The Shadowhunters (Orichalcum Universe)....
Johnny1a
would eventually come to refer to as the 'Shadowswimmers' have their
origin on a rocky chain of islands in the south temperate zone of the
planet Cytheria. There a species of aquatic mammal had evolved to fit
a niche, hunting on both the land of the islands and in the deep
waters of the trench facing the island arc. The islands were spread
along a subduction zone, and the waters there were _very_ deep, and
rich in life because of three intersecting ocean currents bearing
nutrients and warm water (by Cytherian standards) southward from the
tropic zone.
These creatures were mammalian, of the Carnivora. Their closest
Terrestrial relatives were the Felidae, but the relationship was
_very_ distant. The Shadowswimmers are part of a group of related
species (found on a number of worlds) referred to as the Aquafelia,
because of their kinship to the cats, and because they are almost
universally at least semi-aquatic in habits and adaptation, quite
unlike their distant cousins.
The species that would become the Shadowswimmers was already quite
intelligent, as mammals go. They were also tough, fast, and
adaptable. They would have resembled, to Terran eyes, seals and the
related pinnipeds, rather than the cats who are their nearer kin,
because convergence had reshaped their bodies in ways that made them
well-adapted to swimming.
Unlike the pinnipeds, however, their limbs were not reshaped entirely
into flippers. Their limbs remained fairly well suited to locomotion
on land, but flaps of tissue could be ‘inflated’ to expand into
flippers for swimming. They were not _quite_ as well adapted to the
water as the pinnipeds, but far more able on land in compensation.
These creatures were fairly fast on land and in the water, and
effective hunters.
(They shared with their feline cousins a totally carnivorous diet.)
They were, indeed, so well adapted to their niche that they had
undergone relatively little evolutionary change in over a million
Terran years. There simply was not very much selective pressure in
operation. This changed, however, when the entity we have called
Cythorax took an interest in these creatures, recognizing in them a
potential solution to its need for a race of living tools.
It was a trivial issue for the vast telepathic power of the fungal
supermind to overwhelm the minds of these creatures, and so began a
selective breeding project of great complexity. The most important
single tool of this project was careful, thorough application of the
principles of heredity, Cythorax bred the most intelligent of the
creatures with others of the most intelligent, the fastest with the
fastest, the toughest with the toughest, always keeping in mind the
requirements for hybrid vigor and avoiding over-specialization.
Generation after generation, with the patience and thoroughness
possible only to such all-but-ageless intellects, Cythorax reshaped
these creatures. To selective breeding, Cythorax added genetic
manipulations made possible by its vast biopsionic ability, and the
use of viruses as vectors.
The creatures already had grasping paws on their forelimbs that were
quite dexterous by animal standards, selective breeding and genetic
manipulations gave the creatures what amounted to hands. The
creatures had already possessed excellent hunter’s senses, including
good vision, Cythorax sharpened it, adding better depth perception and
even incorporating color vision using a gene introduced via a viral
vector. The creatures had previously been strong and fast, Cythorax
made them both stronger and faster. The creatures had been bright
before, among the brightest mammals of the Carnivora, Cythorax raised
them up to levels of intelligent more typical of the Primates.
It took Cythorax thousands of Terran years to make these changes, and
tens of thousands of generations of the creatures, who were bred at a
tremendous pace, accelerating as time passed because one of the things
Cythorax was breeding for was fecundity. The original creatures
reached sexual maturity in about three Cytherian years (not quite six
Terran years), after five thousand Terran years of selective breeding
that had been reduced to one Cytherian year, and the gestation period
reduced from seven Terran months to six. On top of that, the average
litter was increased from three to eight.
It took Cythorax about six thousand Terran years to breed the
creatures to the point that they were ready for the crowing touch of
the entire breeding project.
MORE LATER.
Johnny1a
> tens of thousands of generations of the creatures, who were bred at a
> tremendous pace, accelerating as time passed because one of the things
> Cythorax was breeding for was fecundity. The original creatures
> reached sexual maturity in about three Cytherian years (not quite six
> Terran years), after five thousand Terran years of selective breeding
> that had been reduced to one Cytherian year, and the gestation period
> reduced from seven Terran months to six. On top of that, the average
> litter was increased from three to eight.
>
> It took Cythorax about six thousand Terran years to breed the
> creatures to the point that they were ready for the crowing touch of
> the entire breeding project.
>
> MORE LATER.
ERRATA: The time scale is wrong, instead of six thousand years, it
should be three thousand years, the other time scales reduced in
proportion. Johnny1A regrets the error.
Johnny1a
The final stage in the primary breeding project was made possible by
the fact that Cythorax had applied its vast intellect to the question
of its own Awakening, and over the course of thousands of Terran
years, it had managed to deduce a great deal from its memories of that
event, and from analysis of what it had learned from its study of
biology and neurology and the related sciences. It still had no idea
exactly what had _caused_ the initial wave of psychic activity that
had Awakened it, but it had a fair grasp of _how_ it had done so, and
what sort of phenomenon it had been.
These studies had led, after a period of many centuries, and somewhat
to the surprise of Cythorax itself, to a sufficient understanding of
the principles involved that the supermind could actually comprehend
how to make the phenomenon happen intentionally, assuming a suitible
subject for the process could be found and sufficient psychic
resources marshaled.
Very few entities in the Galaxy could ever have marshaled the
necessary psionic and Flux resources to use the knowledge, even if a
sufficient theoretical understanding had been available. Cythorax,
however, was quite another matter, the fungal supermind _did_ have
more than sufficient psychic resources and power in the Flux to make
use of the knowledge, though it was a complex undertaking because
there was no practical way to _test_ the knowledge. Cythorax had to
get it right the first time, and it did not have a large enough
breeding pool of suitable creatures to divide them up for multiple
attempts. [1]
Even for an entity on the scale of intellect and power that Cythorax
represented, intentionally ‘Awakening’ a new sapient species was no
small matter. It required extensive preparation, extensive
calculation, and a great deal of work to minimize extraneous
variables. There were literally _millions_ of factors involved, not
all of which were amenable to control, and some of which even Cythorax
was forced to simply make a ‘best guess’ estimation of in its work.
When the time came, the actual event was fantastically complex, but
the time window was brief. Cythorax had prepared a massive psychic/
Flux event with ‘momentum’ building over a course of weeks, but when
it actually invoked this the effect was almost instantaneous, both at
‘ground zero’ near the islands where the breeding project was
underway, and across the face of Cytheria.
Every individual with even the slightest hint of esper sensitivity
(which is almost all Homosentients, plus most of the other sapients of
Cytheria) ‘felt’ the event, as an indescribable sensation crawling
through their body and mind. More powerful ESP-actives were more
severely affected, some went mad, some were rendered unconscious, a
few died on the spot from the sheer overload.
Many psi-sensitive animals were affected as well, but all this was
merely the fringe of the effect, at the core of the effect were the
selectively bred creatures Cythorax had worked so long to
produce...and it worked. The local sun had risen that morning on a
population of very smart animals, spread across several islands, it
set that same day upon a new sapient species, still dimly trying to
comprehend the change in themselves.
It would be difficult to imagine the shock of such a forcible
transition to sapience, in a being born as an animal, albeit an
unusually bright one. Indeed, the state of those newborn minds would
be inexplicable in almost any Homosentient terms. Confusion, wonder,
fear, anger, delight, and less familiar alien emotions all swirled
together within a mind that for the first time could truly comprehend
and question the fact of its own existence, and could even ponder and
consider this comprehension and questioning.
Not every member of the breeding population ‘awakened’. Some died,
some were largely unaffected, but about seventy-five percent
successfully made the transition from ‘smart animal’ to ‘person’.
Altogether, Cythorax successfully brought roughly two thousand viable
individuals of the new race into full awareness.
MORE LATER.
[1] For technical reasons, if it Awakened two separate populations of
the same species, they would not ‘breed true’ psychically with each
other afterward (though they would be biologically compatible, their
offspring would be non-sapient ‘smart animals’).
Johnny1a
The newborn Shadowswimmers were caught in the chaos and confusion of
their Awakening, but they were not exactly alone. Cythorax was there,
telepathically attuned to them, calming them, a presence in their
minds that they could recall from the presapient time. Over the
course of those first years, in that first generation of the new race,
Cythorax was always there, parent, older sibling, friend, guardian.
Cythorax was the one constant in the lives of the new beings, the
creature who was in their minds from the beginning. Even the newborns
of the sapient population felt the presence of Cythorax from the
moment their minds awakened in the maternal wombs, Cythorax in many
ways _defined_ their existence.
The Shadowswimmers rapidly became something very close to what
Cythorax had hoped to create, i.e. a very effective and very loyal
race of servant tool-users and ‘agents’. The initial two thousand
individuals bred true, and the population of Shadowswimmers rapidly
increased. The first Shadowswimmers were ‘awakened’ around the Terran
year 500 B.C., two Terran centuries later the population had increased
to over one hundred thousand of the creatures, and they were spreading
along the coastlines of one of the southern continents. This
particular continent was only lightly inhabited by Homosentients and a
few of the Tavori, both populations of which ceded the coasts to the
newcomers.
(The Tavori did this more or less placidly, they had little interest
in the coastlands anyway, and were in telepathic contact with some
fraction of Cythorax able to more-or-less negotiate with it. The
local Homosentients withdrew from the coasts more reluctantly, in the
face of Shadowswimmer numbers and their superior tactical, strategic,
and technological resources.)
Cythorax had equipped its servants with technology considerably more
advanced than anything available to the local Homosentient
populations. The civilizations of the Homosentients on Cytheria had
taken a tremendous blow when the psychic wave Awakened the other
potential sapients of Cytheria, and in the aftermath had faced new
competition from other sapient beings. Cythorax, for its part, had
learned much by its study of the ruined spacecraft aboard which the
Homosentients had arrived, and its immense intellect and vast memory
and patience made it a very skillful engineer and researcher.
With the assistance and hands of its new servants, Cythorax had begun
engaging in a systematic and careful program of research and
development, by what Terrans would call the year 100 B.C., it had
mastered a level of technology superior to that possessed by any other
sapience on Cytheria. [1]
All this enabled the Shadowswimmers to use gunpowder-based weaponry,
to say nothing of considerably superior personal equipment and tools.
Their underwater cities, built on the flooded shallows of the vast
continental shelves of Cytheria, were the most advanced population
centers on the planet. Though the Shadowswimmers were air-breathers,
they could stay underwater naturally for long periods, and now they
developed tools enabling them to extend this, and to store air bubbles
in their underwater buildings as well.
In the face of such advantages, it became accepted on Cytheria that
the coastal shallows (or most of them) were the domain of the
Shadowswimmers.
MORE LATER.
[1] Effectively GURPS TL 4, with superior theoretical understanding.
The most advanced Homosentients on Cytheria at that time were at TL3,
and most were less advanced.
Johnny1a
A typical adult Shadowswimmer is about three meters long, covered in a
thick layer of nearly waterproof fur/hair that slicks down in water.
Their pelt forms in various colors, but dark shades predominate, a few
_rare_ individuals show blonde or reddish colors. Jet black is by far
the most common shade, and in deep water they are nearly invisible to
Homosentients who do not bring their own source of light.
There is little external difference in male and female, both are
comparable in size and strength. Female Shadowswimmers tend to be
somewhat 'shyer', but are by no means easily frightened or
intimidated, merely less willing to make contact with other sapients,
for cultural and biological reasons. As a general rule the females
remain in or near their extensive underwater cities, but it should be
kept in mind that this is simply a _preference_, not any sort of
requirement, the females are fully capable outside.
The Shadowswimmer life cycle begins with birth, after a gestation
period lasting about six Terran months, and usually produces twin
offspring, one male and one female. Childhood lasts about two
Cytherian years, or not quite four Terran years, followed by a form of
adolescence in which the young Shadowswimmer is physically and
sexually mature, but socially still considered only a ‘half-adult’.
This period lasts about five Cytherian years, or just short of ten
Terran years. It is during this period that most of the education and
training of a young Shadowswimmer takes place. [1]
While they are on Cytheria, Cythorax normally regulates both libido
and fertility, which in turn controls the average liter size (two
being the norm, but this can increase if Cythorax needs more people),
and the size of families overall (more genetically desirable
individuals simply find that their libidos are higher and they have
larger liters than others). This is accepted by the Shadowswimmers as
a natural part of their culture, and large families are thus a status
marker of sorts, since they are not entirely the result of individual
choice. When not on Cytheria, or when Cythorax for whatever reason
relaxes its influence, the natural impulses operate as they would have
in their presapient ancestors. This is also true of a Shadowswimmer
who leaves Cytheria without special ‘programming’ from Cythorax.
Mating comes (for most) at the end of this period, and is usually, but
not always, arranged by the elders of the young Shadowswimmers, and
Cythorax. The wishes and desires of the young are taken into account,
but the mating process is regulated societally. This is usually
accepted, because it is the accepted practice in their society, and
because it often works well. Still, this is one of the most common
single motives for the occasional Shadowswimmer going ‘rogue’.
Maturity lasts about fifty Cytherian years, at which a brief period of
‘elderhood’ begins. The decline period of their life cycle lasts only
about a Cytherian year, or perhaps two, and death generally comes
after a period in which the elderly Shadowswimmer more or less sleeps
itself to death. The Shadowswimmers are quite protective of both
their young and elders, and will go to considerable lengths to ensure
the safety of both and the comfort of the later in their final time.
[2]
For the most part, Shadowswimmers mate for life and remain monogamous,
and in fact a very human-like tendency toward jealousy can at times be
observed among the mated pairs. One glaring exception: if Cythorax
wishes a member of a mated pair to breed with another temporarily for
genetic reasons, this is considered fully acceptable and carries no
stigma of betrayal or impropriety. Such liaisons are always purely
for reproductive reasons, and are not considered to dissolve a mated
pair-bond. This happens only rarely, but it does happen every now and
then in accordance with Cythorax’s long-range breeding needs.
LATER.
[1] Note, though Shadowswimmers reach sexual maturity at four Terran
years, their fertility and libido are ‘normally’ regulated by
Cythorax, and breeding usually begins only after reaching full social
maturity.
[2] Shadowswimmers dispose of the bodies of their dead through
cremation by cultural preference. One of the few ‘private’ aspects of
their culture to take place entirely on land are their equivalent of
‘funerals’.
Johnny1a
In GURPS (3e) terms, these creatures have ST+2 and DX+2.
They have the Advantages Amphibious, Enhanced Move (Swimmming only),
Night Vision, Peripheral Vision, Absolute Direction, Alertness (3
levels) and Combat Reflexes. They have the Disadvantages Semi-
horizontal Posture (On land they have 1/3 move unless they drop to all
fours), Short Arms, and Dependent Mentality. Psychologically they are
Staid, Attentive, and are Chummy with each other.
The average racial IQ is 10, and both supernormal and subnormal IQ is
very rare in this species. They have +1 to DX in the water and -1 on
land, for no point cost/bonus to the average DX of 12.
Note the above Dependent Mentality disad. This is the result of their
near-total dependence upon Cythorax for guidance, instruction, and
much of their life purpose. They are in the habit, racially, of total
reliance on Cythorax, and when removed from this influence by whatever
means (including removal from Cytheria), the creature will operate at
-3 _or more_ to IQ for 1d6 Cytherian years. (Rogues being an
exception.)
Also, whenever a non-Rogue Shadowswimmer is taken out of the influence
of Cythorax without preparation, the character must roll vs. Will once
a week for the first month, and once a month for the first Cytherian
year. On a critical failure, s/he has proven unable to handle to loss
and goes _catatonic_ until contact with Cythorax is regained. The GM
may demand additional rolls in stressful situations, with substantial
penalties.
On a critical success on such a roll, the character has adjusted and
need not roll further, regardless of contact with Cythorax. Note that
a Rogue by definition has _already_ adjusted and need not roll.
The average racial psionic talent of the Shadowswimmers is fairly
modest, especially in comparison with their ‘creator’ and some of the
sapients they share Cytheria with. A typical Shadowswimmer has the
following psionic Powers and skills:
ANTIPSI 0
BIOPSIONICS 15
Healing (at IQ or higher)
Metabolism Control (IQ or higher)
ESP 10
Clairvoyance at IQ
PSYCHOKINESIS 0
TELEPATHY 14 (enhanced range with each other as if Power 18, global if
contact Cythorax)
Telereceive at IQ
Telesend at IQ
Telescan at IQ
TELEPORTATION 0
Note that individuals possessing greater Power and more Powers and
more skills do exist.
In theory a Shadowswimmer could become a fluxon, but in practice for
reasons even Cythorax does not fully understand, all Shadowswimmers
have several levels of Flux Resistance disadvantage. The Universal
Matrix just does not seem to ‘like’ them. A Shadowswimmer able to
become a really potent fluxon would require unusual backgrounds both
to explain its native suitability and its exposure to the necessary
skills.
All Shadowswimmers have a natural mind shield that operates at IQ+3
unless it intentionally trains it higher, but they have a
vulnerability, their mind shields only block out Cythorax if they
consciously try, and against Cythorax their mind shields operate at
-10. Only a Rogue can raise this weakness, and it is a difficult
process even for them.
MORE LATER.
Johnny1a
Every Shadowswimmer on Cytheria (except for Rogues) has a few
'abilities' that are actually derived not from the Shadowswimmer
itself, but from its connection to the superentity Cythorax.
Because of the connection to Cythorax, all Shadowswimmers (neglecting
Rogues and the rare instance of one cut off from Cythorax by outside
forces) possess the effective Advantages of Common Sense (derived from
Cythorax), Danger Sense (derived from Cythorax’s perceptions), High
Pain Threshold (Cythorax can assist the individual in resisting the
pain of wounds or other damage), Language Talent at _ten levels_
(actually, it is Cythorax possessing the ability, the Shadowswimmer
drawing upon it), Lightning Calculator,
two or more levels of Strong Will (the will can be reinforced by
Cythorax), Composed (reassured by the presence of Cythorax), and 3d
Extra Fatigue (drawn from reserves of Cythorax via a Biopsionic
effect).
Note that these abilities exist for _any_ Shadowswimmer, some specific
ones that have more of the global intellect’s attention may have
greater advantages (or actually the equivalent of those advantages).
Note also that any given individual of the species _might_ possess the
actual advantages described, and so would retain them even if cut off
from Cythorax.
These abilities are available as long as the Shadowswimmer is in
direct telepathic contact with Cythorax, and within the general range
of the various psionic powers of the fungal entity. In practical
terms, this means anywhere on the surface of the planet Cytheria, and
additionally any point in space within the planet or within about one
hundred diameters of the planet. This would include the natural
satellites of Cytheria.
Note that because all these ‘advantages’ derive from _Cythorax_ rather
than the specific Shadowswimmer in question, they can be cut off at
will by the fungal being, and they can be taken away should any other
force interrupt the connection between the Shadowswimmer and
Cythorax. This is, however, no small challenge while a Shadowswimmer
is actually on Cytheria.
MORE LATER.
Johnny1a
Regarding Rogues...the thing that has to be understood to understand
the Shadowswimmers as a people, a species, and a culture, is their
intimate connection with Cythorax.
Cythorax, the fungal supermind of Cytheria, is in many was their
creator. It did not literally create their species, but it did
selectively breed them for readiness for consciousness, and it did
Awaken them. From quite literally the first moments of self-
consciousness on the part of the first generation of sapient
Shadowswimmers, Cythorax was there, a vast, attentive consciousness in
direct contact with their own minds. Cythorax calmed them in their
first confusion of sapience, and it taught them the skills they used
to create their own civilization.
For later generations, Cythorax was in contact with their minds from
_before_ birth all the way to death, for a Shadowswimmer on Cytheria
total loneliness is almost a contradiction in terms. Cythorax is, if
not _quite_ a god to them, certainly racial parent, patron, teacher,
guardian, and master. Out of all the sapient species in the Galaxy,
only the connection between the Crystal Intelligences of Mercury (Sol
I) and the Eldren Hermes might be considered comparable in terms of
importance to the species, and if Cythorax is not an Eldren, it is
also not trapped in a timeless half-awake state.
Most Shadowswimmers acknowledge the presence and indeed the authority
of Cythorax without any qualm or difficulty, and in actual fact most
Shadowswimmers suffer various psychological problems if cut off from
the comforting presence of Cythorax, unless special preparations are
made. This is true of the huge majority of the Shadowswimmers...but
as with any free-willed sapient species, exceptions do exist.
These exceptions are the Rogues. A Rogue is any Shadowswimmer that
for whatever reason defies the presence and will of Cythorax. They
are not welcome among Shadowswimmer society, and most Shadowswimmers
are reluctant to associate with a known Rogue for any reason, though
neither Cythorax nor the Shadowswimmer society is actively hostile to
most of them most of the time. [1]
Any Shadowswimmer could in theory become a Rogue simply by striking
out on its own, cutting off its mind from Cythorax, rejecting social
and telepathic links to fellow Shadowswimmers and the master entity.
In practice it depends on the situation, a minor, ordinary
Shadowswimmer who attempted to ‘go rogue’ would likely be permitted to
simply do so and leave, a high-ranking leader or scientist with key
skills or the like might well be another matter entirely.
Any Shadowswimmer who is cut off from Cythorax without prior
preparation, willing or not, _might_ end by going Rogue afterward. Of
those Shadowswimmers who survive and adapt to this state (see the
thread above for details), there is a chance that they will decide
they like it that way, and reject a renewed connection. This is rare,
but it has been known to occur. [2]
Rogues have none of the special ‘advantages’ possessed by their
loyalist kin (unless that individual happens to actually have that
advantage on its own). They are mostly ‘outlaws’ with no claim of any
sort on the larger Shadowswimmer society. Some are merely loners or
hermits, others are actively hostile to their kin and prey on their
society as criminals or worse. Some Rogues have formed small
societies of their own at times, which have taken various forms, and a
small handful of Rogue live among the other sapient peoples.
Very, very occasionally, a Rogue is on ‘friendly’ terms with Cythorax
even though it is unwilling to permit the intimate connection and
authority its fellows will permit, and such a Rogue may live among
loyalists for whatever reasons, in a more-or-less peaceful if
uncomfortable coexistence. Also, and even more rarely, a former Rogue
may be ‘reconciled’ with Cythorax and the larger Shadowswimmer
society, and rejoin them as a loyalist, though the Shadowswimmers are
often reluctant to accept and trust such former Rogues.
Rogues are very, very rare on Cytheria, but conversely their nature
makes them somewhat more willing to and likely to leave Cytheria to
journey to other planets. Thus Rogues are disproportionately
represented among those Shadowswimmers encountered by Homosentients
away from Cytheria.
MORE LATER.
[1] It is all but impossible for a ‘loyal’ Shadowswimmer to not
recognize a Rogue, of course.
[2] For any given Shadowswimmer who successfully makes a critical
success on the adaptation roll described upthread, roll 3d, and on a
‘3’ the Shadowswimmer has gone Rogue.