Patrons of the mighty Jophur, the gentle but hasty Poa appear to be ending their 13-million-year citizenship and preparing to enter the Retired Order of Life. Their history tells of many impulsive decisions that went badly … and as many that somehow worked out for the best, winning them many friends. But after letting the enigmatic Oallie interfere in Jophur Uplift, the Poa finally realized the high price of carelessness. They decided to forgo guiding other proto-sapients.
Not counting antennae, Poa are 2 to 2.25 meters high and 4 to 5 meters in length. Each resembles a sleek snail with an immense foot surrounded by hundreds of tentacles. 2-meter-long antennae are probably sensory organs. Coloring varies wildly from tans to fluorescent magenta, suggesting they have the ability to communicate through color changes.
As they prepare to retire to the fractal worlds, Poa are seen rarely in Galactic society. It is doubtful you’ll ever come closer to one than these pictures. But if you do, try courteously to get the creature’s attention and interest in hearing the story of Earthclan. If, by some chance, these honored beings decided to champion our cause, it could make a difference!
Jophur are among the most alien oxygen-breathing species encountered by Earthlings. Visually and biologically closer to plant life than animal, they were gene-engineered extensively by the gentle Poa 7 million years ago, in part because of prodigious Jophur abilities to process and recall information. But the resulting sapient creature showed a notable lack of ambition, frustrating their patrons.
Known for making hasty decisions, the Poa turned to the notoriously conceited Oallie for help.
The result? In a startling transformation, Jophur became one of the most profoundly egotistical, ambitious, and amoral races in all Five Galaxies.
PSYCHOLOGYJophur are among the few sapient species one might call “cultivated.” Individuals consist of a series of stacked sap rings, each a semiautonomous organism capable of surviving on photosynthesis or saprophytosis (mulch eating). Each ring has rudimentary intelligence, plus a suite of talents to contribute to the whole stack-manipulative, sensory, neurological, or digestive. (Imagine a human whose arms, legs, and other organs all had “minds” of their own and argued among themselves each time a major decision must be made.)
When assembled properly, by a team of skilled adults, a normal stack of roughly fourteen rings includes one for propulsion, two for manipulation, one or two sensory rings, a voice ring, several cognition and memory toruses, plus two unspecialized rings serving as food-processing plants. Propulsion and manipulative rings start basically the same, but on assembly they respond to hormonal changes. Nodes on the outer edge grow into arm-like tentacles or root-like legs. The average fourteen-ring Jophur is about 2 meters tall. Jophur speak Gal Eight or Gal Two.
Millennia ago, the Jophur called themselves Traeki. Overall intelligence was high, but these composite beings lacked the purity of focus needed for quick or ambitious action. Traeki did not originally propagate in vats. Instead, they would either catch and combine wild rings or else create special toruses in a process of Vlen-budding. A blister would form about halfway up the side of a Traeki, crack open, and spill forth new rings. In this way, selective memories and talents could be passed on to an offspring.
Impatient with the loose Traeki personality, the Poa called in harsh Uplift experts, the Oallie. Beyond starting vat reproduction, they also introduced a “Master Ring” to every stack of toruses. This dominant entity coordinates production of appropriate hormones and uses neuroelectric shocks to prod other rings into concerted action. The resulting Jophur were a new class of being.
CONTACT WITH EARTHLINGSJophur are members of the Obeyer Alliance, a sect believing that spiritual presences guide believers’ destinies. They received this faith not from their Poa patrons but from their Uplift consorts, the Oallie. Among themselves, Jophur engage in fierce mutual competition, punctuated by episodes of “mingling,” when egotism is put aside.
Jophur psychology is mysterious. Their relentless self-interest and driving ambition seem frenetic, as if overcompensating for their Traeki past. If you have direct contact with a Jophur, attempt to have other patron-level beings present—though not a member of the Abdicator Alliance, such as the Thennanin. It will do you no good to get mired in age-old disputes between dogmatic followers of obscure doctrines that no Earthling understands.
Jophur found the proto-Sarrphor half a million years ago in freshwater swamps. Though lacking sapiency and technology, they had developed a complicated caste system with the strongest family assuming a caliphate. The Jophur left this system in place.
Sarrphor are 2.5-meter-tall centauroids whose eyestalks rotate independently, registering mostly infrared. The brain is not protected by a skull, but sits on a tray-like frame covered with tendons. Two flexible boneless arms end in pincers with fine-manipulation cilia. Their mouths are a series of horizontal slits, each with its own set of vocal chords, piped from a single lung. Currently the Sarrphor are diligent clients, but history implies they have unusual forcefulness—call it “spunk.” The fierce Jophur have had to renegotiate their patron-client relationship at least twice. One can only suppose that something about the Sarrphor gives them an advantage. Try to find out what it is.
The Phasheni were uplifted 587,000 years ago by the Jophur, partly to mitigate the extreme stance (even by Galactic standards) of the Jophur Clan and to mitigate bad feelings over the Oallie episode. In other words, they were bred to be likeable and to present a “kinder and gentler” side to the Civilization of Five Galaxies. As outward representatives of one of the most powerful clans, the Phasheni appear to have created a small niche for themselves wherein they have minute amounts of freedom. It may be possible to leverage this knowledge so watch out for any signs that a Phasheni may be disgruntled with their oppressive masters.
Jophur raised the Dorrvi 563,000 years ago. Proto-Dorrvi were the rogue elephants of their homeworld, pummeling anything in their way. The Jophur first liked their smell, being pheromone-oriented. Their physical strength has actually been toned down to allow safe interaction with other Galactics.
These are big, hulking guys with proportionally itty-bitty hands. Don’t arm wrestle with them. Little else is known, biologically.
Being the Jophur’s right-tentacle men has benefits and disadvantages for the Dorrvi. The Dorrvi lately (within the last 10,000 years) have been used by the Jophur as the trading branch of the clan. The Jophur probably think that the huge Dorrvi present a less threatening, more appealing appearance than the multicolored, flaccid ring-stacks of a Jophur merchant prince.
Dorrvi found the Voam-Voam 223,000 years ago as grazing herbivores. 2.75 meters tall, they have a triangular body ending in twenty-two tiny feet. The bilateral tentacular arms end in suction-cupped fingers. The head arches forward in a huge proboscis, splitting to two nostrils in front of the mouth. Large eyes give the Voam-Voam bird-like vision. Voam-Voam appear withdrawn and enigmatic, even though they are now free from indenture. They have autonomy to run their own affairs, so long as they provide vigorous help to the Jophur in their Galactic ambitions.
