Equoloii

**Equoloii** or **Equos** *(Cognohippops manipulator)* are the intelligent inhabitants of the planet Equoloa, fourth planet orbiting the star Kepler-18. They are bipedal, vaguely mammal-like creatures with a thin layer of fur known for a wide variety of colors and patterns that coats most of their back, shoulders, neck and chest, and possess a unique sensory system allowing for a degree of non-verbal communication.

## Description

The Equoloii are bipedal species with an erect posture and locomotion similar to that of terran birds with large two toed feet providing digitigrade locomotion. Their digitigrade bipedalism is assisted by a tail to help provide balance. The Equoloii head features a nasal bone that extends up to the top of the head and arcs back tapering near the back of the parietal bone with the actual nostrils positioned at either side of this cranial ridge. The Maxilla forms a single smooth surface for the "muzzle" and the face is framed by large jaw muscles and ear slits resting above the upper jaw muscle. Their somewhat pointed ears are generally rested in a backwards position. Their teeth are mostly flat for grinding vegetation, however they have one set of small teeth capable of tearing meat, suggesting an omnivorous diet was a fairly recent evolutionary development.

Their hands feature three fingers and a single thumb. The Equoloii, like the other species on their planet, have a heightened sense of electromagnetism (similar to that of sharks and platypuses) thanks to two small sacks of biomass similar to ampullae of Lorenzini on either side of their heads. These organs give the Equoloii a kind of extrasensory perception of other organisms and the emotional and physical states of other members of their species. This often serves as a form of unique 'body language', especially when alerting for danger via heightened activity. The Equoloii are also a sexually dimorphic species, with the female standing at 1.7 meter in height while the male stands at 1.8.

## Evolution

As with many forms of alien life that bear a passing resemblance to Earth life, the Equoloii have a very different evolutionary history from their Earth counterparts. The ancestors of terrestrial "vertebrates" on Equoloa were aquatic creatures vaguely resembling very large tardigrades, with several pairs of stubby legs and chewing mouthparts. The electroreception organs of these creatures, which have been retained in their land-dwelling descendant, are thought to have originally evolved as a way to detect prey in murky water. By about 300 million years ago, the descendants of these land pioneers had established a standard body plan for Equoloa's land vertebrates, with the number of limbs decreased to four and a hydrocarbon-based skeleton. One of the most successful lineages of these "vertebrates" was one that developed a type of endothermy, allowing them to dominate the herbivore and predator niches on the planet. The Equoloii are descended from a subset of this lineage that filled a niche broadly equivalent to that of ground-dwelling apes on Earth. Adapting from an herbivorous diet to an omnivorous one allowed for a larger brain, and this quickly led to sapience.

The recent evolutionary trait of having one set of small sharp teeth capable of tearing meat has led to debates on whether they may have evolved from prey species to a scavenger one.

## History

### **Rise of Early Civilizations**

Recorded history of early Equoloii civilizations that isn't related to clear mythology can be dated back to ten thousand terran years ago. As several major tribes became dominant in the continents of Equoloa. Warring tribes were eventually evolved into warring imperial systems over the course of thousands of years. With most of recent Equoloii periods being divided between each dominant empire.

Throughout Equoloii history, there has been a total of roughly eighty-six empires but only twenty-six were recorded as a major period. Each period had brought some sort of golden age of culture and technological advancement.

### **Contemporary Civilizations**

Modern Civilization by the Equoloii began around 600 Terran years ago with the discovery of six naturally occurring nuclear fission sources in an underground reservoir stretching over Aruoqis Empire's badlands. After two local polymaths collaborated to control the flow of steam from these naturally occurring reactors, creating primitive power plants. These two polymaths, commissioned by the emperor to find a way to increase the production of lumber products while they faced war with their neighbor, used the plants to create a series of primitive sawmills which doubled the output of shipyards and tradesmen, and is believed to have been a deciding factor during the Aruoqis first great war.

The power plants gave the Aruoqis a massive technological leg-up, and whole towns were built by order of the emperor around the power plants to produce more wood, ships, textiles, and other manufactured goods when most civilizations were just reaching their age of sail. Aruoquis Imperial military forces grew to conquer more territory than any empire in the planet's history, and an Industrial Age of Englightenment came to dominate Aruoquis culture.

Aruoqis expansion was met with resistance from the lesser empires and their refusal to share the discovery of such a useful energy source led to a perpetual global war between the Aruoqis and their vassals, and a coalition led by the Sraurygis. The war lasted more than two centuries and cost almost 100 million total casualties. The conflict would eventually come to an end in 1902 CE (Earth standard calendar) when a bomb exploded over the Aruoqis nuclear site leading to the release of radioactive fallout that covered the land and vented most of the water that naturally regulated the reactor, leading to its shutdown. The fallout blighted irrigated land and led to generations of disease from those effected. The collapse of the Aruoqis Empire impacted the planet and a new dark age that lasted until the 2070s severely hindered Equoloii development.

Just prior to the collapse, the once dominant Sraurygis Empire successfully developed and launched an artificial satellite that maintained orbit for a 2 days. The technology was traded between various nations during the dark age, but early Equoloii space technology somewhat rarely progressed until first contact in 2135.

### **First Contact**

First Contact was made with the Terrans on October 10, 2135 when the contact team of the ISV-18 Opportunity was sent to track down a signal of radio-waves sent from the planet. The signal's purpose was to be fired to different directions in space in hopes of any 'extraterrestrials' to pick up the signal. The team, led by Captain Ben Ckre-Li, first interacted with inhabitants of the Gliaceis Empire whom sent the signal.

At first, there was some caution but both sides seem to warm up to each other through first contact protocals. Limited knowledge and technology were exchanged due to language barriers. But the Gliaceis quickly made use of the new technologies over the next couple of years. In early 2147, the Gliaceis successfully sent the first Equoloii to space followed by a mission to their moon in late 2149.

In the 2150s, there was a movement for Gliaceis and surrounding Empires to join the United States as Free Associations. However, by the 2160s, the movement largely declined due to the rise of fear of expansion amongst the other Equoloii, linking Gliaceis expansion to the Aruoqis Empire followed by the collapse just centuries prior. However, the first scholars and immigrants of the Equoloii were sent to the Terran Sol System to learn more about human customs over a decade earlier.