Creature:Pathuru

The Pathuru are a bipedal, insectoid race hailing from the tropical rain forests of Kithros Prime. After evolving sentience and inventing faster-than-light travel, they are now regarded as one of the most methodical, scientific races in their galactic arm of the Sobraxis Galaxy.

History:

The Dawn of Life on Kithros Prime

Kithros Prime was a hot, humid planet, at the bare edge of its star’s habitable zone. Nonetheless, life still managed to find a way to take hold there. 2 billion years after its formation, Kithros Prime developed life in the shallow tide pools along its coastlines. One thing led to another, and before much longer, the first land creatures began to waddle out of the ocean. Among them, was the earliest ancestor of the Pathuru, a small mosquito-like creature. These Pathuru were hard-pressed to survive, and were easy prey for many reptilian and mammalian creatures. They struggled and evolved however, and they soon had an adaptation that could lead them to safety, and the chance to develop and survive; the very first (albeit primitive) wings on planet Kithros Prime. The Pathuru used their wings much like conventional mosquitos did, buzzing them quite rapidly, flitting about in the air. Perhaps as a result of this, Pathuru are always in their best element when flying, even to this day, and it is a preferred mode of transportation for them. Meanwhile, the Pathuru took to the trees, fabricating sticks and leaves into shelters against the predators of the night. It was up in those trees that the brains of the Pathuru began to swell, as this was the adaptation that could currently serve them most. Like most early sentient creatures at this time, they invented fire, and took to wearing crude clothing. Things were looking good for these Pathuru, but a great disaster was just on the horizon.

The Mass Extinction

3,000 years after the development of the Pathuru’s sentience, an anomaly occurred in the orbit of Kithros Prime. A gigantic, planet-sized asteroid hurtling through the galaxy had come very close to Kithros Prime’s star, causing slight disruptions in its gravitational pull. Even this minor disturbance caused great changes, and for 5 galactic standard weeks, Kithros Prime was thrust out of the habitable zone. As can be surmised, havoc broke loose on the planet’s surface; forests sizzled under the onslaught of heat, entire species died out in mere hours, and the atmosphere was barraged with deadly solar radiation. Over 97% of all living things on Kithros Prime were lost in this apocalypse. As it always has though, life went on. All but one Pathuru subspecies, the ancestors of modern ones, were left alive. These creatures had harder exoskeletons than their dead brethren, allowing them to survive. They created huts in the forest and went on adapting, there was little to stop them, as all of their predators were extinct. This era of tribal activities went on rather uneventfully, culminating in the innovation of the city.

Urbanization and Colonization

The Pathuru spread across their eerily empty globe,, studying and examining as they went. These traits would prove to be vital parts of their future culture. They based a language on their surprisingly advanced scientific calculations, and catalogued every thing that went on in their times. War was scarce and almost nonexistent; the Pathuru logically realized the scarcity of life on their planet and realized it needed time to heal. This sense of commitment and logicality united the Pathuru, and they worked together to create great technological marvels, like aqua-farms and motion scanner technology, some of which is still in use today. Not long after, many, if not all Pathuru began to look towards the stars. Many theories were in circulation about those myriad orbs in the skies of Kithros Prime, but it was the dominant one that suggested them to be stars like their own, each harboring a planet or planets, possible with life like them. The Pathuru were excited to learn what would be the answer to this great mystery, and put most available resources into the effort to create a vessel to traverse this starry medium. When the craft was completed, it was given a hierarchial designation rather than a name (as it was with all Pathuru architecture and technology) and set off into the stars with a modest crew of six. First contact occurred with the benevolent Quortian Empire, and the Pathuru tirelessly and thoroughly catalogued and documented every alien species they came across, stopping to deploy colonies on suitable planets. When they encountered the illogical and chaotic Gibolobs Empire and were attacked for almost no reason, the infuriated Pathuru reverted them to the Stone Age with gravity wave projectors aimed at their planets. They found little more conflict after that, and expanded their empire in peace. Nowadays, the Pathuru are held in high esteem as researchers, technicians, and scientists, and their work is found all around their allied empires. They have established themselves as a thriving member of the galactic community, and with quite a number of planets to their name, it is likely to remain this way for quite some time.

Anatomy:

The Pathuru are essentially large, bipedal mosquitos, although their diet differs from the blood-sucking tendencies of the latter. They possess 6 limbs, two arms and four legs, each tipped by a sturdy and flexible grasper or foot. Their body is divided into three segments, which consist of the abdomen, thorax, and head. The abdomen, first of all, contains most of the vital organs of a Pathuru, and is rounded off by a nasty poison sac. Moving upward, the thorax is where the arms and legs are attached to, as well as the Pathuru’s muscular, insectoid wings. Finally is the head. This part is where all of the Pathuru’s main sensory organs are, including its four eyes, antennae, and the central proboscis where food is absorbed. Two antler-like mandibles flank this proboscis, although they aid in defense, not digestion. By comparison, Pathuru have very large brains for insects, and although they do not have a hive mind, they cooperate very well and value the group as a whole very much, but not to an unreasonable extent.

Culture:

Almost all Pathuru possess a keen interest in the furthering of their races’ scientific ambitions, so most forms of media and the like are almost nonexistent. They live in categorized, identical housing structures lining the streets of cities and colonies, yet the Pathuru flourish, and even enjoy this conformity and neat order. The Pathurian language consists of only one centralized dialect, in which words and phrases are based on a complex numbering system. Pathuru lack vocal chords, so they produce sound by rhythmically rubbing their mandibles against their proboscis, while blowing air through it. The end result is a chirping, clicking language that is almost melodious, sounding something like a wooden wind instrument. The Pathuru government is led by a ruling group of scientists and technical experts, with members elected based on intelligence and leadership training. Its full official name is the Technocracy of Kithros Prime and Other Aligned Worlds, but it is usually shortened to the TKP. Its standard is as shown: