Ovaska


Biology

Like the Vaipen little is known about the Ovaska in any detail. However a number of major studies have been published which focus on the Ovaska, who are not as secretive as the Vaipen. From these it emerges that the Ovaska are similar in form to the Vaipen, only much heavier of build and with considerably greater strength.

Example of an Ovaskan All Ovaska who have submitted to study are under 7 feet tall and their average weight is about 240 pounds. Much of their body is covered in a thick layer of a bone type substance, the exact composition and characteristics of which are unknown. All studied Ovaska have 2 legs and 4 'arms', in addition they also have a number of retractable, prehensile, tentacle like appendages, between 4 and 6 on average, the function of which is not known. The Ovaska have at lease 2 brains, situated behind the eyes and mouth-parts, which are divided by an intracranial bone. In addition a number of nerve gan-glia are situated along the spinal column and appear to act as autonomic reflex centres and primary information processing units.

Eye diagram The Ovaskan visual organs are compound in structure but each 'eyelet' is more advanced than the human eye in construction: First there is the epidermal corneal plate under which is the superior aqueous humour. Below these lie, in order, the contractile diaphragm, inferior aqueous humour, subcutaneous corneal plate, ciliary body, lens, vitreous humour, retina, reflective membrane, and finally the sclera. The Ovaskan eye also has no blind spot as the nerves connecting the sensory cells to the optic nerve all enter a nerve gan-glia behind the compound eye for primary processing before forming a single nerve bundle. The overall structure of the eye gives much better dark vision than the human eye and, due to the compound nature of the visual organs, the Ovaska have much greater visual accuracy and resolution than other races. Their eye also includes sense organs to pick up visual, infra red and ultraviolet light. Some amount of bio-alteration appears to be prevalent in Ovaskan society as it is common for Ovaska seen in public to have bio-engineered appendages or alterations to aid them in their tasks. Ovaskan DNA consists of 6 bases rather than the conventional 4. This is assumed to be due to the environment in which the component amino and nucleic acids formed. The function of the extra base pair is unknown and research is ongoing. See the section on exogenetics for more details.

PSI

All Ovaska have strong/ very strong telepathic abilities but almost none have ever displayed any telekinetic ability. They have been known to use their telepathic ability as a weapon but they do not appear to use it in normal life.

Society

Less is known about Ovaskan society than is known about the Vaipen. Some evidence has suggested that the Ovaska are ruled by a group of 8 elected leaders who rule from the Ovaska homeworld but no confirmation of this has been forthcoming.

Homeworld Ovaska Homeworld

The only picture of the Ovaska homeworld, released shortly after the first human/ Ovaska contact is shown here. There has been speculation as to whether this is actually the Ovaska homeworld but it is generally accepted as a valid picture. If it is the Ovaska homeworld it is possible to deduce a few facts. The most striking feature is the cloud density, which has been calculated to be as high as 85% coverage, which covers the planet. The coloration of the clouds suggests atmospheric components like oxygen and hydrocarbon compounds. Negotiations are currently underway to allow Dr Forrester and a small group of assistants to visit the Ovaska homeworld some time in 2261 or 2262.


Language

No Ovaskan writings have ever been found, and no-one has ever heard spoken Ovaska so nothing is known about their language. It is assumed that it is similar in form to Vaipen language but this is by no means certain given the amount of time the two races have had to evolve separately.

Background

The Ovaska have only begun to submit to study in the last 100 years, and of the 8 studies which have been conducted 7 were done/ are being done by Earth scientists. These studies are available on StarNET. Select the name to download the information;

Date Source/ Author Title and notes
2160 Geneva Medical Forum "Studies of Ovaska biology"
2172 New London college "Ovaskan society and political structure"
2173 Dr T. J. Philips "Views on Ovaska technology"
2201 Dr M Forrester "Exobiology summary: Ovaska"
2204 M2.I.S.T. "Ovaska research report"
2210 J'halm Tarn "Ovaska: biology and social interaction" Document is incomplete/ censored
2240 Dr M Forrester "Ovaskan technology"
2259 Dr M Forrester "Origins and evolution" Study is currently ongoing

Outstanding facts from these studies indicate, like studies of the Vaipen, that the Ovaska have ceased to expand their borders for unknown reasons. It is also apparent that the tensions between the Ovaska and Vaipen are on the increase. Ovaskan technology is almost completely organic, and is discussed in the section on organic technology.

Notes

Attempts to investigate Ovaskan life are often blocked by the Ovaska and ships entering Ovaska space are normally turned back or brought back. Unlike the Vaipen, the Ovaska rarely destroy ships entering their space but the reception awaiting anyone who does enter is normally cold and may escalate into violence if the offender does not leave immediately.


Collins Encyclopedia Galactica - All Contents � Eddie Collins , Chris Page & George Hornmoen