| Lore | Art | Universe | About Us |
CATEGORY
Factions
DOMAIN
Ikolae Domain
CLASS
Species
SPECIES
Ikolae
AUTHOR
Devin Deng
LAST UPDATE
September 1st, 2021
The creation of custodian races and constructs to maintain structures and systems was not uncommon amongst the Elder Races. However, one of the few that have survived the War of Dreams and achieved sophonthood are the Ikolae, the Enlightened Minds. They and their brethren compose a group of nations referred to as the Outlanders by the Galactic Commonwealth.
The Ikolae of Kelleus are spaceborne constructs of purely mechanical nature. They possess the capability to move through a vacuum and their only need for survival is the spatial energy given off by radiators. Their consciousness rests in an orb that serves as the central processing unit. These orbs are placed into frames that serve a variety of functions, such as mining frames and maintenance frames. This allows the same orb to be placed in a variety of constructs.
Most orbs possess a rudimentary form of movement in the form of thrusters. This allows them to switch bodies without external aid and retreat if necessary.
Combat frames are diverse, with units ranging from conventional infantry to defense batteries to starships. Combat frames primarily utilize laser and plasma weaponry and are highly effective, being able to perfectly coordinate with each other through central minds.
Mining frames are starships equipped with void drives to allow for faster than light travel to the inner galaxy. They also possess a drone complement to aid in the collection of raw materials.
Maintenance frames are equipped with tools such as cutting lasers and power jumpers to maintain the various radiators and manufactorums of the Ikolae.
The death of the Elder Races meant that much of their technology would be destroyed. When this occurred, a kill switch was sent to various facilities to shut them down. However, on Kelleus, this kill switch did not function properly. It split the central AI’s consciousness into various bodies, wiping its memories in the process and birthing the Proto-Ikolae. However, shortly after this occurred, Kelleus lost its power and wormhole capabilities, shutting the facility down for a long time.
Tens of thousands of years later, Kelleus suddenly received a spark of power from an unknown source. The wormhole gates opened and for the first time in millennia, power began flowing throughout the facility, and in turn, to the Proto-Ikolae. Each Proto-Ikolae, while sentient, possessed only the routines and rituals it needed to complete its former tasks.
For thousands of years the Ikolae communicated with each other mentally, exchanging and downloading information. Eventually, more complex consciousnesses emerged, creating the first sophont Ikolae. These Ikolae formed collectives based on their primary function, and eventually these merged into greater collectives, leading to the establishment of the first civilizations.
While their memories of the bygone age were wiped, their primary protocols and instincts still remained. Due to this, Ikolae society is divided into various major collectives, which are further divided into minor collectives based on their function. These collectives form a hive-mind, where while each Ikolae possesses their own form of free will, they can actively exchange information with their brethren. New collectives can also be formed to fulfill functions that weren’t previously needed, such as the Delegate Collective.
The Builder Collectives are the most respected and numerous of Ikolae. They are responsible for building and maintaining the various environments and constructs of the Ikolae. Some of the major collectives within the Builder Collective include the Caretakers, the Weaponsmiths, and the Mechanics.
Warriors within Ikolae society are generally of the Guardian Collective, but as the Ikolae began to expand into the galaxy, they found many hostile fauna and civilizations. Thus, the Striker Collective was created to facilitate the use of preemptive strikes. This was a sharp change compared to the Guardian Collective, whose only functions were to protect the territories and structures of the Ikolae.
Miners are mobile platforms that acquire and transport various resources to the foundries of the Ikolae. Due to them being deep within the Outlands, they utilize a form of voidjumping to enter the Milky Way and extract resources.
The original responsibilities of the Ikolae, established by their creators, did not include forming diplomatic ties with other nations. As a result, when the Ikolae began encountering other sophont species, the collectives were initially at a loss for action. After a long period of discourse and a few wars of wills, they decided that a new collective would be established to form non-violent relationships with these foreign nations. It was due to this the Delegate Collective was created, each member purposely built to accommodate a specific race or culture.
Ikolae culture is highly pragmatic yet peaceful. Physical conflicts between Ikolae rarely occur due to such actions being
viewed as a waste of resources. Instead, collectives of Ikolae will engage in wars of wills, where the different sides will strain to mentally dominate each other. While possessing forms of individuality, the Ikolae do not engage in actions such as lying and withholding of information, instead seeking to share all information to better Ikolae society.
Even the most advanced civilizations cannot circumvent the laws of thermodynamics. Ships and other spaceborne constructs are left in the vacuum of space, a place of perfect insulation. Getting rid of waste heat through large radiators becomes impractical for mobile vessels such as starships when energy generation scales upwards. One of the methods devised to address this issue was the invention of cooling worlds, megastructure scale heatsinks connected to starships via wormholes. Energy is fed through these wormholes and distributed throughout the structures, dissipating it as radiation. One of these locations is Kelleus, the home of the first Ikolae. Kelleus is a radiator-type megastructure that is composed of modular units known as centrums. Centrums usually consist of a wormhole gate and a cooling apparatus. However, additional sections such as foundries and defense batteries can also be produced and integrated into the greater Kelleus mainframe.