galactic-encyclopedia

The Factors

The Factors are a diverse collection of carbon-based sentient life forms that have adapted themselves to a wide range of environments, including the vacuum of interplanetary space, the upper reaches of gas giants, and expanses of rocky terrestrial worlds, including both land and water. Researchers have determined the Factors original evolved using a complex allelic mating system, which has largely been supplanted by Makers, a subspecies of sentient bio-factory. Factors are known to experience time and space rather differently than other interstellar species, and they have a great understanding of multi- and metadimensional space.

Factors can come across as aloof and stand-offish, but they are generally peaceful and cooperative. They have shown only mild interest in the affairs of other species; they have the ability to live and gather resources where other species cannot.

Their strong, innate psionic abilities give Factors a particular fondness for metadimensional space, which they refer to as The Void That Binds. Collectively, they disdain the relative crudeness of other species’ spike drives, describing them as noisy, wasteful, even disrespectful. Factors denounce all forms of teleportation, and even mentioning Jump Gate technology can turn an encounter confrontational.

Most human interaction with Factors involve Constructs, a humanoid subspecies specifically adapted to deal with differences in temporal scale. The Factors have found these forms quite practical for all interactions with other species, including diplomacy, trade, and warfare. Constructs are equipped with multiple methods of communication, including telepathy, broad-spectrum electromagnetic receivers (“eyes”), and adaptive olfactoric and acoustic organs.

Technology

The biological tech of Factor society is equivalent to TL5. Because their biology is so intertwined with their technology, there are no clear demarcations around virtual intelligence. Most individuals are engineered to a greater or lesser extent. They do not use discrete quantum identity cores, instead relying on specialized quantum-crystaline sub-brains. Factors do not use robots or drones per se, only specialized individuals, and only sometimes with limited cognitive ability.

Starships

Most complex Factor vehicles are in fact sentient members of their species. Starships leverage oversized psionic sub-brains for propulsion. Factors will often describe their drives as diving through metadimensional space instead of drilling, although researchers are unable to determine much more than smaller exit and entry signatures.

Meta

Lifted the name and mysteriousness from Eclipse Phase

Images

Jeff Simpson via DeviantArt

Peter Balogh via DeviantArt