|
|
(271 intermediate revisions by 21 users not shown) |
Line 1: |
Line 1: |
| {{Navbox Lore}} | | {{Navbox Lore}} |
| '''WARNING: This page is undergoing serious revision. Read at your peril.'''
| |
| {{Navbox Vaurca Lore}} | | {{Navbox Vaurca Lore}} |
| {{Infobox Species | | {{Infobox Species |
Line 6: |
Line 5: |
| |Scientific = V. esseli / V. sapiens | | |Scientific = V. esseli / V. sapiens |
| |Image = Vaurcaduo.png | | |Image = Vaurcaduo.png |
| |System = Sedantis (Ske'hazik'staza, "Blinding Light.") | | |System = Sedantis (Sc'theth'stak, "Blinding Light.") |
| |World = Sedantis IVc (Vaur'azek'uyuz, "Home.") | | |World = Sedantis I (Vaur'avek'uyit, "Home Afar.") |
| |Language = Vaur'uyit'yaza. | | |Language = Vaurcese, Hivenet. |
| |Politic = Zo'ra Hive, K'lax Hive. | | |Politic = [[Vaurca Hives#Zo'ra|Zo'ra Hive]], [[Vaurca Hives#K'lax|K'lax Hive]], [[Vaurca Hives#C'thur|C'thur Hive]]. |
| }} | | }} |
| {{toc_right}}
| |
| ==Overview==
| |
|
| |
|
| The Vaurca (sing. Vaurca, pl. Vaurca, Vaurcas, Vaurcae) are a bipedal arthropoid race hailing from the unknown star system Sedantis. They are notable for their virtual-reality and brain-uploading technology, as well as their strong caste division between the robotic Bound workers and virtual reality-dwelling Unbound intellectuals. The Vaurca appeared in known space on the 21st of December 2456, and have since begun to spread throughout human space. Although tolerated on [[Nanotrasen Corporation]] facilities and in [[Biesel]], they are generally unwanted and marginalized in the [[Sol Alliance]], and face discrimination even in places they're welcome. In addition, they have been shadowed from across light-years by the mysterious Li'idra Hive, whose purpose remains unknown but whose tremendous power is beyond question.
| | Vaurcae, (''Vaurca'' in singular term and ''Vaurcae'' in multiple) are an arthropodous species that naturally organize themselves into eusocial groups. The Vaurca are one of the oldest surviving civilizations in the known galaxy, with a '''[[Vaurca History|history]]''' that can be traced back 730 000 years ago. Now they arrive in the [[Orion Spur]] as colonists, reluctantly taken in by other civilizations. |
|
| |
|
| To apply to be one of the insect-like Vaurca, apply [http://aurorastation.org/forums/viewforum.php?f=28 here]
| | Their eusocial organizations are referred to as Hives, led by a High Queen, typically named after the Hive itself. Below the High Queen, Lesser Queens govern specific Hive functions. Both Lesser and High Queens, as well as Surrogate Breeders, are the exclusive types of Vaurcae capable of laying eggs for the generation of new individuals. Birth under a particular Queen or Surrogate Breeder assigns a Vaurca to her brood, resulting in distinct traits and a variant carapace color compared to others. Further details on these structures and broods can be explored on the '''[[Vaurca Hives]]''' page. |
|
| |
|
| ==Heads of Staff==
| | Vaurca civilization is separated into several castes, with members of each caste having their biology, psychology, and education determined before they are even born. Each individual Vaurca is made often for a specific function pertaining to their caste. Vaurcae are separated further between two groups, known as psyches: '''Akaix''' (Unbound) and '''Viax''' (Bound). Akaix are no less of a person than any human, whereas Viax are incredibly simple-minded, running on no more than a desire to do what they are told, designed for their function rather than versatility. More about the castes can be read on the '''[[Vaurca_Biology|Vaurca Biology]]''' page. |
|
| |
|
| Vaurca can't be any Head of Staff. Their employment opportunities are strictly limited.
| | Vaurcae have mechanical extras such as extensive xenowear loadout and their homeworld's flag. [[K'ois]] as a product is available in-game and they have a rather grand set of unobtainable event-spawn objects and mobs. Massive Vaurcae Breeders are playable as [[Consular Officer|consular officers]], and their lore can further be explored through artifacts and merchant items. |
| | |
| | Vaurcae can come from the Zo'ra, K'lax, C'thur, or Lii'dra Hives. The Lii'dra are exclusive to [[Lii'dra guide|antagonists]] and events, though antagonist Vaurcae are not limited to Lii'dra. |
| | |
| | To apply to be one of the insect-like Vaurcae, apply [http://aurorastation.org/forums/viewforum.php?f=28 here]. |
| | |
| | '''Important notes:''' Vaurcae cannot be any Heads of Staff, bridge crew, or be elevated to an interim command position. Vaurcae used to require an Avowal of Responsibility to work any position higher than an intern level, but as of 4/24/2463, Avowals were abolished in [[Stellar Corporate Conglomerate]] facilities. |
| | {{TOC Hidden}} |
|
| |
|
| ==Mechanics== | | ==Mechanics== |
|
| |
|
| *Global hivemind, accessible via ,9 and heard only by other Vaurcae and stationbound synthetics. | | *Can only healthily consume food made of k'ois, a yellow fungus originating from the Vaurcesian home planet. K'ois is deadly to other lifeforms. |
| *Pressure & Cold resistant, allowing them to survive in space with internals. | | *A long-distance language in the form of Global Hivenet. It is accessible with ,9 and can only be heard by other Vaurcae and station-bound synthetics. |
| *Unaffected by Phoron gas.
| | *Immune to phoron gas, and require it to breathe. |
| *Have natural insulation. | | *Have a third arm to hold small objects. |
| | *Can survive in space without a voidsuit. |
| | *Do not take damage from electric shocks. |
| *Immune to slipping. | | *Immune to slipping. |
| *Can only healthily consume food consisting of K'ois paste and byproducts.
| | *Do not self-heal. |
| *Require phoron to breathe. They spawn with an internal phoron tank they can refill by consuming plasma reagent, k'ois, or k'ois byproducts.
| | *Can toggle night-vision to see in the dark. |
| *Cannot wear normal shoes or gloves.
| | *Take x2 damage from toxins. |
| *Cannot wear normal helmets. (Can wear hats.)
| | *Bleed out faster. |
| *Cannot wear most spacesuits.
| |
| *Do not self-heal from most damage types. | |
| *Takes 2x the toxin damage. | |
| *Suffer from additional blood loss. | |
| *Vulnerable to EMPs. | |
| *Can be permanently rendered blind by flashing them several times in a row. | | *Can be permanently rendered blind by flashing them several times in a row. |
| *Cloning tanks will not clone their non-organic organs.
| | *Vaurca '''Warriors''' can bite and are more resistant to burns. |
| | | *Vaurca '''Workers''' cannot bite but are more resistant to radiation. |
| ** Vaurca Warriors are more resistant to fire than their Worker brethren.
| | *Vaurca '''Bulwarks''' are slow but immune to radiation and can fireman carry two people at once. |
| ** Vaurca Warriors are faster than their Worker brethren, and can sprint for longer.
| |
| ** Vaurca Warriors can bite.
| |
| | |
| ** Vaurca Workers are more resistant to brute than their Warrior brethren.
| |
| ** Vaurca Workers are more resistant to radiation than their Warrior brethren.
| |
| ** Vaurca Workers are more resistant to suffocation than their Warrior brethren.
| |
| ** Vaurca Workers are slower than their Warrior brethren.
| |
| ** Vaurca Workers cannot bite.
| |
|
| |
|
| Non-mechanic traits: | | Non-mechanic traits: |
| * Dislike light. | | *Dislike light. |
| * Generally very specialized, often no inter-department knowledge. | | *Be raised in virtual reality. |
| * Face severe discrimination in human space. | | *Generally very specialized. Born to serve a specific role. |
| | | *Face severe discrimination in human space. |
| Coloration:
| | *Be incredibly sensitive to smells. |
| * Vaurcae exoskeletons are typically coloured depending on the type and hive of the Vaurca specimen in question. Individuals can vary from the normal color by 10 or fewer points. | |
| :Zo'ra Hive
| |
| ::Unbound of any type: (RGB 51, 0, 0)
| |
| ::Bound Warriors: (RGB 71, 0, 21)
| |
| ::Bound Workers: (RGB 71, 21, 21)
| |
| :K'lax Hive
| |
| ::Unbound of any type: (RGB 51, 51, 0)
| |
| ::Bound Warriors: (RGB 51, 71, 21)
| |
| ::Bound Workers: (RGB 71, 71, 21)
| |
| :Lii'dra Hive
| |
| ::Lii'dra can be any colour, to permit them to masquerade as Vaurca from other hives.
| |
| | |
| ===Information for Whitelisted Players===
| |
| | |
| ====Playable Factions/Types/Castes====
| |
| Vaurca can come from the Zo'ra, K'lax, or Lii'dra hives. Vaurca from the Zo'ra hive must also choose a brood. The Lii'dra are exclusive to antagonists and events, though an antagonist Vaurca can be from another hive, or pretend to be from another hive while being from Lii'dra.
| |
| | |
| Playable Vaurca can be either Bound or Unbound, and their playstyles are drastically different.
| |
| | |
| ====Personalities: Playing a Vaurca====
| |
|
| |
|
| =====Playing Bound===== | | ==Relationships with Megacorporations== |
| | The following is an updated table listing which megacorporations employ Vaurcae. All playable characters must adhere to these specifications; failure to do so may result in administrative action. |
|
| |
|
| Playing a Bound (Viax) is very similar to playing a station-bound synthetic; your first responsibility is to obey orders and do as you're told. Hive-bound Bound are completely lacking in any sense of self-preservation and obey orders at any consequence to themselves, but the Bound distributed to Nanotrasen through the labor lottery have a special 'subordinated locus,' a set of root-level directives that keeps them from being too dangerous or untrustworthy. These 'subordinated' Bound are expected to flee from combat rather than fight, and must return to safety if they feel they are in mortal danger. This doesn't give them a lot of common sense, but it keeps them from being a threat to others. (An antagonist could absolutely give a Bound a bomb-detonator and tell them when to press the button.)
| | {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |
|
| | |+ Vaurca Hives' Relationships |
| Bound Vaurca are notoriously poor at dealing with complicated or overlapping chains of command, or with standing regulations, and generally can only recognize a single supervisor at a time to the exclusion of all others. They are thus a point of weakness for any antagonist seeking to cause damage to the station; any ne'er-do-well who gets control of one can generally rely on it to further their wicked cause without resistance.
| | |- |
| | | ! Corporations |
| Bound are barred from the security department. They are free to take civilian jobs (except Quartermaster and Chaplain) or engineering jobs. They are also free to be menial lab assistants, or orderlies in the medical department. They do not need to be formally promoted before taking these jobs. Because Za bodies are only for combat, and because Bound cannot join Security, playing a Za'Viax is not permitted.
| | ! Zo'ra |
| | | ! K'lax |
| =====Playing Unbound===== | | ! C'thur |
| | | |- |
| Unbound (Akaix) Vaurca are people; there is very little within the realm of human experience that an Unbound cannot encounter. They are capable of learning any skill and performing any job, and indeed can do any job well, but due to prejudice and discrimination, they are limited to the lowliest professions – civilian jobs and internships. Promotion comes only on a limited basis.
| | ! [[Nanotrasen Corporation|NT]] |
|
| | |style="background-color:#86dada;" | Preferential |
| To be Unbound is to be part of the officer, aristocratic, and intellectual class of the Hive. They are the brains of the operation; their ultimate purpose is to decide what the Hive and Brood should do. Individual Unbound must also Descend and corral the Bound into carrying out that vision. They are trained to assume initiative and take responsibility, and to make tactical decisions while keeping the strategic picture in mind. Unbound Vaurca reside not in the Bound's brain, but rather in an implanted bio-computer that can connect directly to the Cephalon or switched between Bound bodies. So long as this computer can be recovered - as long as the skull isn't smashed to bits or physically lost - the Unbound can return to the Cephalon and enter a new body, giving them their famous bravado.
| | |style="background-color:#39ff14;" | Yes |
| | | |style="background-color:#39ff14;" | Yes |
| '''Unbound are currently restricted to assistant roles (lab assistants, security cadets, medical interns, engineering apprentices, and generic assistants), cargo technicians, shaft miners, botanists, bartenders, and cooks.''' NanoTrasen has introduced a "Peer Review" system to accommodate promotion to higher positions - Read the "Avowal of Responsibility" form available in form dispensers for more information. Even with an AoR form, a given Unbound may only take the single job for which they've been cleared. Unbound will generally have an above-average level of skill in their general field, and will be wildly over-qualified for their internships. An "above average" level of skill will be the norm for them.
| | |- |
| | | ! [[Hephaestus Industries|Heph]] |
| ====Unbound Career Paths==== | | |style="background-color:red;" | No |
| | | |style="background-color:#86dada;" | Exclusive |
| There are three major reasons why an Unbound descends from the Virtual to go out into the Material world.
| | |style="background-color:red;" | No |
| | | |- |
| ''Black Numbers:'' In order to pay their debts, the Vaurca have agreed to a system of forced ''corvee'' labor. Nanotrasen, the Biesel government, and other corporations can submit their labor requests to a special body of the Biesel government, which in turn forwards them to Zo'ra Hive. After distributing these requests (though by this point they have become ''demands''), the Zo'ra broods each hold a lottery among all their members capable of doing that work. Those Unbound who draw the Black Numbers are required to go out and work for whoever requested them, for whatever length of time the government requires. Jargon and the [[Unathi]] have similar systems for the K'lax.
| | ! [[Zavodskoi Interstellar|Zavod]] |
| | | |style="background-color:#39ff14;" | Yes |
| ''Journeyers:'' All Unbound are equal, but those with age and great accomplishment are given pride of place and their words are more important. In order to become a person worth listening to, Vaurca must prove themselves by going out into the Material and working for the Hive by managing their public property and public affairs. This custom persists even as the Vaurca are in captivity, and while many remain in the Hive to maintain it, volunteering for the Black Numbers is a valid journey.
| | |style="background-color:red;" | No |
| | | |style="background-color:#39ff14;" | Yes |
| ''Vagabonds:'' Some Unbound want to Descend willingly, with no expectation of repayment from the Hive itself. They may be doing so because they desire a little solitude or breathing space, or they may want to study humanity and the outside world specifically. Descent is not free - a would-be Vagabond must come up with ''some'' kind of work-related reason to hijack a body, and they must fulfill the terms of that reason to remain in good standing - but a Vaurca with a mind to wander can generally devote most of itself to it. Being a Vagabond is also a state of mind; it signifies an unwillingness, or a hesitation, to return to the Brood and get re-socialized. Nanotrasen and Biesel generally keep a sharp lookout for Vagabonds; Vaurca society has such poor secret control that any loose element can become a valuable source of information. It was the presence of Republic spies in Kte'kzil Brood that led to them getting paranoid and autocratic.
| | |- |
| | | ! [[Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals|ZH]] |
| ====Speaking like a Vaurca==== | | |style="background-color:#39ff14;" | Yes |
| | | |style="background-color:#39ff14;" | Yes |
| The native Vaurca language, at least among the Vaurca on Tau Ceti, is called ''Vaur'uyit'yaza.'' It is synthetic, fusional, agglutinative, conjugative, and cased, and is extremely different from Tau Ceti Basic. Some Unbound are quite literate and fluent in TCB, but others still struggle to express themselves in it - they are still thinking in the old language and have odd sentence structure and syntax. Bound have a lot of trouble with Basic, but then again they have a lot of trouble with Vaur'uyit'yaza.
| | |style="background-color:#86dada;" | Preferential |
| | | |- |
| Natural Vaurca voices are completely unable to speak Tau Ceti Basic, and they use cybernetic implants to make up this shortfall. This is still a rough new technology to them, and their robo-voices are harsh and buzzy. They have not yet settled on a single design for these implants, so speech impediments still flourish. The most common element of the Vaurca 'accent' is replacing ''s'' with ''z'' and any velar consonant with a hard clicking ''k'', but they generally have problems with unvoiced consonants (p, t, s, f, sh) and put too much voice into them (b, d, z, v, zh). This can lead to a situation where they can't pronounce their own names.
| | ! [[Idris Incorporated|Idris]] |
| | | |style="background-color:red;" | No |
| ====Help with naming==== | | |style="background-color:red;" | No |
| | | |style="background-color:red;" | No |
| Vaurca names consist of four components – form, caste, designation, and residence. The first syllable of their name will be Ka, for a default body, or Za, for the common ‘warrior’ or ‘VIP’ body. Other prefixes exist, but are much rarer. The second syllable will be ''Viax'' (pronounced vee-YACKS) for a Bound or ''Akaix'' (pronounced ah-kah-YEEKS) for an Unbound.
| | |- |
|
| | ! [[Private Military Contracting Group|PMCG]] |
| The third component is their given name, usually in the form of a number. Names should be unique and limited to one or two syllables. Their language makes great use of crunchy double-consonants, like TL, TZ, KS, KT, and the like – but no C's and Q's. Older and more important people sometimes take on three or four syllable names, but doing so in a workplace environment is cause for laughter - if you're so important, then why are you out here?
| | |style="background-color:#39ff14;" | VP/NT |
|
| | |style="background-color:#39ff14;" | VP/NT/DPF |
| Names are not very important to Unbound; it's trivial for them to identify themselves and each other by their accomplishments and affiliations. When speaking to one another over the Hivenet, Vaurca can transfer their greater resumes in only a moment - or, in the Virtual, their entire lived experience. Besides, everyone in a particular Brood knows everyone else in that Brood, and the Zo'ra hive circulates lists of who's who.
| | |style="background-color:#39ff14;" | VP/Eridani |
| | | |- |
| Finally, the last component of their name is their home. Each of the five Zo'ra Broods has its own name – Ya'tzil, Tli'yez, Ax'tal, Tza'tzo, and Kte'kzil – but many Unbound prefer to use the Zo'ra name, affirming their belief that the Broods are temporary measures of no importance and the Mother Hive is still the homeland of their spirit. Real Vagabonds also often adopt the Zo'ra name. K'lax, on the other hand, always identify themselves as simply K'lax.
| | ! [[Orion Express|Orion]] |
| | | |style="background-color:#39ff14;" | Yes |
| A few examples:
| | |style="background-color:#39ff14;" | Yes |
| - ''Ka'Viax'Zeku Ax'tal:'' Zeku, A lowly Bound worker.
| | |style="background-color:#39ff14;" | Yes |
| - ''Ka'Akaix'Tlaku Ya'tzil:'' Tlaku, an Unbound, in a worker body, from the Ya'tzil Brood.
| | |- |
| - ''Za'Akaix'Laxa Kte'kzil:'' Laxa, An Unbound, in a warrior body, from the Kte'kzil Brood
| | ! [[Einstein Engines|Einstein]] |
| - ''Ka'Akaix'Zili Zo'ra:'' Zili, an Unbound, in a worker body, who is a vagabond - who rejects brood affiliation.
| | |style="background-color:red;" | No |
| - ''Za'Akaix'Perek K'lax:'' Perek, an Unbound, in a warrior body, from the K'lax hive - because they can migrate, it doesn't really matter which.
| | |style="background-color:red;" | No |
| | |style="background-color:#86dada;" | Exclusive |
| | |- |
| | |} |
|
| |
|
| ==Biology== | | ==Biology== |
| | ''See also: [[Vaurca Biology]]'' |
|
| |
|
| The Vaurca ''look'' like terrestrial insects, but their biology is actually much more complicated than that. | | The Vaurca appear as humanoid insects with a unique biology that sets them apart from the rest of the Orion Spur. The species is also known for its wide variety of Bioforms—unique subtypes of Vaurca with distinct anatomy. The most basic Vaurca bioforms possess four arms, with two of them being vestigial and smaller. Their hands showcase four digits, evenly distributed between thumbs and fingers. Their legs culminate in feet perfectly adapted for scaling the tunnels and caverns of their homeworld. |
|
| |
|
| ====Life Cycle====
| | Their heightened sensory perception is channeled through antennae, particularly tuned to an exceptional olfactory sense. Pheromones play a pivotal role in Vaurca communication, acting as a nuanced language, much like words intertwined with delicate scents. This acute olfactory ability enables them to decipher subtle nuances within the intricate tapestry of pheromonal expressions. |
| Vaurca start their life as eggs, laid in clutches of 12 to 60, and then hatch into larva that look like tiny prawns. At the moment of hatching, all larva are the same, and absent any special intervention they will all grow into Bound workers.
| |
|
| |
| A Bound begins work as soon as it's able, which is usually about five to seven years after it hatches and after its third molt. From there, it continues to work until it is too old and must be recycled, which is usually after 45 to 50 years. If treated with special hormones, it can develop male or female sex organs. Males have very short lives; they get one breeding season with the females and then die. Females, on the other hand, will lay six to eight clutches of eggs before their ovipostors wear out and they, too, must be recycled. Their genetic engineering and husbandry technologies aren't good enough to completely weed out hereditary diseases, so they stick with sexual reproduction as a way of refreshing their gene pool. Unless a given Vaurca body is explicitly a breeder, then it is essentially a neuter female - their bodies are a straight subtraction from the breeder females but not so much as to be real lowest-common-denominators with the males.
| |
|
| |
|
| If, while still in the egg, the embryonic larva is treated with a special artificial hormone, then it will not mature as a Bound – it will grow a large, ponderous brain much too big for its body. These 'protobound' are kept in special quarters, constantly fed and cared for, until their first molt is complete. Once they have their shiny new carapaces, they face Upload and enter the Virtual.
| | All Vaurcae are highly dependent on their specialized augmentations, which may be considered vital organs for their survival. These organs are installed shortly after birth. The most important augmentation for Vaurcae is the neural socket, which allows each member of the species to connect to [[Virtual Reality]] and communicate via [[Hivenet]]. These two technologies are considered the backbone of Vaurca society. |
|
| |
| The process of Upload is intentionally destructive; their brains are extracted, sliced into cell-thin segments, and copied as data into the Virtual – the massive part-organic, part-cybernetic brain-computers that are the focus and soul of their entire civilization. The Virtual is a garden of infinite delight; Unbound are free to use its nigh-unlimited processing power to study and create whatever they wish. When living as pure data, Unbound have no well-defined 'lifespan;' they will start to go senile at around 120 years of age and will eventually corrode so badly that they cannot communicate or think coherently. At that point, the Virtual gradually purges them as junk data. Mental exercise keeps their thought-patterns fresh and vital, and active and vivacious Unbound can live longer, but it's almost unknown to go beyond 200 years. | |
|
| |
|
| ====Internal Organs====
| | As Vaurca become more specialized, differences between bioforms are greater. For example, some subtypes of Vaurca may possess more limbs or have been engineered to withstand harsher conditions. Advanced bioforms may also have more unique augmentations, not readily available for the common members of the Hive. |
| Internally, Vaurca are much closer to terrestrial mammals or reptiles than to arthropods. They have a closed circulatory system with well-defined veins and arteries, allowing them to maintain a regular body temperature. Their blood is primarily copper-based hemocyanin with sulfur binding, which causes their blood to adopt a pale yellowish color and a potent stench. Hemocyanin is not as efficient as iron-based hemoglobin blood, meaning that their twin hearts must maintain a quick pulse and a high blood pressure to keep them oxygenated.
| |
|
| |
|
| Vaurca lungs are totally organic. However, they cannot naturally process oxygen without there being phoron present in the mix. Pure oxygen is toxic to the Vaurca, and pure phoron will suffocate them. As such, Vaurca in human space must go masked and wear external respirators - otherwise, the urge to breathe could lead to accidental oxygen poisoning. Scientists have begun work on a Vaurca body with no external breathing apparatus at all, but progress is slow for lack of resources. | | ===Ka, The Workers (Type A)=== |
| | [[File:Vaurcaworker.png|left|64px]] |
| | Type A are the most common Vaurca. Their most prevalent feature is their hardened exoskeleton, varying in colors in accordance with their Hive. This exoskeleton provides protection against harsh radiation, solar and otherwise, and acts as a robust pressure suit to seal their soft inner core from the outside world. This allows most Type A Vaurcae to have extended, several day-long EVA expeditions, assuming they have phoron. Their hands consist of two middle fingers with small talons at the end, and two opposable thumbs, a left and a right, on either side of their hand. Type A range from 5ft to 7ft tall on average, though outliers of both spectra are not unheard of for the more specialized tasks. |
|
| |
|
| Vaurca posses in their head a neural socket that allows interface with the HiveNet quantum radio system. The Vaurca in Tau Ceti can no longer reproduce these devices - the required industrial base is simply too high - and must now repurpose them from the bodies of the dead. Vaurca who are operating in really deep space - like, say, on a space station in the Romanovich cloud - can get actual peer-to-peer transcievers, but these are rare; each Brood has only a couple hundred of them left.
| | It is important to note that Workers explicitly avoid violent situations wherever possible. This is not their function, and they are always more used to the Hive in peak conditions. Nearly all Workers are designed to find violence almost abhorrent—the sight and smell of blood instilling fear and worry for most. |
|
| |
|
| ====Senses==== | | ===Za, The Warriors (Type B)=== |
| Vaurca senses are generally comparable to those of human beings. Their eyes are better in low-light conditions but have less color-definition; they have more rods but fewer cones. They have two dichoptic compound eyes, pitch-black in appearance and used for distinguishing colors, and two additional 'simple eyes' below them that have only rod cells and thus provide high-contrast black-and-white vision. Vaurca are much more comfortable in what a human would call 'low light conditions,' and normal indoor lighting can give them headaches. Their hearing works on similar limitations; their range is narrower (60Hz-12KHz) but better with faint sounds. They hear with their antennae, but also use them for sensing air pressure, temperature, and even fine touch. A Vaurca with a missing antenna has a similar connotation to a human with an eyepatch. | | [[File:Vaurcawarrior.png|left|64px]] |
| | Type B are the second most prominent of Vaurca society and some of the most varied. They can range in size from 5ft tall to 8ft tall. Other types of Warriors, known as Warforms, rise to as much as 20ft tall. They can be bipedal, quadrupeds, or hexapods, which are called types BA, BB, and BC respectively. They usually have weapons physically attached to their bodies, making them unwieldy or impractical for any situation other than combat. |
|
| |
|
| Because of their hard carapaces, their sense of touch is very weak and they can sometimes seem rather clumsy. A stubbed toe in the dark is not nearly as awful for them as it is for us, but they can have trouble touch-typing on a human-spec keyboard or rooting around in their pockets. Their sense of smell, however, is far beyond that of humans, though weaker than a Tajaran’s - they can reliably differentiate each other based on smell.
| | Warriors, unlike other types of Vaurcae, are not typically passive. This means that they tend to be more suitable for combat-orientated positions, while Worker and Gyne types tend to be poorly suited for the disposition these types of occupations demand. Unlike Workers, their exoskeleton is not as well equipped for such extended EVA expeditions, however, it can withstand a few hours-long excursions. |
|
| |
|
| ====Sleep Cycle====
| | The majority of Warrior-caste Vaurcae employed by the Stellar Corporate Conglomerate are type BA, also known as '''Myrmidon'''. Myrmidons are deprived of the most advanced augments and mostly differ from other types simply in that they are more mentally suited for combat or are involved in the function of something that could be considered a weapon. Unlike Workers, type BA possesses longer, more powerful mandibles. These can be customizable on the character creation screen. |
| The sleep cycle for bound is a very hard to one to predict. Their natural sleeping cycle seems completely random and is more in line with SSD that plagues other species. They simply go into an inert state and remain unresponsive for a few minutes or hours at a time before suddenly being roused and getting back to work. | |
|
| |
|
| ==Body Types== | | ===Ta, The Breeders (Type C)=== |
| | [[File:Vaurcabreeder.png|left|64px]] |
| | Type C are rare among Vaurcae and make up around 2-3% of their entire species. They are massive and larger than any of the other castes. |
| | Female Breeders, also known as '''Gynes''', are the ruling caste of the Vaurcae and are the only available type of Breeder on the ship. Type CB, Unbound Gynes, occupy all leadership positions amongst the species and share in the same biological immortality enjoyed by them, many being born in generations long gone. |
|
| |
|
| ====Workers (''Ka'')====
| | Queens, lesser and high, are the only types of Vaurcae capable of producing eggs. It falls to specialized Gynes, known as Surrogates, to fertilize, genetically shape, and nurture these eggs to maturation. Being born under a specific Queen places a Vaurca in her brood, with each brood pushing the Vaurca towards distinctive traits reflective of her will and a variant carapace color. Not all Ta are Queens, but all Queens are Ta. |
|
| |
|
| The Ka are the most common and can be seen as the 'backbone' of Vaurca societies. Their most prevalent feature is their hardened exoskeleton, varying in colors in accordance to their hive. This exoskeleton provides protection against harsh radiation, solar and otherwise, and acts as a robust pressure-suit to seal their soft inner core from the outside world. This allows most Ka Vaurca to have extended, several day-long EVA expeditions, assuming they have internals. They are bipedal, with bird-like talon toes. Their hands consist of two middle fingers with small talons at the end, and two opposable thumbs, a left and a right, on either side of their hand.
| | Male Ta are raised as Bound while the females are raised as Unbound. Ta differ substantially from other castes in that they do not have recognized subcastes and instead are separated by ranks. Additionally, unlike the remainder of the Vaurca species, Ta are possessed of great social intelligence, making them ideal candidates for negotiating with aliens on economic and political matters. They easily grasp the nuances of social context, contracts, and systems that other castes have difficulty navigating. |
|
| |
|
| The Ka are the baseline; they are the closest to the original, unmodified Vaurca. They are much easier to get than Za bodies.
| | Ta can only be played as [[Consular Officer|Consular Officers]]. |
|
| |
|
| ===Warriors (''Za'')=== | | <div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> |
| The Za are the second most prominent of Vaurca society, taking the form of heavily augmented warriors. Designing new and weird Za bodies is a constant hobby among the Vaurca, and they have a history of some truly wild designs - quadrupedal, hexapedal, guns for arms, laser-eyes, rending talons, and more. Despite their creativity, in modern times they generally have to stick with the basics. The Zo'ra have a history of being a warlike and martial Hive, so even in times of peace they maintain a force of warriors as large as they can feed and breed.
| | ====Playing a Hive Representative==== |
| | <div class="mw-collapsible-content"> |
| | As a Ta aboard the Horizon you are one of the venerable leaders of the Vaurca species and more valuable than any individual Worker or Warrior, a fact you are deeply cognizant of. Vaurca of your Hive are biologically compelled to follow your orders except where they directly contradict a Ta of their own Brood and many Vaurca of other Hive's will do so in ordinary circumstances out of respect, though they are not strictly required to. Your position places you as a representative of the Court of Queens or the state you represent. As such, your diplomatic duties consist primarily of representing your brood in a positive light, advancing the political goals of your Hive, and providing emotional support and advice. |
|
| |
|
| The 'basic' Za body, unchanged for millenia, covers their vulnerability to lasers to the best of their ability. It's also faster, allowing them to close to melee range as swiftly as possible. As a last-ditch weapon, their mandibles have been strengthened so that they can bite their enemies and do horrific ripping damage. With a tiny handful of exceptions, this is all the modern Hive has to offer. Even if they have no violent intention, VIPs will often choose Za bodies as a show of their status.
| | Below are the rules for playing a Ta. Any bends of these rules must be clarified with the species maintainer prior to playing the character. Failure to adhere to the guidelines may result in punishment. |
|
| |
|
| Nanotrasen has experimented with employing Bound Warriors, but these experiments have not borne fruit - they're too difficult to corral and direct without Unbound officers, and impossible to truly control ''with'' them - the Unbound could accept or reject directions as it wished. As such, there are no Bound Warrior types employed anywhere in Nanotrasen, or anywhere else under Biesel administration.
| | *No height taller than 11 feet tall. |
|
| |
|
| ===Breeders (''Tche'')===
| | *As a Gyne, you are allowed to have a three-syllable name instead of the usual monosyllabic. |
| The Tche are the rarest among Vaurca, in that they make up around 2-3% of their entire species. They are the only individuals in Vaurca hives that are fertile and that show sexual characteristics. Male and female are both exclusively Bound. Reproduction and infant-care thus falls under the general category of Bound scut-work, and Unbound consider it beneath them. Male Tche have vestigial wings, but are unable to fly. The Ka body is a partial downgrade of the female Tche body, but it still has signs (including powerful pelvic muscles) of its female heritage.
| |
|
| |
|
| ===Cephalon (''I'tzo'sa'')===
| | *Auto-hiss basic (s becomes z or more frequently not at all). You have been assigned to work on a station full of aliens, so you would have a vocal implant aiding this significantly due to your status. |
| The Cephalon is the strangest of all beings. Like the Unbound, they are bombarded as embryos by special hormones designed to expand their brains. In this case, however, their young bodies are bombarded with special treatments designed to hypercharge their thyroid and pituitary glands. This results in a brain that will continue growing far, far beyond the needs even of the Unbound - it will grow so much that they the Cephalon's handlers can cut live samples, spread them across trellises and racks, and treat them with more hormones and chemicals to ''keep them growing further.'' After a decade of pruning, racking, and tanning, and some cybernetic wire-work besides, the end result is a new Cephalon - a biomechanical supercomputer that houses the downloaded consciounesses of hundreds of thousands of Unbound, and will live for hundreds of years. Its processing power is somewhere in the tens of zettaflops, if it can even be measured that way.
| |
|
| |
|
| Vaurca must constantly create new Cephalons. Over time, genetic drift causes engram rejection; a new Unbound that is too many generations apart from the Cephalon itself will not be able to upload into it. This, along with the health and lifespan of the Cephalon itself, forms a constant ticking clock over the heads of their society.
| | *Avoid combat and avoid doing any labor or specialized work except where absolutely necessary. Ta may and almost always do have hobbies, often developing talents in line with the skills of their brood, and they are expected to be extremely good at them owing to their incredible age. Despite this, they are leaders and politicians, not Warriors or Workers, and they should have no intention of changing this. On matters of strenuous labor, Gynes ultimately prefer delegation and inspiring others to do something. |
|
| |
|
| The process of creating a Cephalon, which absolutely involves the semi-living corpse of a mutated infant, is their personal Omelas. When they first premiered, the Cephalon shocked the conscience of Sedantis. Even now, after a hundred generations of getting used to it, some Vaurca still find it queasy and distasteful, and prefer to think about it as little as possible. Others believe (or try to believe) that the consciousness of the Cephalon lives on, in perhaps a higher form then they can understand...
| | *Avoid social ignorance. Gynes possess a high social intelligence thanks to generations of evolution, being literally made for it, so they would be knowledgeable on whether trying to clean a Unathi's horn would upset them or not. |
|
| |
|
| ====Others====
| | *Ta are biologically immortal, many having lived through what would to other species be recognized as entire eras of history. Each brood has different customs regarding the age at which a Gyne is ready for diplomatic duties. Few broods trust Ta under 100 years old with any serious positions. The absolute upper limit on playable Ta age is thirty-five-thousand years, born not long before the [[The Great Hive War|Great Hive War]]. Gynes older than this are very rare and typically Queens, Surrogates, or hive-cell Aliates, not finding work aboard the Horizon. Despite this extraordinary range, the average Hive Representative will fall between 500 and 3000 years. |
| There are 11 other 'body-names' in circulation, but most are obsolete - nobody living has ever had occasion to use them and they only live on in dictionaries. Of those that remain, the name ''Ra'' is used for Rapid Transmission bodies and ''Kza'' is used for stationary Hivenet dispatchers.
| |
|
| |
|
| These Transmission bodies are designed for hyper-rapid typing – they're so quick that it's faster than transmitting on the Hivenet. Once the messages are sent, they go straight back into the Virtual to deposit as many as they can and collect another packet to send. The turnaround is about 20 minutes plus typing time, which – for this exact document – would be about 25 seconds. Transmission is the equivalent of a lowly internship; it's tedious and unpleasant, and a common stepping stone for Vaurca seeking higher prestige. Older, more established Vaurca reminisce about their time in Transmission the way humans would reminisce about boot camp, or an unpleasant boarding school.
| | *Gynes, as important members of the Hives, are entrusted with an administrative neural socket, a tool that gives them greatly increased power over the [[Hivenet]] and [[Virtual Reality]]. Mechanically, this is reflected in a series of Hivenet verbs, giving them the ability to mute, shock, ban, and even void lesser Vaurca. Despite having access to such with a thought, Ta employ them rarely, and to do so against another Hive's Vaurca without good reason is equivalent to a hostile attack, a major diplomatic incident. Voiding, the act of destroying a Vaurca's neural socket, is an absolute last resort and should never be employed except as a last resort. |
| | </div></div> |
|
| |
|
| The Dispatcher bodies are designed with powerful neural sockets - actually a completely different design, known as a ''neural rod'' - and they moderate and control the Hivenet traffic. Hivenet is not peer-to-peer; it all travels back to the Dispatchers and then out again. This is exhausting and important work, and it's not for novices. The Hivenet is universal across all Broods and all Hives; its effective range can be measured in astronomical units. In addition to managing Hivenet traffic, Dispatchers are also responsible for relaying the Consensus (as carried initially by Transmission) to the Brood at large. When human researchers first encountered a Dispatcher, they assumed it must have been a 'queen;' they are physically much larger than their Ka attendants, but almost completely sessile. | | ===Ra, The Bulwarks (Type E)=== |
| | [[File:Bullywiki.png|left|64px]] |
| | The newest caste of the Vaurca, Type E are heavyset industrialists who specialize in jobs involving hard labor, engineering, and maintenance. Average specimens stand at 8-10 feet tall and require special clothing due to their unique shape. Type E Vaurca are the least prominent population-wise in the species, due to the fact they were only recently conceived. Bulwarks were unveiled at the first session of the reformed Court of Queens in 2463 before specimens belonging to the other Hives began appearing. |
|
| |
|
| ==Social==
| | Bulwarks tend to be strictly defensive in their temperament, meaning they will fight to defend themselves and those in their immediate surroundings, before escaping when presented the chance. They will not chase down threats or run into situations they are not already involved in. |
|
| |
|
| ===Language===
| | Bulwarks are only employed in select locations as of now, due to their relatively recent appearance. Notable locations include the NTCC Odin, the NSS Upsilon, the NSS Aurora, and the SCCV Horizon. Outside of these locations they are heavily monitored in where they go and are typically kept in more secure locations. There are no [[Queenless]] Bulwarks. |
| The ''Vaur'uyit'yaza'' language is their greatest cultural treasure; for thousands of years, it has been the clay of poets and philosophers. It is also stunningly complicated, compared to most any human language - it is fusional, synthetic, and has plenty of cases and tenses entirely absent from human language. Its deep literary canon, as well as the relative high education of its speakers, means that it's also ridden through with allusion and reference. There is a plain way to ask where the bathroom is, but most Unbound wouldn't say it that way. They'd instead say that they were facing north behind a garden. (North is the opposite of south, South means the Southern Polar Star and thus navigation, garden means working in the dirt means dirty hands means washing hands which means the toilet.) Their whole language is like this, and not even they have a good dictionary for it - you just have to be well-read in general.
| |
|
| |
|
| Obviously, none of this works on the Bound, so the Unbound grade their language when speaking to them.
| | ===The Unbound=== |
| | The '''Unbound''', or Akaix, are the sapient and self-aware parts of Vaurca society. Their eggs and larvae are given specialized care by Surrogates and Bound Workers. The Unbound are born with fully developed brains and are perfectly capable of making rational decisions. They are naturally intuitive, curious, and capable of understanding abstraction, much like a human. However, Unbound are not raised in a traditional manner. Instead, Unbound Vaurcae are trained in Virtual Reality, where they learn to fulfill their tasks for the real world. Depending on the specialization of the Vaurca, this training can widely differ. |
|
| |
|
| ===Inter-caste Relationships===
| | Although Unbound are still thinking, sapient beings, they still typically maintain unwavering subservience to the respective hierarchy of their Hive. This is due to a combination of pheromone excretion and indoctrination methods imposed during the growing process of an Unbound. However, when they are not under the direct instruction of a lesser or High Queen, they will typically pursue their own or their own hive-cell's interests. |
| The Unbound regard the Bound as furniture, and use them up with callous indifference. Provided that there's a reasonable expectation that any valuable or unique implants in a given Bound can be collected and recycled, the Unbound show complete bravado in throwing away or discarding Bound lives. Due to the recent period of starvation, it has become fashionable to make handicrafts out of their dead bodies. Every Bound is theoretically attached to an Unbound supervisor, and must obey their supervisor's demands without question or hesitation - but they will accept orders from any Unbound in the same Hive who gives them. It is only social understanding that keeps Unbound from poaching each others' Bounds. Bound generally prioritize orders from those they can see.
| |
|
| |
|
| ===Inter-brood Relationships===
| | The Unbound typically take up jobs that require more critical thinking skills, the ability to learn or adapt, and greater abstract thought than simple Bound. In this respect, Unbound Vaurcae can simply be considered on the same level as any human. Integration in the Orion Spur and other alien communities has some of them living alone or in small groups in their own apartments like any other citizen or family, working to support themselves. However, all Vaurcae are required to provide a tithe to their hive-cell, which takes most of their paycheck. |
| The wise say that brothers at war ally against cousins. This is true of the Zo’ra broods as well. Left to their own devices, they continuously struggle with each other - they mark borders and shove along them; they launch raids and pillages; they declare ritualized ‘flower wars;’ and, most Vaurca of all, they blast each other with strongly-worded missals and journals decrying each other’s philosophical contradictions and weaknesses. | |
|
| |
| In theory, there is an All-Hive Consensus that all inter-brood hostilities need to cease for the duration of their captivity. It's an admirable sentiment, and many Vaurca do indeed believe this. But serious philosophical differences persist between the broods about how they can get out of their captivity, and this can lead to hurt feelings and rising tensions. In particular, the Ya'tzil Brood's claim to moral authority is slowly eroding away as Kte'kzil and Tza'tzo lose confidence in it, and there may be a serious schism on the horizon. | |
|
| |
|
| ===Inter-hive Relationships=== | | =====Playing Unbound===== |
| The Zo'ra and K'lax hives have theoretically good relations, and many Zo'ra feel a kind of condescending warmth towards the K'lax - in fact, it's common for Zo'ra to go on and on about how sweet and helpful the K'lax are and what reliable, good-hearted, simple souls they are. The K'lax formally accept their conditions of servitude, but this is a sham; public opinion among the K'lax is universally anti-Zo'ra. Neither hive has a unified position on Lii'dra, though many Zo'ra hold secret hope that the Lii'dra have come to rescue them from human bondage. Should another Hive appear, it will probably have negative feelings towards Zo'ra. | | Unbound are the human-like part of the Vaurcae species and are capable of playing any non-command role in terms of ability. The uniqueness of their upbringing, combined with the millennial history of the species, provides interesting types of personality not seen in any other species. Unbound can spent thousands of years inside Virtual Reality, either kept in cryogenic storage or resleeved to return to the real world. They can also be freshly birthed, barely knowing anything besides the basics of their trade. Any other variations, as long as they are possible within the lore, are also acceptable. Likely because of their biology, many Vaurcae are generally passive and hold more value in a group's opinion rather than their own, disliking isolation. |
|
| |
|
| ===Inter-species Relationships===
| | Depending on the Hive, the personality of the Unbound can change. This is mostly true among younger Vaurcae. For example, a young K'lax Warrior might understand the military structure of the [[Izweski Nation]] and have a good grasp on [[Unathi]] traditions. For this reason, Vaurca players are encouraged to read the lore of overlapping cultures. |
| Most local Vaurca live in human space, making their relationship with humanity of the utmost importance. This relationship is extremely frosty and unpleasant; humans tend to view Vaurca as an invasive species that can displace and corrupt them - literally corrupt them unto sickness, in the case of poisonous k'ois-fibers. Despite all their assurances to the contrary, there is still a wide-spread human belief that the Vaurca want to contact other Vaurca to come as a conquering force. They also find the whole system of Bound and Unbound hierarchy to be terrifying, especially when coupled with the Hivenet - there's simply no way to know, outside of expensive and complicated interception equipment, if a given Bound is going to get new orders from its Unbound masters, drop its broom, and go ballistic on any humans in grabbing distance.
| |
|
| |
|
| For their part, the Vaurca return the favor by viewing humanity as heartless and uncharitable. They also view humans as being simultaneously undisciplined and unfeeling, and small-minded in any case. Some individual humans have won the respect of the Vaurca, but only by foreswearing and apologizing for the actions of the race as a whole. They view the Skrell as more-disciplined humans, the Tajarans and Unathi as fellow victims of human ambition, and Dionaea as interesting novelties. On the whole, Vaurca believe that there is something unique about biological intelligence, and do not believe that robots, IPCs, or positronic brains can ever be people - they regard synthetic life as objects, and assertive synthetic life as defective objects.
| | ===The Bound=== |
| | [[File:Bound working.png|thumb||While all Bound are specialized for a specific job or instruction, all are still capable of simple labor.]] |
|
| |
|
| ==Culture and Society==
| | '''Bound''' Vaurcae, Drones, or Viax, are members of a lobotomized slave caste trained to obey orders without question, chosen even before their egg is laid. Eggs designated to be Bound are provided with certain hormonal mixes designed to neutralize brain function critical for higher thought and are then put in a warm, moisture-rich environment while Surrogates and Workers oversee their care. The larvae that hatch from the eggs are then taken to another specialized, moist environment to be raised and augmented. Bound are highly capable in their positions but are incredibly simple-minded; most Vaurcae consider them less sapient than they would an [[IPC]]. The result is a very effective worker but one that struggles to adapt to unusual circumstances and has minimal ability to learn or think in abstractions. |
|
| |
|
| ===Values=== | | =====Playing Bound===== |
| To reiterate what was said before, Unbound are individuals and can have conflicting or complicated motivations. While they possess cultural norms, they are capable of acting against them. Indeed, a Vaurca who didn't have any individual texture - who refused to play against type in any way and was exactly who and what society wanted them to be - would be seen as weak-minded and afraid of their own personhood.
| |
|
| |
| The Vaurca prize philosophy and intelligence; they are beings of thought and they value thought for its own merits. By human standards, they as a civilization spend an absurd amount of time thinking about the nature of goodness, of beauty, and of morality, and questioning why they do things and what their actions mean. The 'first among equals' in the Virtual are generally philosophers, and any Vaurca worth its k’ois will have a basic ability to express an idea in a logical and rhetorically-pleasing way. The notion of gaining great wisdom through the 'school of hard knocks' has very little traction there.
| |
|
| |
| At the same time, they do have a sense of gallantry and the romantic spirit. Even though they no longer need it, they still treasure their language and their oral heritage, and they they produce 'experiential' or 'noetic' art that can only exist in the virtual. While everyone has to buck up and pull their weight when they Descend, they believe in the importance of inner life and self-expression. They accept dramatic and romantic themes; chivalric and epic literature makes sense to them. They are pragmatic about the material world, but not necessarily about the interior one.
| |
|
| |
| It's also important to note how they worry about the feelings and well-being of each other. Ambitions flare, personalities clash, and rivalries fester within the safe boundaries of the Virtual, but the Unbound are connected to one another on a deeper level than most humans can understand; it's trivial for an Unbound to serve up their entire lived experience and memories to another as a basis for understanding. Vaurca are much better at talking frankly about their wants and needs than humans are.
| |
|
| |
| Equality is also an important virtue to the Vaurca. The oldest, wisest, and best-connected might lead them, but every Unbound is a component in the Virtual and a contributor to the great Synedrion of Thought, and deserves a certain degree of respect and consultation. The phrase 'that's an order' means nothing to them, for they don't accept commands; the phrase 'we have all agreed,' however, will generally induce compliance provided that we, whoever we are, has actually generally agreed. They will accept apprenticeship beneath someone else, but they aren't willing followers for someone else's ambitions. There's nothing wrong or dishonorable for a Vaurca to ask, 'why should we do this?'
| |
|
| |
|
| Vaurca love knowledge and discovery. Traditionally, they say that 'the proper study of Vaurca is Vaurca,' and somebody who completely eschewed the humanities (the Vaurcities?) would be kind of a deviant, but they've always had a deep respect for all the sciences and especially pure mathematics, at which they excel. They are also fascinated by biological diversity; counting themselves, they have only brought eight species with them from Sedantis and five of them are microbes. They feel this loss very keenly, and are always joyous to encounter new life.
| | Bound have a lot in common with stationbounds in personality and playstyle. They have no concept of the self and can only act independently in matters of personal survival, maintenance, or self-defense. Vaurca Drones typically speak slowly and have trouble speaking Basic. |
|
| |
|
| Finally, the Vaurca are gamblers. This is not an official or mandatory thing - it's something that they struggle against, actually - but there is a strong strain in their culture, especially in Zo'ra culture, of celebrating people who make bold and risky decisions, and face the outcome of those decisions with steely determination, even if the choices they make turn out to be the wrong ones. After all, Unbound descend mainly to show that they can act decisively and show coolness under fire; people who constantly second-guess themselves, look for affirmation, or pass the buck are viewed with derision. This tendency has created problems for them, historically, and a lot of Vaurca have used the phrase 'throw the sticks and count the squares' as literal last words. Many Zo'ra are also quite literally gamblers, enjoying games of chance and wagering on the outcomes.
| | Bound typically focus on performing their duty. If asked to do something outside of the scope of their duty a Bound will always use their duty as a reference to the task at hand. Because they are working under the decree of the Hive's Queen, only with good reason would an Unbound Vaurca ask a Bound from its respective Hive to deviate from their duty. Otherwise, Bound are taught and expected to follow station protocols to the best of their ability as it is their duty to do so. Only their Hives' Unbound, and heads of staff can order a Bound to deviate from its duties. |
|
| |
|
| ====Warrior-Poets====
| | Bound can be easily dismissed—or culled—if their performance is unsatisfactory. |
| In the Antediscidian period, Vaurca went to war for the same reasons that humans do - they identified with large, centralized states that competed over limited resources and had clashing ideologies. In theory, the Great Unbinding should have made all that obsolete; there was no shortage of virtual real-estate and Hives would no longer have to compete. Those living at the time hailed the new Virtual existence as the end of history; from now on, individuals would focus entirely on private happiness and there was no longer any reason or means to harm others.
| |
|
| |
|
| But even as the Vaurca conquered the natural world and the sickness of the body, the sickness of the mind - the hidden cancers of pride and greed - were still lurking, untreated and undefeated. The Hives and Broods eyed each other suspiciously, and built bigger and stronger war-machines. They covered their planet with armaments factories and kois-fields, each sprinting to produce a larger and stronger army. It was this arms race, and the ecological catastrophe it caused, that destroyed Sedantis and forced them to evacuate.
| | '''IMPORTANT:''' Drones are not meant to be stupid. While your Bound Vaurca is expected to be oblivious to most of their surroundings, this does not mean that Viax should be incompetent in their job. A Viax should never show ignorance towards their area of expertise or disregard for basic social conventions. |
|
| |
|
| And yet that evil seed, that kernel of self-destruction, rests within them still. The Broods still fight each other over the pettiest and most contrived of reasons, and if there are two Hives to a planet, they can fight for no reason at all. These conflicts are highly ritualized, featuring all the pomp and circumstance of stating grievances, formal declarations, war councils, challenges, counter-challenges, the combat of champions, and then - the thrash and crash of melee. The Unbound join these wars in one of two ways - as commanding generals, and as ecstatic bravos. The generals shove around their Bound spear-carriers like so many toy soldiers, and fight the wars for their own glory and self-aggrandizement.
| | They can '''only''' take the jobs listed here. If a job title is not on this list, you cannot play them as a Bound. |
|
| |
|
| The bravos, on the other hand - the warrior poets - fight because they are seeking ecstasy and self-knowledge through proximity to death and the struggle against death. Though they can sweep aside the Bound infantry, they prefer to face each other in mortal combat, often coming out in front of their lines to face the bravos on the other side. They might be equipped with the best bodies their Broods can design, but some go ''sans-blindage'' on purpose - they limit themselves to the basic Za bodies and expect their opponents to do the same.
| | {| class="wikitable" |
| | |+ Jobs playable by Bound |
| | |- |
| | ! Department !! Jobs Available |
| | |- |
| | | Security || None |
| | |- |
| | | Medical || [[Surgeon]], [[Physician]], [[Pharmacist]] |
| | |- |
| | | Engineering || [[Engineer]], [[Atmospheric Technician]] |
| | |- |
| | | Science || [[Scientist|Lab Assistant]] |
| | |- |
| | | Operations || [[Hangar Technician]], [[Machinist]], [[Shaft Miner]] |
| | |- |
| | | Service || [[Chef]], [[Bartender]], [[Gardener]], [[Librarian]], [[Janitor]] |
| | |- |
| | | Civilian || [[Assistant]] |
| | |} |
|
| |
|
| After the war comes the poetry; an insight is only as good as the way you express it. Poetry (or any other literary work) becomes much better if it comes from some genuine or unusual experience, and the idea behind the warrior poets is that by coming so close to danger and by living with such a wild flush of emotion and passion, you can glean some genuine insight about yourself or about existence. In the Zo'ra hive, the works of the warrior-poets are the highest and most venerated masterpieces.
| | ==History== |
| | ''See also: [[Vaurca History]]'' |
|
| |
|
| Each Brood has its own society of warrior-poets, and each individual member will have two degrees - one in war and one in poetry, each one tracked independently. A novice warrior-poet will begin at the sixth degree in both (6 in war and 6 in poetry, or 6/6), and can raise either by appealing to the next level up. Said 6/6 warrior can become a 5/6 by a majority decision of the 5/* holders, and can get promoted again to 4/6 by a majority decision of the 4/* holders, and so on until the top. The elite 1/1s at the top of the heap make an extra-special group, and select one of their number to be the brood's official Poet Laureate.
| | Vaurcae have a rich and complex history spanning over 730 000 years. Because Vaurcae play on the fallen civilization trope, history is very important to them. As such, most Vaurca characters will have a grasp of relevant historical events. Below is a summary of Vaurca history, but you are encouraged to read the complete wiki page. |
|
| |
|
| ===Work and Jobs===
| |
| For 2,000 years, Unbound have descended to the Material in order to work for the Hive. These are some of the jobs that they do.
| |
|
| |
|
| ''Transmission:'' The lowest of the low, as discussed elsewhere. Transmission is important, but it's also mind-crushing - the strain of repeatedly ascending and descending is exhausting, to say nothing of giving up your whole brain to memorizing messages. | | <div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> |
| | ===History Summary=== |
| | <div class="mw-collapsible-content"> |
| | The Vaurca evolved within the harsh environment of [[Sedantis I]], the innermost satellite of the gas giant Sc'theth'stak. Survival beneath the surface demanded constant adaptation. Competition for limited resources fueled millennia of brutal warfare among the emerging Vaurca Hives. However, a pivotal event was the domestication of the k'ois fungus. This agricultural breakthrough spurred population growth, codified the current Hive hierarchy, and laid the foundation for the rise of powerful empires. |
|
| |
|
| ''Planting:'' Supervising Bound agriculture. Only the most developed or space-constrained Hives will build harvesters, threshers, seed drills, or the like; it's much cheaper to have hordes of Bounds do all the work by hand. For Unbound, this is pitiful make-work; they sit atop their ''Zazla'ka'' and keep watch for hours, on the off-chance that something will happen that requires their attention. | | Though the exact chronology remains debated, a vast period of Vaurca history stretches back over 500 000 years. This era, often referred to as the '''Age of Death''', was marked by territorial conflicts and aggressive expansionism. It is also the era prior to the Vaurca Virtual Reality technology. Three major powers consolidated their influence: the [[Vaurca Hives#K'lax|K'lax Hive]], based in the [[Sedantis_I#Mya’kt_Fault|Mya'kt Fault]] and known for their technological innovation; the [[Vaurca Hives#Zo'ra|Zo'ra Hive]], settled in the [[Sedantis_I#Veii’kt_Plate|Veii'kt Plate]] and famed for their military prowess; and the [[Vaurca Hives#C'thur|C'thur Hive]], located within the [[Sedantis_I#Lei’kt_Caves|Lei'kt Caves]] and with noted diplomatic influence. |
|
| |
|
| ''Obstetrics:'' Another lowly job. Even the brain-dead ''Tche'' bodies have the instincts to care for their eggs and feed themselves, meaning that this job mostly refers to supervising the Bounds that do all the heavy lifting. This work is physically dirty and disgusting; on occasion you have to reach up into an ovipositor and pull out an egg with your hand. Obstetrics becomes more interesting when it comes time to care for baby Unbound, though. | | The Zo'ra Hive, through relentless conquest, established a vast empire. Their rule extended over much of Sedantis, subjugating numerous Hives—including the technologically advanced K'lax. Zo'ra's dominance would shape Vaurca society for millennia to come. Eventually, Zo'rane rule turned from ruthless to enlightened, establishing a revered organization known as the '''Court of Queens'''. |
|
| |
|
| ''Supervision:'' This job refers to watching over worker Bounds in other contexts. Common examples include machine shops, assembly lines, and construction. They are higher-class than planting and obstetrics, and require a decent resume. | | On January 5, 27 547 BCE, the small Lii'dra Hive attacked the Xtykt'lotec Rift, home of the Court of Queens. What followed was the [[The Great Hive War|Great Hive War]], a gruesome conflict that decimated the population of Sedantis. Although only lasting 80 years, the consequences of the Great Hive War deeply impacted Vaurca culture until today. |
|
| |
|
| ''Medicine:'' Vaurca medicine is much easier than human medicine, because there's no need for anaesthetic or for bedside manner; Unbound with damaged bodies just go back into the Virtual while the doctor works on it like a car. Treating the Bound, on the other hand, is just like being a vet; you just hold them in place and do what you need to do.
| | The aftermath of the Great Hive War brought to Vaurcae the Virtual Reality technology. Virtual Reality reshaped many aspects of Vaurca identity, particularly because it introduced a novel concept—the consciousness of the deceased could now be uploaded to [[Vaurca_Biology#Cephalons_(Type_D)|Cephalons]], meaning Vaurcae would never face death again. Sedantis, however, was wrecked, and although Virtual Reality was meant to be a gift for all hives, many smaller factions fell into despair, battling for the remnants of a now shrunken Zo'ra Empire. For millennia, the main Vaurca Hives were on the decline. Innovation was feared and diplomacy was kept to a minimum, out of fear of a new war and tensions. |
|
| |
|
| ''Security:'' Unless a war is coming, this is the only job where you get to cruise around in a Za body. "Security," in this case, exclusively means being a border-guard; the sight of two Unbound coming to blows over a private disagreement is so rare that they have no fixed procedure for it. In human space, this is extremely important work, and calls for both martial mastery and for de-escalation - much as they'd like to, the Hives can't simply order any human trespasser up against the wall on general principle. The highest and most sacred job of Security is to defend the Cephalon itself, a job so holy that Bound are not permitted to do it.
| | In 412 BCE, the main Vaurca Hives entered a period known as the [[Hives Renaissance]]. This epoch saw a great increase in technological advancements and revitalized many aspects of Vaurca society, including [[Vaurca Religion|religion]]. The Hives Renaissance reinvigorated the Vaurca desire for knowledge and innovation. The most notable, however, was the [[Hives_Renaissance#The_Pon'kana_Engine|Pon'kana Engine]]. Pon'kana was a novel method of seizing the energy inside Sedantis's core, similar to a localized Dyson sphere. Although the Pon'kana Engine was initially successful, it destabilized the orbit of Sedantis, ultimately leading to its possible demise when a crash was predicted. |
|
| |
|
| ''Sanctity:'' The days of Sanctity are pretty much over thanks to the human starvation regime, but in the K'lax hive it lives on. In theory, "sanctity" refers to performing the rites and rituals in honor of the Holy Mother Goddess, but in actual practice it's akin to the famous "lectors" of old cigar factories, or to modern-day radio jockeys. Their job is to say things on the Hivenet that actual working Unbound will want to listen to - it can be religious, educational, or entertaining. The Ya'tzil Brood uses them to moderate board games, while Kte'kzil broadcasts reports on human culture. | | With this new knowledge, the Zo'ra Hive decided to evacuate the satellite. Although the K'lax Hive was not originally considered for the Exodus, their Hiveship design was favored. Ultimately, the K'lax were invited to join the Zo'ra. The C'thur reverse-engineered the Hiveship design, joining the Zo'ra and the K'lax among the stars. |
|
| |
|
| ''Descender:'' The Descenders attend the Cephalon itself. This job carries a lot of responsibilities - they must feed the Cephalon, diagnose its injuries, give it medical treatment, maintain the Upload and Download machinery, care for the Transmission bodies, fit Bound bodies to accept download, and help the newly-Descended adjust to the Material. This work is extremely important and only the most elite can do it; Descenders get referred to as such even when they're in the Virtual.
| | Vaurcae wandered for over 2 000 years in space. At first, they established some temporary settlements, most notably [[Vaurca History#The Celis Conflict|Celis]]. However, the Hives continued to search for a new home until their arrival in the [[Orion Spur]]. |
|
| |
|
| ''Dispatch:'' The Dispatchers really are the "hive mind" of the whole Brood, the generals and viceroys of the entire Material. Their job is to disseminate Consensus among the Bound and Unbound, to give their very brains over to serving as network hubs and information routers. It's draining and exhausting work, to say nothing of how difficult it is; Dispatchers get Unbound helpers to wait on them and they can get whatever concessions they want. One of the main Dispatchers of the Tli'yez brood, famously, always has an Unbound by its side to play soothing music. To be a Dispatcher is the highest honor the Vaurca know, it is their version of being a retired Consul in ancient Rome. | | The C'thur Hive made [[Vaurca History#The First Contact With Skrell|first contact with Skrell]] around '''2448-2450'''. The Zo'ra Hive made [[Vaurca History#The First Contact With Humanity|first contact with humanity]] in '''November 2456'''. The K'lax Hive made [[Vaurca History#The First Contact With Unathi|first contact with Unathi]] in '''March 2459'''. |
| | </div></div> |
|
| |
|
| ''Reconnaissance:'' This refers to the study of humans and other non-Vaurca species. It is now so important that every Unbound working alongside humans is expected, upon their return, to draft a full report on what they've learned, and anyone who can put together a half-baked plan can get permission to go out and study them.
| | ===Modern Day=== |
| | Since arriving in the [[Orion Spur]], the Vaurca have strategically adapted to their new environment. To become indispensable, they have integrated themselves into the [[Republic of Biesel]], [[Izweski Hegemony]], and [[Nralakk Federation]], even providing military manpower. However, their limited resources after the [[Vaurca History#The Exodus|Sedantis Exodus]] have hampered their military readiness. Not all factions feel the same about the presence of Vaurcae in the Orion Spur. For example, the [[Republic of Elyra|Elyrans]], scarred by the [[The Lii'dra|Lii'dra incursion]], might be warry of all Vaurca Hives. |
|
| |
|
| ===Laws and Rules===
| | Though diminished from their former glory, the '''Zo'ra Hive''' remains a formidable power in the Orion Spur. Their military might is unmatched among the Vaurca Hives, boasting a vast force of warriors and specialized warforms. The military and political finesse of the Zo'ra is mostly evident in the [[Tau Ceti Armed Forces]], where they assisted the young republic by filling their ranks. This move granted them influence within the military structure and a path into the intricate political web of the Spur. The Zo'ra's focus on hybridizing weapons technology has also allowed them to strike deals with megacorporations, such as the [[NanoTrasen Corporation]] and [[Zavodskoi Interstellar]]. While they have successfully revived the Court of Queens in their capital, New Sedantis, a significant portion of the [[Flagsdale|Zo'ra population on Biesel]] live in great squalor. For more information, visit [[Zo'ra in the Republic of Biesel]]. |
| The Vaurca do not have laws; they have no need for them. Other than spreading rumors and defamation of character, it is impossible for Unbound in the Virtual to harm one another - they don't steal because they have nothing ''to'' steal, and they don't assault or murder because they literally ''can't.'' Within the Virtual, they know only one punishment - the Shun. When an Unbound is shunned, other Vaurca - perhaps a single person, perhaps a group, perhaps the whole Brood - simply refuses to interact with them. This can last for a fixed period of time, or it can last until the one so shunned has shown remorse and begs to be re-admitted to polite society. This is the usual punishment for being antisocial or disagreeable. A life shun is essentially a death sentence, not only because the culprit may as well be dead to the Hive but also because being shunned reduces your life-expectancy.
| |
|
| |
|
| In the Material, all bad deeds fall under a single umbrella that they name ''malfeasance.'' Malfeasance is any behavior that goes against the terms of their mission; it includes wasting time, a flagrant lack of Discipline, doing a bad job, causing trouble for others, or actively making things worse. The punishment for malfeasance is not being allowed to descend to the Material again, maybe for a long time and maybe forever. If the behavior is really bad, then it might be combined with a shunning.
| | While the Zo'ra focus on military and political influence, the '''K'lax Hive''' has proven most adept at harnessing advanced technologies for the Orion Spur's realities. This comes as little surprise to the K'lax, the brilliant inventors whose contributions were often overshadowed by the Zo'ra. Their collaboration with the Unathi on [[Moghes]] saw the ingenious adaptation of ancient terraforming machines to the Spur's materials. This expertise fueled their transformation of the desolate colony of [[Tret]] into a sprawling factory planet—the new industrial heart of the Izweski Hegemony. Tret's vast production capabilities have significantly boosted the Hegemony's economy, fueling military expansion and technological development. While the K'lax also provide Warriors to the Hegemony, their numbers pale in comparison to the Zo'ra's contributions to the Tau Ceti Armed Forces. Despite this, unfavorable external deals with [[Hephaestus Industries]] limit the full financial rewards the K'lax reap from their industrial prowess. For more information, visit [[K'lax in the Izweski Nation]]. |
|
| |
|
| In Ya'tzil, Ax'tal, and Tza'tzo, the whole community must agree on a punishment together, and in Tli'yez, punishment falls to the respective Departments. In Kte'kzil, however, punishment belongs to the Conductor or to one of its chief lieutenants. There are rumors that the Conductor intentionally tricks its rivals and enemies into Descending so that it can assassinate them, but the Conductor denies these rumors.
| | Economically, it is only the '''C'thur Hive''' who have truly profited. While the other Hives are reliant on collective money pools brought in by employed Bound and Unbound or the leftovers of their own factory exports, being harbored by the generous [[Nralakk Federation]] has opened up a large amount of opportunities, to say nothing of the C'thur Hive's historical inclinations. The C'thur have bought a significant portion of [[Einstein Engines]], opening a connection to the [[Eridani Federation|Eridani Corporate Federation]], and many job opportunities. These factors have resulted in the C'thur being in a financial and corporate advantage. Money that is received by Hives is typically distributed between the Queens, each given the discretion to use their share however they wish within certain limits. For more information, visit [[C'thur in the Federation|C'thur in the Nralakk Federation]]. |
|
| |
|
| ===Arts and Entertainment=== | | ====Individuals==== |
| The native environment of the Unbound is a purely noetic one, made entirely of information and ideas without any reference to the senses; as such, their native entertainment tends to be noetic as well. They have entire libraries of 'boardless board-games' - viz. Mornington Crescent. The most famous such game is called 'Fragile Alliances,' and while it has elements of moving toy soldiers around a game-space, the real meat of the game is making and breaking alliances with the other players, betraying them when the time is right. They are experts at constructing 'mind-frames' - artificial states of knowledge and memory that prompt certain interesting feelings. Less-disciplined Vaurca like playing with virtual blocks and creating digital environments as a form of artistic expression, and collaborating and sharing them with others.
| | For many Unbound, adapting to their new lives has been a tough ordeal, but one that is short suffered. Once settled, most hive-cells are capable of sharing a single-bedroom apartment due to their preference for confined spaces and their tendency for practicality over personality. Personal possessions are not uncommon, Unbound are welcome to spend what little money they typically receive on hobbies. |
|
| |
|
| In the Virtual, there are two kinds of art: noetic and literary. An Unbound could create a virtual space and create a virtual piece of tactile art - a painting or a sculpture - but noetic and literary arts completely dominate the scene. "Noetic" art, like noetic entertainment, is entirely information- and idea-based. It generally takes the form of trains of though, the process from hypothesis to conclusion. Sometimes these trains of thought are cross-cut between multiple perspectives, jumping between participants in a conversation as they mull over points and arguments. The topic is usually philosophy, or perhaps romantic personal angst. (Watch the movie ''Mindwalk'' for a good example.) "Literary art," on the other hand, runs the same gamut as it does among humans. Poetry is the highest art, and there are dozens of different schools and styles. They also write stories and narratives, but these aren't as common unless it's as a personal autobiography - when I was in the Material, this is what I saw, this is what I did, and this is what I felt. The great works of the Warrior-Poets have already been discussed.
| | '''Workers''' mostly shifted from serving the Hive to employment well, with only a few incredibly specialized Unbound finding difficulty. While confusion was apparent at the complicated process of the simple act of going to work, once clarified, many Vaurcae brought their specialized knowledge and pragmatism into like-minded fields, typically able to share their intricate knowledge with great practical success. On a social level, however, many Unbound are prone to varying levels of discrimination. Such acts can be extremely discreet, such as being made to do a less desirable task. On the other hand, some overtly voice their dislike, often showing their ignorance of how Vaurcae operate and live. More obvious examples of dislike include incidents such as [[Little Adhomai|Tajara gangs]] having feuds with Vaurcae in Mendell City. |
|
| |
|
| Descended Vaurca, forced to work for long periods of time away from home and with unusual amounts of leisure time, are beginning to explore their ancient art-forms, or mixing them with human and other styles. This is still a fresh and new field of exploration. When in the Material, Unbound with a few moments to kill like chattering on the Hivenet, either to have meaningful conversations about life and the universe or else to play little word-games. They also have a handful of games to play in person, the most popular of which is ''Tsa'tlan'' - it involves throwing sticks into the air to create shapes or constellations. It is an excellent game for gambling, though it requires an impartial judge to discern what shapes have been made.
| | '''Warriors''', however, did not have such an easy transition. While there were some who could transition as well as most Workers, many of the Unbound purely bred for combat struggled to find applicable work. Some of these soldiers slowly managed to trickle into work as private security, bodyguards, and alike, while others found trivial work doing menial or laborious tasks. K'lax Warriors mostly serve in the Hegemony. Meanwhile, many others, especially from the Zo'ra Hive, have found a place doing what they do best in the Tau Ceti Armed Forces. Much of this situation was recently alleviated by the founding of the Pan-Vaurcesian military the [[Private_Military_Contracting_Group#Ve'katak_Phalanx]] which draws in a large percentage of what would be the otherwise unemployed Vaurca Warriors, giving them a place in service to the Court of Queens. |
|
| |
|
| The Vaurca do have a sense of humor, but much of it relies on word-play, allusion, reference, and innuendo. It is thus utterly beyond translation. In general, Vaurca humor relies on incongruity; a dramatic situation suddenly reveals itself as a frivolous one, or a frivolous situation suddenly takes a dark turn, or somebody tries to say something clever and ends up embarrassing their own self.
| | '''Bulwarks''' are somewhere in-between. As the newest mainstream caste, they have been specifically bred for specialized purposes. However, there are still many limitations. As many Bulwarks were a novelty when they were first unveiled, their uses were diverse. Currently, most Bulwarks are still employed in heavy industries such as mining or engineering. Some outliers remain, working in other fields as unique and valuable assets. |
|
| |
|
| The Bound are completely derived of pleasure and have no desire to entertain themselves.
| | ==Culture== |
| | ''See also: [[Vaurca Culture and Society]] and [[Vaurca Religion]]'' |
|
| |
|
| ===Fashion & Cuisine===
| | As the oldest sapient species in the Orion Spur, Vaurca history and culture are incredibly rich and diverse. However, the dominant understanding of Vaurca culture stems from the traditions of the Zo'ra Hive and their historical empire. While the K'lax and C'thur Hives possess their own cultural variations, the influence of the Zo'ra permeated their vast domain for centuries. |
| In ancient history - in the Antediscidic phase of their history - Vaurca would wear colorful and elaborate clothes as a way of showing their status and taste. Now that they've moved into the Virtual and only Descend to work, it's considered good Discipline to eschew clothes and accoutrements in favor of going naked, or limiting their clothes to just a few pockets and toolbelts. Because of their hard carapaces, they have little trouble being naked. Blindfolds are also useful in high-light environments.
| |
|
| |
|
| Vaurca that venture EVA, despite their natural tolerance to high/low/vacuum pressure environments, are usually seen wearing soft-suits that allow them prolonged times in space for construction, operations, and other EVA activities. | | Prior to the invention of [[Virtual Reality]], Vaurca artistic expression prioritized physical mediums. One of the main art forms was grandiose architecture, often carved directly into the caverns of Sedantis. These sculptural and architectonic feats demonstrated both skill and devotion. Intricate sculptures and elaborate rhythmic music were other cornerstones of their culture. These enduring art forms have seen a revival among Vaurca in the Orion Spur seeking to differentiate themselves and showcase their unique heritage to other species. |
|
| |
|
| The Vaurca used to eat all kinds of exciting and diverse cuisines - they still have ancient cookbooks that describe fantastic ingredients - but all of that's gone now. The only edible substance they have is K'ois, and it lacks both flavor and nutrition. It is, however, extremely easy to grow in vast quantities, making it the perfect food for the Bound and thus a perfect pillar of their post-Ascension civilization. Indeed, the decision to switch from diverse agriculture to pure k'ois was a major contributor to the ecological collapse of Sedantis, and the fact that it's the only food they've brought with them - the only food they can eat anymore - serves as a constant reminder of what they lost and the trade-offs they made for power.
| | Today, much of Vaurca culture exists within the digital landscape. Each Queen maintains vast virtual temples dedicated to knowledge, arts, and crafts. This shift towards digitalization has shaped the core of modern Vaurca cultural expression. Within Virtual Reality, Vaurcae find an unlimited canvas for artistic pursuits, collaborative learning, and the preservation of history. |
|
| |
|
| ===Religion===
| | [[Vaurca Religion|Religion]] plays a significant role in the lives of many Vaurcae. While individuals or hive-cells often choose their faith, it remains one of the few aspects of an Unbound Vaurca's life not wholly dictated by the Queens. Virtually all Vaurca faiths revere the Queens, particularly their own. This reverence, reinforced by pheromones and immersive Virtual Reality experiences, contributes to the stability of the Hives and strengthens the Queens' rule. |
| The specific rites, practices, and theologies differ from Hive to Hive, from Brood to Brood, and from individual to individual, but all these strains of thought exist more-or-less within a single religion among all the Vaurca – adoration of the Holy Mother Goddess, the primordial being who created the universe and put the Vaurca in the center of it on Holy Sedantis, and whose weeping shook the heavens when her beloved children destroyed the Garden of Eden for everybody by growing up.
| |
|
| |
| Their religion is uncomplicated, and is so by intention. The Holy Mother Goddess is a big glob of sweet, gooey mother-love, embracing all her children with unconditional forgiveness. However calculating and intellectual they might be otherwise, the warm and welcoming HMG gives every Vaurca an opportunity to regress back to the safety and comfort of infancy. It's childish, and it's supposed to be. The HMG exists alongside formidable Vaurca philosophies about truth and morality and society and metaphysics and all that, but it's hard to resist her allure for long. The HMG loves you very much and wants you to be happy, no matter what you do, and will always forgive you and welcome you back to her if you're really sorry and do your best.
| |
|
| |
| Vaurca venerate the great thinkers and heroes from their past, but only the HMG receives genuine veneration and prayer. Even those Vaurca who abstractify or re-interpret the HMG, perhaps as the emergent gestalt consciousness of the Virtual or as a symbol of Sedantis or as a metaphor for the bewilderment of adulthood, do not replace her with another deity for genuine worship. They are thus a monotheistic society. Some Vaurca have hit upon the idea (which happens to be true) that the image of the Holy Mother Goddess comes from the primordial pseudo-consciousness of the Cephalon itself, as its childlike and perpetual longing for its mother imprints itself on the Unbound as a whole. This is a hypothesis held by a small group of people; much more common is the belief that the HMG is either literally real or a cultural metaphor. | |
|
| |
|
| Obviously, none of this is of any use to the Bound.
| | ===Language=== |
| | Before the invention of the Hivenet in the [[Vaurca History#The Era of Augments|Era of Augments]], Vaurcae would communicate by distributing pheromones from mouth to mouth for complex messages, and vibrations with their antennae for simpler messages, sent via larger distances. Since Vaurcae do not possess a vocal tract, spoken language was unknown to them until their arrival to the Spur. The invention of the Hivenet allowed for a better and more long-range method to communicate with each other, making cooperation more efficient. While to a stranger Hivenet might just sound like rhythmic vibrations, for a Vaurca the received message—which is encoded pheromones coded and transmitted as signals—"sounds" in their head, which is how the Vaurcese vocabulary has been incorporated in Human, Skrell, and Unathi space. |
|
| |
|
| ===Procedure, Consensus, and Discipline===
| | These encoded pheromones can also transmit emotions and other kinds of warnings. Because of the lack of facial expressions available for Vaurcae, it is common for individuals to express themselves by sending a message such as this on the net. Other simple encoded messages such as small onomatopoeic sounds, reactions like eye-rolls, and basic "images" may also be sent. "Videos" are too heavy to be encapsulated by pheromones in the way other species would understand it, instead coming across as a collection of feelings and basic information. |
| To Vaurca, the most important word - the most magical and sacred of all words - is Procedure. Procedure comprises the essential rules of conduct and responsibility among the Vaurca, and broadly speaking, it has two elements. The first is that every Unbound has the right to weigh in on any subject or any question before the Brood, to have their objections known and acknowledged by the group. The second is that every Unbound has the responsibility to cultivate valid and informed opinions about those subjects and questions. Procedure is a massive burden on most Unbound, and most Broods have a hard time sticking to it. In a broader sense, one could summarize Procedure and its satellite ideas by the simple maxim - all for one and one for all.
| |
|
| |
|
| Consensus means the same thing to them as it does to us - everybody agrees on what they should do - but to Vaurca, it's heavy and serious. When the Brood or the Hive reaches Consensus, that means that everybody (everybody who cares) has brought up their thoughts and their objections, and those objections have been systematically answered. It means everybody is on the same page, everybody's had their fair hearing, and the matter has been conclusively decided. When a point has reached Consensus, that's the end of it - everybody has to get in line.
| | Since the species' arrival in the Spur, they have been forced to develop augmentations known as voice synthesizers which allow for speech and the translation of language. The majority of these voice modulators are cheap, which is responsible for much of the species possessing a peculiar buzzing accent. Without this augmentation, no Vaurca is able to audibly receive or reproduce a xenolanguage. Additionally despite the species not having used a written language commonly since the invention of Virtual Reality, Vaurcae are able to learn to read and write in Basic, and for an employee on board the [[SCCV Horizon]], part of their education would have consisted in such. |
|
| |
|
| The last worship-word is Discipline. Discipline is the ability to keep your mind in the Virtual even as you're stuck working in the Material. A Disciplined Unbound eats kois without complaining, sits on the floor, goes naked, and has no thought for material comfort and luxury - they are working for the weekend, and not wasting any of the Hive's valuable material resources on making their stay in the Material more comfortable or enjoyable. To personalize your surroundings or body is considered un-Disciplined.
| | ====Speaking like a Vaurca==== |
| | | Vaurcae working in alien space have augments that allow them to have an easier time speaking the languages of the Orion Spur. However, due to the desperate times the species is in, speech augments tend to be of variable quality. Vaurcae typically expresses an unfamiliarity with most alien languages, preferring to use basic words and sentence structures over more complex ones, and often may be unaware of the exact meaning of words, or the names of objects, instead describing them. This tends to happen most to those who are not used to alien cultures. |
| ===Technology=== | |
| In their Sedantene Golden Age, the Vaurca were technological juggernauts - they had such technologies as subatomic element conversion, microfabrication, quantum computing, self-perpetuating nanotechnology, cybernetic implants of a thousand varieties, and more. They were masters of biotechnology, and experts at making things out of living flesh. While they've kept the theoretical knowledge base required to make these things, the industrial capital they'd need is far, far beyond their current needs - at the height of their civilization, they had tens of thousands of Broods spanning an entire solar system, and needed every bit of it to feed their scientific economy. The only thing that they lacked was bluespace; they never managed to crack the light barrier for anything larger than a few quarks and bosons, and their ansible technology relied on quantum entanglement and had to be 'paired' on-site before parting ways.
| |
| | |
| The Vaurca of Tau Ceti and environs must now rely on dwindling stockpiles and primitive work-arounds. Of utmost concern are the neural sockets, which are both mandatory for their society and completely beyond replication. The Cephalon itself is also a major concern; it is made of living tissue that must feed and must keep healthy. Even with the very best maintenance, it will eventually die; it will also start to reject new Unbound due to genetic drift. Keeping the Cephalon healthy, and replacing it when the time is right, is their perpetual priority 1; rationing and shepherding their technology stockpiles is right behind it.
| |
| | |
| ==Hives and Broods== | |
| There are three Hives in human space, but only one of them - Zo'ra - is large enough to divide into Broods. The Hives are like ethnicity; during the Sedantene period, they were countries with borders, governments, and treaties. At the end of the period, they sent out separate evacuation missions to different star systems, and a lack of contact with other Hives has sharpened divisions within each Hive. The Broods are constantly in the process of division and multiplication; they send a splinter to a new planet, and that splinter eventually grows, divides, and sends its own splinters off to new ones.
| |
| | |
| ===Zo'ra===
| |
| Zo'ra - "Ever-Victorious."
| |
| | |
| During the height of the Sedantene period, the Zo'ra were a great power. Traditionally an aggressive and warlike Hive, they bear a major responsibility for the arms-race and ecological collapse that forced their great migration, and one could argue that the current situation is all their fault. Their language and culture is now the gold standard for all Vaurca thus far encountered. Their Hive-Ship, Titan Prime, was the one that fell into orbit in the Tau Ceti system and thus served as first contact for humanity.
| |
| | |
| They have warm but condescending feelings towards K'lax, and regard the Lii'dra with both wonder and terror. Titan Prime held six Cephalons and six Broods, one of which was in a terminal death-spiral and remains unconscious on life-support. All these Broods are 'siblings,' spawned from a single Cephalon on Phi Auricae called Tla'xa; as such, no Unbound can Descend from one and Ascend into another.
| |
| | |
| ====Ya'tzil Brood====
| |
| The Ya'tzil Brood is based Mendell City, in the infamous District 9. It was the first to be moved off the Hive ship, and thus had the best head-start in finding good ground and establishing itself. They position themselves as the guardians of tradition and morality, and their long-term goals for the Vaurca – the 'Ya'tzil Plan' – can be summarized as 'endure what we must, repair the ship, get out of here, forget this ever happened.' They are the first-among-equals, and assert for themselves the right to speak for the whole Hive.
| |
|
| |
| Ya'tzil is strong in Procedure, but there's a powerful force in the brood called the Committee on the Division of First Principals. While the Committee exerts no obvious control, it serves as a gatekeeper for new ideas and proposals, and is thus a moderating force on the brood – most Ya'tzil trust the Committee to weed out any stupid ideas and only entertain the ones the Committee endorses. Some Ya'tzil do not approve. The Ya'tzil are deeply concerned with the soul of their people, and lead efforts both to keep everyone together (they publish the All-Hive Circular Letters) and to preserve their culture and history.
| |
| | |
| ====Tli'yez Brood====
| |
| Tli'yez is another Zo'ra brood, also based in District 9. Before the Contact, it was renowned as a home for scientific experimentation and discussion. As such, the Black Numbers have decimated it, and many of its brightest minds have been press-ganged into service of NanoTrasen. Tli'yez's leadership is thus focused on the struggle to live.
| |
|
| |
| Tli'yez is extremely bureaucratic, compared to the other broods. Its Unbound identify very strongly with their individual Departments, and each Department handles its own policies with very little outside interference. Within the Departments, however, they generally follow Procedure, with the caveat that older and more experienced people get greater consideration.
| |
| | |
| ====Tza'tzo Brood====
| |
| Tza'tzo is another Zo'ra brood, still clinging to its old quarters on the Hive-ship Titan Prime. Tza'tzo keeps very strongly to Procedure and Discipline, such to the point that they have mandatory all-brood messaging – it is forbidden for any one Tza’tzo to exclude any other from any communication. Tza'tzo is thus the Vaurca equivalent of religious fundamentalists, and generally disapprove of the other Broods. They have admirers in other Broods who approve of Tza'tzo's strong values, and some in Ya'tzil consider Tza'tzo to be a threat to their prestige and power.
| |
|
| |
| Tza'tzo trades favors with the other broods (including access to their technology stockpiles) in order to avoid the worst of the Black Numbers, so as to keep itself pure and untainted by humans. Their Unbound are the creepiest and most robotic of all, and come off as being utterly devoted to their people and to Zo'ra. Because they are so conformist and controlling, however, they have a lot of vagabonds.
| |
| | |
| ====Kte'kzil Brood====
| |
| Kte'kzil is the fourth Zo'ra brood, but it's based on New Gibson. Because of the literally astronomical distances involved, Kte'kzil cannot communicate with the other Broods via Hivenet - they must resort to using human channels, which they are reluctant to do. Their position on the Isolation from the rest of the fold has made them a little weird, and they've picked up some distinctly... human ideas about how to organize themselves. Unlike all the other broods, they have a single and recognizable leader – '''Tlakoxaya the Conductor'''. In the space of a few years, Procedure has almost disappeared from Kte'kzil, in favor of the Conductor and its lieutenants. Debates take place behind closed doors, and secrecy is the rule of the day. The primal fear of humanity and of isolation has given Tlakoxaya ''carte blanche'' to rule the Brood with an iridium claw, and these problems only got worse when a Kte'kzil spy leaked information about the construction of a new relay.
| |
|
| |
| Tlakoxaya is not in the habit of explaining itself to others, but it's made overtures towards becoming a player in New Gibson in its own right and to potentially making Kte'kzil an important fixture in the Republic. The brood also making a full-scale effort to understand humanity and others; the Conductor constantly bombards its subjects with discourses and analyses about human culture, organization, and life. Opinion on Tlakoxaya remains bitterly divided in the other broods; the Conductor apparently enjoys the confidence of the Brood and hasn't resorted to punishing dissent - yet.
| |
| | |
| ====Ax'tal Brood====
| |
| Ax'tal is the fifth Zo'ra brood, and the last one in District 9. It is intentionally left blank, partially to serve as a 'default' brood and partially in case space is needed for some future development. A player with no interest in the hooks and tropes of the other broods is advised to choose Ax’tal.
| |
| | |
| ====Za'chai Brood====
| |
| Za'chai is brain-dead and stuck on life-support. It has no living Descended Unbound, and its Bounds are being culled for their implants. Resurrecting Za'chai is a major project for the other broods. It remains on the Hive-ship.
| |
| | |
| ===K'lax===
| |
| K'lax - "Far-Gazing."
| |
| | |
| In medieval times, wealthy lords would endow chantries – they would charge a group of holy men to say masses for their soul in perpetuity. This is the task of the K'lax Hive; defeated and subjugated by Zo'ra in centuries past and forced to pray for their masters. In the economy of the Hives, K'lax produces holiness as tribute. Their scent marks them as alien to the Zo'ra majority, and when mixing with their masters they endure constant hooting jests to 'give us a prayer.' Wherever the Zo’ra go, they like to drag a few K’lax along with them to keep up the shrines, recite the sacred incantations, and remind the Zo’ra that they are a conquering race.
| |
|
| |
| Stereotypically, they are the most sensitive and mystical of all the Vaurca, their minds wrapped up in solemn and esoteric contemplation of the Holy Mother Goddess in all Her Glory and Majesty. The work of sanctity, however, only occupies a small part of their number (even if it occupies a much larger proportion of them than it would in another hive.) The rest must toil and scrabble like everyone else, and in fact are more likely to be angry young punks. Many of them are thinking about how this might be the time for red-clawed revenge.
| |
|
| |
| In fact, K'lax has made an excellent deal for itself. The Hive as a whole has recently struck a deal with the young Hegemon of the Unathi, and one of their broods is now quartering itself on one of their planets. While neither side really trusts the other, it's given the K'lax valuable breathing-room and an opportunity to get back on their feet.
| |
| | |
| The K'lax Hiveship also launched from Phi Auricae, and landed in [[Skrell]] space. K'lax actually has three Broods, but because one of them is the parent of the other two, it's possible for Unbound to Descend out of one and Ascend into the others - provided they make a stop-over in the parent Cephalon first. Because of this, they do not name themselves after their brood.
| |
| | |
| ===Lii'dra===
| |
| Lii'dra - "The Long-Awaited Venture."
| |
| | |
| The Lii'dra are a mystery. The Vaurca in known space recall that there was a place back on Sedantis called Lii'dra, but it was a wide spot in the road; there was never a hive or a brood or any other kind of group by that name. Humanity first encountered the Lii'dra when the Hive-Ship ''Klo'xzai'' arrived in the Lalande system, in the Sol Alliance. This contact immediately turned hostile when the Hive-Ship's automated defenses opened fire on investigating Alliance patrol ships, sparking a brief skirmish that claimed the lives of 12 Alliance sailors. Since then, the ''Klo'xzai'' moved into deep space, and just like the [[Vox]] and [[Unathi]] raiders, the Lii'dra operate as fearsome buccaneers.
| |
| | |
| The Zo'ra estimate that the Lii'dra have a Consensus-system similar to theirs, but nothing is certain. They may operate as a unified hive, or they may have independent broods at odds with one another. All they know is that the ''Klo'xzai'' has faster-than-light drives and can operate as a warship; this suggests technology far beyond that of old Sedantis. Lii'dra has not attempted to contact the Zo'ra hive, and their few informal encounters have been extremely hostile.
| |
| | |
| ==History==
| |
| ===The Beginning===
| |
| In the first act of Creation, there was only the Holy Mother Goddess (dust under dust), who was taken with child and created the universe so as to deliver in it. This is something everyone knows.
| |
| | |
| Actually, the earliest records of Vaurca civilization date to somewhere between 500,000 and 550,000 years ago. Their home was planet Sedantis IVc, the third moon of the fourth planet orbiting the star Sedantis. Due to the planet's thin atmosphere and the presence of a radioactive gas giant, Vaurca were generally forced to live underground. Surface excursions were rare, and they mostly survived on the paltry ecosystems of the vast cave systems, dug out by giant silicon-eating worms who went extinct millions of years prior.
| |
| | |
| The 'natural' Vaurca were very different from the ones that we know today. Most Vaurca were still neuter females, and genuine male still lived mayfly-lives, but breeding females – one might call them Queens – were important figures in their own right, venerated as the guardians of the young and the keepers of tradition.
| |
| | |
| Food was scarce, and the r-selective Vaurca (having many babies and expecting most to die without reproducing) had to keep moving in order to keep ahead of their food supply. People lived in clans centered around a single breeding female and the powerful neuter warriors who would protect her. Warfare was constant, and whenever two groups met, they would fight quick battles to see who was the stronger and who would have to keep moving. Sometimes they would take juvenile males as slaves, or else trade males with each other. They mostly gathered lichens, fungus, and mushrooms, but hunted or trapped live prey in order to round out their diet.
| |
| | |
| ===Agriculture, Civilization, and the Antediscidian Era===
| |
| Approximately 80,000 years ago, in an area that would one be known as the Chez'zu Hive, a group of Vaurca discovered agriculture and selective breeding. By planting and fertilizing their favorite lichens, they could ensure that when they eventually returned to the same spot, there would be plenty of lichen to eat. Over generations, they refined both their techniques and their crops, and the practice of agriculture spread across the planet.
| |
| | |
| Agriculture led to an abundance of food, which allowed for more people to work in trades other than the cultivation of food and thereby to civilization as we would describe it. The Vaurca began living in permanent settlements, and developed skilled trades with complicated and hierarchical societies. The breeding females became a priestly class of oracles, sometimes ruling directly but as often lurking behind the scenes and whispering into the ears of neuter warlords and lawgivers. Though there were many different cultures, societies, and governments, the whole world was now participating in a single settled civilization.
| |
| | |
| This was the Antediscidian Era – the time before the Great Unbinding, the time when Vaurca lived as other beings do. It formally began on August 19th in the year 6,347 BCE, when the Spearlord Zi'ichak'tsa accepted the fealty of the Seven Cities of the River Az'kazha and started the planet's first great empire.
| |
| | |
| Over time, the scattered villages formed together into mighty Hives, and and developed through bronze, iron, steel, gunpowder, industrial, and post-industrial eras. In different ways at different times, they had philosophy, literature, religion, and artifice. The final frontier was the planet's surface; blasted by Sedantis's magnetosphere, it remained beyond their reach. At the end of the period, there were 17 Hives, all engaged in a constant quadrille of alliance, betrayal, subjugation, and conflict.
| |
| | |
| ===The Great Unbinding===
| |
| Given time, the Vaurca developed powerful technologies that changed their way of life and the definition of life. The first was an artificial implanted kidney, a dialysis machine small enough to mount inside their bodies. From there, a mania for cybernetic enhancement gripped their world, and the best minds raced to make new discoveries.
| |
| | |
| Researchers in the Ves'ex Hive followed up with a Brain-Computer Interface – a device that allowed direct neural control of computers. Chez'zu created the Hivenet when they used that interface to control a radio. The Hla'xa Hive then unveiled ego-patterning technology and showed the world that they could upload their minds into machines, and followed it 19 years later with the means to download back onto a vat-grown Vaurca brain. Finally, it was Zo'ra who birthed the very first Bound, and in so doing started the Vaurca on the road to destroying the world. That was the 4th of June, 73 BCE.
| |
| | |
| The Zo'ra hive was also the first to pile its leaders and elites into Cephalons, massive bio-mechanical computers with a processing power far beyond anything seen before. These cephalons, buried deep in hardened bunkers, commanded armies of Bound to penetrate the surface world and construct vast new industries that would give them the edge over their rivals. The other Hives were forced to follow suit, first by deploying Bound of their own and then by moving themselves into their own Cephalons. As the tension between Hives ratcheted up, more and more Vaurca clamoured to upload themselves, not only to be free to explore the new noetic universe but also so that they'd be somewhere safe in case of a massive war.
| |
| | |
| The last natural-born Vaurca uploaded in 78 CE. By then, it was obvious that their world was dying. Scientists in the Zo'ra hive developed a special fungus – the k'ois – that could grow on the surface without the need for protective screens or enclosures. It was the perfect thing for feeding the Bound, the perfect plant for which to convert their entire planet into a giant plantation. Unfortunately, this plant had a terrible side-effect. It produced a gas that, while necessary for Vaurca to breathe, was toxic to the planet's already-frail atmosphere, increasing ambient radiation levels such to the point that not even the underground was safe.
| |
| | |
| In 211 CE, a massive famine struck and 28% of Bound - some 38 billion bodies - either starved or were culled. Tensions flared and skirmishes began over the equatorial 'safe fields,' but everyone knew that the current system was doomed and that they needed to make some radical changes. While some Hives devoted themselves to digging even deeper and finding new soil, others knew that the only option left was to leave the planet entirely, to evacuate their Cephalons and seek their fortunes elsewhere.
| |
| | |
| ===The Great Evacuation===
| |
| The Zo'ra Hive had been the mightiest of them all, the world-striding sovereign and terror of Sedantis, but the famine brought them low. They had gambled everything on the surface, throwing all their resources into building radiation-hardened facilities, designing hardier k'ois, and rejuvenating the soil. Even as the other hives were digging deeper tunnels and evacuating to space, the Zo'ra - unable to admit that they'd made a mistake, unable to see that their plans were failing - fought on to the bitter end. The bitter end came in 249 CE, when they had too few Bound to complete the season's planting. The Zo'ra hive was forced to admit that they could not fix the problems they'd made.
| |
| | |
| But where to go? The deeper tunnels, safe (for the moment) from radiation, were all occupied, and it was far too late to start building new ones. All the genuine planets in their solar system were occupied and spoken for, and none of them would admit Zo'ra "Ambiocides" even if they had the space for them - they remembered the pain, terror, and humiliation that Zo'ra had caused them and were eager for some payback. Zo'ra prepared to launch asteroid colonies, but as soon as they got word of it, Nak'tuz Hive laid a claim on the asteroid belt - on ''all'' of it - and declared that they'd shoot down any Zo'ra interlopers. Even the few Zo'ra colonies that already existed were pressured into turning away their Hive-mates. The Vaurca had achieved Consensus; they were going to circle Sedantis and watch the Zo'ra starve, both as payback for their past imperialisms and as a scapegoat for their sins in general. Lacking any other options and refusing to die quietly, the Zo'ra turned the last of their industries towards the construction of great Hive-Ships - vehicles that would carry Cephalons and dormant Bound to a new and distant star.
| |
| | |
| At this point, our story diverges. Before, we had been able to talk of the Vaurca ''as a whole,'' as a complete people. But now, we can only follow a single splinter of this once-great group – the last scions of the Zo'ra and K'lax hive, those who voyaged to Delta Perseii. As they boarded their Hive-ship in 291 CE, they lost contact forever with the worlds and peoples they left behind. Our Vaurca were the descendants of the first ship; they have never encountered any other.
| |
|
| |
|
| The Perseus Hive-Ship carried ten Cephalons and a few hundred-thousand dormant Bound. Once they arrived, this new Brood resolved that they would never repeat the mistakes of their forebears. They could cultivate an honest, simple frontier existence, devoted to harmony and introspection. For a century or more, they lived peacefully. But soon enough, their Cephalons began to decay, and the Hive knew it would have to build more. They ramped up their k'ois cultivation and delved deeper into the earth for metals, and before long the they began to argue over who could claim the lion's share needed to build the next generation. Once more, they armed themselves; once more, they fought; by 516 CE, they had strip-mined and factory-farmed and bomb-blasted their new planet into ashes, too. They built five new Hive-Ships and sent them all out in different directions.
| | Many Vaurcae and their vocal augments have difficulty producing sounds related to the letter "s", and instead substitute with a harsh buzzing in the throat. For example, "May I please have some k'ois?" becomes "May I pleaze have zome k'oiz?" The sonorization of the "s" is less prevalent in K'lax Vaurcae, as they usually have a more refined voice modulator that allows them to mimic the voiceless fricative so present in Unathi languages. Because of this, K'lax players are encouraged to set the '''auto-hiss to "basic"''' in the game settings. This is a recommendation and K'lax players are by no means required to do this. |
|
| |
|
| When one ship arrived at its destination, they resolved this time to really, seriously address the problems that they'd had in the past. They formally and rigorously adopted much of the culture – particularly the system of Consensus and Protocol – that they still use to this day, as well as codifying their mythology of Sedantis as a Garden of Eden and the Fall of Sedantis as punishment for hubris. This protected them from another nuclear holocaust, but it didn't prevent them from growing too big and too numerous to stay on their planet. While some would stay behind, more had to go.
| | Most voice modulators have difficulty producing soft consonant sounds such as those produced by "f" or "ph", and instead substitute them with a voiced "vh". For example, "Phoron gas is fine!" becomes "Vhoron gas is vhine!" Some unfortunate specimen may even be plagued with both impediments at once. For example, "The phoron in these k'ois lets me breathe." becomes "The vhoron in theze k'oiz letz me breathe." These speech impediments are commonly found in Vaurcae of the Zo'ra and C'thur Hives. As a result, players are encouraged to set the '''auto-hiss to "full"''' in the game settings. |
|
| |
|
| They repeated this twice more, each time promising that they'd learned their lesson but somehow unable to avoid repeating their past mistakes. Phi Auricae was the fifth system they reached after leaving Sedantis IVc, and this time it was just the threat of things going wrong, the specter of mass suicide, that led to one Brood – Tla'xa – to build a single Hive-ship and send it into the darkness.
| | The speech impediments of your Vaurca can be pushed even further, and you are encouraged to experiment with what works best for you. If committed to it, the voice modulator of a Vaurca can make their Basic almost unintelligible. However, keep in mind that some jobs have [[Stellar_Corporate_Conglomerate_Occupation_Qualifications#Communication:|regulations for speech impediments]]. As such, you are encouraged to try to maintain your Vaurca characters relatively easy to communicate with. |
|
| |
|
| ===Contact with Humanity===
| | Depending on the specialization of each hive-cell, the voice modulator might be of better quality. Some Vaurcae employed in more "prestigious" roles usually have little to no difficulty producing sounds in Basic. Vaurca Breeders almost always have high-end voice modulators that do not distort the sound. In some cases, such as representatives of the Izweski Hegemony or the Nralakk Federation, the Gyne might imitate the usual speech patterns of their host species. |
| None of the civilized species of the galaxy had any idea that the Vaurcae existed until an eventful day in November, 2456, when the drive plume and heat signature of a massive ship burning its engine in order to slow down for an approach was detected near the Romanovich cloud in Tau Ceti. While the galaxy was taken aback by this information, the Republic of Biesel acted immediately. A small scout vessel was dispatched to the ship, which was revealed to be a 30 kilometer (18.23 mile) vessel, mostly engine and radiator. Dubbed 'Titan Prime' by the media, Tau Ceti and news places over the known galaxy were bubbling with excitement as the object approached its apparent destination: Biesel.
| |
|
| |
|
| After a few weeks, the object passed the Romanovich cloud and dispatched over twenty drones to key locations in Tau Ceti. Some of these locations included the NMSS Odin, the NSS Von Braun, NSS Arcadia, NSS Aurora, NSS Exodus, and NMV Retaliation, and one to each planet. Although all drones dispatched to the location turned back immediately, one did not. The one that was headed for the NSS Aurora stayed, and in fact, contacted the station through use of the station's own intercommunication system; displaying a single, unintelligible message. After a period of three hours, the crew were dispatched to the probe and entered, finding a hollow vessel. In the middle was a single alien computer, and in a corner of a room were Vaurca eggs, presumably for use in early colonization.
| | ====Naming System==== |
|
| |
|
| Research crew of the NSS Aurora, including Dr. Phoebe Essel and team were able to interact with the computer, painstakingly finding ways to translate the cryptic language it was attempting to speak in, and after usage of a pAI, were able to teach the machine Tau Ceti Basic. After some conversation, the computer detached itself and was brought aboard the NSS Aurora for first contact. It had been sent in order to document the indigenous species of the solar system. The computer tapped into the bluespace connection of the Artificial Intelligence of the station, uploaded core data files onto its hardware, and then departed, causing a minor panic on the station as the security forced feared an intelligence leak.
| | Vaurcae have first names made of three parts. The first part is their '''caste''': '''Ka''' for Workers, '''Za''' for Warriors, '''Ra''' for Bulwarks, or '''Ta''' for Breeders. The second syllable indicates whether they are Bound or Unbound; '''Akaix''' for Unbound, '''Viax''' for Bound. |
|
| |
|
| First radio contact was established with Tau Ceti President Joseph Dorn and Titan Prime, which was filled with Zo'ra. It was learned that the vessel was sent approximately 2 thousand years ago and had only now entered human space to find habitable planets to colonize. It was also learned that Titan Prime housed six million Bound Vaurca on it, a staggering number.
| | The last syllable of the name is unique and decided by the player. In Vaurcese, this segment would translate to a unique identifier, representing a natural number. This serial identifier can repeat between Hives, but you are discouraged from copying the name of another character. All identifiers should be short, at most two syllables. Gynes in the ship usually have longer names, consisting of multiple segments. Unlike the names of other castes, the names of Gynes are usually meaningful. They can be divided into multiple apostrophes. |
|
| |
|
| Titan Prime eventually reached Biesel, settling into a stable orbit around the planet. Observation showed that the ship was worse for wear after traveling for hundreds of years, launched from Phi Auricae in 1986. In fact, Tau Ceti hadn't even been its target – it had been aiming for a star 200 light years closer, and only missed due to an unforeseen solar flare that knocked it off course. Many of its systems were failing or had already failed. The life support was barely working and the hull had lost most of its integrity. After heavy negotiation with the Tau Ceti government, it was agreed that in exchange for being allowed to settle on Biesel, the Vaurca would agree to 'pay rent' in the form of providing Nanotrasen and the Tau Ceti government with a quota of their bound and unbound for Nanotrasen's workforce. Due to the complexity (and pointlessness) of paying bound Vaurca they would instead earn 'credit' towards their continued stay on Biesel to pay back the cost of housing them.
| | A Worker Unbound Vaurca, for example, may be named '''Ka'Akaix'Siith Zo'ra'''; "Siith" is their personal identifier. The surname is the Hive that the Vaurca is a part of, in this case, "Zo'ra". A Zo'rane Gyne could be named '''Ta'Akaix'Nil'scyet'maak Zo'ra'''; "Nil'scyet'maak" is their personal name. |
|
| |
|
| ===Settling in Tau Ceti===
| | In summary, the name is your Vaurca's caste, whether they are Bound or Unbound, and their personal, unique name. Their surname is their Hive. |
| Ferries, re-purposed cargo ships, and civilian shuttles evacuated 2 million inhabitants of Titan Prime, ferrying them mostly to New Gibson and Biesel, respectively. Evacuations are still undergoing, and most Vaurca live in refugee camps or state-provided housing in special sections of the two planets. The [[Interstellar Aid Corps]] has performed most of the work evacuating and housing Vaurca, and they are critical of the government's treatment of them.
| |
|
| |
|
| Today, roughly 2.5 million Bound and Unbound Vaurca live in refugee camps or slums in New Gibson, 4 million live elsewhere on Biesel, and 1.7 million live on New Gibson. After NanoTrasen's forced eviction of the majority of Vaurca living on the Titan Prime in June of 2458, the slums of Biesel experienced an influx of almost half a million additional Vaurca. Officials are extremely worried about the cost of continued evacuation of Titan Prime, and integration of Vaurca into the system is confounded by the growing hostility towards them, inflamed by the recent discovery of even further Vaurca hive-ships entering known space. Many fear that the Vaurca are attempting a cultural invasion and will grow to become more powerful than the human governments housing them.
| | ===Vaurca Augmentation=== |
| | While many Vaurcae look identical in an augmented state, aside from various shifts in color, virtually all Vaurcae are augmented in some manner, the degree to which depends very much on their caste and purpose. |
|
| |
|
| This fear has lead to Tau Ceti and the Sol Alliance working to actively suppress attempts by Vaurca to construct FTL capable communications or ships to contact their fellows and potentially spread the information to more Vaurca hives in their home systems. While the Zo'ra of Titan Prime managed to leak secrets of these technologies from the Aurora, they remain unable to build FTL communication that's capable of interacting with the STL communications presumed to still be in use in other Vaurca systems. As well, many Vaurca are unsure of the ultimate fate of their homeworld, as their two thousand year travel has had them pass the time predicted to have brought the ultimate death of Sedantis...
| | The most augmentation is typically seen in Bound Vaurcae. Much of their organic mass will at some point be replaced with machinery, so they can fulfill one specific task to the best of their ability. Worker Bound will at the completion of their development look more like construction machines than Vaurca, with variable amounts of limbs and a plethora of tools at their disposal. Warrior Bound will assume a variety of forms, varying from simple infantry with weapons and targeting augments to assault vehicles. The more complex the caste name of a Bound, the less recognizable it is as a standard Vaurca. |
|
| |
|
| ==Glossary==
| | Unbound, however, will rarely undergo such severe augmentation. The great limitation of such heavy modification is that it eliminates versatility, which is a significant part of the purpose of the Unbound caste. For many their augments are performance-enhancing instead of completely form-altering. The majority of Unbound are today equipped with at least basic communication augments, which make them versatile assets to speak with extra-hive entities. |
|
| |
|
| ===Literal===
| | Ultimately, all Vaurcae currently employed by the Stellar Corporate Conglomerate aboard the SCCV Horizon are of the least augmented tier—either Type AA, Type BA, or Type E. Their carapace is almost totally unmodified. Bound and Unbound alike will have a neural socket and an oxygen filtration system, and they may utilize full-limb prosthetics. Bound may have several augments designed to increase work efficiency or general survival, while Unbound will typically have only a few augments to ensure that they can fulfill any task assigned to them by the Stellar Corporate Conglomerate. |
| ''Black Number:'' The Unbound labor lottery. Whenever the Brood’s host (usually Nanotrasen) demands Unbound with a particular skill, all the Unbound who have that skill will participate in the lottery to see who has to go out and work. Those who draw the Black Number are pressed into service. In actual fact, there’s no way to forcefully ‘conscript’ an Unbound in the Virtual, but any Unbound who drew the Black Number and refused to honor it would be the lowest of the low.
| |
|
| |
| ''Brood:'' A single Virtual, along with all the Unbound that reside within it, their Bound, and any real estate or property they own. Formerly known as a ‘canton.’
| |
|
| |
| ''Bound:'' The slave class of Vaurca. Bound are essentially organic robots.
| |
|
| |
| ''“By your command, wise master:”'' The traditional affirmation a Bound gives in response to an Unbound’s order. In Vaur’uyit’yaza, it’s written as “Tzu’ikak’xa, tla’akaix.”
| |
|
| |
| ''Cephalon:'' The actual computer running the program that is the Virtual. The nerve center and headquarters of the Brood. Constantly under heavy guard; outsiders never get to look at it. The ultimate long-term goal of every Brood is to build new Cephalons and send them out into the cosmos.
| |
|
| |
| ''Consensus:'' Consensus is a state where everybody who cares about a specific topic has agreed on a course of action or conclusion for it. It means the same thing for them as for us, but it’s one of their worship words.
| |
|
| |
| ''Descend:'' To go from the Virtual into the Material; to enter a physical body and cease to exist in the Virtual until returning. Descent requires the willing participation of both Transmission and the Descenders, which means it generally requires a full Consensus. Descent (and Ascent) also requires bringing the new body into the presence of the Cephalon and connecting it with the appropriate cables.
| |
|
| |
| ''Descenders:'' The Descenders are those Unbound, Descended, who are in charge of preparing bodies and supervising the process of Descent. This is an extremely important and sacred role; only the most important and honored of Unbound are eligible to do this work.
| |
|
| |
| ''Discipline:'' Unbound who are Disciplined keep their eyes on the prize; they eat k’ois without complaint, sit on the ground, ignore bad smells, and otherwise fit themselves, physically, into the same spaces that Bound use. More importantly, they save their love for noetic things and resist the allure of sensory stimulation, and keep a healthy disdain for actually being in the Material.
| |
|
| |
|
| ''"Dust under Dust":'' The traditional ''salawat'' that follows any mention of the Holy Mother Goddess. It is an abbreviation for the longer phrase, ''the crown of my head beneath the dust under the dust of her feet.''
| | ==See also== |
|
| | * [[Vaurca Hives]], where you can find information on each brood. There is a portal available to navigate between broods pages easily. |
| ''Hive:'' A “Hive” is a Vaurca nationality or ethnicity. All the Hives have their origin on Sedantis IVc - someone with a map of the old homeworld could draw lines, borders, and capitals for them. Each Hive has a distinctive coloring and scent, allowing Vaurca in the Material to instantly distinguish one another. There were 17 Hives on Sedantis IVc.
| | * [[Vaurca Biology]], to learn more about the specifics of each caste and the many bioforms. |
|
| | * The [https://discord.gg/mtCq7VpaqB Vaurca channels on the lore Discord], where you can learn and ask more about the species. |
| ''Hive Ship:'' A mighty space vessel designed to support a few Broods in perpetuity. All the Zo’ra Broods in Tau Ceti came from the Hive Ship “Titan Prime,” which was in really sorry shape by the time it arrived.
| |
|
| |
| ''Holy Mother Goddess:'' The single, supreme deity in the Vaurca religion. Created the Universe and everything in it, but gave birth to the Vaurca and made Sedantis IVc their special homeworld. A figure of pure and all-pervading love, malicious to none and receptive to all. Some Vaurca take a less-than-literal view of her. Abbreviated as “HMG.”
| |
|
| |
| ''Journeyer:'' An Unbound who descends as a rite of passage. Every Unbound who wants to become a respected elder of the community must serve some time in the trenches, demonstrating their ability to think on their feet and work independently.
| |
|
| |
| ''Material:'' The real world outside the Virtual.
| |
|
| |
| ''Noetic:'' Meaning ‘of or pertaining to the intellect,’ “noetic” is the best way to describe the inside of the Virtual. This means that it doesn’t really look like anything; it exists purely as information with no “shape.” The opposite of noetic is “sensory,” meaning that it’s interpreted through the five senses.
| |
|
| |
| ''Procedure:'' The essential rules of conduct and responsibility among the Vaurca. Broadly speaking, Procedure has two elements. The first is that every Unbound has the right to weigh in on any subject or any question before the Brood, to have their objections known and acknowledged by the group. The second is that every Unbound has the responsibility to cultivate valid and informed opinions about those subjects and questions. Procedure is a massive burden on most Unbound, and most Broods have a hard time sticking to it.
| |
|
| |
| ''Shun:'' To Shun an Unbound in the Virtual is to take them off all Brood-wide message lists, isolating them completely. This is their ultimate punishment, and it can last for a fixed period of time or it can last until the one shunned shows contrition and is forgiven.
| |
|
| |
| ''Transmission:'' The process of messages going into and out of the Virtual. The best and quickest way to do this is to Descend into a special body (a “Ra” body) and type out the message. It’s still very slow, so Vaurca have to rely on delegated leadership. The actual Ra-bodies need the support of other descended Unbound to collect and distribute the messages.
| |
|
| |
| ''Unbound:'' The intellectual class of the Vaurca. Unbound are people, with all that entails. They live primarily in the Virtual but also descend in order to interact with the Material. Because they are born in the Material and have slightly different experiences as babies, they develop different personalities as adults.
| |
|
| |
| ''Vagabond:'' An Unbound who genuinely prefers the Material to the Virtual. Some Vagabonds go so far as to get jobs directly with employers, to accumulate money, and to buy property. These are not generally the actions of older or more established people, so Vagabonds are treated like impetuous adolescents who need to get this phase out of their system.
| |
|
| |
| ''Virtual:'' The digital space where Unbound reside when not in the Material.
| |
|
| |
|
| ===Linguistic===
| |
| ''Akaix'': The Unbound, The Masters, Those with Souls. Millenia ago, the word meant “Collector,” and was how feudal peasants would address their landlords.
| |
|
| |
| ''Ika’te'': A common insult among the Vaurca. It literally means ‘four dots,’ and is an abbreviation for the longer phrase ‘a rotted brown kois with four dots drawn on for eyes.’ A stupid or undignified person.
| |
|
| |
| ''Kaxaz’kaz'': The traditional benediction uttered after every mention of the HMG. It literally means ‘dust under dust,’ and is an abbreviation for the phrase ‘the crown of my head beneath the dust under the dust of your feet.’
| |
|
| |
| ''K’ois'': The food of the Vaurca; the word actually just means ‘food’ but refers in metalepsis to their single staple crop. Not particularly nutritious, even to them - but it’s easy to grow in huge quantities, making it the perfect food for Bound. K'ois is also the defining symbol of Vaurca hubris, for it more than anything led to the destruction of Sedantis and forced the Great Migration. A hundred generations have lived and died without ever eating anything else.
| |
|
| |
| ''Tl’iti'': An affectionate and infantile way to refer to the HMG; in archaic times, it’s what children would call their mothers.
| |
|
| |
| ''Vaur’uyit’yaza'': The spoken language of the Zo’ra, K’lax, and a few other hives. Nowadays mainly used on the Hivenet, in Transmission, and for writing poetry and literature. Synthetic, fusional, sporting 17 tenses and 41 genders, and drowning in allusions and references, it is brutally hard to learn. Written in phonemic blocks, kind of like Korean - the word “Vaur’uyit’yaza” would have three blocks, and the apostrophes mark off the boundaries between them.
| |
|
| |
| ''Viax'': The Bound, Those who Serve. The word actually comes from the archaic Zo’ra Vi’eka, which means ‘a dead person’ or ‘a corpse.’
| |
|
| |
| ''Zazla’ka'': A traditional Vaurca palanquin. To the Bound, height makes right - they are much more responsive when they can physically see their supervisors. In fixed spaces, like workshops and construction sites, Unbound build tall platforms to perch on. When they’re on the move, they rely on the Zazla’ka - a platform borne on the shoulders of four Bound, on which the Unbound will sit cross-legged. The zazla’ka might also have some kind of slot or mounting for a staff of office. Particularly aggressive or lively Unbound will stand on them, like Abraracourcix on his shield.
| |
|
| |
| ''Zulza’kakya'': A person who rides in a zazla’ka - a person of high rank, or perhaps somebody playing general in a war. Shades of the ''milles gloriosus''.
| |
|
| |
| {{Navbox Vaurca Lore}} | | {{Navbox Vaurca Lore}} |
| {{Navbox Lore}} | | {{Navbox Lore}} |
Vaurca (Vaur'uyit'zir)
|
V. esseli / V. sapiens
|
|
Home System: Sedantis (Sc'theth'stak, "Blinding Light.")
|
Homeworld: Sedantis I (Vaur'avek'uyit, "Home Afar.")
|
Language(s): Vaurcese, Hivenet.
|
Political Entitie(s): Zo'ra Hive, K'lax Hive, C'thur Hive.
|
Vaurcae, (Vaurca in singular term and Vaurcae in multiple) are an arthropodous species that naturally organize themselves into eusocial groups. The Vaurca are one of the oldest surviving civilizations in the known galaxy, with a history that can be traced back 730 000 years ago. Now they arrive in the Orion Spur as colonists, reluctantly taken in by other civilizations.
Their eusocial organizations are referred to as Hives, led by a High Queen, typically named after the Hive itself. Below the High Queen, Lesser Queens govern specific Hive functions. Both Lesser and High Queens, as well as Surrogate Breeders, are the exclusive types of Vaurcae capable of laying eggs for the generation of new individuals. Birth under a particular Queen or Surrogate Breeder assigns a Vaurca to her brood, resulting in distinct traits and a variant carapace color compared to others. Further details on these structures and broods can be explored on the Vaurca Hives page.
Vaurca civilization is separated into several castes, with members of each caste having their biology, psychology, and education determined before they are even born. Each individual Vaurca is made often for a specific function pertaining to their caste. Vaurcae are separated further between two groups, known as psyches: Akaix (Unbound) and Viax (Bound). Akaix are no less of a person than any human, whereas Viax are incredibly simple-minded, running on no more than a desire to do what they are told, designed for their function rather than versatility. More about the castes can be read on the Vaurca Biology page.
Vaurcae have mechanical extras such as extensive xenowear loadout and their homeworld's flag. K'ois as a product is available in-game and they have a rather grand set of unobtainable event-spawn objects and mobs. Massive Vaurcae Breeders are playable as consular officers, and their lore can further be explored through artifacts and merchant items.
Vaurcae can come from the Zo'ra, K'lax, C'thur, or Lii'dra Hives. The Lii'dra are exclusive to antagonists and events, though antagonist Vaurcae are not limited to Lii'dra.
To apply to be one of the insect-like Vaurcae, apply here.
Important notes: Vaurcae cannot be any Heads of Staff, bridge crew, or be elevated to an interim command position. Vaurcae used to require an Avowal of Responsibility to work any position higher than an intern level, but as of 4/24/2463, Avowals were abolished in Stellar Corporate Conglomerate facilities.
Mechanics
- Can only healthily consume food made of k'ois, a yellow fungus originating from the Vaurcesian home planet. K'ois is deadly to other lifeforms.
- A long-distance language in the form of Global Hivenet. It is accessible with ,9 and can only be heard by other Vaurcae and station-bound synthetics.
- Immune to phoron gas, and require it to breathe.
- Have a third arm to hold small objects.
- Can survive in space without a voidsuit.
- Do not take damage from electric shocks.
- Immune to slipping.
- Do not self-heal.
- Can toggle night-vision to see in the dark.
- Take x2 damage from toxins.
- Bleed out faster.
- Can be permanently rendered blind by flashing them several times in a row.
- Vaurca Warriors can bite and are more resistant to burns.
- Vaurca Workers cannot bite but are more resistant to radiation.
- Vaurca Bulwarks are slow but immune to radiation and can fireman carry two people at once.
Non-mechanic traits:
- Dislike light.
- Be raised in virtual reality.
- Generally very specialized. Born to serve a specific role.
- Face severe discrimination in human space.
- Be incredibly sensitive to smells.
Relationships with Megacorporations
The following is an updated table listing which megacorporations employ Vaurcae. All playable characters must adhere to these specifications; failure to do so may result in administrative action.
Vaurca Hives' Relationships
Corporations
|
Zo'ra
|
K'lax
|
C'thur
|
NT
|
Preferential
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Heph
|
No
|
Exclusive
|
No
|
Zavod
|
Yes
|
No
|
Yes
|
ZH
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Preferential
|
Idris
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
PMCG
|
VP/NT
|
VP/NT/DPF
|
VP/Eridani
|
Orion
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Einstein
|
No
|
No
|
Exclusive
|
Biology
See also: Vaurca Biology
The Vaurca appear as humanoid insects with a unique biology that sets them apart from the rest of the Orion Spur. The species is also known for its wide variety of Bioforms—unique subtypes of Vaurca with distinct anatomy. The most basic Vaurca bioforms possess four arms, with two of them being vestigial and smaller. Their hands showcase four digits, evenly distributed between thumbs and fingers. Their legs culminate in feet perfectly adapted for scaling the tunnels and caverns of their homeworld.
Their heightened sensory perception is channeled through antennae, particularly tuned to an exceptional olfactory sense. Pheromones play a pivotal role in Vaurca communication, acting as a nuanced language, much like words intertwined with delicate scents. This acute olfactory ability enables them to decipher subtle nuances within the intricate tapestry of pheromonal expressions.
All Vaurcae are highly dependent on their specialized augmentations, which may be considered vital organs for their survival. These organs are installed shortly after birth. The most important augmentation for Vaurcae is the neural socket, which allows each member of the species to connect to Virtual Reality and communicate via Hivenet. These two technologies are considered the backbone of Vaurca society.
As Vaurca become more specialized, differences between bioforms are greater. For example, some subtypes of Vaurca may possess more limbs or have been engineered to withstand harsher conditions. Advanced bioforms may also have more unique augmentations, not readily available for the common members of the Hive.
Ka, The Workers (Type A)
Type A are the most common Vaurca. Their most prevalent feature is their hardened exoskeleton, varying in colors in accordance with their Hive. This exoskeleton provides protection against harsh radiation, solar and otherwise, and acts as a robust pressure suit to seal their soft inner core from the outside world. This allows most Type A Vaurcae to have extended, several day-long EVA expeditions, assuming they have phoron. Their hands consist of two middle fingers with small talons at the end, and two opposable thumbs, a left and a right, on either side of their hand. Type A range from 5ft to 7ft tall on average, though outliers of both spectra are not unheard of for the more specialized tasks.
It is important to note that Workers explicitly avoid violent situations wherever possible. This is not their function, and they are always more used to the Hive in peak conditions. Nearly all Workers are designed to find violence almost abhorrent—the sight and smell of blood instilling fear and worry for most.
Za, The Warriors (Type B)
Type B are the second most prominent of Vaurca society and some of the most varied. They can range in size from 5ft tall to 8ft tall. Other types of Warriors, known as Warforms, rise to as much as 20ft tall. They can be bipedal, quadrupeds, or hexapods, which are called types BA, BB, and BC respectively. They usually have weapons physically attached to their bodies, making them unwieldy or impractical for any situation other than combat.
Warriors, unlike other types of Vaurcae, are not typically passive. This means that they tend to be more suitable for combat-orientated positions, while Worker and Gyne types tend to be poorly suited for the disposition these types of occupations demand. Unlike Workers, their exoskeleton is not as well equipped for such extended EVA expeditions, however, it can withstand a few hours-long excursions.
The majority of Warrior-caste Vaurcae employed by the Stellar Corporate Conglomerate are type BA, also known as Myrmidon. Myrmidons are deprived of the most advanced augments and mostly differ from other types simply in that they are more mentally suited for combat or are involved in the function of something that could be considered a weapon. Unlike Workers, type BA possesses longer, more powerful mandibles. These can be customizable on the character creation screen.
Ta, The Breeders (Type C)
Type C are rare among Vaurcae and make up around 2-3% of their entire species. They are massive and larger than any of the other castes.
Female Breeders, also known as Gynes, are the ruling caste of the Vaurcae and are the only available type of Breeder on the ship. Type CB, Unbound Gynes, occupy all leadership positions amongst the species and share in the same biological immortality enjoyed by them, many being born in generations long gone.
Queens, lesser and high, are the only types of Vaurcae capable of producing eggs. It falls to specialized Gynes, known as Surrogates, to fertilize, genetically shape, and nurture these eggs to maturation. Being born under a specific Queen places a Vaurca in her brood, with each brood pushing the Vaurca towards distinctive traits reflective of her will and a variant carapace color. Not all Ta are Queens, but all Queens are Ta.
Male Ta are raised as Bound while the females are raised as Unbound. Ta differ substantially from other castes in that they do not have recognized subcastes and instead are separated by ranks. Additionally, unlike the remainder of the Vaurca species, Ta are possessed of great social intelligence, making them ideal candidates for negotiating with aliens on economic and political matters. They easily grasp the nuances of social context, contracts, and systems that other castes have difficulty navigating.
Ta can only be played as Consular Officers.
Playing a Hive Representative
As a Ta aboard the Horizon you are one of the venerable leaders of the Vaurca species and more valuable than any individual Worker or Warrior, a fact you are deeply cognizant of. Vaurca of your Hive are biologically compelled to follow your orders except where they directly contradict a Ta of their own Brood and many Vaurca of other Hive's will do so in ordinary circumstances out of respect, though they are not strictly required to. Your position places you as a representative of the Court of Queens or the state you represent. As such, your diplomatic duties consist primarily of representing your brood in a positive light, advancing the political goals of your Hive, and providing emotional support and advice.
Below are the rules for playing a Ta. Any bends of these rules must be clarified with the species maintainer prior to playing the character. Failure to adhere to the guidelines may result in punishment.
- No height taller than 11 feet tall.
- As a Gyne, you are allowed to have a three-syllable name instead of the usual monosyllabic.
- Auto-hiss basic (s becomes z or more frequently not at all). You have been assigned to work on a station full of aliens, so you would have a vocal implant aiding this significantly due to your status.
- Avoid combat and avoid doing any labor or specialized work except where absolutely necessary. Ta may and almost always do have hobbies, often developing talents in line with the skills of their brood, and they are expected to be extremely good at them owing to their incredible age. Despite this, they are leaders and politicians, not Warriors or Workers, and they should have no intention of changing this. On matters of strenuous labor, Gynes ultimately prefer delegation and inspiring others to do something.
- Avoid social ignorance. Gynes possess a high social intelligence thanks to generations of evolution, being literally made for it, so they would be knowledgeable on whether trying to clean a Unathi's horn would upset them or not.
- Ta are biologically immortal, many having lived through what would to other species be recognized as entire eras of history. Each brood has different customs regarding the age at which a Gyne is ready for diplomatic duties. Few broods trust Ta under 100 years old with any serious positions. The absolute upper limit on playable Ta age is thirty-five-thousand years, born not long before the Great Hive War. Gynes older than this are very rare and typically Queens, Surrogates, or hive-cell Aliates, not finding work aboard the Horizon. Despite this extraordinary range, the average Hive Representative will fall between 500 and 3000 years.
- Gynes, as important members of the Hives, are entrusted with an administrative neural socket, a tool that gives them greatly increased power over the Hivenet and Virtual Reality. Mechanically, this is reflected in a series of Hivenet verbs, giving them the ability to mute, shock, ban, and even void lesser Vaurca. Despite having access to such with a thought, Ta employ them rarely, and to do so against another Hive's Vaurca without good reason is equivalent to a hostile attack, a major diplomatic incident. Voiding, the act of destroying a Vaurca's neural socket, is an absolute last resort and should never be employed except as a last resort.
Ra, The Bulwarks (Type E)
The newest caste of the Vaurca, Type E are heavyset industrialists who specialize in jobs involving hard labor, engineering, and maintenance. Average specimens stand at 8-10 feet tall and require special clothing due to their unique shape. Type E Vaurca are the least prominent population-wise in the species, due to the fact they were only recently conceived. Bulwarks were unveiled at the first session of the reformed Court of Queens in 2463 before specimens belonging to the other Hives began appearing.
Bulwarks tend to be strictly defensive in their temperament, meaning they will fight to defend themselves and those in their immediate surroundings, before escaping when presented the chance. They will not chase down threats or run into situations they are not already involved in.
Bulwarks are only employed in select locations as of now, due to their relatively recent appearance. Notable locations include the NTCC Odin, the NSS Upsilon, the NSS Aurora, and the SCCV Horizon. Outside of these locations they are heavily monitored in where they go and are typically kept in more secure locations. There are no Queenless Bulwarks.
The Unbound
The Unbound, or Akaix, are the sapient and self-aware parts of Vaurca society. Their eggs and larvae are given specialized care by Surrogates and Bound Workers. The Unbound are born with fully developed brains and are perfectly capable of making rational decisions. They are naturally intuitive, curious, and capable of understanding abstraction, much like a human. However, Unbound are not raised in a traditional manner. Instead, Unbound Vaurcae are trained in Virtual Reality, where they learn to fulfill their tasks for the real world. Depending on the specialization of the Vaurca, this training can widely differ.
Although Unbound are still thinking, sapient beings, they still typically maintain unwavering subservience to the respective hierarchy of their Hive. This is due to a combination of pheromone excretion and indoctrination methods imposed during the growing process of an Unbound. However, when they are not under the direct instruction of a lesser or High Queen, they will typically pursue their own or their own hive-cell's interests.
The Unbound typically take up jobs that require more critical thinking skills, the ability to learn or adapt, and greater abstract thought than simple Bound. In this respect, Unbound Vaurcae can simply be considered on the same level as any human. Integration in the Orion Spur and other alien communities has some of them living alone or in small groups in their own apartments like any other citizen or family, working to support themselves. However, all Vaurcae are required to provide a tithe to their hive-cell, which takes most of their paycheck.
Playing Unbound
Unbound are the human-like part of the Vaurcae species and are capable of playing any non-command role in terms of ability. The uniqueness of their upbringing, combined with the millennial history of the species, provides interesting types of personality not seen in any other species. Unbound can spent thousands of years inside Virtual Reality, either kept in cryogenic storage or resleeved to return to the real world. They can also be freshly birthed, barely knowing anything besides the basics of their trade. Any other variations, as long as they are possible within the lore, are also acceptable. Likely because of their biology, many Vaurcae are generally passive and hold more value in a group's opinion rather than their own, disliking isolation.
Depending on the Hive, the personality of the Unbound can change. This is mostly true among younger Vaurcae. For example, a young K'lax Warrior might understand the military structure of the Izweski Nation and have a good grasp on Unathi traditions. For this reason, Vaurca players are encouraged to read the lore of overlapping cultures.
The Bound
While all Bound are specialized for a specific job or instruction, all are still capable of simple labor.
Bound Vaurcae, Drones, or Viax, are members of a lobotomized slave caste trained to obey orders without question, chosen even before their egg is laid. Eggs designated to be Bound are provided with certain hormonal mixes designed to neutralize brain function critical for higher thought and are then put in a warm, moisture-rich environment while Surrogates and Workers oversee their care. The larvae that hatch from the eggs are then taken to another specialized, moist environment to be raised and augmented. Bound are highly capable in their positions but are incredibly simple-minded; most Vaurcae consider them less sapient than they would an IPC. The result is a very effective worker but one that struggles to adapt to unusual circumstances and has minimal ability to learn or think in abstractions.
Playing Bound
Bound have a lot in common with stationbounds in personality and playstyle. They have no concept of the self and can only act independently in matters of personal survival, maintenance, or self-defense. Vaurca Drones typically speak slowly and have trouble speaking Basic.
Bound typically focus on performing their duty. If asked to do something outside of the scope of their duty a Bound will always use their duty as a reference to the task at hand. Because they are working under the decree of the Hive's Queen, only with good reason would an Unbound Vaurca ask a Bound from its respective Hive to deviate from their duty. Otherwise, Bound are taught and expected to follow station protocols to the best of their ability as it is their duty to do so. Only their Hives' Unbound, and heads of staff can order a Bound to deviate from its duties.
Bound can be easily dismissed—or culled—if their performance is unsatisfactory.
IMPORTANT: Drones are not meant to be stupid. While your Bound Vaurca is expected to be oblivious to most of their surroundings, this does not mean that Viax should be incompetent in their job. A Viax should never show ignorance towards their area of expertise or disregard for basic social conventions.
They can only take the jobs listed here. If a job title is not on this list, you cannot play them as a Bound.
History
See also: Vaurca History
Vaurcae have a rich and complex history spanning over 730 000 years. Because Vaurcae play on the fallen civilization trope, history is very important to them. As such, most Vaurca characters will have a grasp of relevant historical events. Below is a summary of Vaurca history, but you are encouraged to read the complete wiki page.
History Summary
The Vaurca evolved within the harsh environment of Sedantis I, the innermost satellite of the gas giant Sc'theth'stak. Survival beneath the surface demanded constant adaptation. Competition for limited resources fueled millennia of brutal warfare among the emerging Vaurca Hives. However, a pivotal event was the domestication of the k'ois fungus. This agricultural breakthrough spurred population growth, codified the current Hive hierarchy, and laid the foundation for the rise of powerful empires.
Though the exact chronology remains debated, a vast period of Vaurca history stretches back over 500 000 years. This era, often referred to as the Age of Death, was marked by territorial conflicts and aggressive expansionism. It is also the era prior to the Vaurca Virtual Reality technology. Three major powers consolidated their influence: the K'lax Hive, based in the Mya'kt Fault and known for their technological innovation; the Zo'ra Hive, settled in the Veii'kt Plate and famed for their military prowess; and the C'thur Hive, located within the Lei'kt Caves and with noted diplomatic influence.
The Zo'ra Hive, through relentless conquest, established a vast empire. Their rule extended over much of Sedantis, subjugating numerous Hives—including the technologically advanced K'lax. Zo'ra's dominance would shape Vaurca society for millennia to come. Eventually, Zo'rane rule turned from ruthless to enlightened, establishing a revered organization known as the Court of Queens.
On January 5, 27 547 BCE, the small Lii'dra Hive attacked the Xtykt'lotec Rift, home of the Court of Queens. What followed was the Great Hive War, a gruesome conflict that decimated the population of Sedantis. Although only lasting 80 years, the consequences of the Great Hive War deeply impacted Vaurca culture until today.
The aftermath of the Great Hive War brought to Vaurcae the Virtual Reality technology. Virtual Reality reshaped many aspects of Vaurca identity, particularly because it introduced a novel concept—the consciousness of the deceased could now be uploaded to Cephalons, meaning Vaurcae would never face death again. Sedantis, however, was wrecked, and although Virtual Reality was meant to be a gift for all hives, many smaller factions fell into despair, battling for the remnants of a now shrunken Zo'ra Empire. For millennia, the main Vaurca Hives were on the decline. Innovation was feared and diplomacy was kept to a minimum, out of fear of a new war and tensions.
In 412 BCE, the main Vaurca Hives entered a period known as the Hives Renaissance. This epoch saw a great increase in technological advancements and revitalized many aspects of Vaurca society, including religion. The Hives Renaissance reinvigorated the Vaurca desire for knowledge and innovation. The most notable, however, was the Pon'kana Engine. Pon'kana was a novel method of seizing the energy inside Sedantis's core, similar to a localized Dyson sphere. Although the Pon'kana Engine was initially successful, it destabilized the orbit of Sedantis, ultimately leading to its possible demise when a crash was predicted.
With this new knowledge, the Zo'ra Hive decided to evacuate the satellite. Although the K'lax Hive was not originally considered for the Exodus, their Hiveship design was favored. Ultimately, the K'lax were invited to join the Zo'ra. The C'thur reverse-engineered the Hiveship design, joining the Zo'ra and the K'lax among the stars.
Vaurcae wandered for over 2 000 years in space. At first, they established some temporary settlements, most notably Celis. However, the Hives continued to search for a new home until their arrival in the Orion Spur.
The C'thur Hive made first contact with Skrell around 2448-2450. The Zo'ra Hive made first contact with humanity in November 2456. The K'lax Hive made first contact with Unathi in March 2459.
Modern Day
Since arriving in the Orion Spur, the Vaurca have strategically adapted to their new environment. To become indispensable, they have integrated themselves into the Republic of Biesel, Izweski Hegemony, and Nralakk Federation, even providing military manpower. However, their limited resources after the Sedantis Exodus have hampered their military readiness. Not all factions feel the same about the presence of Vaurcae in the Orion Spur. For example, the Elyrans, scarred by the Lii'dra incursion, might be warry of all Vaurca Hives.
Though diminished from their former glory, the Zo'ra Hive remains a formidable power in the Orion Spur. Their military might is unmatched among the Vaurca Hives, boasting a vast force of warriors and specialized warforms. The military and political finesse of the Zo'ra is mostly evident in the Tau Ceti Armed Forces, where they assisted the young republic by filling their ranks. This move granted them influence within the military structure and a path into the intricate political web of the Spur. The Zo'ra's focus on hybridizing weapons technology has also allowed them to strike deals with megacorporations, such as the NanoTrasen Corporation and Zavodskoi Interstellar. While they have successfully revived the Court of Queens in their capital, New Sedantis, a significant portion of the Zo'ra population on Biesel live in great squalor. For more information, visit Zo'ra in the Republic of Biesel.
While the Zo'ra focus on military and political influence, the K'lax Hive has proven most adept at harnessing advanced technologies for the Orion Spur's realities. This comes as little surprise to the K'lax, the brilliant inventors whose contributions were often overshadowed by the Zo'ra. Their collaboration with the Unathi on Moghes saw the ingenious adaptation of ancient terraforming machines to the Spur's materials. This expertise fueled their transformation of the desolate colony of Tret into a sprawling factory planet—the new industrial heart of the Izweski Hegemony. Tret's vast production capabilities have significantly boosted the Hegemony's economy, fueling military expansion and technological development. While the K'lax also provide Warriors to the Hegemony, their numbers pale in comparison to the Zo'ra's contributions to the Tau Ceti Armed Forces. Despite this, unfavorable external deals with Hephaestus Industries limit the full financial rewards the K'lax reap from their industrial prowess. For more information, visit K'lax in the Izweski Nation.
Economically, it is only the C'thur Hive who have truly profited. While the other Hives are reliant on collective money pools brought in by employed Bound and Unbound or the leftovers of their own factory exports, being harbored by the generous Nralakk Federation has opened up a large amount of opportunities, to say nothing of the C'thur Hive's historical inclinations. The C'thur have bought a significant portion of Einstein Engines, opening a connection to the Eridani Corporate Federation, and many job opportunities. These factors have resulted in the C'thur being in a financial and corporate advantage. Money that is received by Hives is typically distributed between the Queens, each given the discretion to use their share however they wish within certain limits. For more information, visit C'thur in the Nralakk Federation.
Individuals
For many Unbound, adapting to their new lives has been a tough ordeal, but one that is short suffered. Once settled, most hive-cells are capable of sharing a single-bedroom apartment due to their preference for confined spaces and their tendency for practicality over personality. Personal possessions are not uncommon, Unbound are welcome to spend what little money they typically receive on hobbies.
Workers mostly shifted from serving the Hive to employment well, with only a few incredibly specialized Unbound finding difficulty. While confusion was apparent at the complicated process of the simple act of going to work, once clarified, many Vaurcae brought their specialized knowledge and pragmatism into like-minded fields, typically able to share their intricate knowledge with great practical success. On a social level, however, many Unbound are prone to varying levels of discrimination. Such acts can be extremely discreet, such as being made to do a less desirable task. On the other hand, some overtly voice their dislike, often showing their ignorance of how Vaurcae operate and live. More obvious examples of dislike include incidents such as Tajara gangs having feuds with Vaurcae in Mendell City.
Warriors, however, did not have such an easy transition. While there were some who could transition as well as most Workers, many of the Unbound purely bred for combat struggled to find applicable work. Some of these soldiers slowly managed to trickle into work as private security, bodyguards, and alike, while others found trivial work doing menial or laborious tasks. K'lax Warriors mostly serve in the Hegemony. Meanwhile, many others, especially from the Zo'ra Hive, have found a place doing what they do best in the Tau Ceti Armed Forces. Much of this situation was recently alleviated by the founding of the Pan-Vaurcesian military the Private_Military_Contracting_Group#Ve'katak_Phalanx which draws in a large percentage of what would be the otherwise unemployed Vaurca Warriors, giving them a place in service to the Court of Queens.
Bulwarks are somewhere in-between. As the newest mainstream caste, they have been specifically bred for specialized purposes. However, there are still many limitations. As many Bulwarks were a novelty when they were first unveiled, their uses were diverse. Currently, most Bulwarks are still employed in heavy industries such as mining or engineering. Some outliers remain, working in other fields as unique and valuable assets.
Culture
See also: Vaurca Culture and Society and Vaurca Religion
As the oldest sapient species in the Orion Spur, Vaurca history and culture are incredibly rich and diverse. However, the dominant understanding of Vaurca culture stems from the traditions of the Zo'ra Hive and their historical empire. While the K'lax and C'thur Hives possess their own cultural variations, the influence of the Zo'ra permeated their vast domain for centuries.
Prior to the invention of Virtual Reality, Vaurca artistic expression prioritized physical mediums. One of the main art forms was grandiose architecture, often carved directly into the caverns of Sedantis. These sculptural and architectonic feats demonstrated both skill and devotion. Intricate sculptures and elaborate rhythmic music were other cornerstones of their culture. These enduring art forms have seen a revival among Vaurca in the Orion Spur seeking to differentiate themselves and showcase their unique heritage to other species.
Today, much of Vaurca culture exists within the digital landscape. Each Queen maintains vast virtual temples dedicated to knowledge, arts, and crafts. This shift towards digitalization has shaped the core of modern Vaurca cultural expression. Within Virtual Reality, Vaurcae find an unlimited canvas for artistic pursuits, collaborative learning, and the preservation of history.
Religion plays a significant role in the lives of many Vaurcae. While individuals or hive-cells often choose their faith, it remains one of the few aspects of an Unbound Vaurca's life not wholly dictated by the Queens. Virtually all Vaurca faiths revere the Queens, particularly their own. This reverence, reinforced by pheromones and immersive Virtual Reality experiences, contributes to the stability of the Hives and strengthens the Queens' rule.
Language
Before the invention of the Hivenet in the Era of Augments, Vaurcae would communicate by distributing pheromones from mouth to mouth for complex messages, and vibrations with their antennae for simpler messages, sent via larger distances. Since Vaurcae do not possess a vocal tract, spoken language was unknown to them until their arrival to the Spur. The invention of the Hivenet allowed for a better and more long-range method to communicate with each other, making cooperation more efficient. While to a stranger Hivenet might just sound like rhythmic vibrations, for a Vaurca the received message—which is encoded pheromones coded and transmitted as signals—"sounds" in their head, which is how the Vaurcese vocabulary has been incorporated in Human, Skrell, and Unathi space.
These encoded pheromones can also transmit emotions and other kinds of warnings. Because of the lack of facial expressions available for Vaurcae, it is common for individuals to express themselves by sending a message such as this on the net. Other simple encoded messages such as small onomatopoeic sounds, reactions like eye-rolls, and basic "images" may also be sent. "Videos" are too heavy to be encapsulated by pheromones in the way other species would understand it, instead coming across as a collection of feelings and basic information.
Since the species' arrival in the Spur, they have been forced to develop augmentations known as voice synthesizers which allow for speech and the translation of language. The majority of these voice modulators are cheap, which is responsible for much of the species possessing a peculiar buzzing accent. Without this augmentation, no Vaurca is able to audibly receive or reproduce a xenolanguage. Additionally despite the species not having used a written language commonly since the invention of Virtual Reality, Vaurcae are able to learn to read and write in Basic, and for an employee on board the SCCV Horizon, part of their education would have consisted in such.
Speaking like a Vaurca
Vaurcae working in alien space have augments that allow them to have an easier time speaking the languages of the Orion Spur. However, due to the desperate times the species is in, speech augments tend to be of variable quality. Vaurcae typically expresses an unfamiliarity with most alien languages, preferring to use basic words and sentence structures over more complex ones, and often may be unaware of the exact meaning of words, or the names of objects, instead describing them. This tends to happen most to those who are not used to alien cultures.
Many Vaurcae and their vocal augments have difficulty producing sounds related to the letter "s", and instead substitute with a harsh buzzing in the throat. For example, "May I please have some k'ois?" becomes "May I pleaze have zome k'oiz?" The sonorization of the "s" is less prevalent in K'lax Vaurcae, as they usually have a more refined voice modulator that allows them to mimic the voiceless fricative so present in Unathi languages. Because of this, K'lax players are encouraged to set the auto-hiss to "basic" in the game settings. This is a recommendation and K'lax players are by no means required to do this.
Most voice modulators have difficulty producing soft consonant sounds such as those produced by "f" or "ph", and instead substitute them with a voiced "vh". For example, "Phoron gas is fine!" becomes "Vhoron gas is vhine!" Some unfortunate specimen may even be plagued with both impediments at once. For example, "The phoron in these k'ois lets me breathe." becomes "The vhoron in theze k'oiz letz me breathe." These speech impediments are commonly found in Vaurcae of the Zo'ra and C'thur Hives. As a result, players are encouraged to set the auto-hiss to "full" in the game settings.
The speech impediments of your Vaurca can be pushed even further, and you are encouraged to experiment with what works best for you. If committed to it, the voice modulator of a Vaurca can make their Basic almost unintelligible. However, keep in mind that some jobs have regulations for speech impediments. As such, you are encouraged to try to maintain your Vaurca characters relatively easy to communicate with.
Depending on the specialization of each hive-cell, the voice modulator might be of better quality. Some Vaurcae employed in more "prestigious" roles usually have little to no difficulty producing sounds in Basic. Vaurca Breeders almost always have high-end voice modulators that do not distort the sound. In some cases, such as representatives of the Izweski Hegemony or the Nralakk Federation, the Gyne might imitate the usual speech patterns of their host species.
Naming System
Vaurcae have first names made of three parts. The first part is their caste: Ka for Workers, Za for Warriors, Ra for Bulwarks, or Ta for Breeders. The second syllable indicates whether they are Bound or Unbound; Akaix for Unbound, Viax for Bound.
The last syllable of the name is unique and decided by the player. In Vaurcese, this segment would translate to a unique identifier, representing a natural number. This serial identifier can repeat between Hives, but you are discouraged from copying the name of another character. All identifiers should be short, at most two syllables. Gynes in the ship usually have longer names, consisting of multiple segments. Unlike the names of other castes, the names of Gynes are usually meaningful. They can be divided into multiple apostrophes.
A Worker Unbound Vaurca, for example, may be named Ka'Akaix'Siith Zo'ra; "Siith" is their personal identifier. The surname is the Hive that the Vaurca is a part of, in this case, "Zo'ra". A Zo'rane Gyne could be named Ta'Akaix'Nil'scyet'maak Zo'ra; "Nil'scyet'maak" is their personal name.
In summary, the name is your Vaurca's caste, whether they are Bound or Unbound, and their personal, unique name. Their surname is their Hive.
Vaurca Augmentation
While many Vaurcae look identical in an augmented state, aside from various shifts in color, virtually all Vaurcae are augmented in some manner, the degree to which depends very much on their caste and purpose.
The most augmentation is typically seen in Bound Vaurcae. Much of their organic mass will at some point be replaced with machinery, so they can fulfill one specific task to the best of their ability. Worker Bound will at the completion of their development look more like construction machines than Vaurca, with variable amounts of limbs and a plethora of tools at their disposal. Warrior Bound will assume a variety of forms, varying from simple infantry with weapons and targeting augments to assault vehicles. The more complex the caste name of a Bound, the less recognizable it is as a standard Vaurca.
Unbound, however, will rarely undergo such severe augmentation. The great limitation of such heavy modification is that it eliminates versatility, which is a significant part of the purpose of the Unbound caste. For many their augments are performance-enhancing instead of completely form-altering. The majority of Unbound are today equipped with at least basic communication augments, which make them versatile assets to speak with extra-hive entities.
Ultimately, all Vaurcae currently employed by the Stellar Corporate Conglomerate aboard the SCCV Horizon are of the least augmented tier—either Type AA, Type BA, or Type E. Their carapace is almost totally unmodified. Bound and Unbound alike will have a neural socket and an oxygen filtration system, and they may utilize full-limb prosthetics. Bound may have several augments designed to increase work efficiency or general survival, while Unbound will typically have only a few augments to ensure that they can fulfill any task assigned to them by the Stellar Corporate Conglomerate.
See also
- Vaurca Hives, where you can find information on each brood. There is a portal available to navigate between broods pages easily.
- Vaurca Biology, to learn more about the specifics of each caste and the many bioforms.
- The Vaurca channels on the lore Discord, where you can learn and ask more about the species.