Dramatis Personæ

 

RICHARD LYNDON WYMOND

Age: 53 years

Classification: Human

Status: Active

Parliamentary Record Section 0002.9 Mark XL-RLW.A

 

Lauded as the earth's leading nanobiologist, Richard Wymond rose from humble beginnings to international scientific acclaim.

 

 

Graduating with honors from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at Cambridge, Richard quickly secured a string of generous grants, pouring all his resources into the research and development of formerly theoretical nano components.  His company, Wytech Labs, pioneered a modest array of nanite based productivity packages. With an initial focus on industrial applications, Wytech soon found success with medically targeted products.

 

 

The Sigma serum, able to deliver medicines at the cellular level, predated the Nobel-Prize-winning Upsilon serum; a single dose of which both targeted and eliminated cancerous cells from the body.

 

 

Though his success was well-deserved, it came at the price of his family. Unable to balance his hectic corporate schedule, Richard found himself at the office more and more, and at his home less and less.  The arrival of the emissaries would only prove to further delay his retirement, and hasten the development of the government-funded ZETTA serum, the effects of which are now well-documented the world over.

 

 

 

PENELOPE LYNN WYMOND

Age: 44 years

Classification: Human

Status: Active

Parliamentary Record Section 0118.3 Mark XL-PLW.D

 

An avid follower of Richard Wymond's groundbreaking work, Penelope's longtime fascination led to an entry level position at Wytech Labs, which in turn led to marriage shortly thereafter.

 

 

The death of her parents, both at the hands of cancer, not only prompted her intense interest in the subject of nano medicines, but her husband's research and development of the Upsilon serum.

 

 

Electing to stay home following the birth of their daughter, Penelope contented herself to keep pace with Wytech Labs by proxy, watching as her husband disappeared farther and farther into the obscurity of his bleeding-edge research.

 

 

SAMANTHA EVANGELINE WYMOND

Age: 17 years

Classification: Human

Status: Active

Parliamentary Record Section 1121.2 Mark XL-SEW.Q

 

 

Unable to connect meaningfully with her mother, and confused by the persistent absence of her father, Samantha Evangeline Wymond skewed gradually off course.  Despite an uncanny knack for almost every subject, Evie (as she's called by friends and family) chooses to rail against her teachers (both human and non-human), her bitterness materializing as cold sarcasm and self-destructive behavior.

 

 

Seeking out the persistent din of her earphones, Evie stubbornly ignores her own talents in favor of mounting bitterness, turning away the few who care enough to reach out. After all, nobody she loved ever loved her back. Not for long, anyway. 

 

 

For Evie, the arrival of the emissaries was not a welcome one. In addition to arousing chaos throughout the world, their presence pulled her father even farther away than before.  Little did she know they would both be reunited in the shadow of earth's strange, new visitors – if only for a short amount of time.

 

 

 

 

CRICKET

Age: Variable / Host Specific

Classification: Artificial

Status: Active

Parliamentary Record Section 1121.2 Mark XZ-SEW.Q2

 

Nicknamed so as to avoid terminally long technical seminars, the Cognitive Reaction and Intuitive Conceptual Knowledge Expert was programmed by Wytech Labs in conjunction with the Zetta serum, and preset to install itself within the augmented consciousness of its recipient.

 

 

Projected into visible space on a three-dimensional grid of nano particles, Cricket's code is executed at lightning speed by a mentally-integrated lattice of molecular computers.  In short, Cricket knows what you know before you know it, even if you don't think you know it.  Whereas a conscience is one's guide, Cricket is their spotlight – often giving voice to thoughts or motivations laying hidden beneath the surface.

 

 

The long-term effects of Cricket installation are currently undocumented, though it is conjectured that human mental capacity could quadruple given the gradual loss of self-deception, and heightened level of focus inherent in the unit.

 

 

 

ROLAND JOSEPH WATSON

Age: 18 years

Classification: Human

Status: Active

Parliamentary Record Section 7610.0 Mark XL-RJW.I

 

 

Both frustrated by and attracted to his classmate Evie, Roland Watson offers sound advice disguised by subtle flirtation.  His calm and cool exterior belies his upbringing as the son of a military officer, not to mention a lifetime of chaos and constant cross-country moves.

 

 

An A student himself, Roland's true passion is his music.  Teaching guitar lessons in his spare time, Roland spends every extra dollar on amps and equipment with the aspiration of one day starting his own band and – just maybe – playing the song he wrote for Evie their first year of high school.

 

 

Whereas she uses music to escape the world, Roland uses music to understand it. To see through it.  Without the calming filter his art creates, Roland isn't sure he could handle the stresses of day-to-day life.  Let alone the arrival of the emissaries.

 

 

 

 

 

THE EMISSARIES

Age: Indeterminate

Classification: Artificial

Status: Active

Parliamentary Record Section 0000.9 Mark XZ-NTE.Q

 

 

Constructed countless eons ago by the peaceful Nyu'trali, these artificial recruitment drones tirelessly scour the universe, wandering silently from one galaxy to the next in search of sentient life.  Without the need for food or sleep, and designed to persist indefinitely, the Emissaries serve as the perfect cosmic explorers.

 

 

Once uncovered, a new and sufficiently advanced civilization is invited to join the Intergalactic Parliament, and is given 5 years (or local equivalent) to select a worthy representative.

 

 

In addition to the design and construction of geosynchronous jump gates for each constituent planet, the Emissaries are tasked with escorting each new delegate to the Parliament itself, situated atop the free-floating remnants of planet Nyu'tros.

 

 

 

 

THE NYU'TRALI

Status: Extinct

Parliamentary Record Section 0000.3 Mark XP-NTI.A

 

 

 

The Nyu'trali were a peaceful species, perhaps the first and only truly peace-loving organisms to ever exist throughout the known universe.

 

Brilliant and wise, yet plant-like in nature, the Nyu'trali forged their homes, technologies and even their capital cities entirely of sophisticated photosynthetic materials, effectively enabling their entire civilization to heal itself by starlight. 

 

For this reason, and others, it is conjectured that war was abandoned at a very early stage, and likely viewed as a bothersome and wholly pointless waste of time.  Any external forces, large or small, thought to invoke aggression or brutality were judiciously abolished – if not eliminated altogether.

 

 

Without mindless conflict to distract them, the Nyu'trali were also the first to harness metaspacial – and allegedly pan-dimensional - travel, perfecting the design and distribution of geosynchronous jump gates throughout their galaxy. 

 

In fact, it is the space-bending technologies pioneered by the Nyu'trali which still facilitate the vast majority of interstellar travel.

 

 

It is unknown precisely when they were attacked, or from whence their executioners originated. It is believed, however, that their enemies hid amongst them for some time; watching, waiting, and striking with deadly precision.  The entire planet Nyu'tros was summarily destroyed, survived only by the spire of their Intergalactic Parliament, and a scattered fleet of Emissary scouts.

 

 

 

 

 

THE CY'THOR

Status: Active / Hazardous

Parliamentary Record Section 0990.4 Mark XI-CTR.X

 

 

Reclusive and unpleasant, the Cy'thor are generally avoided, and often blamed for any random or unprovoked atrocity.  Their hive mentality, coupled with an outwardly vicious and aggressive demeanor, makes them both a liability and a versatile scapegoat.

 

 

While officially unconnected to any major disaster, the Cy'thor are known to be fiercely territorial, frequently seen patrolling amongst the ruins of Nyu'tros.  For centuries, their involvement with the Nyu'trali was well documented, leading to rampant speculation as to their connection with Nyu'tros' destruction. 

 

 

A coordinated strike on the Parliament itself is deemed inevitable.

 

 

 

 

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CONTROLLER VODE

Age: Indeterminate

Classification: Sention

Status: Active

Parliamentary Record Section 03417.1 Mark XX-STN.Q

 

 

As the nebulous custodian of the Intergalactic Parliament, Controller Vode relies on his Sention heritage to clothe him in a favorable guise.  Having evolved over countless millennia from beings not unlike chameleons, the Sention are chronicled as having developed the most successful form of camouflage known throughout the universe.

 

 

As opposed to drawing their disguise from environmental shapes and patterns, the Sention are able to plunge the psyche of both friend and foe for appropriate (and often benevolent) camouflage.  Likewise, the true form of the Sention – and Controller Vode himself - is a thing long forgotten amongst the stars.

 

 

Together with his associates, Vode channels his talents to ease the minds of new recruits, acting as liaison, tour guide and disciplinarian.  As the Parliament plays home to nearly 1000 alien life forms, and therefore 1000 divergent political views, Vode makes it his job to keep belligerence at bay, and the Parliament safely intact.

 

 

 

 

APOGEE

Age: Indeterminate

Classification: Detridian

Status: Active

Parliamentary Record Section 4242.9 Mark XZ-APO.G

 

 

One of many sentient (and somewhat anthropomorphic) spacecrafts from the planet Detrutos – previously regarded as a galactic junkyard.

 

Mobilized by roving electrical storms, early Detridians drew their consciousness from the wreckage of Ka'Wei Non, a galactic probe driven by a self-replicating AI core.  Comprised of spare parts and abandoned alien spacecraft, Detridians first worshiped the probe as a god, before eventually developing superior forms of artificial life, and thereby upgrading their own shipboard computer cores.

 

 

Often referred to negatively as sentient scrap, Detridians are peaceful yet formidable, most of them containing more built-in firepower than even the newest Melee Class K'nik War Cruisers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEKE

Age: Indeterminate

Classification: Xevoid

Status: Active

Parliamentary Record Section 1979.0 Mark XD-TKE.H

 

 

Hailing from the planet Xevos, and accustomed to the blueish glow of not one, but three distant suns, Teke makes for much more than a challenging conversationalist.

 

 

Smallish and pseudo-reptilian, Teke is able to hover on a pair of thin, membranous wings.  Deemed too diminutive for military service, and entirely too absent-minded for scientific pursuits, Teke was selected as Xevos' sole political representative.

 

 

Though his hyperactive nature and chemically-augmented speech patterns make him tricky to understand, one latent ability proves consistently invaluable.  Developed as an evolutionary defense against the larger, more dangerous residents of Xevos, Xevoid hatchlings are capable of seeing at least 10, if not 20, seconds into the future. Not only does this make the Xevoid almost impossible to catch, but doubly impossible to kill, despite various predators' eventual development of targeted temporal distortion.

 

 

 

 

 

ZYG

Age: Irrelevant

Classification: Zyg

Status: Active

Parliamentary Record Section 8619.8 Mark XU-ZYG.U

 

 

As a rare and wholly improbable form of interdimensional fungus, Zyg has the dubious ability to not only span multiple dimensions, but to sense events beyond perceivable space.  While his outward form is a visual protrusion into three-dimensions, it is but an infinitesimal slice of the greater being.

 

 

The practical side effect of spanning several dimensions at once manifests itself in the form of a chronologically distorted speaking pattern, often making Zyg a challenging creature with which to converse.

 

 

It is postulated that Zyg spreads across and thrives upon the very fabric of the universe itself; feeding on observably empty space as most fungi would on dead matter, or as symbionts of plants, animals, or other fungi.

 

 

 

 

 

KU'THENDRIL DESTROYER

Age: Infinite

Classification: Voidbringer

Status: Unknown

Parliamentary Record Section 03417.0 Mark XX-KTH.A

 

 

Forgotten by most throughout the vastness of time, the legend of Ku'Thendril was gradually absorbed by ancient myth.  Whispered to be older than the universe itself, and well beyond the borders of mortal understanding, the Destroyer embodies all that is dark and destructive.

 

 

While some claim it to have been a natural and necessary mitigating force, others believe it to have been borne of hubris, faithlessness, and the unchecked expansion of galactic civilization.  Whatever the case, the Destroyer remains one of the most commonly invoked spirits in all the cosmos, leaned upon to explain not only death and disease, but tragedy of every conceivable variety.

 

 

Legend hints that the creature was bound – locked away indefinitely beyond the wall of perceivable space. Only the combined will of the cosmos, itself, is rumored to be capable of releasing it.