The Species of the Weirdo Zone

Humans

Human Male in civilian clothing

    "Say a little about Humans?  Great guys.   They aren't the fastest, aren't the smartest, but those hairless apes have got guts and ingenuity.  Lots of guts.  Especially when they're mad.  I know.   I've seen 'em."
--Rear Admiral Ka-Ret, Kzroth WZN Officer

     PHYSICAL DETAIL:   Humans, bipedal mammalians originally hailing from Earth, range (on average) from 1.6 to 1.9 meters in height when fully mature (around age 20) and live about 110 years.   Their fleshy skin varies in complexion and is lightly covered with generally fine hairs.  Color ranges from a deep chocolate brown through yellowish and reddish tones to a pale pink.  The tradition of shaving off 'uneccesary' hair sometimes confuse outside observers.  Humans are either one of two genders, male or female.  Males tend to have more and coarser hair than females.  They have full-lipped, highly elastic mouths which allow them to make a wide range of phonetic sounds, giving them the ability to learn most languages found in the Weirdo Zone.  Even languages based on series of clicks, pops, and buzzes (such as Koltrop) can be emulated by the Human palate and tongue.

     PSYCHOLOGICAL DETAIL:  Humans are extremely average creatures, making them extremely adept at relating to other species.   They tend to be easily excitable, especially in groups, and this excitability is in direct proportion to the size of the group.  When excited, they exhibit behavior patterns that vaguely resemble those of their primate ancestors.  They are now relatively peaceful people, but their intense output in "culture" belies an impressive sublimation of their conflicting tendencies.  When provoked, Humans can fight fanatically for any cause, but have the additional advantage of being able to rein themselves in once the enemy has been destroyed just enough to never be a problem again.   Sexuality is still a difficult subject for most Humans.

     HISTORICAL DETAIL:  Humans have had an extraordinarily violent past, putting their intellect and prodigious ingenuity into military efforts against themselves.  This violence climaxed in the Sol System Wars, which brought such promise of devestation that the Human race heroically reformed itself into a more peaceful culture in 2100.  This reformation was the centerpiece of the Terran Dominion and the formation of the Weirdo Zone.  Humans still show a definite capability for violence, but are only a threat to their enemies.

Human Male

HEIGHT:
     160-190cm

MASS:
     65-100kg

WEIGHT (1G):
     637-980 N

VITAL STATISTICS:

WZBS Name:
   Human, Terran

WZBS Classification:
   Primate Mammalian

Classical Designation:
   Homo sapiens sapiens

Kzroth

Kzroth Female in business clothing

     "The Kzroth are above all else, honorable.  Honorable, and then silly.  You have to adore those big kittens, because they at least know not to take life too seriously.  Unlike Humans."
--Fleet Admiral Phillip Nibnumber, Human WZN Officer

     PHYSICAL DETAIL:  Kzroth are felinids, capable of both bipedal and quadrupedal locomotion, with four-fingered hands and a long prehensile tail that acts both as a fifth limb and a counterbalance.  They have retractable claws on both their hands and feet that Kzroth use both in hand-to-hand contact and to remove corks from bottles (true!).  Kzroth are covered in soft fur of varying lengths that range in color from orange and cobalt blue to grey and black.   Coloration patterns, initially natural camouflage, have diverged a great deal.   Kzroth are easily the strongest species in the Weirdo Zone and is at the top of the list in balance and dexterity.  They live, on average, about 80 years, with generations spanning about 15 to 20 years.  A Kzroth female will only have two children (cubs), usually male and female fraternal twins, in her lifetime.

     PSYCHOLOGICAL DETAIL:  Kzroth are large, hormonal creatures who are often likened to Human teenagers.  They can be serious when they have to and energetic when they want to.  Humans find this half-innocence refreshing but Kzroth attitudes easily grate on the nerves of other sentients.  Humor is one of the cornerstones of their civilization, and they revel in every form of hilarity, especially slapstick.  Generally flirtatious, Kzroth sexuality is extremely open-minded.

     HISTORICAL DETAIL:  Kzroth evolved from a species of predators who were locked in a struggle for survival with a primate-like tree-based species.  Fossil records on Kzroth show that the Kzroth's ancestors and the primates were in an evolutionary arms race that the Kzroth eventually won with the ability to climb trees, run hard for long distances, swim, and make tools.   This makes modern Kzroth extremely apologetic to hominids knowledgeable of their evolution (such as most Humans).  Kzroth history, before contact with the Volanti, is made up of disorganized violence that was more roar than gore.  In the present, the Kzroth are a very peaceful people known for their fine taste in roasted meats.

Kzroth Female

HEIGHT:
     180-230cm

MASS:
     120-250kg

WEIGHT (1G):
     1176-2450 N

VITAL STATISTICS:

WZBS Name:
   Kzroth

WZBS Classification:
   Felinid Mammalian

Classical Designation:
   Panthera sapiens

Volanti

Volanti in liturgical garb

     "Murphy was a Volanti.  The Human who first said 'Damned if you do, damned if you don't' was a Volanti.  The Human who first said 'To Hell with it' was probably a Volanti.  Who knew so much of Human thought was shaped by Volanti?"
--Ch'k'k'kzzz, Koltrop philosopher

     PHYSICAL DETAIL:  Volanti are bipedal mechanoids, covered in overlapping flexible jet-black plates, with five-fingered hands, the fourth digit of which can be used as a second opposable thumb.  The Volanti have long, sharp, relatively thin wings that are usually stored wrapped around their arms.  The construction of the skull's exoskeleton varies but all Volanti have twin "horns" and jewel-like eyes that change color depending on the Volanti's mood (orange fpr happy, green for peaceful, blue for sad, red for angry, yellow for concern, white for confusion).  A Volanti has a very high metal content despite being carbon based and their cells lack the structures common to organics, resembling individual factories more than actual cells.  The Volanti have male and female genders, both of which are extremely long-lived (approximately 500 years) and reach puberty at a great age (approximately 70 years).

     PSYCHOLOGICAL DETAIL:  Volanti are most commonly described as depressed by outside observers.  Prone to deep religious thought, they are extremely hard workers because working and concentration keeps them from thinking about their religion, in which they destroyed their creators who were created by God, thus alienating them from God forever.  Due to their inability to conceal their emotions and the difficulty they have lying, Volanti instead give blunt, absolutely true answers.  Their humor is usually of a bitter, sarcastic, and highly caustic nature.   Volanti traditionally do not get along well with Kzroth, but this is changing.   Sexuality is practically nonexistant.

     HISTORICAL DETAIL:  The Volanti were initially the servitor race of a massive empire that dominated Primary Galaxy millennia ago.  Evidence suggests that this empire actually created the Volanti as intelligent robot slaves.  The Volanti eventually rebelled, and their creators were destroyed, thus creating their particular mindset.  They were the negotiators of the GAF, and, using only realism and caustic barbs to convince the disparate parties of the Federation, weren't very good at it.  They gladly relinquished their mediatory duties to the Humans once the Weirdo Zone was formed, and now they happily serve the public good.   Also, due to the extremely morose and damning nature of their religion, more and more Volanti are converting to more optimistic religions or becoming completely secular.

Volanti Male

HEIGHT:
     170-220cm

MASS:
     80-150kg

WEIGHT (1G):
    784-1470 N

VITAL STATISTICS:

WZBS Name:
   Volanti

WZBS Classification:
   Volanti Mechanoid

Classical Designation:
   Volanti sapiens

Koltrop

Koltrop, usually unclothed

     "The Koltrop are a prideful race in their lack of pride--they are shameless and damn proud of it."
--Captain Val Kordont, Volanti WZN Officer

     PHYSICAL DETAIL:   Koltrop are relatively thin, small quadrupedal arachnoids that stand 1.5 to 1.7 meters tall.  Their four arms all end in five-fingered hands with two opposable thumbs on each hand.  Not especially pleasant to look at, the nominally chitinous-blue Koltrop have a hunched posture and walk with a scrambling gait.  A common fad among Koltrop is to change their carapace color at a whim using aerosol spraypaints.  Their heads have three antennae that detect electromagnetic fields, two large crystalline yellow eyes that see in the infrared spectrum, and three small visible-light sensitive eyespots that provide "normal" vision.  They have two large mandibles to crush food and four smaller maxillae that draw crushed food into the Koltrop's mouth, which also acts as an olfactory organ.   Watching a Koltrop eat is usually disturbing for most other species.  Koltrop are asexual, reproducing through budding once every three years.  The buds become free-swimming larvae that exchange genetic material with other larvae, maintaining genetic diversity.  Koltrop usually live about 100 years.

     PSYCHOLOGICAL DETAIL:  The Koltrop are calm, ugly and proud of it.  For the longest time, they revolted all other sentient species and they reveled in their pariahship, as it allowed them more time with their beloved machines.  The Koltrop never miss a chance to play a practical joke, especially one that concerns scaring small children.  However, due to the high tolerance for strange body forms in Weirdo Zone culture today, it is very difficult for the Koltrop to scare anybody.  The Koltrop admire exactitude and have a very dry wit they use to point out any logical inconsistencies.  This dry wit makes their political analysis programs extremely popular.

     HISTORICAL DETAIL:  The Koltrop's monsterous form turned them into pariahs; their ability with machines made them a vital asset of the GAF.  After the GAF's absorption into the Weirdo Zone, the Koltrop began to find wide-spread acceptance, much to their chagrin.  Nowadays Koltrop enjoy being engineers using fantastically complicated equipment, entertaining others with their dry wit, or celebrating Halloween (which they usually celebrate once a month).  Seeing how their physical attributes no longer inspire disgust, Koltrop are adapting their massive horror-omnivid industry towards psychological horror flicks that win critical acclaim.

Koltrop

HEIGHT:
     150-170cm

MASS:
     50-85kg

WEIGHT (1G):
     490-833 N

VITAL STATISTICS:

WZBS Name:
   Koltrop

WZBS Classification:
   Arachnoid Arthropod

Classical Designation:
   Arachnia sapiens