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Post by Zero on May 4, 2013 3:48:06 GMT
Numerous new mutant races were created when the Votans' terraformer technology was haphazardly released in the Arkfall of 2030. Some are bizarre hybrids of animals from Earth and different Votan planets, or creatures so drastically altered that it isn't really clear what stock they were created from. Most prominent among these are Hellbugs, originally a small and rather harmless insect species from the Votanis system carried in the Arks, which were twisted by the terraformers into vicious predators. Hellbugs are hive-based eusocial insects with several different specialized castes, ranging from small Skitterlings that attack in swarms, to larger lion-sized Warriors. There are rumors of even larger varieties that are several stories tall. Greater effort hasn't been expended on eradicating Hellbugs because they are a very valuable fuel source. Hellbugs consume gulanite ore as a digestive aid, which results in their excrement containing unrefined "petrohol", the main fuel source for contemporary vehicles. In addition to the alien races, another race present in the series are the Biomen (or Bio-Marines). During the Pale Wars, in an effort to match the Votans' superior technology, Earth's militaries successfully developed fully synthetic, sentient life-forms which could be mass-produced as shock troops in the war. Designed to be stronger and tougher than humans, the Bio-Marines were treated as expendable, because they were considered to possess no human rights. Biomen are larger and better muscled than normal humans, with bulging overdeveloped neck muscles. They come in a variety of skin colors, both natural and unnatural (e.g., blue) and have vividly colored eyes. Biomen can be individually identified by the three inch tall serial numbers which have been branded across the width of their chests, with each production run of Biomen was given its own "batch name", e.g., "Pierce" or "Ulysses-537634". Biomen have an off button somewhere on their bodies, with the location dependent on their batch. If hit with enough force in the off switch, a Bioman will be knocked out cold; several thousand volts of electricity will wake them up. Biomen were designed to be naturally aggressive for the wars, and now that the wars are over they have been rendered obsolete. The Biomen have difficulty integrating into peacetime and are ostracized by baseline humans and Votans alike. Brought to you by Wikipedia.
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