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Biology PSI Society Homeworld Language Background Notes

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Despite the fact that the Vaipen are the second oldest race in the known universe, little is known about their internal biology. What is know is mostly guesswork and facts uncovered by J'halm Tarn, Mogensen explorer and doctor. The Vaipen are insectoid in form, with 6 limbs; two large legs on which it stands erect and four 'arms'. They are encased in a hard chitin exoskeleton which has been said to withstand close range blaster fire with little or no damage. They breathe a mixture of Methane, Helium, Ethane, Diacetylene, Hydrogen cyanide and Cyanoacetylene similar to the atmosphere of Titan (ISIS-SOL-06-01) and, while displaying discomfort, are able to adapt to several other atmospheric types including Nitrogen/ Oxygen atmospheres. Nearly all Vaipen who have been seen are between 6 and 12 feet tall with pronounced visual organs which can be no doubt attributed to their native atmosphere.

All members of the Vaipen have extremely powerful telepathic and telekinetic abilities and, despite the fact that they must use their telepathic ability to remain in contact with the Vaipen Hive Mind, they are able to block scans by even the most powerful human psychics.

The Vaipen are a Hive Mind collective where all the members are in constant contact. The Hive is maintained via the telepathic abilities of the individual Vaipen. Given the size of interstellar space, even providing for hyperspace, it is still a mystery how they remain in contact but there has been speculation that the Vaipen themselves are not the only factor in the Hive communication system. All Vaipen seen have their own individual organic spacecraft which, while no-one has ever seen inside one of these ships, it is speculated that the craft has a symbiotic relationship with the Vaipen pilot where the craft relies on the pilot for navigation and the pilot uses the ship as a telepathic 'relay' which boosts the signals to and from the Hive Mind. This view is strengthened by the fact that the reactions of the Hive as a whole appear to increase in the presence of one of the Vaipen's gargantuan hiveships. As no one has ever had any direct experience of the hive mind it's inner workings can not be deduced but evidence uncovered by J'halm Tarn suggests that the hive is hierarchical as shown here. The core of the hive mind is linked to local hive nodes which in turn are in contact with the hiveships. Under the hiveships are individual Vaipen and their ships along with other members of the hive mind which have been engineered by the Vaipen either as spacecraft, weapons or workers.

Given that the Vaipen are so secretive, and no one has ever actually seen the Vaipen homeworld is is only possible to gain an impression of it's appearance from a few rare facts. Based on Vaipen physiology it is assumed that the Vaipen evolved from their original Ovaska form on a world with a dusty/ cloudy atmosphere. Given the elements they find most comfortable breathing it is assumed that the atmosphere is think in hydrocarbons and would have an orange/ red colouration. Several scientists have come to the conclusion that the Vaipen homeworld is a 'dirty red' world, covered in thick cloud, orbiting an old star deep in the second arm of the galaxy. This artist's impression is based around the latest theories but the Vaipen will not comment on it.

While little is known about the Vaipen, even less is known about their language. Only one artifact, a 40m tall obelisk, has ever been found which can be attributed to the Vaipen. It is covered in highly complex hieroglyphics which have never been deciphered to the present day. In one attempt to discern it's meaning the Ovaskan ambassador to to Galactic Assembly was asked by Dr M Forrester (leading Exobiologist) to translate some of the hieroglyphics. His reply; 'The past and the future'. The picture here shows an artist's impression of the artifact as it might appear on the Vaipen Homeworld.

The Vaipen are on of the few races in the known universe to make extensive use of organic technology basing nearly all their ships and weapons on bioengineered creatures. Only 3 known studies have been conducted into the Vaipen, the first being done by Yhgran Vars of the Elarien but the date it was conducted, and it's results have never been released. The second study was done by J'halm Tarn in 2047 (est Earth Years, reference MOG_JTARN-VP5432) and an investigation is currently begin conducted by Dr M Forrester the results of which are expected in June of 2265. One fact which has emerged from J'halm Tarn's study and the early findings of the Forrester study is that the Vaipen, and to a lesser extent the Ovaska, have ceased to expand their borders, especially in the direction of the galactic hub. There have been several theories suggested for this ranging from stretched resources to the suggestion that an even more powerful race may hold the inner systems of the galaxy. Please refer to the history section for more details of contact dates and events regarding the Vaipen

WARNING This race must be treated with the utmost caution. Not only are they considerably more powerful than any race with the possible exception of the Ovaska they also shun contact with other races and have been known to destroy ships which come too close without direct permission to do so. If possible do not stray into Vaipen space; they have often discouraged visitors and there have been occasions when ships have not returned after straying too close to their borders.