After a conversation on the ‘X’ (formerly known as Twitter) I revealed that I have written probably a hundred plus pages of background for the enemy species in my series ‘Valkyrie’. It’s as of yet unpublished, and is a deep dive into who these guys are, and what makes them tick, from a physiological, psychological and sociological perspectives. I’ll publish the whole thing here- and will likely integrate them into a future edition, but for now this is exclusive here on substack. Enjoy the first part of my deep dive into the Elai!
PSYCORPS “Introduction to Elai Evolutionary Psychology” UEAMC PSYCORP Distance Learning Module I.
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“The Elai, as a species, are surmised to have evolved from a predator on a planet with abundant life and a vigorous evolutionary cycle. This in turn, provided genetic selection so that only the fast, aggressive and intelligent members of the species survived.
While human evolution is based around the general theory that humans are innately adaptable to multiple environments and types of foods, and can therefore survive by moving to and from areas where natural predators were, the Elai likely did not have this luxury. The end result is the Elai as an intelligent species- A predator who outsmarted, outmaneuvered and outfought all the other, larger predators in their ecosystem, and eventually became the dominant lifeform.”
The hologram stood perhaps five feet tall, and was clad in black armor, with a visored helmet and a rifle. Extra magazines were in waist pouches, and a snubby sidearm was on it’s left hip.
“The average male Elai soldier is slightly smaller than a human. They stand about five feet tall, and weighs about fifty-five to sixty kilos; that’s about 120 -130 pounds to you North Americans. They are descended from a land dwelling, probably reptillian predator, hence the teeth and binocular eyes. The line on his jaw here is an electromechanical sensory system. UEA scientists suspect it might be vestigial, or perhaps not. Visual acuity is excellent; with the standard eyesight being 20/10 or better. Hearing is slightly poorer than ours, coming in at 30-45 thousand hertz. They have a thick skin that is comparable to a sturdy shoe leather, and can vary widely in coloration and patterns. Internal organs we’ll discuss in the medical briefing. In summation, they look small, but they are extremely fast, smart as hell and incredibly aggressive. We didn’t count on that in the first major ground actions, and it cost a lot of lives. I’ll animate the ‘gram now.” The trim, dark haired woman at the lectern activated the hologram.
The holo began to breathe and move slightly, looking around alertly. The face was finely featured, with a rough skin, slit nostrils like a snake, and black, shark like eyes that looked everywhere and nowhere at once. The mouth was thin, and lipless. As the assembled soldier watched, the jaw opened slightly and row upon row of sharp teeth could be seen. It cocked it’s head from side to side in quick, avian motions. She froze the hologram again.
Elai Light Planetary Infantry as seen on Planet K3254 ‘Paradise’
“Their overall tech is slightly less developed than our own, but don’t let that fool you. The Elai soldier is tough, smart and damn adaptable. They can and will adopt tech found on the battlefield, at times even improving on it. They shoot, move and communicate as well as any human infantry. Their tactical adaptability is nothing short of astounding. Multiple times during the fighting on Desolation, Allied forces would use a tactic against them, only to turn around have it executed perfectly against them days or even hours later.”
Elai Flag Officer on a ‘Komodo’ Class Heavy Cruiser.
Elai Type III Suborbital Fighter, UEA designation ‘Manta’ over Planet V355 ‘Desolation’.
PSYCORPS “Elai Societal Structure” UEAMC PSYCORP Distance Learning Module II. <Click START to begin this lesson>
Elai Societal Structure
Society
The Elai Societal structure is can be considered as divided into caste type system. Individuals tend to go into the castes of their families, but this is not a universal rule. The individual castes may vary based of of geographical region of origin, but all fall roughly into four major categories.
Tash (Claws) Warriors, civilian police forces.
R’een (Mind) Academics, scientists, philosophers, historians, civil administrators.
Kin (Body) Workers- Engineers, miners, agriculture
Sewa (Spirit) Priests, local spiritual leaders, clan matriarchs.
Between the major castes fall smaller, more specialized castes. For example, a military scientist might be ‘Tash R’een’ followed by his/her clan name, then the given name. A local elected official might be Kin R’een.
Conversely, a physician might be solely a ‘Kin’ if they do not participate in research, and a Kin R’een if they do. The differentiation is subtle between a local official and a physician, the Elai do not have the trouble differentiating. The comparison has been likened to the ‘Doctor’ role on earth. A research scientist is a doctor, as is a medical doctor. The difference is differentiated in literature and on paper very similarly to the MD/PhD is in the Human societies.
While this might seem confusing to the Non-Elai, their society has been organized around this base structural concept for millennia.
Parthogenetic Lineage and The Clan/Family Structure
Parthogenetic Lineage
The Elai Clan structure is based off of region of origin, and shared lines of descent. Unlike humans, the Elai females can reproduce asexually in times of dire need. While this is not desirable genetically on a large scale it has been used in the Elai’s history to prevent species extinction. Parthogenetic lineage is the foundation for the forty six identified major Elai clans, each of whom can trace their genetic lines back to a single parthenogenetic female. While female Elai remain capable of parthenogenetic reproduction, it is culturally discouraged, unless in dire circumstances, with the noted exception being after planetwide wars, major ecological disasters and their initial encounter with the race they refer to as the ‘Ancient Enemy’. While the exact nature of this encounter remains obscure (And the Elai themselves remain deliberately vague when questioned about it.) the encounter resulted in a near extinction event on the Elai homeworld. The vast majority of the Elai clans can trace their lineage back to one of these events.
Family and Clan
The Elai family structure is based around the concept of ‘Hatchings’. A standard Elai birth consists of nine to twelve eggs at a time, all hatching within a few hours of each other. A hatchmate is the rough equivalent to a brother or sister, and these groups tend to stay closely associated for life. Sisters who have hatchings at or near the same time are the base formation of the family. Each hatching will stay in association with his/her hatchmates, and their hatchlings in turn will interact and associate, forming tightly knit communities with strong intergenerational ties.
These clans have evolved to form the dominant political units in Elai society, with each major clan having multiple smaller satellite clans, as long as the dominant clan can provide security and leadership. If it cannot, the clan leadership can shift. Interclan violence is the major souce of conflict, but structured as to avoid mass loss of life, with clashes being short and sharp, with resulting submission before annihilation/mass death. This is likely evolved from previous cultural experiences within the Elai history, much like the human Interstellar Laws of Armed Conflict.
Gender and Society
The Elai males and females have legal parity under law, but under the tradition and clan structure, the oldest female is typically in a position of authority. The females have the civil and social decision making responsibility, while the males typically have the roles of soldiers, laborers, and researchers and wartime/crisis leaders. While most Elai military leaders tend to be male, there are many high ranking females present throughout the ranks, serving as civil advisors, medical providers, strategic and logistic specialists and religious leaders. It should be noted that while the majority of Elai soldiers are male, the females are trained to the same standard and maintain the same Elai cultural predisposition towards combat.
Religion
The Elai have multiple religions; varying from polytheistic to monotheistic, animists, elementalists and multiple other variations. It is a subject of sociological and religious debate that many of the forms that religion took/takes in human society are very similar in Elai society, suggesting a commonality of intelligent life in the search for spiritual fulfilment. Please refer to PSYCOR supplemental text 3-51.2 ‘Elai Religious Overview’ published by the UEA Department of Defense Press.
Early contacts with the Elai religious scholars suggest that human based religions with central female figures are of prominent interest. Catholicism and it’s central role for Mary, Hinduism and the relationship to Shiva and many of the pre-Christian religions are
Art, Literature, and Science
Elai art is as widely varied as human art. A great deal of it refers to their ‘Dark Times’, which was a mass extinction event approximatly seven thousand years in their past, and holds the same role in their culture the human Early Middle Ages (The Dark Age) on Earth. Their literature reflects this as well. Both art and literature indicate several very distinctive times in Elai history and culture. The coming of the Ancient Enemy, the Dark Times, and the subsequent rebuilding of their society, the formation of the early clan states, the religious wars, the wars of technology, the conquest of the exiles, the development of flight, and so on.
Viewers of Elai art should remember that like Human art, the subject depicted is as was perceived by the artist themself and may not reflect actual reality. For example, in the famed late Rebuilding Era painting ‘The Punishment of the Rendered Mothers’ it is highly unlikely that the Elai ever possess the ability to shoot cutting lasers from their hands. It is possible however, that this depicts a much earlier event, possibly from the conflict with the Elai’s traditional enemies, handed down through oral tradition until it was immortalized in this painting; not unlike the Tales of Gilgamesh or the cross cultural stories of the floods on old Earth.
Given this, the PSYCORP recommends that all personnel stationed on the Elai Homeworld or near population centers take time to review the following pieces of Elai Artwork, as they are considered the best depictions of the Elai condition as they saw it throughout the ages.
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