Chenjesu

The **Chenjesu** were a race of silicon-based, crystalline beings native to the Sapphire World of Procyon II. Possessing vast intellects and advanced technology, they were the *de facto* leaders of the Alliance of Free Stars. Following their surrender to the Hierarchy, they welcomed the Mmrnmhrm to their homeworld to merge into the single Chmmr species.

## Biology

The crystalline Chenjesu were based on a silicon based biochemistry, a boggling concept to earth scientists sure that all life must be found in the range in which water is liquid. In order to maintain such a physiology, the Chenjesu required a far more intense star than Sol to evolve, as silicon only makes a viable substitute to carbon in energy rich situations -- such as the brilliant sun in the Procyon system.

It may well be because of this rich resource that the Chenjesu were chemosynthetic, using the vast mineral deposits of their world and a radiant light source as an endless supply of medium for growth. The Chenjesu evolved alone on their world, with no predators and, as chemosynthetic organisms, no prey. They developed culture in harmony and, as far as is known, without incident. Their crystalline structure allowed them to send and receive Hyperwave transmissions without aid of a signalling apparatus, an ability which served the Chenjesu until they were sealed on their homeworld by the Ur-Quan Kzer-Za.

It should be noted that the Taalo, while also silicon based, are said to have been completely unlike the Chenjesu. What they were like, however, remains a mystery.

## Culture

Due to their unique niche in their native ecosystem, they are naturally non-hostile, preferring instead to engage their vast intellects in philosophical discussions and other pursuits of knowledge. Their culture's greatest achievement, a philosophical text, is The Book of Bzzbezzu Kzaaz. Avid explorers, their star charts of HyperSpace are the standard for Alliance races.

Their technology is electrical and crystalline in nature, similar to their own physiology. Images of the Chenjesu captains during the Ur-Quan Slave War (which the Chenjesu name "the Great Crucible of Sentience") imply that they interface with their equipment through creating controlled electrical discharges. Their starship, the Broodhome, possessed more raw power (and raw material) than any other Alliance ship, even if, in general, it was not the most effective in combat. Some of their technology bears similarities to late Precursor technology (namely the Utwig Bomb).

Their rare physiology, advanced sentience and peculiar evolutionary path leads some to speculate that they are the product of an ancient, peaceful culture. An alternate explanation is that they are mostly software, interacting with their environment through some kind of field manipulation mechanism.

## History

The Chenjesu are one of the oldest of the space-faring races, and so have had interactions with a number of the other alien races in this region of the galaxy. A little less than a thousand years prior to the War, the Chenjesu established amicable relations with the nearby and recently arrived Mmrnmhrm. Part of this relationship was a defensive military alliance that later deflected an initial attack by the Ur-Quan circa 2111. This alliance formed the basis of what became the Alliance of Free Stars.

The Chenjesu were wise and well-travelled, the undisputed leader of the Alliance of Free-Stars, and possibly known by other races out of this sector. Their patience and benign nature, no doubt lasting results from their peaceful cultural beginnings, made them perfect diplomats and an ideal first-contact for our own race. Honesty and generosity marked all dealings between the humans and the Chenjesu, and presumably this was true of all such meetings, with the possible exception of the Ur-Quan.

Close harmony within their own species, however, may have led to their own cultural stagnation. The Chenjesu had achieved a stable philosophy long ago, and remained hopelessly unchangeable. This may have fueled their decision to undergo "The Process," in which all Chenjesu life was fused with the robotic Mmrnhrmm. While this inevitably forced the Chenjesu to go extinct, they believed the end product would be greater than the sum of the parts. Time will only tell if they were right.

The Chenjesu have also been knowledgeable about, if not in contact with other, more primitive races. For example, they were aware of the Umgah and the technologically-primitive Ilwrath, and had occasional friendly encounters with the Spathi (while on missions of exploring the coreward regions) prior to these races being subjugated by the Ur-Quan. They also apparently had come into contact with the Zoq-Fot-Pik and the Pkunk, though further relations appear to have been halted by the events of the War. The Yehat and Shofixti joined the Alliance sometime before 2115, but the extent of their contact with the Chenjesu leading up to this is unknown. Most notably, the Chenjesu were the first race to officially contact Humanity.

## The Process

After the Sa-Matra was deployed against them by the Ur-Quan, they and the Mmrnmhrm requested to be shielded together on the Chenjesu homeworld. The Ur-Quan permitted this, and once on the planet, the two races began a synthetic hybridization of their species, which they called "The Process". However, the Process was interrupted prematurely by The Captain using the Sun Device, instead resulting in the hybrid race, the Chmmr. It is not known whether any Chenjesu or Mmrnmhrm still remain, especially considering that, as the Chmmr state, "The Process is incomplete".

The reasons for this are fairly clear for the Mmrnmhrm, as that race had lost the ability to reproduce on its own. The motivations of the Chenjesu are still unclear. The Chenjesu likely decided to undergo this transformation because they felt that their culture had become so advanced that it had stagnated entirely, and they hoped that the modification of their species into a trans-Chenjesu synthesis would reinvigorate their society. Their motivation also was an attempt to defeat the Ur-Quan. Were it not interrupted by The Captain (or the Kohr-Ah on their Death March), The Process would have created a race with technology powerful enough to single-handedly defeat the Ur-Quan and their Sa-Matra battleship. Even so, the Chmmr are still considered one of the most powerful races in this region of space.