Aliens 3

iUniverse is a vast place, and home to many sophont races. Four of these, of the carbon-oxygen-water variety, are cataloged here…

Upper Left: Jickoroo

Jickoroos are a now widespread species with diverse interactions with many other races. They are bipedal, long necked beings standing four to eight feet tall with highly integrated respirocirculatory systems weaved throughout their bodies. Along the same sockets of their legs, they possess a pair of small but dexterous arms with two opposing thumbs on each. Their muscular system is partly based on metallic copper spring-like systems, which they supplement by consuming copper-rich foods and compounds. A Jickoroo’s brain is distributed within the spinal column, and along the bones. Jickoroo heads possess jaws similar to Earth vertebrates. Their skulls sweep into a large, handlebar-like crest with bares their three crystal eyes. They communicate by beaming and reflecting light of their eyes, as well as with a variety of sounds. All Jickoroos are born female. As they reach maturity at 11 to 15 Earth years, they may choose to remain females, or develop into a-males. Eventually, as they age, all Jickoroos become males; those who turn in their later years are known as b-males. Males will grow at least twice as tall as they were as females, develop pronounced cheek bones, longer teeth and tusks, and large quills along their necks. They give birth to underdeveloped young, which they care for in well-protected family nests. Their home planet, Devoono, was once a beautiful low-gravity world rich in life. The Jickoroos’ history is fraught with wars, though, and when they developed nuclear weapons, they were unable to resist their use. Devoono and the Jickoroo race were decimated by a massive series of thermonuclear wars. Unbeknownst to them, an unidentified ancient race have visited their world 300 million years before, and happened to be avid kaiju enthusiasts. After creating a few dozen kaiju, this mysterious race disappeared from history, but left their creations dormant on Devoono. The Jickoroos’ atomic wars awakened the nuclear energy-powered creatures, and they became active once again. From then on, Jickoroo society developed to accommodate the presence of giant monsters. The Jickoroo race was divided into two main opinions: the kaiju are nothing but dangerous killing machines and should be destroyed (or at least contained), or the kaiju deserve to be studied and respected as potential allies and guardians (or even gods). At their introduction into universal society, they are now closely associated with various kaiju projects and operations.

Upper Right: Stheian N’yal

The Stheian N’yal developed as a subterranean species adapted to life in the vast system of caves beneath the surface of their world, Athii. They are hexapods growing up to nine feet in length with opposable thumbs on the foremast pair. They have slow metabolisms, designed to conserve energy. Their skin is devoid of pigment, and light is painful to them. Their heads house their brains, yet the nervous system of a Stheian N’yal is highly integrated, as their entire body surfaces are very sensitive to touch. Their long, boneless snout is flexible and contains twin voice boxes. The four-beaked jaws can consume many types of food. Their ears are enormous and sensitive to their echolocation, and two main antennae respond quickly to touch. Their tails are also flexible and sensitive, like an extra antenna. The skin is porous and secretes pheromones which attract fungus to grow on their bodies. Originally for camouflage, Stheian N’yal have developed a huge variety of fungus-wear over time as clothing, food, pets, and utilities. As hermaphrodites, they function as tetrads in a masochistic culture. Their first contact was with the silicon-based beings living within the magma of their home world. They have a natural fear of flying and vacuum environments, so they rarely leave their worlds themselves. They are, however, renounced by many galaxies for the beauty of their songs. The Stheian N’yal communicate primarily through songs between each other, while touch is considered a more personal and informal form of communication. Modern Stheian N’yal songs, produced by modified vocal apparatuses, are able to influence the environment through manipulation of resonance frequencies.

Lower Left: Wickachulock

The Wickachulock race evolved on a small, Mars-like world with a receding atmosphere, called Gaon. They superficially resemble spider-like creatures from Earth, but they are true aliens and stand four to seven feet tall. They possess an internal skeletal system and an exoskeletal armor over their muscles. Very large nostrils on the back of the abdomen are protected by thick fur and lead to three large lungs and a system of tube-like airways throughout their bodies. Their head is also essentially their pelvis. The Wickachulock’s tri-lobed brain is protected by a thick skull of bone, cartilage, and chitin. Their mouthparts consist of a pair of powerful fangs, a smaller pair of weaker fangs below these, and a sharp beak. The fangs spread wide to grab and lock onto prey, while the beak plunges through weak points in the flesh to inject digestive juices to liquefy the prey. Two pairs of eyes give them an almost 360 degree field of vision in infrared light. Wickachulocks are a nocturnal species. The eight appendages are split into two pairs of arms and two pair of legs. They are moderate runners, but astounding jumpers, preferring ambush methods of attack. They communicate with complex series of hisses and body gestures. Females are gregarious and live in small hunting groups, called masses, as the central unit of society. Males are solitary hunters who secretly observe and test the females, sometimes scavenging off their kills. The selection process is a combination of hunting and physical prowess, and intellectual and emotional memory and psychic skills. Males are also heavily influenced by a female Wickachulock’s morality. After selecting a mate, the male will reveal himself to his bride and they will promptly attack each other as the male’s final test. The successful female will dismember the male and suck the sperm from his swollen testicals on his forehead. She will become pregnant with dozens of eggs, most of which will be female, and the mass will care for them in a fortified nest, and then carry the helpless hatchlings in pouches on either side of their abdomens. Hatchling males are either killed by the females, or raised as slaves and considered useless for reproduction. The lucky males would be taken by wandering males as an apprentice. The head of the male who choose to mate would remain alive of up to ten years in a dream-like state of suspended animation, producing more sperm over the years until brain death. These heads are very precious to masses of females and will defend them with their lives. As their technology and psychic abilities developed, there came a time in their history when overall female morality began to decline or shift towards indifference. Very few records survive to this day, but apparently their society committed a sin so vile to the males, that they launched a massive exodus away from Gaon, leaving the females behind. The female populations have become highly morally conscious since, and are either lesbians or immortal to continue their race. The males have developed into Ultras, and it is considered a great blessing by the females when one chooses to descend to them once more. Modern Wickachulocks are widespread and experts in what humans would call witchcraft, and though many populations are receiving more frequent blessings of male mates, the immortal ones have developed some rather fickle personalities.

Lower Right: Raan

The Raan are a large predatory species native to the warm, greenhouse world of Fellen. Their foremost pair of arms is usually folded tightly along their backs, but extends out to slash prey and enemies. Their bones are based on solidified cordon compounds making them very hard. The second pair of appendages is used for walking, but is also equipped with dexterous fingers with tentacle-like nails. Their hind legs can provide a very powerful kick. They are balanced by two tails which contain various pheromone glands used in subtle emotional communication, detected by the two antennae on their head. Three sets of nostril rest on either side of the mobile neck. Fellen is a world perpetually shrouded in thick clouds, making the surface quite dark. Yet Raan’s main sense is sight. Their three, huge, compound eyes see in ultraviolet. They use this special sense on their world to see trails of wastes left by moving prey, which glows in ultraviolet. Their vision is supplemented with acute hearing and vibrations detected by their hairy feet. They are also sensitive to electromagnetic fields, or auras, generated by living things close to them. Raan possess four flexible tentacles as their mouthparts, the lower two of which contain venomous fangs. Raan can grow to an average of about ten feet at the shoulder when fully grown. Males and females are indistinguishable and keep the identity of their gender secret. Once their gender is compromised, they would become part of the warrior cast in their society. Males possess a detachable penis which would become fused with the female’s vagina at intercourse. Males and females are extremely hostile towards each other, yet they experience many complex emotions during matting battles. A matted pair is considered retired as they would raise their single child from birth. Modern Raan have diffused across a large sphere of influence among other species, which they avoid or develop contempt for. Their civilizations are divided into vast family clans that have developed into various species and subspecies, usually mounting sex wars with each other.