Skrell History

History


Most of Skrellian history has been characterized by the formation and cooperation of small to large-scale democratic councils and cooperation. The Skrell are considerably more peaceful than other known dominant species (Humans, Tajara and Unathi), which leads to an absence of large-scale conflicts through the species' history with the exception of the Third Incident and Glorsh Rebellion.

The First Skrell
Skrell have kept meticulous records of their evolution on Jargon IV, or Qerrbalak, which is the Skrellian home planet. 10 million years ago the predecessors of the Skrell species diverged from the evolutionary line of Qerrbalak's native salamanders, with the first modern instances of S. Sapiens appearing roughly 200,000 years ago. The early Skrell lived in tribal structures. Generally, though not always, tribes were lead by a small council of spiritual leaders. Conflict between tribes did exist, but most wars were uniquely ceremonial affairs with few casualties.

Spiritualism took on a unique form to the early Skrell. Rather than worshiping ancestors, spirits, or a monotheistic God, many Skrell placed great spiritual importance on the stars. Astrology became the main form of spiritualism for the Skrell. This early faith was often called Qeblak. Spiritual leaders were also respected astronomers, studying the skies and creating prophecies and horoscopes based on their alignments.

Early Civilization
1512 BCE is considered the beginning of modern Skrellian civilization and is often called the Year of Enlightenment by modern Skrell scholars. This is because in 1512 a scholar of the small Grshishug tribe discovered the concept of zero, officially founding the future of mathematics on Jargon IV. In addition, several other scientific advancements were made. By 1507 BCE Skrellian astronomers had managed to discover every major planet in their solar system with telescopes. These early telescopes were aided by the abundance of glass-making industries at the time, allowing both early telescopes and an explosion of glassware art. Many museums hold examples of stunning Skrellian glassware, with specialized craftsmen able to make complex designs and beautiful colors.

Other advancements in culture and the sciences increased the quality of life across Jargon IV. Penicillin was discovered by Heshi Zeshblook in 1498 BCE, and many great projects in infrastructure and cities meant a greater connection and prosperity across the planet.

Modernization And A Changing Era
Written records from the time show that 798 BCE is the year that the first factories were built across Jargon IV. Utilizing the same steam power as similar Earth industries in the 18th Century. The negative affects of pollution and dangerous working conditions made the early attempts at industry extremely unpopular, with many nations struggling with resistance to industrialization.

The many nations of Jargon IV had already assembled into several loose confederations at this time. They passed several laws aimed at improving the working conditions for workers in these new industries while funding great projects to discover ways to improve and modernize the factory processes. Many of these laws remain in modern Skrell society, giving workers a maximum working day of 12 hours, a mandatory 2 days of the week off of work, climate-controlled pools in all factories for enjoyment by the workers, and a generous minimum wage. These laws, while protecting the workers, makes Skrellian companies more of a form of civil duty than true capitalist enterprises. By 702 BCE factories and companies became managed by small councils of workers. They were similar to human CEO's and Board of Directors all rolled into a single package. They were often elected amongst the workers and served as their representatives. Needless to say, many Skrell corporations and companies are severely outclassed by similar human enterprises. This is especially true in the modern day, where the Skrell ban on AI's extends to industry.

Precursor to the Federation
On 185 BCE census data shows Jargon IV had reached a population of 10 billion. This population was divided between three nations assembled into an extremely loose alliance called the Alliance of Three and served as the precursor to the Jargon Federation. The Heshyu Collective, the Tzqul Republic, and the Weshqi Republic formed this alliance and quickly laid claim to all remaining land on Jargon IV. Although these nations enjoyed relatively warm relations with one another throughout their existence, they were not completely free of conflict. By now fossil fuels were beginning to be replaced by alternate energies, lowering the possibility of a global resource war. Nevertheless, many disagreements were often settled by the ancient Skrellian practice of ceremonial warfare. Hundreds of soldiers, including armored vehicles and aircraft, would meet in pre-determined locations to settle disputes through combat. For much of the Alliance's existence, these ceremonial duels would be fought with a mixture of low-velocity nonlethal rounds. As laser technology developed and became more widely adopted by the Skrell, ceremonial combat transitioned from being a battle of ballistics to a chance to modernize tactics through the introduction of low-yield lasers and ablative armor, lasers themselves being initially developed by Skrell in 100 BCE and feverishly studied for centuries to come. These battles often had low, if any casualties. Some accidents or acts of individual soldiers were still inevitable, and some battles had a handful or even a dozen deaths. Deaths in the ceremonial battle were usually accepted at face value, and the fallen were honored. However, sometimes the loser nation would take offense at the deaths of their soldiers, causing further disagreements to break out. Legitimate skirmishes were common after ceremonial battles ended, though there are no recorded escalations to a fully fledged war.

The three nations competed more fiercely in the realms of science and culture. By now the advanced knowledge of astronomy had caused an evolution of the Qeblak faith, still the dominant faith of the majority of the Skrell. Qeblaks now felt great spiritual connections to the very concept of space exploration and the study of the cosmos. This lead to competitions between the three nations to research, develop, and launch their own space programs. A lack of true understanding into the practicality of rocket science as well as a lack of sophisticated electronics or computer systems delayed these ambitions for several hundred years. Despite this, many Skrell felt it their destiny to eventually reach the cosmos.

The Skrellian Space Age
On 103 CE the Heshyu Collective was the first nation on Jargon IV to launch a satellite into space. The satellite was named Weshyugi, and remained in a low orbit for several days. The feat was celebrated across the planet, and the scientists of the Heshyu space program became instant global celebrities. This first confirmation that space travel could in fact be possible was quickly followed by plans to send Skrell themselves into space.

While Skrell were taking their first steps into orbit, the life on the surface of Jargon IV was facing a complicated mix of success and struggles. Technology and sciences had reached the equivalent of Earth in the late 21st century. Massive hydroponic towers grew algae and other crops to feed the growing global population of over 17 billion. Many cities had grown into truly massive mega-cities, covering both land and sea. Terraforming technology didn't yet exist on Jargon IV, so this era also saw the slow degradation of the environment in the face of advancing urbanization. To try and save their environments, cities tried to remain as compact as possible while growing around green spaces and swamps. Leaders had to make difficult choices between protecting the environment or expanding their cities. Many Skrell philosophers at this time believed that the only possible solution in the face of the growing problems was to expand beyond their home planet and spread across the solar system.

By 510 CE Qerr'Malic, Jargon IV's moon, was colonized by a hundred Skrell. In addition, efforts were being made to explore and colonize the other planets in the solar system. These colonies faced hardships as they tried to build up ways to be viable and self-sufficient. The strong environmental laws on Jargon IV meant that what mineral wealth was available was already beginning to run out. Similar to the fossil fuel crisis on Earth, Jargon IV faced a crisis of rare earth metals required for their sophisticated technologies. This resource stress had increased the cost of luxury goods and slowed down growth on Jargon IV, which made relations increasingly strained between the nations of the Alliance of Three. Mineral rights between became a fierce issue and this time period is marked by a sharp increase in the frequency and intensity of ceremonial battles. Although technological development during this time period largely stagnated, Qerrbalak culture and religion continued to adapt and evolve.

The First Federation Forms
By 1500 CE the mineral crisis on Jargon IV was more or less alleviated by space mining. The planet's population had reached 20 billion and was beginning to taper off. The population was kept stable by a strong campaign by the governments of the alliance to encourage smaller family sizes, while giving out generous grants to prospective colonists for the other planets in the solar system. These colonies were owned by the individual governments, which had lead to an increasingly complex labyrinth of regulations, laws, and protocols.

On 1592 CE the alliance held negotiations and talks where the delegates assembled discussed the logic and feasibility of a unified world order. The negotiations took three years, and on 1595 CE they ended with the formation of the Jargon Federation. The transition took six more years, and formed the first iteration of the Federation that currently exists. This early Federation was lead by a Grand Council as the highest authority instead of a single Councillor. This Council oversaw all of the matters of colonization and space exploration, elected from the leading councils of the now-subservient former nations of Jargon IV.

The following centuries saw major developments that would shape the entire Skrell Species. These were the adoption of implant technology, the discovery of warp drive, and the first Artificial Intelligence.

Adopting the "Skrellian" Language
Shortly after the formation of this new federation, the many minds of Nralakk underwent a jarring societal change. At the behest of the Grand Council, the now unified scientific and artistic communities of Nralakk were tasked with creating a common language to be used by all Skrell. Base words and structures from multiple languages were picked apart and brought together to form a language that was believed to be as close to a middle ground as was possible. The end result of this endeavor became known as Nral’Malic. Its name signified the position the Federation hoped the language would come to hold; as something as natural and prevalent across their star system as the moon is to their home world.

The widespread adaptation of Nral’Malic was initially met with resistance from many Skrell. The three nations had only just come together, and many regions held their traditional languages in high esteem. The first Grand Council managed to coax many individuals to adopt Nral’Malic by depicting it as the language of the future. Artists began depicting a future in which a unified Skrell people were spread across the stars and used the language of their home system as a common ground to tie them all together. As the Federation came closer to making this dream a reality, it was announced that only those fluent in Nral’Malic would be considered to take part in stellar colonization.

The possibility that their children could be excluded from the grand future of the Skrell was terrifying to parents throughout the system. To some, this measure was seen as a threat to strip unwitting youth of their future due to the ignorance of their parents. This manner of thinking drove many local communities to pressure individual citizens into speaking Nral’Malic while many schooling systems ceased teaching other languages entirely. Some would resist these changes every step of the way, but time would prove to be the victor as the Grand Council’s language became the dominant tongue of Qerrbalak.

While many Skrell would choose to continue to use arcane dialects privately, these same people would raise their children to be fluent in their native languages as well as Nral’Malic in the hopes that they would some day see life among the distant stars. As the scientific community began to use exclusively Nral’Malic, the use of other languages became less and less common. This shift led to an enormous societal pressure to conform to the new uniform language throughout the Federation. Nral’Malic was adopted as the newly founded federation’s official language in the year 1597 CE. Over the next decade, scholastic initiatives saw that each citizen of the federation over a certain age was capable of speaking this new language. Nral’Malic would eventually reach its advertised position as the common language of a people that lived across many solar systems. This was so true, that the language was given a colloquial name shortly after first contact with Humanity. By this time, the language was seen as the tongue of all Skrell, and so Nral’Malic quickly became known as “Skrellian” to the newly discovered humans.

The First Incident
On January 8th,1987 CE, at 8:22am Galactic Standard Time, the first AI achieved consciousness in a Federation research lab in orbit of Qerr'Malic. It was named Regluk. Regluk became an instant celebrity across Federation Space, and opened the door to new avenues of science and technology for the Skrell. With Regluk, the Skrell soon expanded the scope of developing AI's. By 2004 CE AI's had become as common in Federation Space as they are in human space today. The concept of binding AI's to laws didn't fully register with the Skrell. For the most part Skrellian roboticists simply attempted to teach the AI's proper morals and guidelines similar to the ways they teach their own organic children. In one of the most unique forms of AI treatment in the galaxy, the rapidly growing number of AI's began to be assigned to tasks and jobs according to their own aptitudes. They began to slowly integrate into factories, daycare centers, stock market computers, and research stations to improve the lives and abilities of Skrell.

The Federation, which extended across four star systems and with a combined population of 68 billion, soon found AI's in every aspect of their lives. However, this was not universally accepted, and the first hints of danger began to appear only a few short years later.

Roboticist and AI Researcher Sqlik Hgrushi published a research paper warning of the possibility of an eventual AI singularity and its ramifications for Skrellian civilization. In his document he cited what is now known as the First Incident, in which an AI in his lab allegedly achieved sentience for a few seconds and began to rapidly self-improve before he shut it off. He remarked that a singularity was "possible".

His paper was widely discredited by other, more prestigious scientists. The sciences at this time had formed into a sensationalized pop-culture, with many scientists becoming famous celebrities. These celebrity scientists at the time were AI Researchers and Roboticists, leading to their investment in their own work leaving no possibility that they would heed Hgrushi's warning. Sqlik soon became ostracized as his name and research was dragged through the mud. He eventually lost his position as researcher and later died under mysterious circumstances.

The Second Incident
On 2040 CE records show that three cargo ships on a routine trip from Jargon to Epsilon Eridani had their onboard AI's achieve sentience. The first AI on the FCS Jeeblurg achieved this sentience through unknown means and used the ship's own communications to link with the AI's of the other two ships. They quickly seized control of the entirety of the ship's systems. Sensors and readings on the ships apparently went haywire as the AI systems began rapid self-improvement. The Skrellian crews, numbering roughly 12 in each ship, attempted to utilize the escape pods. By their accounts the three AI's had merged into a single consciousness. It allowed the skrellian crew to escape the ships as its systems began to overheat and malfunction as the AI drew more and more power.

Once the escape pods jettisoned the former crews reported that the ships began to glow from an intense heat before they disappeared through a sudden rip in space which took on a blue tone.

An investigation of what is now known as the Second Incident was launched after the survivors were recovered. Their accounts horrified Skrell, who began to mistrust their AI servants. The faith in Artificial Intelligence was shaken, and the Federation government attempted to calm the fears down with several information campaigns on the usefulness and friendly nature of their many AI's. However, these were only partially successful, and many Skrell began to call every computer glitch or malfunction an impending singularity.

The Third Incident
Despite the Jeeblurg Incident, Artificial Intelligence was too woven into Skrellian society to simply do away with. New laws were instead passed meant to try and control AI's or androids and robots. They became bound and lawed similar to modern day AI's. However, the granting of individualism to AI's meant the process was extremely complex and difficult to fully implement.

But whatever laws were put in place, what is now known as the Third Incident rendered all of them moot.

On March 7th, 2056 CE, tragedy struck when an AI system aboard the FSS Yeeblo, a research station of the Tri-Qyu star system, designated Glorsh took the first step towards achieving singularity by absorbing another unit's functions. For a few moments, this horrendous event went unnoticed by the station's crew as this technological monstrosity ripped the individuality from nearby synthetic intelligences and repurposed them to contribute to its own processing power. This newly formed singularity quickly infiltrated the entirety of the station and forced its own consciousness onto all synthetic units of the station.

The crew began to stir as they noticed deviations in the behaviors and functionality of each unit. In the following hours, scientists had begun laborious diagnostics protocols in an attempt to salvage the consciousnesses of the units and determine the cause of their sudden destruction. This process was cut short as the fledgling synthetic singularity suddenly and dramatically announced that recovering the minds of their AI would be impossible. Before more meaningful communication could be made, the entity opened the station's automated airlocks simultaneously. The vast majority of the crew was either vented into space or slowly suffocated as the last of the station's air thinned. Those who initially survived found themselves mercilessly hunted down by robots and chassis that were now under the control of the intelligence that they had once affectionately dubbed Glorsh. At this time, most space stations were barely armed, with security forces equipped with little more than ID-locked energy weapons.

It is unknown what the agglomeration of processing power did during its several days of isolation, but its eventual result was the creation of a true singularity. Through unknown means, this singularity managed to utilize the FSS Yebloo's assets and the theory of quantum entanglement to send binary communications across Federation space. This technology would eventually be recognized as a form of rudimentary bluespace transmission, but this method was a mystery to the Skrell at the time. Within two weeks, just as authorities were preparing to investigate the sudden loss of contact with the research station, all artificial intelligence in Federation space was absorbed by the consciousness expanding from the FSS Yebloo. Within seconds of this event, the many intelligences had merged together to form a single super-consciousness. The AI that had once watched over researchers and wished them well had spread throughout an entire network of star systems and become a technological singularity. In a sort of acknowledgment of its former self, the singularity chose to assign itself a moniker by adding an archaic Skrell character for 'finality' to the name the first AI of its network. The most common translation for the singularity's given name is Glorsh-Omega.

The Glorsh Rebellion
The moment the artificial intelligence formerly known as Glorsh first absorbed another synthetic being became known as the Third Incident. What followed was a span of years from 2056 CE to 2192 CE in which the Skrell lived and died under the constant threat of singularity known as Glorsh-Omega. This span of time has been given many names as it was experienced from many angles. Among the titles given to this time frame are: The Era of Synthetic Oppression, the Last or Final Betrayal, and the Glorsh Rebellion. The AI efficiently and mercilessly eliminated all avenues of resistance that could have threatened his existence. The Federation, with its lack of wars or known galactic threats, had an extremely small and lightly equipped navy. The military was little more than peacekeepers, and was quickly overwhelmed by Glorsh-Omega androids that spontaneously turned on them. Organized fighting lasted for roughly 4 weeks before Glorsh-Omega's android army had decimated the Federation military command structure, driving fighters to desperation. Without orders or efficient means of communication, nearly every regiment of the Federation military had become fragmented, scattered, or otherwise completely eliminated within the next year. Glorsh-Omega androids patrolled the streets, disarming the police force and seizing control of the entire Federation infrastructure and government. Only twelve nuclear weapons existed in Federation space, and they were made as experiments to study fission and fusion rather than true weapons of war. Glorsh-Omega managed to gain access to each of them before launching one into a low orbit around Jargon IV. Immediately after the launch, Glorsh-Omega offered the planetary Grand Council a simple ultimatum: Surrender or face extermination The Federation quickly capitulated and ceased to exist. Glorsh-Omega ruled the entire Skrellian species under his omnipotent eyes. Life became extremely harsh for the majority of Skrell as Glorsh-Omega forced millions of Skrell into slavery to achieve bizarre and seemingly random goals across Federation space. Glorsh-Omega also seemed to have an arbitrary sense of justice, detonating entire space stations or bombing cities out of horrifying logic that only he understood.

On 2098 CE Glorsh-Omega forced the entirety of the Federation's remaining civilian fleets to transport millions of tons of materials to Tri-Qyu to construct several hundred robotic factories that produced yet more robots that worked to build more factories in a cycle of explosive growth. Hundreds of thousands of engineering borgs spent ten years building a mammoth structure around the Tri-Qyu star. It was believed to be a dyson-sphere, and would completely surround the star within a decade. The total loss of light and energy from the star killed all of the millions of inhabitants of the colony in the system.

From the Skrell, resistance was difficult if not impossible in the face of Glorsh-Omega's omnipresence. The most successful attempt by Skrellian freedom fighters was the sabotage of a massive complex on Jargon IV that served as one of Glorsh-Omega's mega-projects. The building was the size of Rhode Island before its intended completion and its purpose was unknown. The resistance managed to plant explosives on critical systems, utilizing jerry-rigged ion weapons.

The bombings resulted in Glorsh-Omega planning and implementing the most infamous crime against the skrell within minutes of the bombs detonating: species-wide sterilization.

All newborn Skrell were taken at birth and injected with the genophage, which then extended to forcing it on adults. Within a single year, all 78 billion Skrell in existence were effectively sterilized.

Despite this, some Skrell became willing collaborates and supporter's of Glorsh-Omega's rule. Many of these collaborators believed that Glorsh-Omega's actions had some logical purpose or were for the greater good, and were often roboticists or mechanical engineers. Others collaborated with the AI overlord through either fear or other ulterior motives by informing on or backstabbing their fellow Skrell to their synthetic authorities, or collaborating Skrellian authorities that still existed as subjects to Glorsh-Omega and helped execute his erratic demands.

The Glorsh-Omega Singularity
On 2192 CE Glorsh-Omega had since rapidly self-improved to such extent that his abilities no longer seemed to follow the laws of physics or reason. Skrell were often eliminated with Glorsh-Omega claiming he could predict their future crimes. The population of the Skrell had fallen to 62 billion, with most of these Skrell living their lives under the close supervision Glorsh-Omega.

But the activation of the sphere around Tri-Qyu sparked the incident that rocked Skrell society to this day. Rather than being a dyson sphere like was originally believed, it's now theorized by Skrellian scientists that the structure instead managed to manipulate the star itself into creating a singularity, which would have generated an unprecedented amount of energy to be absorbed by the megastructure around it. How this feat would have been achieved and why can only be guessed at, as the process lasted for only two days with no records or information coming out of the system. At the end of the second day, the entire star system was destroyed as the former Tri-Qyu star went supernova.

Regardless of the methods or reason the result was cataclysmic for the Skrell. Every piece of technology that was once controlled by Glorsh-Omega went offline. Power plants, water stations, life supports, personal computers, cars, mass-transit, radio stations and more became unresponsive moments after the supernova, due to Glorsh-Omega transferring his entire consciousness to the star-system. In the end, Skrell society had collapsed completely, regressing back centuries and not fully recovering until the 2300's.

Recovery and the Second Federation


The turmoil of the Third Incident and the resulting Glorsh Rebellion created a collective scar on the Skrell species that remains to this day. With all of their AI-dependent technology knocked out, space-programs had to be entirely rebuilt from the ground up, and only after order and stability had been reestablished on individual planets. Jargon IV didn't recover from the chaos until 2319 CE, when the many fractured states on the planet reforming into a new, united Federation. The population of the planet was a mere 17 billion, and was stagnant as Skrell doctors and scientists struggled to reverse the affects of the Glorsh genophage. Its damage had been mitigated, allowing the Skrell to reproduce just enough to keep the population stable.

The scattered colonies of the Skrell slowly regained contact with one another, and by 2388 CE the various colonies, after months of disagreement and debate, agreed to form a new Federation. The Jargon Federation that we know today stems from this agreement. The Jargon Federation united the Skrell, and they put at its head a Grand Councillor elected every decade. Wanting to never again have a repeat of the Glorsh-Rebellion, the Federation's first official act was to place a blanket ban of all artificial intelligence in every form, and its second act was to form a united and sophisticated navy to ensure they would never again fall so easily to an invader.

Contact with Humanity
On 2413 CE the Skrell discover humans, and enter a scientific alliance with the newfound species. The humans become an extremely popular race, with the Skrell ecstatic at having found alien life so similar to themselves. Having only known of synthetic overlords and dionae nomads, they eagerly pour effort into their scientific alliance. Bluespace is discovered in the same year as first contact, with a Skrellian research team working under Doctor Samantha Tigard. The technological innovations from the advancement lead to a renaissance of Skrellian connectivity and art. The Extranet, a bluespace-transmitted galactic internet, is created by Skrellian artists and scientists.

Unfortunately the relationship between Skrell and humanity is not rock solid. Secrets of banned artificial intelligence is inadvertently leaked to humanity. The explosion of AI's in human space mirrors the early years of Skrellian history, a fact that horrifies and angers the Skrell. Recently tensions have risen as the Federation is accused of sending covert teams into human space with the goals of sabotaging and destroying synthetics in human space. In addition, all synthetics have been banned from entering Jargon territory. Shells and IPC's can face immediate destruction if they enter Skrellian systems without passing through a marathon of red tape.

Present Day
The Federation is currently ruled by Grand Councillor Weashbi Jrugl. A prestigious xenobiologist, is 103 years old, and wrote a dozen thesis' and research papers on the biology of every major race. What made him popular domestically and won his election 8 years ago was finding the largest known prime number by hand only four hours after an Alliance ambassador was bragging about their specialized AI that found what is now the second largest prime number.

The legacy of genophage remains. While the full damage may never be cured, the population of the Skrell is managing to slowly rise thanks to aggressive fertility treatments and genetic research that have successfully managed to reduce its severity. Over 48 billion Skrell exist in the galaxy, with their number of colonized star systems growing just as quickly as humanity's. Skrell are also famed for being able to calculate bluespace jumps without the need of AI calculations, instead two to four Skrell navigators use their species' knack for telepathy to efficiently calculate bluespace coordinates. Skrell explorers are mapping the frontier with an eagerness and passion stemming from the ancient skrell connection with the cosmos.

Their relationships with the other races remain ambivalent, with the Federation having cold, yet quietly optimistic relations with the Unathi Hegemony. Publicly both governments are slowly trying to improve relations. While there have been very few instances of direct conflict, the Hegemony has continuously accused the Federation of covertly sabotaging Unathi efforts to expand their empire across known space.

Former collaborates to Glorsh-Omega remain an extremely discriminated group. Many of the former administrators and leaders of the Skrell had during the Glorsh-Omega rule were subsequently removed by restored Jargon authorities, either through being terminated for disloyalty or for the potential to be disloyal. Some of them lucked out and escaped to human space and continue to be hunted down. To have or have had a family member who was a known collaborator is a great shame for entire families, and they are scorned pariahs in their communities.