Sabmiqys (Antares/Gimgir-2117) --------------------------------------- Race: Gya Ks Status: Quasi-Extinct minor race Home world: Sabmiqys The extinct race on Sabmiqys: The Gya Ks. Until -8000 when their planet was wiped out, these guys must have looked like a potent force to Gramps. (TL 17 but no jump drive.) [Challenge] --------------------------------------- UPP : X160056-H Starport : X - No Starport / Imperial interdicted Size : 1 - Small (1,600 km) Atmosphere : 6 - Standard Hydrographics : 0 - Desert World 0% (Less than 5% surface water) Population : 0 - Low (Intelligent Robots) Government : 5 - Feudal Technocracy Law : 6 - Moderate Law Tech Level : H - (17) Extreme Stellar (antimatter) Primary : G3 V Gas Giants : 4 Planetoid Belts : 0 --------------------------------------- X160056-H Ni R504 Allegiance: Imperial interdicted A sudden plague on Sabmiqys wiped out its sentient inhabitants. The world is now inhabited by a “race” of tech-level 17 self-repairing robots, which have produced an interesting body of literature. The Scout Service has interdicted this world; no other world in the Imperium has such a high tech level (this level is not the current manufacturing level, but the level of the existing technological artifacts). (book-8) --------------------------------------- Status : Minor Race Classification : Intelligent Robot Size : 1.8M Weight : 100Kg Homeworld : Sabmiqys (Antares 2117) Multi-world : no Canon : yes Reference : Joe Fugate --------------------------------------- The planet now known as Sabmiqys (Antares/Gimgir-2117) first came into human awareness in -5889, when a Vilani scout from the Ziru Sirka, while conducting a flyby of the planet as a preliminary to contact of a suspected intelligent race, reported several internal explosions in his scout ship. These were followed by the destruction of the ship in a catastrophic explosion. The entire incident was reported as an unfortunate accident, as there was no evidence and no reason to assume that it was caused by hostile action (the Vilani lacked knowledge of meson weapons). Repeated attempts at contact resulted in the same mysterious destruction of the ship, and the Vilani scouts declared the world to be a navigational hazard, and gave it the name “Gashukubi”, or “Certain Death”. Centuries later, the Vilani contacted and went to war with other humans, on the other end of the Imperium - the Interstellar Wars against Terra. Near the end of those wars, the Terrans were able to mount shipboard meson guns, and the Vilani again had experience with “Gashukubi” - possibly enough to affect their morale and make it that much easier for the Terrans to achieve victory. After the fall of the Vilani Imperium and the founding of the Rule of Man, the Vilani quickly realized that the destruction of the scouts in the Gashukubi system was probably caused by meson fire - thus proving that there was a technologically advanced race on the planet, and one which had superior weapons technology to that of the Vilani. Curiosity and speculation abounded about the Gashukubi system, and who the inhabitants were, but the system remained off-limits right through the Long Night, as there was no known defense against meson weapons. The Sylean Federation was able to develop meson screens; this was the key to surviving contact with Gashukubi. In the 70s and 80s, shortly after the founding of the Third Imperium from the Sylean Federation, two meson-screen-equipped starships landed on the planet. One was destroyed; the other successfully landed, but was never heard from again. This proved beyond doubt that the aliens’ weapons were meson guns, and also showed that they could in fact be survived. In the late 200s and early 300s, the Third Imperium achieved TL13; this proved to be the final piece of the puzzle needed to make contact with the Gashukubi. In 311, the Gem of Fornol, equipped with the latest TL13 meson screens, successfully landed on Gashukubi. They were met by large metal robots, not at all esthetic to look at, and all wielding nasty-looking weapons. Most of the crew was captured and led away, and never seen again; the remainder left before they could be captured as well. The system was classified as a Red Zone, and a notation of an extremely xenophobic race was placed in the file. A few years later, another attempt at contact was made; this was not met by meson fire. No further information was learned, however; this expedition met the same fate as that of the Gem of Fornol. During the First Survey, additional attempts to contact the Gashukubi were made; although these had an extremely high attrition rate, some additional information was gained. The local name of the planet was given as Sabmiqys, the name that appears on charts today. The planet is a desert, with less than 5% of the surface covered by water. There are indications that the planet was once 25% covered, but some prehistoric cataclysm of unknown nature caused the loss of most of that water. The planet’s orbit is highly eccentric, resulting in a harsh environment with extreme seasonal variations in climate. When the Imperial scouts finally learned enough of the language to be able to communicate reasonably easily, they requested to meet “those in charge”. The robots, with which they had been dealing, brought them into the presence of the “real” Sabmiqys. These proved to be beings of about 2.5m (~8.20 feet) in height and 100kg mass, apparently descended from omnivore/gatherer stock. They had two legs, four tentacular arms, binocular vision, a thick, spongy, grey hide, and a broad mouth with over 100 teeth. The population was very low, with most of the society and planet being run by robots of many different types. The scouts found it difficult to estimate the tech level, as much of the technology was far enough advanced over that of the Imperium that it was simply incomprehensible. Over time, more was learned about the Sabmiqys, including the astonishing claim that they replaced parts of their bodies as they wore out. This was certainly possible to medical science in the Imperium, however, it was virtually inconceivable that this should be a routine practice on Sabmiqys. Even more astonishing was the claim that some of the individual Sabmiqys were over 10,000 years old. Verification of the claims was impossible, however, as the Sabmiqys never agreed to allow observation of medical facilities or examination of individuals. Eventually, the scouts were able to determine that the term used by the Sabmiqys to refer to their ancestors appeared to mean ‘our great ancestors who brought down death from the sky’. They were unable to learn the significance of this term, however. Among other quirks discovered about the Sabmiqys, it appeared that they needed very little sleep, and ate (strictly in private) once per day. Little additional information was gained, as the Sabmiqys were very secretive about themselves and their society. Occasionally, a contact party member would disappear; any attempt to learn the member’s fate would result in an offer to show the questioning party member - who would also disappear. When pressed for explanations, the Sabmiqys would lead the questioning member off at gunpoint, and he would also disappear. Attempts at rescue often met the same fate, and over time, the contact parties learned not to inquire after the missing members. In the late 600s, a scout party accidentally stumbled upon a robot repair facility - where they found a ‘living’ Sabmiqys undergoing extensive repair. It was quickly learned that the entire ‘living’ population of Sabmiqys were in fact highly sophisticated pseudo-biological robots. Further investigation led to the story of the ‘great ancestors who brought down death from the sky’: Around -8000, shortly after the Vilani invention of jump drive, the Sabmiqys (the original living race) sent a single sub-light exploration ship to a nearby star system one parsec away. The ship returned on autopilot, the entire crew dead of unknown causes. By the time the Sabmiqys discovered the cause of death, they were infected with the virus that caused the deaths. This virus exhibited virtually no symptoms until it had run its course, at which point death was inevitable and sudden. Millions of people who believed that they were fine one day were dead the next, for no apparent reason. The Sabmiqys social system collapsed into anarchy, making it impossible to coordinate effort that might have led to a cure. Six months after the ship returned, study ended, as the deaths started. Ten days later, the planet was dead. Sabmiqys has been interdicted by the Imperium. The vast majority of travellers violating that interdiction have never returned, and are presumed dead at the hands of the Sabmiqys robots. (Challenge Magazine No. 28: Sector to Sector, 1115) --------------------------------------- Gimgir Subsector in Antares --------------------------------------- Sabmiqys is a quarantined system in the Antares sector occupied by intelligent robots. Scouts from the Vilani Imperium first flew by the world in -5889, but their ships were destroyed by internal explosions. The system was interdicted and named Gashukubi, which is Vilani for “Certain Death”. Towards the end of the Interstellar Wars, Terran breakthroughs in weapons technology produced the meson gun. The first Vilani to encounter this weapon were horrified - their ships exploded from the inside, just like in the Gashukubi legends. Rumours of the “gashukubi” weapon did much to sap the Vilani will to fight. With the founding of the Second Imperium, the Vilani soon realised that the Gashukubi system was defended by planetary-based meson weapons. The startling truth was that the inhabitants possessed a superior weapons technology. When the Sylean Federation created meson screens as a protection against meson fire, it opened the way for first contact in 311. The Scouts were met by armed robots. Many of the first contact crew were herded off at gunpoint, never to return. This pattern was repeated on several subsequent contact attempts. Within the Scouts, the word Sabmiqys came to describe any mission with a small chance of survival. Eventually, the Scouts learned the local language and asked to meet “those in charge”. Finally, they got to meet the actual Sabmiqys. The race is from omnivore/gatherer stock. They average 2.5m in height, and mass about 100kg. The Sabmiqys are thin and lithe, with no body hair and a bumpy, thick, spongy gray hide. They have two legs, four tentacle arms with four finger manipulators, a head with two eyes, four nostril slits, and a wide mouth with over 100 teeth. Very few exist, and the society seems to be made up of robots of all kinds. What really shocked the Scouts, however, was that a few of the Sabmiqys claimed to be over 10,000 years old! In the late 600s, a Scout contact party stumbled upon a robot repair facility. They discovered that a “living” Sabmiqys was undergoing extensive repairs. The Sabmiqys are actually extremely sophisticated pseudo-biological robots. The truth gradually emerged that the original inhabitants of the planet were all killed by a virulent virus in approximately -8000. The virus came from a Sabmiqys sub-light probe upon its return from a nearby star system. The ship was studied for six months - the incubation period of the virus. Once the deaths started, it was all over very quickly. The entire population - estimated in the millions - died within 10 days. The remaining million or so robots left on the planet decided that space travel is of little or no value, and have never pursued interstellar exploration. Currently, Sabmiqys is still an interdicted Red Zone world. The robots are not counted as population, as the Imperium does not recognize their sentience. Travellers are advised not to go to Sabmiqys for any reason. Many who have violated the Red Zone restriction have never returned. This article was copied or excerpted from the following copyrighted sources and used under license from Far Future Enterprises and by permission of the author. (Challenge Magazine No. 28: Sector to Sector) (T4 First Survey) --------------------------------------- Gashukubi Vilani Etymology (from kaashukapi -- kaashu “to be hazardous, deadly” + kap “palm of the hand” + i “a people”; lit. “the people who are to you as the slapping hand is to an insect,” the pre-contact nickname given to the inhabitants of Sabmiqys) Adjective Gashukubi - 1.(Low Vilani slang) certain death. Related Terms - meson gun - Sabmiqys (Antares 2117) References This article was copied or excerpted from the following copyrighted sources and used under license from Far Future Enterprises or by permission of the author. Challenge Magazine No. 28: Sector to Sector --------------------------------------- Year 70 Imperial - Two attempts by Imperial ships to contact Sabmiqys (Antares 2117) end in failure. ____________________________________________________________ Duchess Says Goodbye To Royal Family risingstarnewspaper.com http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/5a68df376c8c55f372cedst04vuc
