Steve

Steve is the pilot of the spaceship that can be found in the Galactic Core. Although a few insist that Steve is the ship. He is the only character in the entire game that speaks the selected language (except for Greek, Russian or Portuguese if one is the language you selected), and gives the player the Staff of Life (known in the development stages of Spore as the Genesis Device).

Steve's spaceship, itself, is an Easter egg. With the exception of the speaker on the top, it's a perfect replication of the UFO featured in the Sim City 2000 Cover.

Speech
Upon entering the Galactic Core, a cut-sequence is played, where Steve greets and congratulates the player for their progress:

 (A deep, mysterious voice introduces itself) Greetings my friend! You have traveled very far and overcome many obstacles. Along the way you have encountered many of your diverse, far-flung siblings-- precious few of them will make it this far. Your heroic efforts have proven you deserving, worthy of advancement to the next level of your existence. The universe you inhabit is but one of many countless worlds, unseen but yet connected. Your creative efforts have not gone unnoticed. Indeed they have spilled into these other, unseen worlds just as your world has been enriched by them. It is now time for you to join us-- Join us! Mwahahahaha!! No, just kidding. It's not scary. Indeed. The times ahead, they are good. Really, really good. Some of you may ask, who is this mysterious voice who knows so much and possesses such great powers? I'm glad you asked...

(After journeying through the Galactic Core, your ship drifts through space until it comes across a diminutive UFO, accompanied by an equally diminutive/squeaky voice and cheesy game show-style music)

I'm Steve. You are now to be given the power. Yes, that's right, THE POWER. The power to create and spread life, intelligence and understanding throughout the cosmos. Use this power wisely. Use this power so that we may one day become AS ONE... that is... I mean... in a metaphorical sense. Oh... one last thing. We are nearly sold out on the last phase of a wonderful time-share opportunity on one of our larger stars--and a rare planet in its orbit. If you are in the neighbourhood, we'd love to have you by for a free breakfast and short presentation. Just look for the third rock from Sol.

The player is then awarded with 42 uses of the Staff of Life, before being returned through the Galactic Core- after which the journey can no-longer be taken.

Trivia

 * Steve could easily be Spode due to the fact Spode is omnipotent and all powerful. He has a Staff of Life to just give away for free, implying that he can create life at a whim. Another way to prove he was omnipotent would be that he talks to you through a speaker instead of the usual screen so that you do not see his divine body that most likely resembles the galaxy. Another reference to him being all powerful is that he has no planets to land on due to the Gox for basic needs such as eating. The Grox hate Spode which would also give reason to why they occupy the center of the galaxy with such a fearsome nature, try to prevent people from reaching the center, make living conditions near the center terrascore 0, and why they feel so self-rightous trapping the supposed "god".


 * Since he gives you such a thing, he is possibly The False God That Will Come that the Shamans and the Zealots speak of. Not to mention the fact that he mentions "... we may one day become as one, that is, in the metaphorical sense." This is a term the Philosophy of Life uses fairly often ("We believe that we are you and you are us and that together we are one!")


 * Steve's name may be a reference to Gaming Steve of gamingsteve.com


 * Steve appears to come from Earth, as he mentions "Third Rock From Sol", which is another name for Earth. Another hint that he is from Earth is his human name, and the fact that he is the only character in the game that speaks an Earth language.


 * The definition "third rock from Sol" is a reference either to Men In Black II or a TV series named Third Rock from the Sun... or the even older Jimi Hendrix song "3rd Stone From The Sun."


 * In a Season 1 episode of the TV series, "3rd Rock from the Sun" (Episode 17: Assault with a Deadly Dick), character Harry Solomon asks a man seated beside him in the police station what he's there for...

HOBO: "Well they picked me up for vagrancy -- but that's not the real reason. I'm here because they know. They know I'm from the planet Clarion in the barred spiral on the Cephius-Strakeland border."

HARRY: "Do you know Steve?"


 * The fact that you get 42 uses of the staff is a reference to Douglas Adam's "Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy" series in which the Ultimate Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything is 42.


 * "Improveverywhere" also uses a "Steve the Omnipotent Voice from Above" in its "MP3 Experiments."


 * The "tunnel" effect seen before and after encountering Steve may be a reference to the "My God, it's full of stars" sequence in 2001: A Space Odyssey, though similar effects occur in (at least) Star Wars, the first Star Trek movie, Stargate, Sliders, and Contact.


 * The Steve UFO has the same voice as the jawas, in the computer game "Star Wars Droidworks".


 * When Steve says "We are nearly sold out on the last phase of a wonderful time-share opportunity on one of our larger stars--and a rare planet in its orbit.", he could mean that pollution is destroying the planet, or has already destroyed it, as humans are no longer there.


 * When Steve mentions "these other, unseen worlds", he is probably talking about the Spore network taking ones creations and placing them in other games.


 * The appearance of Steve's UFO bears a remarkable resemblance to the one featured on the 1993 Maxis title Sim City 2000.