Social Sciences > Life Forms > Perseids

Perseids

This highly advanced species, which thrived under the Commonnwealth and whose members were indispensable to the efficient function of its institutions, was hit particularly hard by the civil war and subsequent collapse. Accustomed to relying on the High Guard for defense and without strong martial traditions of their own, the Perseids became easy pickings for Magog swarm raids, Nietzschean bandits, and other opportunists. The result was a massive reverse exodus as Perseids from throughout the Known Worlds retreated to their ancestral homeworld of Ugroth. The "Great Ingathering," as it became known, bought temporary safety for the Perseids, but in a devastating blow to galactic civilization, countless worlds suddenly found themselves without their most capable administrators, scientists, and teachers. Indeed, many historians regard the Ingathering as one of the most important precipitating factors in the fall of the Long Night. So while a few Perseid settlements survive and even thrive on planets such as Sinti, Hamsa, and Sparborth, the vast majority of the Perseid people live on their once-scorned homeworld. Ugroth, once nearly abandoned as the Perseids spread out among the stars, is now home to nearly 150 billion Perseids, making it the most densely populated world in known space.

Physical Characteristics
Perseids are striking, humanoid aliens found throughout the Commonwealth. Despite their black, featureless eyes and long bony chins, Perseids resemble Humans so closely that many believe that Humans are an offshoot of their race. Countless theories have been advanced throughout the ages to explain the kinship of the two species.

Reproductive Method
Perseids are bisexual by nature, with each individual capable of both fertilizing another and gestating young itself. When wishing to reproduce, two Perseids typically form a temporary pair bond in which each individual impregnates the other. The pair stays together until the birth of the offspring, who are then turned over to the Perseid government for rearing and retain only a cursory connection to their biological parents.

Homeworld
Perseids originated on the planet Ugroth in the Milky Way galaxy, but quickly colonized other worlds. Today, most Perseids have little if any physical or emotional connection to their ancestral home.

Social Characteristics
On their native worlds, Perseids govern themselves via meritocracy. Their Overseers are individuals scientifically chosen for their vast knowledge and superior intellect, and the Perseids' strong bureaucratic skills make them highly efficient administrators for the Commonwealth government as well. Initially absorbed by the Vedran Empire, the Perseids soon made themselves so valuable to their conquerors that they achieved positions of power and influence even before the Great Reforms led to the Commonwealth's establishment.

s, preferably sentient ones. The Magog "parent" then watches over the host for the time it takes for its young to hatch and eat their way out of the host organism, which in the process dies a slow, agonizing death. Interestingly, the resulting Magog young seem to contain small amounts of DNA from the host as well as the Magog parent. The rate at which Magog offspring grow to physical adulthood is believed to be a function of how much food is available to the young.

Homeworld
The origins of the Magog are shrouded in mystery. All attempts to trace the migration route of the Magog back to their place of origins have ended in failure. The Magog currently control large swathes of space in the Andromeda and Milky Way galaxies, but are barred by the Treaty of Antares from crossing the Quarantine Zone established to demarcate the edge of Magog territory.

Social Characteristics
Magog society seems to be little more than an aggressive all-consuming horde. The Magog produce no art, no music, no literature. It's not known how such an aggressive, uncooperative species could have developed the spaceflight capabilities and sophisticated technologies the Magog are known to possess. In fact, some researchers theorize that the Magog are not a natural species at all, but rather some kind of bio-engineered weapon, programmed to replicate themselves and destroy everything they come in contact with. But only the Magog know for certain, and they've steadfastly refused to answer questions regarding their own origins.