appearance

High Terrans are basically elves. On average, they're slightly taller and slimmer than normal humans, but not uncannily so. Their features are androgynous and uniformly designed to look attractive by common human beauty standards. As there is little variation in the genetic code between individuals, they all tend to resemble each other.

They have claws, sharp teeth, slit pupils, and pointed ears, all additions the Quee thought suitably intimidating for a protector caste.

reproduction

High Terrans are completely sexless and infertile. They have no romantic relationships and feel no romantic or sexual arousal. They lack any primary or secondary sexual characteristics.

They customarily reproduce by feeding partially randomized, but heavily screened strings of genetic code into incubators, but can will progeny into existence through reality warping also.

Intergalactic treaty arbitrarily caps their population at 2,500.

ageing

High Terrans age faster than humans, reaching physical maturity at around 13 years old. They proceed to not age until about ~390 years old, where they suffer rapid-onset mental and physical degeneration. Their natural age of death is around ~400 years old, but suicide is customary once dementia begins setting in: with the harsh cap on their population, even one unit of manpower is too precious to waste on the elderly.

Their 400-year lifespan is notably long, and easily the longest of any mammalian race.

psychology

High Terrans love humans.

High Terrans LOVE humans.

High Terrans LOVE HUMANS

The prime inborn directive, and purpose of any High Terran's life, is to protect and ensure the happiness of humans. Absolutely nothing in the world supersedes their nannying of humans. Human happiness fills them not just with their own happiness, but feelings of deep fulfilment and bliss. They are, naturally, extremely attuned to human emotions, and ridiculously empathetic towards them.

They know some challenges are necessary for growth, but don't allow any suffering upon humans that is unchangeable, unfixable, or otherwise interferes with the grand master plan of everyone dying peacefully of old age. You might scrape your knees, you might fracture your leg, you might lose a valued possession, and your pets and family will die one day, but the pain from these incidents is never unbearable, you will never develop a debilitating illness, you will never die prematurely, and you'll never suffer any kind of lasting trauma, disaster, addiction, or war.

Envision life on earth as a slice of life iyashikei anime and that would about be right.

Equal to a High Terran's love of humans is their aggression towards perceived threats against them. High Terrans have notoriously hair-trigger tempers for even vague insinuations of ill will towards humans, and a well-documented tendency of psychotic bloodlust towards threats when humans are actively in danger. This trait is one of the most salient to outside races, having resulted in numerous mishaps across the galaxies, and contributes significantly to the general unpopularity of, and trepidation towards Terrans.

High Terrans are driven to dominate and exercise authority in some form. They are extremely possessive and territorial, becoming aggravated and unstable when their authority is dismissed, or when the boundaries of their authorities are unclear. They become stressed, lethargic, and dissociative if deprived of human contact. They are naturally inclined to follow hierarchies and feel comfortable when obeying chains of command.

Otherwise, they are overall xenophobic and apathetic to things that are not terran. Despite their xenophobia, their aggression, and their touchiness around authority, they strive to integrate lawfully and fairly with the universe at large as good interstellar citizens would.

society

High Terran society is divided into four castes. A Terran's caste is determined by their birth star, which is in turn dictated by the date and time of their birth. Each Terran is hard-coded to have a personality suited to the duties of their caste.

Terrans are supervised in the Hatcheries for their first ten years of life, their childhood period, before they are released and assigned to a mentor from their caste. They study under their mentor for a number of years, their adolescent period, until the mentor judges that they are learned and mature enough to be considered an adult. This usually takes between 5 to 10 years. At that point their mentor no longer regards them as a charge and will typically expel them, or install them as a territorial governor and leave them to their devices. You can technically engage in bouts and own authorities in adolescence, but this is strange. Hatchery Caste Teachers, astronomers, biogeneticists. They randomize and screen the genetic codes used to make new High Terrans. They oversee the birthing facilities and incubation process. They also choose the dates of birth for each new Terran, in turn determining their caste, and carefully predispose individuals to personalities suitable for their caste.

They ensure young High Terrans are born without any mental or physical defects that could be dangerous to humans, are generally undesirable, or might destabilize their society. They also socialize young High Terrans and provide them essential education through their childhood.

The Hatchery caste is the least populous, and easily has the most free time, since decades can pass between the deaths (and ergo need for a birth) of any two High Terrans. They usually act as errand boys for higher castes during idle periods. The lowest caste of Terran society. Typically warm and sociable.

Constellations: Aries, Auriga, Bootes, Centaurus, Canis major, Canis minor, Draco, Gemini, Grus, Lepus, Monoceros, Musca, Pavo, Phoenix, Pisces, Piscis Austrinus, Sculptor, Taurus, Tucana, Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Virgo. Internal Affairs caste Engineers and domestic security. They maintain High Terran settlements and invent contraptions to make everyone's jobs easier. Oversee surveillance AIs and distribute AI vassals. Often work on commission to higher castes. Oversee the Milky Way at large. Second least populous caste, second lowest caste. Typically reserved and focused.

Constellations: Antila, Caelum, Capricorn, Circinus, Crater, Crux, Fornax, Horolohium, Lyra, Microscopium, Mensa, Norma, Octans, Pictor, Pycis, Reticulum, Sagitta, Sextans, Telescopium, Triangulum, Trangulum Australe, Scutum. External Affairs caste Diplomats, lawyers, and politicians. They administrate High Terran territories outside the Milky Way and negotiate all interactions with alien races. Represent High Terrans in intergalactic legal affairs. Mediate treaties and ensure said treaties are upheld. Second highest caste. Typically resilient and sly.

Constellations: Ara, Apus, Camelopardalis, Canes Venatici, Carina, Chamaeleon, Columba, Corvus, Cygnus, Dorado, Equuleus, Hercules, Hydrus, Indus, Libra, Orion, Pegasus, Puppis, Sagittarius, Scorpius, Vela, Volans. Human Relations caste Angels. They directly oversee the well-being and happiness of humans. Ensure people are safe and have the resources to overcome their troubles. Nudge people in the right direction when they need guidance, and answer calls when they need help. Shape the environment to be convenient and appealing. Stay behind the scenes. Highest caste. Typically aggressive and passionate.

Constellations: Andromeda, Aquarius, Aquila, Cancer, Cassiopeia, Cetus, Cepheus, Coma Berenices, Corona Australis, Corona Borealis, Delphinus, Eridanus, Hydra, Lacerta, Leo, Leo Minor, Lupus, Lynx, Ophiuchus, Perseus, Serpens, Vulpeca.

political system

High Terrans dictate policies and resolve major arguments through 1 v 1 duels called bouts. Whenever one Terran disagrees with another's governance or decisions, they challenge that individual to a bout. At stake is whatever authority the challenger desires, be it as vast as all the opponent's territory, or as minor as the right to overturn one decision they disliked.

Bouts are battles of who can most elegantly, creatively, and perfectly destroy their opponent. Though they can take other forms, they are typically extended sessions of excruciating torture, with copious reality warping involved. Whoever yields first loses the bout.

Once a Terran holds authority over some land, they are entitled to complete freedom and control upon it. They can delegate governance of their land to inferiors, who must comply to orders or initiate a bout.

Each caste is headed by a High Executor, who holds ultimate authority over the caste. Executors ensure their vassals' needs are met, resolve whatever disputes bouts can't, and define the hierarchy of their vassals whenever it's ambiguous. They can let lower-rank individuals veto higher-ranked individuals on certain issues if needed. They command the caste's most important tasks and territories, and regularly meet with one another to discuss issues relevant to multiple castes.

Ineffective High Executors, if undefeatable in a bout, may be impeached. Impeachment is when the majority of the caste asks the humans whether the existing Executor or a challenger should be in power. If they pick the challenger, the Executor typically commits suicide out of despair. Impeachment realistically never happens, but is a thing that exists, technically.

names

High Terran names follow the format: <Starname> <Name>-<Highname> <Lowname>. Starname The name of their birth star. Immediately informs the listener to their caste. As it's more of a designation than a name, chosen by the Hatcheries, it's a depersonalizing way to refer to people. Considered extremely insulting and slurlike if used on its own. Name Their true name. The name of the concepts from Pleroma that make up their soul; the best expression of their inherent being. High Terran names are typically charged with overwhelming amounts of Pleroma, causing strange effects to occur just by hearing, reading, saying, considering, or otherwise invoking them. The effects are tolerable for fellow Terrans, but cognizant non-Terrans suffer. Highname The first few syllables of their true name, suffixed with an angelic -iel or -ael (depending on what's more pronounceable). Used whenever referring to someone who holds authorities you don't. Referring to someone by their true name rather than highname, when they do hold authorities over you, signals you're challenging them to a bout. Lowname A name by which outsiders can refer to the Terran without suffering the effects of their true name. Chosen by the Terran come adulthood.

spirituality

All High Terrans witness Pleroma at birth. They are aware of the perfect peace, fulfilment, and rapture that comes after death. Consequently the only ones who survive childhood without committing suicide are ones who see philosophical value in life and existence. This conveniently weeds out the ones who'd get ideas like 'if death is so nice why don't we just kill all the humans?' at a young age.

Terrans believe in synchronicity between metaphysical concepts and the physical universe – ie, the relationship between Pleroma and Kenoma. They have no organized rituals, gods, or mythos outside a vague recognition of, and respect for these fundamental forces. Despite an intuitive awareness of Pleroma and Kenoma, they don't perfectly understand how the either specifically works, though they do consider star patterns and constellations as particularly charged conduits for the expression of Pleroma.

Manipulation of how Kenoma interprets Pleroma is how High Terrans warp reality. Their reality warping is mostly intuitive, but gets trickier as the ideas and expressions involved get more complex. As long as a High Terran can understand what they're trying to do, there is no real limit to their powers.

foreign relations

High Terrans are universally feared, though their rarity and compliance to law somewhat mollifies the sentiment. Most people will never meet a High Terran in their life, unless they're involved with intergalactic law, politics, or humans. They are generally seen as arrogant, pretentious, and bossy, with a mysterious wizardly bent.

Media often depicts them as knowing some unfathomable secret of the universe and has them behave in a cryptic if not incomprehensible manner. Surprise! High Terrans! is a common trope in poorly-conceived stories that write themselves into corners, and their prevalence in media because of this, despite their tiny population, is a prolific meme.

named individuals

- Luminary Caph Camellia-Camael “Camillet” Callilux Campanella: A prodigy and genius from the Human Relations caste, and the youngest individual in history to secure the seat of High Executor. Responsible for a lot of malarkey; accidentally destroyed the universe.

- Zubenelgenubi Verticillaster-Vertiel Vertel: High Executor of External Affairs during Camellia's birth and reign. The single serious opposition to Camellia's genocidal plans. Very xenophobic, despite that.

- Rastaban Aranoxlan-Arael Bright Acacia: High Executor of the Hatchery during Camellia's birth and reign. Ruled not to cull Camellia despite him being born premature. So if you think about it, isn't everything his fault?

- Metallah Bejrmud-Berriel Petres: High Executor of Internal Affairs during Camellia's reign. Remained neutral on Camellia's genocide. Otherwise, a literal who.

- Misan Amaran-Amriel Emrys: Camellia's childhood mentor in the caste of Human Relations. Declined to deem Camellia an adult for an abnormally long time. So he has good judgement, probably.

psychology

Low Terrans are dumb. They're generally no different from a random Joe in conversation, but you'll never hear involved philosophical or moral debates from Low Terrans. They struggle to understand complex ideas/math/science and can't hold elaborate trains of thought. They're smart enough to build a house, but not a skyscraper.

Since serious hardships just don't happen to Low Terrans, they struggle to comprehend things like torture, premature death, and war, among others. A Low Terran could be abducted and mostly just feel confused. In the rare case they do suffer some kind of serious trauma, they tend to bounce back quickly.

They have evolved in a way that encourages neotony and know they'll get help if they ask for it. They are aware of High Terrans and their violent bouting, but the viciousness kind of goes over their head. They are quite trusting and good-natured.

In a word, they are domesticated.

spirituality

Low Terrans are vaguely aware of Pleroma thanks to testimony from High Terrans, and believe you go somewhere nice when you die. High Terrans are angels who come from the nice place, and the world is overall good.

foreign relations

Most Low Terrans stay within Earth's solar system under direct High Terran care, but a few opt to journey outside or get abducted. In the former case they are paired with a surveillance/companion AI to protect them and are remotely supervised. In the latter case they are usually sold to dilettantes for their menageries.

They are far more common and visible than High Terrans, and it's not too weird to see one or two during your life in passing. Generally regarded as intelligent animals you shouldn't mess around with. Doesn't stop some people.

named individuals

- Lisbet. A Low Terran whose soul was parasitized by a Thrax, but has more-or-less recovered. Struggled to connect with people on Earth and embarked on a spacefaring journey instead. Saw a lot of real bad stuff, but thinks she's figured out the world's problems.

biology

Thrax are aquatic plantlike organisms that resemble long strings of silver, glowing seaweed. They anchor on the beds of freshwater swamps, subsisting on sugars photosynthesised from the specific wavelengths of light emitted by their home sun. They are immobile, with no sense of sight, hearing, or smell, but are sensitive to pressure changes and disruptions in water current.

Thrax dry up and die quickly outside of water. They starve quickly in the shade and are predated upon extensively by certain bacteria and micro-organisms.

They are also conscious, sentient, and cognizant of any organisms in their vicinity suffused with sufficiently large amounts of Pleroma, which they will attempt to wrap in their fronds. The thick, sticky outer membrane of the Thrax's skin glues to that of the organism, and the Thrax's glued fronds shed from their stem when the organism tears itself away from the Thrax. The clammy, oily liquids inside the Thrax then drain through pores, spiracles, or soft tissues of the host to proliferate through the host's body, incurring several hormonal and biological changes.

Over time, which can be anything from several hours to several years depending on the size and complexity of the host, the Thrax's consciousness both merges with and overrides that of the host. This merge occurs from the soul up. Whatever previous consciousness existed is more or less gone, and whatever remains is subject to the hivemind of the Thrax.

reproduction

All Thrax are infertile except for the Queen. The Queen constantly secretes a gel from her skin that binds in globules to the beds of bodies of freshwater, and sprout into new stalks of Thrax.

A new Queen automatically ascends whenever the old Queen dies, determined chiefly by whoever has the largest soul concurrent with certain environmental triggers. Queens are amphibious regardless of host biology, and are always, constantly, growing, to the point they become too heavy to survive out of water, or their body crushes itself.

ageing

A Thrax's lifespan depends on the natural lifespan of its host body, though Thrax typically outlive their host's natural species by a slight margin.

psychology

Without a host, Thrax lack much sense of individuality, personality, or ego, though they know they exist and there are things they must do (mainly, find a host). Once a Thax has a host, their mind stabilizes to be much more conscious, with a distinct personality and individuating features separate from other Thrax. Maybe one has aspirations to fly a starship. Maybe another is laid-back and would rather stay home. That kind of thing.

Though Thrax have individual personalities, desires, egos, and opinions, they are all ultimately bound by a hivemind. They can generally sense the thoughts and emotions of other Thrax from across the galaxy. Most critically, the hivemind links Thrax to their Queen, whose will can override that of any Thrax, and whose desires are automatically adhered to. If the Queen wants a Thrax to do something, or be something, they'll conform with no hesitation, complaint, or resistance.

Thrax understand individuality, but struggle to comprehend how individuals from other races can cooperate, or work for common goals, without being bound by a hivemind. They are often sceptical of other species' ability to stay united or unselfish. Some are convinced that there are in fact foreign hiveminds, but the foreigners either don't realise it, or their master refuses to reveal themselves to the Thrax.

spirituality

Thrax venerate their Queen, not just as their mother and ruler, but as a god. The Queen occupies the position of God in their society, and all Queens receive this treatment. Even the most awful, cruel, and tyrannical Queens are permanently regarded as unflawed and perfect.

This doesn't apply to Queens themselves, who can be quite bitter and critical of the attitudes or policies enacted by old Queens.

named individuals

- Lish: The reigning broodqueen of the Thrax, covetous and fearful of Terran reality warping.

- Lisbet: A Low Terran parasitized by a Thrax, who, though cured, still carries some Thrax influence. Was meant to be the universal counter to High Terrans and bring peace (?) to the universe. Never got to. Lish remains forever salty (and forever suffering from space reparations, the whole thing was super illegal).

quee'lee'lo

A friendly and curious avian species with generally good intentions, from a peaceful and resource-rich homeworld. Incredible vocalists and sonic mimics, but have little to no capacity for producing or understanding physical language, relying on telepathy to communicate instead. One of the founding races of the Union.

coreti

A froglike, amphibious species renowned for greed, backstabbing, and perfidy. Without natural weapons to defend them from the sentient predators on their homeworld, they learned quickly how to negotiate, manipulate, and scam threats into eliminating themselves... then never stopped. They love courts, laws, and outsmarting laws, with judges holding the highest ranks in their society. One of the founding races of the Union.

ortan

A porcine species with a strict military culture. At constant war with the monstrous, hostile wildlife of their home galaxy, valued highly as mercenaries elsewhere. Generally perceived as somewhat barbaric or primitive, despite relatively advanced culture and technology, mainly due to their tendency towards physical punishments and distaste for oration. They generally don't give a toss, too busy surviving.

thenix

An insectoid species that is truly just one individual: Thenix, immortal queen of the hivemind. Her one consciousness operates many trillions of unfeeling, unthinking slave bodies, and jumps to one of them whenever she dies. Had a stint for several centuries where she was a bit of a warmonger, but she's come to understand 'cooperation' and 'individual sentience' now. Has so many bodies that she's just kind of everywhere. Distantly related to the Thrax, and may have once been a Thrax.

uyanids

An amphibious, arachnid species that births clutches of hundreds of thousands of eggs daily, which they then consume as their primary sustenance. Ones that reach adulthood are the ones everyone missed. They struggle to mesh with the culture of the Union, and especially don't understand mammals, but they try, fearful of the Union as enemies and desperate to emulate their great societies.

infrit

A simian species that protected themselves from native predators by bathing in muck, waste, and bacteria farms. As they rose to dominance on their planet, wound up polluting their ecosystem to death. They're currently refugees on habitable planets the Union supplied for them, but these planets are beginning to drown under all the trash also.

yiin of the red empire

A reptilian race with a noble history as (ex-)conquerors, led by strong codes of honour. ...So strong, their civilization for several thousand years now has revolved around revenging the most trivial slights to this honour, all spiralling from ancient blood feuds. They're not as sensitive to slights from outsiders, fortunately, but are still proud bordering on sanctimonious. Former enemies of the Union, still rather sore/embarrassed about having to surrender.

nux

A strange species of molluscs who frantically desire yents, artefacts of extreme importance in their culture. Eternal enemies with the Lam, who horde the yents, which are ubiquitous on their home planet.

lam

A strange species of molluscs who frantically desire stents, artefacts of extreme importance in their culture. Eternal enemies with the Nux, who horde the stents, which are ubiquitous on their home planet.