthezoid "controllers" and "breakers" who respond to the central council whenever the Imperial Houses cannot spare resources to manage them directly. The success of these colonies have earned the synthezoids (and by extension Dakejinzou Shogai since she hails from the same race) the distinction of being the "Special House" in the Dominion, with political influence as great as the Imperial Houses themselves.
One can only assume where the Dominion's course will take it next.
An isolationist race living in a remote corner of the local cluster, the Hustari remained somewhat aloof from local affairs until a terrible plague brought them full-force into the galactic spotlight. Thanks to Ataru Moroboshi's intervention, the Hustari were spared total extinction and are now slowly rebuilding their wounded republic with the help of their nearest neighbours, the Zephyrites.
The Hustari are similar to the Umanoshippo save for the fact that they do not possess the spinal ridge of hair or a tail. The Hustari are unique in galactic society because they are split not into two but five discernable genders: males, females, mems (XX-chromosome females with strong male traits), fems (XY-chromosome males with strong female traits) and herms (hermaphrodites). Naturally, this produced a tolerance for alternate lifestyles among the Hustari even the Ipraedies and the Zeiwanites would admire.
The Hustari are a egalitarian society slowly emerging from a period of self-imposed isolation after its initial burst into space. Encountering races which only possessed two genders stunned the Hustari, making them wonder why they were so unique. This bred a touch of fear, even xenophobia, among the Hustari, who quickly withdrew into an isolationist stance with their close neighbours. Such would nearly prove fatal.
Ages ago, the Hustari were hit with kokushibyou, their indigenous version of Earth's bubonic plague. Their race nearly was destroyed until the Gatherer intervened with a life-saving drug derived from a plant taken from the planet Nekotengu Four. Recently, the deadly plague returned, forcing the Hustari to locate Ataru Moroboshi in hopes of saving their people. Ataru and Dakejinzou Shogai teamed up to travel to Nekotengu Four and retrieve enough of the plants to prevent global extinction. With that close call, the Hustari realized that despite the profound differences which separated them from other humanoid races, an isolationist stance could no longer serve them.
As their planet recovers, the Hustari are now exploring increasing contacts with Zephyrus. Further, to prevent another plague outbreak, they are also considering sending expeditions to Nekotengu Four.
The Nekotengu are best described as anthropomorphic cats, humanoid in all respects save for fur-covered skin, feline ears at the temples and a prehensile tail. Males are very large and muscular. Female are slight and quite attractive. Nekotengu have the ability to absorb another's language on skin contact. They are presently at the pre-agrarian stage of social development, divided into small nomadic tribes inhabiting the temperate and tropical regions of their homeworld.
However, the Nekotengu have had intermittent contact with alien races, mostly Zephyrite explorers who come by their way often. They address offworlders as "no tails." The Nekotengu, for their lack of technology, are quite open and tolerant of visitors, welcoming them as if they were visiting tribespeople. Further, Nekotengu can mate with other humanoid races, although visitors try to avoid this as best as possible.
Nekotengu tribes are very patriarchal in composition. Women are merely seen as breeders, not even having the right to earn a name unless a male grants them one. This forced a small group of six women to split off their tribe and go live on their own. However, this could have killed them for Nekotengu females are driven by genetics to bear kittens as soon as they pass into adulthood (in much the same manner as Nendo-kata after they have Crossed Over). Fortunately, this small tribe were saved by the arrival of (who else?) Ataru Moroboshi when he and Dakejinzou Shogai were on the Hustari mission. Ataru arranged for the women to mate with a male outcast.
They come from a watery world in another galaxy far away. Unable to forge any level of technology, but surely the most spiritually advanced race in all of Creation. The only examples of this remarkable species living in the Milky Way are the members of a school now living in Oshika on Earth. One only wonders what sort of impact the Nendo-kata would have if they came to this galaxy en masse!
The Nendo-kata are mollusk-like beings, at full development the size of a truck. They are capable of living for two thousand years on average. They are an all-female race, reproducing using a natural form of parthenogenesis aided by their telekinetic powers. They also possess Sagussan-level telepathic and empathic projection powers, plus are also telekinetic. And they have the remarkable ability to literally transform themselves into any form of carbon-based life in the profound ritual known as the Crossing Over.
The Nendo-kata are fervent believers in the concept of Unity, which matches the Dowe'on-Aimaiyite concept of the ehn in basic structure. In the eyes of the Nendo-kata, all sentient beings regardless of actual form belong to the Universal School, bound together by their intelligence and capacity for emotions. Each race forms a "great school" which is then divided into individual schools. In the eyes of the Nendo-kata, no intelligent being should be isolated from others. All must become part of the Unity...and if the Nendo-kata themselves must forge such Unity, then so be it. The Crossing Over plays a very vital part in their beliefs.
Nendo-kata are violently opposed to all acts of disUnity (anything which in their eyes disrupts the Unity). Purveyors of disUnity are ruthlessly hunted down and either converted to the Unity's ways, of if they have become sub-creatures (in their eyes, anyone who is beyond hope of saving), destroyed. With their telepathic and telekinetic powers, that would make them a vile threat to anyone out to do another harm, as Tomobiki has learned much to its cost at the hands of Nokoko's school. They, being water-breathing mollusks, worship the Mother Ocean (the source of all life). Each Nendo-kata school normally contains beings acting as a matriarch (a leader), a sage (priestess), a defender (warrior), a messenger (travelling bard) and gatherers (those who obtain food). In Nokoko's school, the roles are filled as follows:
However, given the fact that Nendo-kata must also adopt to the society they strive to be a part of, these roles easily change.
Virtually any female from any race can mate with a Nendo-kata after the Crossing Over, as witness Nokoko's mating with Mal and Osooko's mating with Asuka. Vosian women can easily recognize transformed Nendo-kata, as witness Pamanba's bonding with Clarisse. A transformed Nendo-kata retains her lifespan and powers (and can pass them on to their mates if necessary), plus inheriting what indigenous abilities their template's races possess (as witness Mal's ability to throw lightning when she became Lum's sister).
When the Niphentaxians settled Phentax Twelve, they stumbled onto a dormant bioroid factory satellite which had been left behind by the Sagussan Fourth Republic in the wake of the Clone Rights War. When they activated it, they discovered that they could mass-produce countless number of female bioroids, which helped them settle and tame their new colony world. These bioroids as a whole call themselves Avalonians.
Originally, Avalonians were constructed in the direct image of Niphentaxians. However, as the Niphentaxians became determined to separate themselves from their new slave race, Avalonians were later produced with rounded ears. Some Avalonians were templated from other races, hence they possess whatever physical features and powers their templates possessed.
The Avalon project was launched by the Sagussans to see if a race and society could develop without the social problems the need to reproduce imposed. To further this idea, the bioroid production satellite was programmed only to create females. Sent to Phentax Twelve, the Avalonians were ordered to get to work...then the Clone Rights War came. The Avalonians, deciding that they could not carry on the experiment if their creators were not alive, ceased the project and all bioroids were genetically recycled into the factory's gene pool.
When the Niphentaxians arrived, they convinced the central computer to produce bioroids so they could build a society on Phentax Twelve together. The factory got to work. Bioroids were normally created to be personal sexual companions to the terraformers and construction workers. Over a period of time, the abuse and misuse heaped by the Niphentaxians on the Avalonians became so profound that the latter began to address the former simply as Invaders.
And then the Church of Lum was formed. The Avalonians paid it no heed at first, but with the growing fanaticism of the Church's worshippers, the bioroids decided that the time had come to sever themselves from the Niphentaxians. Of course, Oogi's people did not like that idea at all, so Otako (a priestess of the Hegane sect) used a cursed orb forged by the Old Lady of the Oak Forest (the one which appeared in "Remember My Love") to stifle attempts by the Avalonians to emancipate themselves. That state of affairs remained until Ataru Moroboshi and Lum freed the factory by destroying the orb, which destroyed Phentax Twelve. Fortunately, no Avalonian was killed in the process.
With the central computer's sentience, Gloriana, now living in a body templated from Lum, thus freeing the Avalonians from any obligations to the factory, the bioroids have moved to an abandoned Sagussan colony world bordering Seifukusu space. Calling their new world New Avalon, the bioroids are busy building a society they could really call their own. Gloriana and a small cadre of other bioroids templated from the Tomobiki Gang now live on Earth. New Avalon is ruled, ironically, by a bioroid double of Otako. With the near-total destruction of the Niphentaxians by the Sagussans, the Avalonians are secure from any threats from their former masters. Further, their position on the border between the Dominion and the Federation guarantees their neutrality in galactic affairs; neither side wishes to try to woo the Avalonians for fear of the other side launching a war to stop it. Also, the Avalonians have welcome males to their world, either outcast Niphentaxians, humanoid Lannarkites or an Oni-like race calling themselves Tokkaebi (a wandering race whose original homeworld, located in Vosian space, was destroyed during the Vosian Civil War).
No one knows where they come from. No one knows why these beings attack all mammalian humanoid races with such insane fervor. No one knows what is their ultimate goal. All everyone does know is that when you encounter this race, be prepared to fight to the death or die yourself...for if you become their prisoner, you would wish they had killed you. These are the Lannarkites.
So little is actually known about these beings. The insectoid Lannarkites are a mix of beetle and wasp, usually standing two metres tall, their bodies divided into three parts. Heavily armoured, they possess a vicious stinger at the end of their bodies. Insectoid Lannarkites are divided into various sub-groups: queens, breeders, soldiers, workers, drones and healer-drones. Queens, breeders, soldiers and workers are the only ones capable of reproduction.
Their form of reproduction is what makes the Lannarkites so fearsome. When eggs are fertilized, queens and breeders insert them in the living body of a host organism, usually a mammalian humanoid. The egg rapidly matures (a three-month gestation period), then on hatching, transforms the host into a Lannarkite. Regardless to say, the host dies at hatching time, a death considered the most gristly fate possible.
However, there is another species of Lannarkite appearing: humanoid Lannarkites. Although born in the same manner as their insectoid brethren, that is where the similarity ends. While possessing features reminiscent of human beings, these Lannarkites have armoured skin, multi-segmented eyes, bony ridges, a combined skeleton and endoskeleton plus body hair. Female humanoid Lannarkites also have breasts and can bear children like mammalian species. Further, humanoid Lannarkites can interbreed with mammalian species as proven on Kurakoa.
The insectoids address humanoids as "mutants." Humanoids address insectoids as "drones" regardless of their actual working position in the hive. The animosity between the two branches of Lannarkite society is quite profound. Insectoids fear that humanoid Lannarkites will ally themselves with the "fur-skins" (mammalian humanoids) to destroy their race. Humanoids believe that fur-skins are just as intelligent as Lannarkites and deserve to be treated equally and fairly.
Due to the lack of knowledge concerning this race, a lot of knowledge about Lannarkite society is purely speculation. Only time will tell if this race will continue to be the bane of the local cluster.
THE TOFUNOKOIBITO (Tofunokoibito) - Lupica's and Rio's people. The planet Tofunokoibito, a world similar to ancient Persia, is the home of the headquarters of the Galactic Federation. Lupica is seen as the Federation's leader.
THE YAMINOKUNI (Yaminokuni) - Rupa's and Carla's people. The planet Yaminokuni is the most remote world in the Federation, located in a no-star zone of the galaxy close to the Galactic Barrier. Yaminokuni is renowned for its pigs and mushrooms.
THE KOUMORI (Koumoros) - Home race of Prim and the Prince of the Underworld. A race living in vast underground caves, the Koumori are renowned for their mining skills. Female Koumori possess bat-like wings and horn buds. Male Koumori do not.
THE GOMIANITES (Gomiana) - Gomiana is a remote planet halfway between Earth and Zeiwan. The Gomianites are renowned for using extravagant face paint to mark their social station. Gomiana is also a world heavily infested with crime. It is a favourite hunting spot for Nassur and Dakejinzou Shogai.
THE AIMAIYITES (Aimaiyu) - The first world conquered by the Ipraedies. The Aimaiyites are red-skinned people similar to native Americans. They are also the source-point of the belief in the ehn, the living force said to permeate all things, which was later adopted by the Dowe'on. A very spiritual people, but their society is slowly being crushed under Ipraedies occupation.
THE GOPHENTAXIANS (Phentax Five) - System-mates to the Niphentaxians. Gophentaxians as a race are giant, muscular, dark-skinned Vosian-like humanoids. The smallest adult stands 230 centimetres (7 feet 6 inches) tall! A peaceful race wondering what they did so wrong in a previous life which forced them to live beside people like Oogi!
THE YIZIBAJOHEI (Yiziba) - A race of humanoids living in the Dead Zone near Tengu. All Yizibajohei possess one form of paranormal power or another. Total anarchy reigns on Yiziba, hence no other race wishes to deal with them.
THE KAMAHANITES (Kamahana) - A reptilian hominoid race living close to Zephyrus. The Kamahanites are master shipbuilders and weaponsmiths. Believed to be descent from Sagussan Fourth Republic eugenics experiments. The Kamahanites are renowned for their giant starships and weapons platforms, their most powerful being the dreaded Ultimate Weapon.
THE KURAKOANS (Kurakoa) - A Sagussan colony world located some distance from Vos. A politically-correct race if there ever was one. Possessed numerous Lannarkite colony hives which were later destroyed by the Sagussans. Her most well-known citizen is Intergalactic News Network reporter Milan Domo, herself a Kurakoan-humanoid Lannarkite hybrid.
CHRONOS - Another world located in the Dead Zone.
TOUKONOKOUEN - A world located in the center of the triangle between Vos, Ipraedos and Yehisril. Jointly populated by a native humanoid race (dark-skinned with Vosian features; the hybrids of Project: Superwarrior could be easily mistaken for Toukonokouen) and Vosian, Yehisrite and Ipraedies colonists ("landers"). Native Toukonokouen culture is similar to Jamaica and Haiti. Said to be able to practice a native voodoo-like religion called ibqu'b. The native Toukonokouen are said to be so magically powerful, not even the Mikado, Sheko or Schwartz were insane enough to chase fugitives from their wrath on that planet. Junba eventually settled here after her parting from Shinobu Miyaki.
REINER'S FIVE - A former Ipraedies defence outpost on the border with the Vosian Confederation. Captured in the Vos-Ipraedos war, then transformed into a neutral zone by treaty. It later became a popular vacation resort.
BARSOOM - An abandoned Ipraedies colony world near Urusian space, birthplace to the hybrids of Project: Superwarrior.
ICARUS - Final site of the Superwarrior project.
RYOU - An Ipraedies border colony near the neutral zone with the Yehisrites.
SHINGETSU - An Urusian world, Lan's home colony. It was later destroyed by Lannarkites, although some of the native population was saved by the intervention of Ataru Moroboshi and Mie Seikou.
TOSHITTO - An Urusian world, the closest to Earth. Served as the launch-point of the Imperial Counter-Revolution.
CADEMUS - Once the largest and most productive of Yehisrite farm colonies. Nearly destroyed fifty years ago by an Ipraedies raid lead by then-Crown Prince Schwartz. Now the training camp for the Imperial Corps of Executioners.
JIYUU - The closest Zephyrite colony to Earth-Triton.
MAGAIRU - A Zephyrite colony near Earth, Windy's homeworld.
VOS COLONY 71 - Cinba's home colony. Destroyed by the Mikado's forces in the action which sparked the Vosian Civil War. Now seen as a war cemetery, it is the final resting place of 300,000 innocent civilians plus Cinba. Thanks to the Scepter of Lecasur, the desolate colony has been miraculously reborn into a lush temperate world.
VOS COLONY FOUR - An unsuccessful and problem-bound world throughout its existence. Once remolded as the Mikado's pet colony, where his dictatorial rule was showcased for all Vosians to inspect and learn from. Later destroyed on Alko's orders by Varanko in a move to stop Vosian expansionism. Later became a base of refuge for the majority of the Mikado's forces after Lecashuto's fall. There, most were annihilated by Sagussan forces in the second Colony Four massacre. Colony Four, a hollow planet which served as a natural interdimensional nexus point, was destroyed by Ataru Moroboshi to ensure that its power never fell into the wrong hands.
FUKUNOTAIIN - Fukunokami's moon. Home base to Dakejinzou Shogai and her family.
HOME BASE - An asteroid located near Uru. Now home base to Nassur, his family and the hybrids of Project: Superwarrior.
SAKUSEI STATION - An Urusian trading satellite located near Shingetsu. A fifty-kilometre wide flat rock with an artificial environment, it is a popular shopping zone and local vacation spot.
Located in a stellar cluster in Gamma Quadrant opposite Sagussa, Nagussa ranks with their counterparts as the most advanced race in the galaxy. An intelligent, very rationally-driven race who once believed they were androids, Nagussa is now in the midst of social evolution as they rediscover themselves.
Nagussans possess the same lifespan potential as Sagussans, but it is unknown if they possess any paranormal abilities.
The modern Nagussan race are bioroids, created over the last hundred years from thousands of genetic samples obtained from worlds close to Nagussa in much the same way the Gatherer obtained daishi'cha for Sagussa. Created as young adults, the Nagussans were also made sterile before being released from the gestation matrix. This was done in hopes of suppressing the development of social norms revolving around natural reproduction. They were meticulously programmed (there is no better term for it) to believe they were androids, thus keeping their emotional development in check.
However, try as those running Nagussa's Grand Design could, emotions did develop. Nagussans maintained discipline in the open, but upon entering their family hearths, felt themselves free to express whatever they desired. The typical Nagussan family involved two females (who ran the hearth and family affairs) and one male (a hunter-gatherer). In the Fifth Republic, all forms of mating became possible. With families established, it was only time before offspring were desired. This became possible when Kouhae and Raikue found the terminally injured Kaeru Moroboshi after an accidental visit to Earth.
Nagussans, like Sagussans, are composed of many races. Those known to this time include the Aojiroi (a very statuesque fair-skinned race), the Hiyaken (a Noukiite-like race) and Tanana (an Oriental-type race with wild variations of hair colour). Unlike the Sagussans, Nagussans divide their society on racial lines dependant on the type of work the ancestor race was best suited. Aojiroi like Kouhae and Raikue are seen as excellent scientists and administrators. Hiyaken and Tanana form the core of the Nagussan Defence Force. Other examples are possible.
Kaeru's adoption by Kouhae and Raikue eventually led the Nagussans to question the basic premise of their existence. When their organic nature was proven by Kaeru's brother Ataru and Ataru's life-mate Lum, the Nagussans elected to desterilize themselves and begin expanding their Republic. Where such a course would lead them remains to be seen.
Not possessing an indigenous race per se at present, but the most technologically advanced and one of the most culturally advanced of all the worlds in the Milky Way galaxy, even though it is located in a stellar cluster outside the galaxy proper, shielded from the local cluster by the Galactic Barrier. The object of intensive speculation before it revealed itself to the galaxy as a whole, Sagussa is now, despite its very small population base, a power to be seriously reckoned with. Thanks to Sagussa, Earth's sovereignty is now guaranteed. Also thanks to Sagussa, Zeiwan and Vos can recover from their own problems. Most of all, Sagussa is the planet which made Ataru Moroboshi...and who in turn was made in large part by him!
To understand Sagussa at present, one must look to the distant past. Twenty thousand years ago, Sagussa was populated by a highly advanced and spiritually sound race of humanoids who seemed capable of doing almost anything they wanted. Then the Age of Gisan'cha (Unbounded Technology) came to Sagussa. Technology, especially genetic technology, spiralled out of control as a period of social malaise settled in. The Sagussans became arrogant, imposing wild genetic changes on numerous worlds in their sphere of influence, especially Vos. At the same time, a practice started by which each Sagussan cloned himself three spare bodies so that body parts were readily available should they be needed. The malaise soon plunged into a dark period of Sagussan history, which was set aflame by the War of Clone Rights.
The war lasted over five hundred years, devastating Sagussa, destroying one of its two stars and the two inner planets of its home system, scattering bits of Sagussan technology all over the galaxy, not to mention killing TEN BILLION people. The pitiful few survivors gathered together to save what was left in a vast underground storage chamber, the Chamber of Eternity. Here, a bold plan was launched: the Grand Design of the Fifth Republic of Sagussa.
A ship, the Gatherer, would be sent out to retrieve the bodies of recently slain humanoid females from select planets. They would be exposed to the regeneration matrix which would make them living beings again, mentally reprogrammed to rebuild Sagussa and create a society based on pre-Gisan'cha Sagussan values and morals. Then, when the time was right, these daishi'cha (first mothers) would seek daimon'cha (first fathers) to mate and give birth to children. From that, a new Sagussan race...the Fifth Republic...would be born.
For ten millennia, the Gatherer gathered 100,000 daishi'cha from over twenty-three humanoid races. All were rejuvenated, reborn and mentally reprogrammed to strictly adhere to Sagussan values, then placed in cryogenic suspension in the Chamber of Eternity to await the coming of daimon'cha. However, there was something missing in the daishi'cha...the ability to properly express emotion. After daishi'cha #100,000 (Tenba) was found, the search began to locate a first daimon'cha, mostly to act as an emotional template for them to learn what being human was about.
They found Ataru Moroboshi...and the rest is history.
All Sagussan daishi'cha, regardless of race of origin, possess touch-telepathic and touch-empathic powers of such magnitude, they could easily burn out the minds of other psi-sensitive races (Vosians, for example) with little concentration. All Sagussans can live potentially to a millennium, although it is believed that Umanoshippo-descent daishi'cha live 1600 years. All Sagussans possess all physical abilities they possessed in their previous lives: Oni and Koumori-descent Sagussans can fly, Tritonian-descent Sagussans can project cold, Yehisrite-descent Sagussans who were originally pirpirsiw'r retain their combat prowess, and so on.
Emotionally, the daishi'cha are still immature. They are still little kids playing at being adults. Fortunately, their rationality prevents them from becoming mentally unbalanced. Sagussans are profound lovers of music (all daishi'cha can either sing or play musical instruments), drinking (Sagussan brandy is insanely potent) and developing their personal psionic and educational skills (a must for a group of people trying to rebuild a wrecked world). Sagussans are somewhat restricted in their choice of skills at present since their first priority is to make their homeworld a much more habitable place (it is presently a desert wasteland with little surface water and no decent topsoil).
Sagussans are functionally bisexual. Traditional Sagussan society was a matriarchy which eschewed any permanent bondings between males and females akin to marriage. The proper family bond of Sagussa is marei'cha ("the one with whom you raise a child," also called bond-mating), where two people (either of the same sex or opposite sexes) come together to raise children. Those who were sought to help bear children are called surei'cha ("the one with whom you have a child," also called child-mates). Homophobia, racism and other isms did not have the chance exist on Sagussa; their telepathic powers stripped away all gender references, making everyone look alike. Further, while traditional Sagussa had a creation myth (see the story on the Zephyrites for more details), there was also no formalized religion. The catchwords on Sagussa are "total freedom," freedom to choose (and dispose of if such becomes necessary) mates without any outside influence. The daishi'cha are mentally conditioned to espouse these qualities.
After Ataru came to Sagussa, more males were sought out to contribute to the Grand Design, usually Ataru's former classmates and friends from Tomobiki. Later, a small cadre of young Vosian hunters were moved to Sagussa from Colony Four in the wake of Ataru's killing the Mikado. Humanoid Lannarkites from Kurakoa and elsewhere have also moved to Sagussa. Sagussa has a strict immigration policy to ensure that only the right sort of man can move to Sagussa. He must not be of any group who desire to harm Ataru, Lum or Sagussa. He must not be of any religious group attempting to influence Sagussan society in a direction contrary to the wishes of the Grand Design's planners. And if he is Vosian, he must realize that his chances of recognizing a Sagussan are next to nil.
Ataru now lives on Earth with Lum, having finished his business with the Sagussans at present. Chances are good that he and his Other will return to their adopted homeworld sometime in the future, once the daishi'cha have firmly established the society they literally died and were re-born to create.