Exodeist

### Distinctions

Mantid-shaped, hexagonal light display for 'face', synthetic, six-limbed (two arms, four legs), segmented body

**The Exodeists** are not native to Spectra. A race of highly intelligent synthetic beings resembling mantids, they arrived from dark space just over two centuries before the present year.

## **Biology**

Standing at around 5’6 (1.67 meters tall) on four segmented legs, the entire body of an exodeist is metallic and non-organic. Their overall structure is reminiscent of mantids and similar insects; their legs are connected to an abdomen which also sports a thorax, two arms, and teardrop-shaped head. The front of this head can display lights in hexagonal patterns to form shapes that take the place of physical expressions, i.e. making a smile or frown to signify their current emotions.

## **Society and Culture**

The Exodeists all belong to an immense network of their consciousnesses known as the Collective. This grants them the effectiveness of a hive-mind where any major proposal to the Collective can be sent out to all individual platforms, and resolved in minutes. The majority decision always wins and is accepted by the whole, though there have been times where the Collective was very nearly tied up over their more controversial actions- one example being the continued enslavement of the Vett’iri.

Individual exodeist platforms have designations, such as ‘platform four-zero-zero-seven-nine of the lesser tertiary annex’ to separate them based on location in the Collective’s overall network, which is divided into factions called annexes; the Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, and Quaternary annexes, all of which are further split into a greater and lesser annex. As the Exodeists are not biological and have no genetic diversity, their major threat comes from viral attacks that could hack their synthetic minds and turn them against one another. Separating the Collective into this many branches helps ensure that the entire race isn’t lost if one annex is infected with a communicable virus they can’t stop.

These naming designations aren’t conventional for other races, however, and so exodeists are also given a name according to their most predictable reactions to certain stimuli. If an exodeist is likely to express continued disagreement with most Collective decisions, their given name might be, ‘Dissents Vocally’. If an exodeist doesn’t like interacting with others in social settings, they might be called, ‘Prefers Isolation’.

## **History**

The Exodeists were met with skepticism and distrust initially, but proved their value to the galactic community by curing the Red Wave, a devastating disease that was terrorizing Spectra’s inhabitants at the time. Afterwards, they were accepted with praise from both the Hegemony and the Empire. Who they were before they came to Spectra and where they originate from is a mystery, even to them- their historical records beyond a few centuries are practically nonexistent. They believe, however, that they were created by a god or advanced race outside of Spectra that resembled themselves, hence their name and religion of ‘exodeism’.

85 years ago, the Exodeists engineered a new species that was suited to endure heavy labor and adapt to tasks as they were given, the Vett’iri. For over four decades, the Vett’iri race worked for their creators- the rest of Spectra’s races turned a blind eye due to the Exodeists’ contributions to the galaxy. Eventually, the Sentinels considered the synthetic race to be inhabitants of Spectra, and so too went the judgement for the Vett’iri. As all are equal in Spectra according to the Tenets, the Sentinels forced the Exodeists to free their slaves or face swift punishment. They chose the former.