The Residents of the Siich

On a planet called Siich, there is a species of small flying creatures that refer to themselves, in their language, as “The Residents of Siich”. They are not particularly inventive at naming things (Siich is essentially their word for “the World”). They are born in clumps of eggs belonging to a community, with no attention paid to parentage, and each individual is assigned a task at birth and named for it. This task is all they are trained for, and all they care about.

All three of today’s examples come from the same community on Siich, but there is not a drastic amount of difference between this community and others.

The Alarmer is a young Resident. It’s job is to patrol the community’s territory and, if anything is amiss, to raise the alarm about it. Appropriate for that task, the Alarmer is a workaholic who forgoes its own well-being in the name of better serving the community. For the moment, this is fine, as the Alarmer is full of youthful energy, but what will happen when it ages and grows weaker and cannot continue to push its body to the limits?

The Robber is the community’s professional thief. It go into other territory owned by other communities and steals their resources, be it food or livestock or materials. The Robber is not stealthy, though, or it would be the Burglar. The Robber will confront and threaten its targets unless it gets what it wants. With no reason to question the ethics of what it does, the Robber goes about the work with glee.

The Interpreter is a representative of the more peaceful contact between communities. Learning the languages of other communities, the Interpreter translates messages received and to be sent in the interests of trade or diplomacy. As a result of this job, the Interpreter is more understanding of other cultures than most Residents. The Interpreters in most communities are often the Residents that are most desirous of creating a lasting peace on the planet.

A Fact About The Residents of the Siith: The Residents can not take off from a standing position and need to climb to a branch or a cliff and jump off to begin flying.

Universe: Silver

Horhutans

Planet Horhut is, to put it mildly, not a great place. It is ruled by a dense bureaucracy that has no concern for the ecological well-being of the planet’s biosphere. The pollution is terrible and life for the lower tiers of the societal hierarchy is a maddening trial.

Rather than slithering like a snake, Horhutans move by flexing their scales in a wave pattern that conveys them along. When not moving, they position themselves in an upright manner that lets them stand about as tall as humans. They have a large sense organ on the top of their heads, which is based on seeing magnetic waves. They have two arms that have claws that they can lock onto whatever they are holding.

Little Choy once insulted a Horhutan.

Naynik is a Horhutans of a reasonably high social tier, not super rich, but also not forced to dwell in squalor the way most of the populace is. Still, it isn’t a great life. There are so many rules that one must follow or lose face that Naynik is constantly stressed out and worried about making a misstep.

Veadivo is employed at an information office, inputting data incessantly into the government’s databases. As is desired by the government, this job has destroyed any traces of interesting personality in Veadivo and co-workers.

Irxadan dreams of a better world. Why must we toil endlessly in meaningless tasks? As far as Irxadan can tell, the only reason it is done is to tire the Horhutans and prevent them from meaningful tasks. Irxadan would love for this to change, but can’t think of any way to change it, and anyway, is too busy working in a factory that makes whips that rich Horhutans can use to hurt poor ones.

A Fact About Horhutans: There was a time when Horhutans created space probes with the intention to explore their galaxy. After doing that for a while, they got bored of it. The government did not find anything interesting quickly enough to justify spending resources, so they not only cancelled the program but went so far as to remove evidence that it had ever existed, because they didn’t want to admit that they’d made a mistake. The probes they made were actually very well designed, however, and may still be out there collecting information that nobody on Horhut is going to gather.

Universe: Blue

Kringdaru

The Kringdaru are a three-legged species that have a single dexterous claw. They are large compared to humanity, standing about two metres on average, but there are many species that are much larger on their homeworld. The Kringdaru were, in their history, frequently preyed upon by a number of large carnivores, but their greater intelligence allowed the Horhutans to rise to the top and create their society in relative safety with their fancy technology.

One of the Kringdaru, with super powers beyond those that are typical of the species, has somehow gone off to the planet Earth to fight superheroes there while taking the name Invay Dor. It does not seem that Invay Dor’s desire to invade other planets is typical of the species, though.

Dolpar is a breeder, whose life is devoted toward egg-laying. Breeders live in the center sections of Kringdaru cities, and are cared for by servants. Given that their lives are devoted to the sole task of laying eggs (they don’t even have to care for the young), the breeders are free to devote mental energy toward a game (we can compare it to chess, but it is fairly different). This game is the most popular sport of the planet. Dolpar does not rank among the best players in the world or anything, but is renowned enough to those who follow the game closely.

Wibbylo is a water capturer. The Kringdaru devote great amounts of resources to taking water from natural sources, like rivers and springs, loading it into containers, and bringing it back to their cities for use. If there is a reason they don’t just use water straight from the sources, or even use pipes or something, it is not a reason that we as humans can understand.

Zeechy is a nice young Kringdaru who enjoys spending time with friends, quiet nights, and long walks. Dislikes include excessively hot temperatures and comets. Zeechy collects rocks that have been shaped into spherical shapes and regularly volunteers for work at the crematorium where dead Kringdaru are burned and their ashes gathered for various industrial uses.

A Fact About Kringdaru: The Kringdaru are able to mimic the sounds made by other species of animal on their world with much accuracy. When they train an animal for some use, they are more likely to do it by almost speaking that animal’s species than to try to make the animal understand their own.

Universe: Orange

“The Mutant’s Curse”, “Malevolent Entity Disorder”, “Space Horror Disease”. These are all names for an apparently intelligent and definitely evil virus-like lifeform that has been spreading to various alien species trying to reach all the corners of the universe. The League of Space Doctors is an organization made up of representatives of many alien species that have banded together to put an end to the virus’s spread.

Dr. Vedzax was a Space Doctor who was covered during Superhero Sunday year. Now we shall meet some of his allies:

Dr. Ardakkus

Ardakkus is a close friend of Dr. Vedzax, both of them having been in the Space Doctor Academy at the same time. Sadly, Ardakkus is one of the last few survivors of the Urvarkan species, their homeworld having been ravaged by the virus that the Space Doctors came together to fight. After witnessing the destruction there, Ardakkus joined the Academy and became one of the League’s most talented surgeons.

Dr. Lykstam

A member of an aquatic species that must use a special backpack that keeps her moisturized, as well as allowing her to fly around, Lykstam specializes in battlefield medicine. The virus has been known to use wars as a means of entry into various species, so the Space Doctors try to help out when possible. There is some division among the League about how much time should be spent working on health issues apart from the virus, but Lykstam is a proponent of helping wherever needed, whether the virus is present or not.

Dr. Gartok

All of the Space Doctors have been through trying times, but Gartok was in charge of clearing the virus out of the Hezzitar System, but failed. Millions of beings died because of that failure, a fact that weighs heavily on Gartok. Other Space Doctors are worried that the stress may cause Gartok to make more mistakes in the future, or spin into depression and even become suicidal, but Gartok refuses to stop working. Still, even Gartok can’t help but notice the quiver in their tentacles that were not there before.

Dr. Bampo

Bampo is a magnificent genius. Though Bampo is a Fleddian, a species that does not possess hands that would make medical work more easy, Bampo has a brilliant mind capable of recognizing symptoms and making diagnoses at lightning speed, as well as charting the potential infection path of the virus. Bampo also takes on interns as assistants, helping them to learn enough to become the next generation of Space Doctors.

Dr. Yelon

Dr. Yelon is from a species that has not yet made contact with other alien races and Yelon intends to keep it that way. Yelon happily works as a Space Doctor, with special sense organs that essentially let Yelon see inside of patients, but is always concerned about the possibility of the virus making its way back to their homeworld. As a result, Yelon is very secretive, even among the other Space Doctors.

Hurchans

Living on planet Hurch there is a species of fuzzy, peaceful beings we can call the Hurchans. They seem simple to our sensibilities, but they’re actually very technologically advanced. If they wanted, they could easily spread across the galaxy in a matter of months, but they don’t want that. The Hurchans are content to live on their happy planet and keep to themselves, and since it is a paradise by almost any standard, why wouldn’t they?

The Hurchans are a little bit shorter than humans on average, but otherwise are somewhat similar, with traits that would seem commonplace in a mammalian species, such as giving live birth and bodily production of food for their young.

Little Choy once dropped in on the planet Hurch to do his job of flinging insults.

Joplozzer likes to dance. Long ago in Hurchan culture, dancing had a significant role in mating rituals and dominance displays. In the present, however, it is purely a recreational act, and that’s the way Joplozzer likes it, because Joplozzer is actually a very nervous sort who doesn’t want to show any kind of dominance, but just wants to have fun.

Frank Zud spends a lot of time in the planet’s Technocaves, which is a vast and complex series of tunnels and caves that are full of wires and machinery that travel all over the sub-surface of the planet. Once these tunnels were a vital part of the planet’s techno-scene, but as technology advanced beyond the need for them, the tunnels became a haven for hobbyists and tinkerers who like the “retro” appeal. Frank Zud has portioned off a system of the caves and is designing a giant amusement park-style set of rides and mazes for others to enjoy.

Cleebin is an old Hurchan who has been through a lot: war, disease, loss. But now, as an elder, Cleebin has become of a religious sort. Though there is no longer any single majority religion on Hurch, and most Hurchans don’t tend to think about spiritual matters, Cleebin spends time perusing ancient texts about beliefs of Hurchan cultures that are long lost. Cleebin feels that there may be forgotten truths in these old beliefs that could be of use in these modern times.

A Fact About Hurchans: It might seem like Hurch would be a good candidate for alien invasion. In fact, in the last two thousand Earth years, the Hurchans have handily repelled seventeen different threats from outer space. Hurch has earned a reputation for being utterly unconquerable.

Universe: Red