Part 1 Introduction
Part 2 Common non-human species
Part 3 will be about Technology in 2250

Humanity has encountered a lot of alien species since it first travelled to other worlds. The four most common species are chronicled below broadly from the most relevant to least relevant. Alien species can be broadly divided into the Human-esque and the Weird.

The Human-esque generally act in a similar way to humans but they will have one or more notable differences. They are generally bipedal and around human size, capable of producing human-like vocalisations and with the same range of sensory inputs as humans. In a TV show they would have prosthetics on their heads. Their stories primarily concern culture and ethics. All the species detailed below are Human-esque.

The Weird are truly alien species. For instance, giant spiders which communicate exclusively via vibration, semaphore and pheromone. Communication is difficult, and comprehension sometimes impossible. In TV shows they would be puppets (or CGI, but puppets always age better). Their stories are more fundamental, concerned primarily with the nature of existence and experience.

Orangu

The Orangu are genetically uplifted Orangutans. They are kind, naive and curious.

About 50 years ago, it was discovered that a rogue group of scientists on a far flung human zoological colony had repeatedly experimented on captive mammalian species, endeavouring to create a new sentient species. Only one new species was viable – the Orangu, a modified Orangutan with broadened intellectual capacity, edited vocal cords and a more humanoid gait.

First Generation Orangu are the immediate results of the scientific experiments. They experienced well-intentioned but definitively immoral enslavement by their creators. Second Generation Orangu is somewhat improperly used to describe any Orangu which is not First Generation. They were born into freedom, but often grew up in curated and sheltered environments.

Orangu have a young and unstoried culture, which they see as both a blessing and a curse. The kind-nature of Orangu has made them well-liked by Humans. They are few in number but their curiosity drives them to explore and engage with the world around them. The Orangu cast Humanity in a new light, which caused the creation of The Charter of the Rights of Persons, a total rewrite of the much-amended ancient Declaration of Human Rights.

Orangu names are incredibly varied, as they have no longstanding cultural traditions of their own to draw from.

• Jupiter Armstrong
• Charlton Heston
• Wendigo Frustum
• Suriawati

Thaveen

The Thaveen are earnest, enthusiastic and obsessive. 

The Thaveen are a human-esque species with wrinkled earth-toned skin and drooping ears. Adolescent Thaveen sample from as broad a range of experiences as possible. Their adulthood begins the moment they find and declare their one true passion. They rename themselves, creating for themselves their proper, adult name. They throw their heart and soul into their passion, obsessively. When a Thaveen hears about someone else’s passions or interests, they engage heartily and encourage earnestly. For a Thaveen, the purpose of life is the pursuit of your passion.

The Thaveen Mandate is run by the Admins, Thaveen who have a passion for organisation, politics and bureaucracy. Thaveen society progressed rapidly from the moment agriculture was invented, due to the guiding hand of the Admins. They had writing before metalworking, a world government before industrialisation, and had eliminated poverty before inventing digital technology.

The Thaveen Mandate have managed an outreach and research programme on Earth for over a generation. By sharing and guiding, they have contributed immensely to recent technological developments on Earth, in particular the development of the R-3 Relativity Drive. They are the closest that humanity has to a friend, but they are not military allies with the League. Earth is too far away, too technologically inferior, and too inexperienced. However, Thaveen officers are routinely found on Space Force starships.

Thaveen names start with a title, essentially a job description, followed by the name chosen by the individual upon attaining adulthood.

• Admin Soaring Paperwork
• Doctor Think and Thought
• Engineer Crash Crash Bang
• Sergeant Shoots First Shoots Later

The Legion

The Legion are a clone society that is an offshoot of the Thaveen. They are conformist, self-obsessed and grouchy.

A highly-irritable Thaveen geneticist called Legion Discrete dedicated his life to creating clones of himself so that he could enjoy communal activities without the bother of his fellow Thaveen’s quirks and idiosyncracies. He sequestered himself away on an isolated world and he was forgotten by Thaveen society, remembered only as a former eccentric colleague or dance partner.

A century later the Thaveen discovered that Legion Discrete had been successful, and a society of clones, called The Legion, had multiplied and flourished. Despite their shared cultural and technological history, the Thaveen and The Legion only have a cordial relationship. The Thaveen view The Legion as completely missing the purpose of life, and The Legion just think the Thaveen are annoying.

The Legion have exemplary genetic and cloning technology, but hire out to other societies to fulfil many of their needs. They have a very culturally regimented lifestyle. Everyone looks the same, enjoys the same food, is annoyed by the same habits and loves line dancing.

Legion names follow a variant of Thaveen naming convention, where first names are all Legion.

• Legion Prime
• Legion Isotope
• Legion Foot First
• Legion Stepback

Krix-ik

Krix-ik are a eusocial insectoid species with a caste system. They are mentally rigid and collectivist.

Krix-ik are divided into castes, where each caste has a unique morphology, and serves the colony in a specific manner. The Royal Caste are the only reproductively active Krix-ik and wield unchallenged executive authority – they have never been seen by humans. The Warrior Caste are aggressive and competitive. The Worker Caste are hardworking and deferential. The Thinking Caste, whilst more mentally flexible than the others, are coldly calculating.

All Krix-ik belong to a colony, which can span multiple sites across many star systems. The K’lok ‘ok colony has developed positive relations with the League of United Worlds, including trade agreements, a non-aggression pact and an officer-exchange program. Relations with other colonies are not as positive, and whilst apathy and mercurial interest are common, outright hostility is always a distinct possibility.

Krix-ik culture emphasises the good of the colony over individual outcomes, or even survival. Their culture is almost unrecognisable, consisting mostly of factual storytelling and parables, with no humour or romanticism. As their primary methods of communication are pheromones and stridulations, specialist equipment is generally needed for real-time conversations with humans. All Krik-ik know at least three languages: the common language; their caste language; and their colony language. Krix-ik have a lower level of neuroplasticity than most intelligent species and thus find it difficult to adapt their thinking.

Krix-ik names are poorly rendered in latin characters, not least as it is impossible to spell pheromones. 

• Vit Vit Ixy Hox
• Ruxix k’a-it
• Vot On
• Raxikix ilk