Horbhorb

On the planet Foreygo are the Horbhorb, a species of large four-legged species who stand over twenty feet tall at the shoulder. Horbhorb vision extends well into the ultraviolet and infrared ranges, so they can see much more than humans. Their skins, and the fans on their heads, are decorated with colors that we just can’t see, which is a shame because they look very pretty.

Horbhorb society is one in which individuals are assigned an occupation at the end of their education period, which they must do as their penance for being born, and thus becoming a burden on others. If one rejects their assigned occupation, they go into exile, living on their own in the wild.

Mallo is an assigner, which is perhaps the occupation most important to Horbhorb society. When a child comes out of the education system, the child and the trio of educators assigned to it will meed with Mallo and discuss what occupations are needed to be filled in the world, and what skill the child has shown. Mallo is a particularly socially conscious Horbhorb, who genuinely puts the good of society at the forefront of decisions, but many other assigners are somewhat corrupt, and will be influenced by bribes.

The Horbhorb have the ability to take in food and compress it into dense balls which they can then regurgitate and eat later. But who has time for that in today’s fast-paced modern life? Blusmar is a professional regurgitator, who spends the days gorging on food to create foodballs for others to use when they get hungry. Blusmar’s tail decorations look especially nice to Horbhorb vision, so Blusmar manages to land quality mates every mating season.

Qwedy is a Waker-upper, which is an occupation based around staying awake all night to wake up others when they need to arise for their jobs. Essentially, Qwedy is a living alarm clock. Qwedy loves the job, since it allows one an excuse to be active in that relaxing period when most of the population is asleep.

A Fact About Horbhorb: Horbhorb count in base-568, which is based on the fact there are 284 days in one of their planet’s years, during which each day and night has an individual name, from which the words for their numbers are derived. Binary has been becoming popular among philosophers, but rather than replace the usual system, it is seen as a compliment to it (and the connection is made to night and day cycles).

Universe: Green

The Muchsufferers

In Universe Silver, all mortals are playthings caught in the whims of the Space Gods we call the Astrolympians. Most mortals are lucky enough to not know that, but on one planet there is a species that has developed a sense that allows them to interpret the divine. They can detect the movements of the Space Gods and that has left them fully aware of how small they are in comparison.

They call themselves the Muchsufferers. They are an aquatic race, though roughly humanoid in shape, with big heads and three digits on each limb. Their form of propulsion involves shifting various internal organs around as ballast.

Xixogoz wants to rise to the level of the gods. Since the Muchsufferers can actually see that level of existence, it makes sense that one would think it was attainable. Though none has ever ascended to a state above mortality, there are tales of old days when an individual’s hubris would make the gods take notice of them. That sounds like a good starting point for Xixogoz, who is striving with plans involving the planet’s most advanced science, solely as a challenge to the gods, with the intent of trying to study, or even capture one when they manifest.

Vindoobi wants nothing more than to serve the gods. Unlike the religions of Earth, the Muchsufferers have concrete evidence that there are spiritual entities that control the mechanisms of the universe. In a lot of ways, it would be foolish not to want to serve them. Vindoobi starts every day consulting the oracles, asking for some indication of what the gods want, and then spends the day trying to do their will. Some of the gods have actually taken notice of Vindoobi’s actions, and are totally messing with him. They’ll tell the oracles that they a hole must be dug in the mud on the outskirts of town, and they’ll laugh as Vindoobi spends a day doing it. The next day, they tell the oracles the hole needs to be filled with different mud, and Vindoobi spends a whole day doing that, and they get to laugh again. Vindoobi would be devastated to learn this, but in the meantime at least feels useful.

And then there’s Wusselll. Wusselll is one of the most gifted sculptors in the universe, capable of conveying emotion with an abstract hunk of rock. The gods pay attention to this mortal because they actually appreciate the beauty of the works, and several gods have rewarded Wusselll in order to entice the artist into creating works dedicated to them. Other Muchsufferers see how the gods favor their fellow, and they can grow jealous, which sometimes puts Wusselll in danger.

A Fact About the Muchsufferers: Muchsufferers have a mouth-organ on their chest that they keep covered by their clothing except when they are eating, which is an important ritual. Meals are taken at temples and large portions are sacrificed to the gods. Their diet consists largely of star-shaped vegetation that grows in bushes with sharp thorns that are gathered during a ceremony in which the Muchsufferers sing their prayers.

Universe: Silver

During the Supernatural Sundays I did a bunch of alien wizard called Wallfixers and several members of that group were of a species called the Pllvm. These undersea octopusish people, I decided, exist in many alternate universes because humans aren’t the only ones who get to be ubiquitous. Today, let’s take a tour of some of those universes:

Bubllpub is an aide to the Pllvm’s royal family. In his universe the Pllvm homeworld is ruled by a single government, a monarchy whose lineage stretches back many generations. The royal family is not perfect, a few of the members are particularly cruel and set upon conquering other worlds, but most of them are decent enough rulers of the planet. First contact with alien species was only made in the current generation, and it has not always gone well. Bubllpub has been personally assaulted by six different alien beings. Still, he holds out hope that the planet’s entry into the galactic community will end up being beneficial for all involved.

Universe: White

On a Pllvm homeworld that has not made first contact and has hundreds of separate nations spread over the oceans, Bublupp is just a working class “normal” person. He makes a living by delivering batteries to businesses with energy subscriptions and it is pretty easy work and he doesn’t hate it. Bublupp is focused on raising a family, and has two children, though his mate was killed in a tragic accident. He tries to be a good father, but the pressure gets to him sometimes and he will eat illegal intoxicating plants to relax.

Universe: Blue

Lollipop, whose name being similar to an English word is just a coincidence, is a criminal for hire. Living in a significantly corrupt society, this sort of criminal mercenary work is about the best one can manage. But that doesn’t mean that Lollipop doesn’t have other ambitions. He daydreams of being able to make a living doing comedy. He stays up late at night working on his material alone.

Universe: Red (also home to Plplppow)

Though her homeworld is the capital of a federation that spans several star systems, Pulubbul has never been off-planet. She’s a homeworlder who thinks that the planet has everything she’s ever going to need and that other planets are basically for rustic idiots. That attitude is going to give her trouble when her rich uncle on a farming planet dies and leaves her his estate at the same time she gets kicked out of her apartment and has to go live with the “country bumpkins” she had no respect for. It’s a real fish out of water situation, except still very much in water.

Universe: Green (also home to Polpplplo)

Lubgug‘s version of the Pllvm homeworld is beset by demigods. Some of the Astrolympians have visited this world, so naturally they’ve had children here. Those children of the gods have, as is their wont, been unruly and tend to fight one another. Lubgug is in the employ of one of the nicer demigods, called Helper, a compassionate being who pities the Pllvm and tries to stop the meaner gods. Lubgug and the other members of Helper’s following try to clean up and repair the damage after the fights.

Universe: Silver

The Pllvm homeworld of Vmblb was once twisted by a dark magical entity, and Vmblb was among the Pllvm who were mutated and forced to serve that being. Though the monster was driven away and the mutated horde regained their free will, Vmblb has had trouble returning to normal society after all he’s been through.

Universe: Brown (also home to Lupplol)

Bvplob is a scientist on her version of the Pllvm homeworld. This version of the planet has two rival governments waging open warfare and Bvplob is employed by one of them to create super soldiers. Bvplob does her job, but she has doubts about whether her side is any better than the other side when it comes down to it. As she goes about perfecting her formulae, she makes plans to use the resulting super powers on herself to try to put an end to the conflict she sees as pointless.

Universe: Orange