THE MOURNO
A Mourno city ship exploring
the Spica system
The Mourno were the first non-humanoid space-faring species to be encountered in 2494AD. For centuries previously it had been suspected that despite plenty of non-origen (those species sharing a common genetic heritage from an ancient space-faring humanoid culture) biospheres had been discovered technological civilisations were a humanoid trait.
Contact with a Mourno explorer colony changed this preconception and the universe became a delightfully more varied and wonderful place not entirely dominated by bipedal mammal-like carbon-based cultures.
The Mourno themselves are quite enigmatic. It has been revealed that they are an old culture, possibly over 50,000 years since the dawn of civilisation on their homeworld.
Their domain is vague and vast, it is known that the Mourno are not as territorial as humanoids are and tens or hundreds of light years can separate their colony worlds.
The Mourno have hinted at great discoveries and on having seen mighty empires both cruel and beautiful rise and fall whilst on their travels but rather than share all their knowledge instead like to sit back and allow other cultures to make such findings leaving only tantalising clues.
Mourno civilisation is split into two distinct branches, Those Who Travel and Those Who Stay Behind on the various scattered colony worlds throughout the galaxy (and possibly others!) Those Who Travel are mostly the younger (though it has been revealed that the Mourno are for the most part immortal) who wish to experience all the universe has to offer before settling down on a planet to spend a few centuries in quite contemplation, bringing new life into the world or on some project that requires them to stay in one place for a long time.
A citizen is most likely to come across one of these travelling Mourno than travel 1000 light years to the nearest colony world (though trips to Lan-Perrigan are quite popular these days) but the occasional “settler” Mourno is encountered on the Supranet, which causes quite a stir in the local media and are usually very young Mourno playing tricks or curious about other cultures.
The Mourno are on the whole an intellectual culture whose goal is to experience and gain knowledge, which has led to a harmonious relationship with the Community. Regarded as wise, rational, well travelled ancient mystics by most and as smug, deliberately mysterious know-it-alls by some it is quite an event when a Mourno ship enters a populated system and seen as an excuse for a party (the Mourno though rational and wise beings are not against having fun) and an opportunity for a Mourno to tell (vague) stories of the wonders they have seen and the things they have done.
It has been revealed that 30,000 years ago a quite sizable proportion of Mourno transcended into an artificial environment in which they explore the inner beauties of sub-quantum physics and an alleged universal nirvana. The Mourno we see today where the group who felt that the more corporeal universe still had a lot to offer though when Mourno are very old they join their transcendent ancestors in glacial contemplation.
Mourno are usually 3 metres long with four pairs of short legs on their underside supporting a smooth vertebrate body leading to a large head with piercing deep blue eyes. They have two pairs of long, thin but surprisingly strong arms sprouting from just behind the massive head and ending in very flexible three fingered hands. Mourno vary in skin colour from a dull mottled grey like a dolphin to a creamy yellowy-white though body painting and colour changing alterations are quite common as well.
Genetic tailoring and cybernetics are as common in Mourno as in humanoids showing a similar history of technological solutions and some Mourno are barely recognisable as members of their species showing a diversification more varied than current Community physiology.
Mourno give birth to live young, which go through a twenty-year larval stage before emerging as fully aware adults. It has been shown that during this larval period young Mourno absorb staggering amounts of information without the use of advanced technological aides such as sub-conscious imprinting. A form of memory transfer as also been shown between adult and child though this talent lessens as the child comes out of its larval stage. A child usually has three genetic parents though a group takes responsibility for its safety and upbringing in s style familiar to many across Community space.
Mourno have had 50,000 years of technological progress and at times demonstrate a power equal to or beyond most Galactic Entities as revealed when a traveller ship wandered into a battle between the Velges and Zarquons near Asritle Xiv and transported both parties to positions twenty light years apart from each other using some advanced wormhole tech. They are reluctant to share show off their technology (for fear of exposing to much to inquisitive minds) and instead prefer to play down their advances. It is suspected however that most Mourno ships do not contain much technology that is that far ahead of current humanoid levels though it would be a foolhardy person who tries to threaten a Mourno craft. Indeed it has been known for a desperate ship to ask for asylum with a city ship in a bid to escape its pursuers and a more militant faction of Mourno are engaged in shipping refugees from oppressive and destructive regimes and in areas of fierce warfare.
Though not part of the Concourse one of the largest populations of Mourno throughout Community worlds and habitats is in the Capital where they play an advisory role in the Community’s policies towards other nations.
Mourno also play a large role in the exploration of (for us) uncharted space, often advising in first contact situations or in unusual situations (such as the defeat of the rogue GE Sparmander and the neutralisation of the nano-cloud that threatened the Grand Vision system)
It is known the Mourno have a fondness for the Community, finding its openness and freeness refreshing and rather reminiscent of themselves though deploring violence as they do they offer only humanitarian support in the odd occasion the Community has found itself having to fight for its survival and beliefs. They are also signatories to all widely accepted sentient rights treaties and are welcome or tolerated in most areas of space ( including Zarquon territory!)
The Mourno though loved and respected by most are believed by some to have an unfair influence in Community affairs ( it is rumoured that Mourno had an influence in the founding of the Community though many rumours fly around about that time) and despite their benign and friendly appearance are something of a unknown and might possibly be dangerous, after all it could only take one anti-social Mourno to unleash a weapon of horrific power on an unsuspecting world
