The Forest Eaters

Today's Forest Eater

The Forest Eaters are large cattle used on a few worlds to control fast-growing forests.  Their use is strictly regulated due to their tremendous appetites and extremely long life spans.  Released into a slow-growth biosphere, the Forest Eaters would likely strip the entire planet of large-growth vegetation in quick order.

Only three corporations have been granted permission by the Terrec'Qek Empire to raise, farm out, slaughter, and sell the meat of this gigantic life form.  Since they were first discovered on the Zinnic IV outworld, the site of the Bennis' Skey Uprising, the Forest Eaters have become a prized delicacy, sought after by those who seek the most sublime, but potentially deadliest feast.

Forest Eater flesh is considered by many to be the greatest meat available in the know universe.  Unfortunately, it is also one of the riskiest meals in which one can partake.  The acid that allows the Forest Eaters to quickly digest large amounts of vegetation at such a fast pace is also completely fatal if consumed by most carbon-base life forms.  Even the most skilled chef cannot guarantee that the meat he serves is free of the deadly substance, as the acid travels throughout a Forest Eater's body in no discernible pattern.  Luckily, if one consumes a steak so tainted, they would first experience an extremely high level of euphoria before their mind was consumed and their body dissolved into a gelatinous sludge.

A Forest Eater, circa 1978

What the %*@&! is the "Forever War"?

Since I've chosen to fit these beasties into the framework of my graphic novel, Terran Sandz, it occured to me that some background might be helpful, especially regarding the numerously mentioned "Forever War".

Here is part of the introduction on the inside front cover of the graphic novel.  Hopefully, it'll spread some light on the universe within which all this takes place.

If you have any questions, ask away.


The spark that began the Forever War had long faded into antiquity.  the Terrec'Qek Empire and the Breed were the warring factions, and even they had forgotten the origins of their seething hatreds.


Each side "recruited" new fodder for their war machines by indoctrinating the inhabitants of newly discovered worlds.  if the newly-recruited were battle-ready, they were shipped to the front lines.  were they viewed as deficient at making war, the recruits were sent to special planets where they were retrofitted, via forced mutation and involuntary surgical enhancements, into fierce warriors.


The forever war was a fact of life to the millions of involved worlds.  no one anticipated an end to the stalemate.


Then the Terrec'Qek Empire chanced upon the earth, which had been a paradise of peace and harmony for over 200 years.  thus the Terran Warriors, as the earth's inhabitants became known, were recruited into the war without end.


In just one hundred years, however, the terran warriors single-handedly ended the forever war.  the Breed and all who supported them were annihilated.  so ferocious and deadly were the terrans that all fled at the very mention of their arrival.

Phalan 2752

Phalan 2752 as visualized today.

Phalan 2752 are a self-replicating, hyper-intelligent virus that share a single hive-mind.  Each individual is actually constructed of 2752 single-celled parts that function as one entity.

Shortly after gaining sentience, the Phalan 2752 killed its creator, began replicating, and over-ran their planet of origin, destroying every living thing they encountered.  They continued to perfect their genetic makeup, making themselves more resilient to harm and and increasing their already vast intellect.

The Breed discovered them accidentally when one of their scout ships crash-landed on the Phalan 2752 homeworld.  First contact did not go well.  Luckily, the Breed managed to contain the Phalan 2752, and their homeworld was quarantined, one hundred full armadas stationed around the planet to make sure not a single Phalan 2752 made it off world.  Because of the hive mind shared by the entire race, all it would take is the escape of a single individual, and they could very well overtake the entire universe.

The Phalan 2752 of my youth,

Ghergasym

Ghergasym today

"Conquest by Commerce."  That is the faith of the Ghergasym.  Their every breath is taken only if they see it as a profitable action.  In fact, should one of this race ever see their life as a drain on its financial fortune, by edict of their faith that individual is expected to commit suicide.

Ghergasym are the very heart of selfishness, even going so far as to kill any family members (including a spouse) should they calculate that such a act might increase their net worth by a least twenty percent.  This is just one of the decrees found in their holy manuscripts.  A Ghergasym staunchly believes that its chance of achieving admission into their version of the afterlife is directly proportional to its personal fortune.

Many planets have banned the Ghergasym from setting foot on their soil, as any act, no matter how heinous, is utterly condoned and encouraged by their faith as long as a large enough profit is the result.

The Ghergasym of yesterday

Okay, Terran Sandz it is...

Terran Sandz with a 'tude

Originally, I honestly thought I'd just post my aliens without giving them much context.  You know, just loose, unrelated ideas that were fun to draw.  As soon as I wrote up the Ge'em, I knew that wouldn't be the case.

All these aliens will exist in the world of Terran Sandz, my first graphic novel.  Given that it already has a rich backstory, and is a tale populated almost exclusively with aliens, it just made since to use it as a backdrop for these creatures.

So, going forward, all the creatures I post in this blog will have some small tie or another to the weird world of Terran Sandz.

Legiil, one of the co-creators of the Aimless Cities

The Aimless Cities

An Aimless City from my misspent youth

The Aimless Cities are giant, living prisons that mindlessly roam the long-dead planet, Awnasee.  Thousands of enemies of the Terrec'Qek Empire reside inside each City, maintaining the giant creatures just as it protects them from the impossible conditions that exist on Awnasee's surface.  The prisoners consume the city, but are forced to ration their intake as they could otherwise kill their host.  Births and deaths have to be strictly controlled by the prison population so that the City is not over-taxed.  The City's death means theirs as well.

Only a few Aimless Cities have died in the several millennia since they were first created, meaning many hundreds of generations have been birthed and perished knowing nothing but the insides of these creatures.

The Aimless City of today

The Ge'em

The Ge'em, circa a long time ago.

There are only 17 adult Ge'em (gh-ee-m) in existence, ever.  Legend has it that the number has great significance, though in what way has never been established. Their origins are a complete mystery.

For most of recorded history, the adult Ge'em was thought to be the human-sized, four-armed, floating figure.  The three-armed orb that accompanied every Ge'em was rumored to be a weapon, a piece of jewelry, or even a pet.  Though seen all about the known universe, the Ge'em never spoke or congregated with other sentient beings, but would simply appear unannounced, hover about, and then as unexpectedly, vanish.

It was not until a Ge'em was found with it's constant orb companion dead, presumably mortally wounded when a structure collapsed upon the duo that some of the mysteries of the race were illuminated.  It was discovered that the four-armed being was actually an adolescent Ge'em, and that the floating orb was the adult.  Over the next decade, as the rescued youth matured, it was learned that adult Ge'em produced young and used them as servants, security, and as food.  The energy tether that joins the child and its parent is used to enslave the child.  The adults can take refuge within the skulls of their children, whose skin is nearly indestructible.  Further, the mature Ge'em feeds off its offspring, sucking its life away slowly.  When the young Ge'em is about to enter adulthood, the parent consumes the rest of the young Ge'em's lifeforce, killing it.  The adult then births another child, and the process begins again.  The average life of an immature Ge'em is thought to be one hundred years.  When the rescued youth matured into an adult, morphing into the orbed form, all communication ceased.  The new adult Ge'em birthed it's first child, and the cycle began.

There has only been one recorded incident of more than one Ge'em being seen in the same location.  A heavily-armed battalion of the Terrec'Qek Empire attempted to "recruit" a lone Ge'em into servitude for the Forever War.  As soon as the lone alien apparently felt threatened, the remaining sixteen suddenly materialized and the entirety of the Ge'em effortlessly destroyed the entire battalion.  Just how seventeen unassuming creatures took the life of over two hundred powerful soldiers is unclear.  Though the event was recorded, it remains unclear how the Ge'em took the life of so many without any apparent weapon.

As an interesting side note, the Ge'em were the only race to remain neutral during the full length of Forever War.

The Ge'em, today.