Omnos

The Omnos are a highly advanced civilization which has taken on a variety of forms during their accelerated evolution. The most commonly known appearance is that associated with the beings known as “the greys.” After obtaining samples of these bodies, the geneticist Krendian engineered them to be more suitable for the use of the Omnos. Though often characterized as a hive mind, the Omnos are naturally able to perceive the minute amounts of consciousness inherent in all things due to the unique characteristics of their home world. They have drawn all this into the Collective, which acts with the will of all Omnos. They are reported to have been made extinct by the Old Regime in 65 MY, but it is believed that they ascended to a higher plane of existence and now exist primarily as an astral entity.      

Physical Form

The original Omnos form was a small, furry, bipedal creature with a body standing just over one meter tall. Their unusually large heads were topped by a pair of large, foxlike ears that could be fully articulated to convey emotion. The most obvious feature was their two large black eyes. Those few people who have encountered the Omnos describe looking into the eyes as looking into a mirror that pierced into their soul. These eyes allowed the Omnos to perceive slightly into the infrared and ultraviolet spectrums, a natural ability that likely aided in their development.    

Krendian Avatars

In their quest for ascension as a species, the Omnos would move to the bioengineered clone bodies modified by the Individual Krendian. The intention in moving to these bodies was to reduce the self-identity of all Omnos, allowing for a greater connection to the Collective. The bodies were engineered with solid blue eyes, something Krendian hoped would help in relations with other species. It was quickly discovered that the eyes turned solid black once inhabited by an Omnos. The bodies were based on a combination of plant, animal, and fungal genetics, largely eliminating the need for internal organs outside the brain. The skin pigment could adjust itself based on the lighting of the environment to maximize photosynthesis. As is common with cloning, each successive generation would have some degradation of genetics making them increasingly unsuitable for use.      

The Collective Consciousness

The Omnos Collective consciousness is not comprised of only the sentient life on their home world, but all life, and eventually even inorganic matter. The Omnos have many theories about how this came to be, most believing that their home world is composed of material which was already highly attuned to consciousness. The Collective was initially entirely subconscious, allowing the Omnos to sense large events such as storms and earthquakes before they happened. In time this grew into a sense of each other which in turn allowed the development of a form of telepathy.    

Drothan

It would be the philosopher Drothan that first fully conceptualized the developing Omnos Collective. He would theorize that the universe had originally been a single supermind, but that it had been torn apart during the act of creation once entropy was introduced. It was his belief that the Collective existed because the universe intrinsically wanted to be reunited in an event he referred to as “Union.” Under his system, the value of individual life was diminished because it was only one small piece of the far more important greater whole. According to Drothan, the ultimate purpose of the Omnos was to bring the universe together under the Collective and allow it to be a single entity again. When he died, Drothan poured the full strength of his belief into the Collective, which when combined with that of his followers created what could be considered an Omnos “overmind” which was bound to his beliefs.    

The Collective Overmind

While it is tempting to describe the Collective Overmind in terms of a queen within a hive system, the Overmind is not a single being of itself. Being composed of the united will of all Omnos, it can shift, and change based on the circumstances, and does not in itself possess any personality or self-identity. One significant drawback of this, however, is that any majority among the Omnos can simply disregard the opposing minority and force them to go along with the whole. Drothan’s conception of the Overmind did not take into account the possibility of the Individuals, or that self-identity had any value whatsoever.      

The Individuals

The Individuals were originally beings which had such a strong sense of self identity that they could not or would not subconsciously fall in line with the developing Collective, while still being part of and gaining the benefits derived from it. They would develop their own philosophies and cultures, gaining a following which would eventually cause the Great War of Supremacy. The Individuals would be captured by use of the Restraint Device, ultimately having their permanently restrained bodies placed in stasis and be forced to use the Krendian Avatars.   As they were still bound to their physical bodies, the Individuals would be unable to ascend with the rest of their species. Known to the Thomasons as the “Omnos Watchers,” they would track down sources of technology that had been left behind and monitor the progress of the Redemption Plan, intervening when necessary.   An unanticipated side effect of being left behind during ascension would be that their individual strength of personality would only grow, ultimately overcoming the Restraint Devices. This would eventually allow freedom of action and pose a renewed threat to the Omnos Collective.    

Restraint Device

Developed during the Great War of Supremacy, the Restraint Devices were created to neutralize the threat of the Individuals. Based on nanotechnology, the devices could be fired as a dart, which would then form into a collar around the neck of the Individual. It would then inject a variety of tranquilizers to allow them to be captured. Each collar was paired to a Control Device, composed of material which was in turn tied to the Collective Overmind. This would allow the Overmind to establish a direct, unblockable connection to the Individual to control them. These devices would later be rediscovered and sold to the world of Kandix Prime, where they were used to bring order and establish the slave based society.  

Notable Individuals

 

Praecor

Praecor was the first of the Individuals, a contemporary and rival of the philosopher Drothan who conceptualized the Collective. He gained such a mastery of his body that he was able to extend his life to nearly double the average expectancy. Much of his time was spent in deep meditation, exploring the newfound abilities and awareness that had developed. He was perceived as a threat by the Collective because he refused to share the knowledge or skills he gained until he fully understood them. While the Collective saw this as venal self advancement, Praecor explained that he did not want to lead the whole down an ultimately futile, or worse, incorrect path. His assassination by members of the Collective would trigger the War of Supremacy but would ultimately prove to be futile. Such was the mastery of his consciousness that he was able to ascend generations before other Omnos gained the ability. He would influence multiple civilizations at key moments in a variety of guises. The Omnos themselves have no idea what became of Praecor, only that they sensed a different release of energy than that which normally accompanies death.  All other Individuals were his students at one time or another, but he was especially close with Ainath and Esinoth.      

Ainath

Following the assassination of Praecor, Ainath convinced the other Individuals that they needed to band together in self defense. This allowed the Individuals to be better prepared when the Collective did move against them, causing the Great War of Supremacy. During the war, he would essentially become the leader of the Individuals in the absence of Praecor. He would be captured by the Collective and be forced to submit. Ainath would make numerous, futile attempts to contact and negotiate with the Enmalex, leading ultimately to the Redemption Plan and the Omnos influence on Mykentian civilization.        

Esinoth

An Omnos philosopher of great renown, Esinoth was second only to Praecor in his understanding of the potential of Omnos evolution. Where Drothan believed that the universe had once been a single consciousness divided by entropy at the creation of the universe, Esinoth believed it had undergone such division by choice. As a single entity, the Universe would have nothing to compare itself to in attempting to understand itself, therefore it would allow itself to divide to see itself from a multitude of perspectives. As such, Esinoth stood in direct opposition to Drothan and his desired union of all life, instead promoting a philosophy of spiritual development which would allow the universe an even greater understanding of itself when such union came about on its own. Esinoth would be captured and freed several times during the Great War of Supremacy, ultimately being trapped and silenced by his Restraint Device, forced to watch helplessly as the philosophy of Drothan took over. One of Esinoth’s students would ultimately gain immortal fame as Knetrea.      

Jonran

Originally a strict pacifist and devoted student of Praecor, during the Great War of Supremacy Jonran would become the War Master of the Individuals and gain the epithet “Bringer of Death.” Like most Individuals, Jonran had a following of Omnos students he referred to as his “children.” He saw his role as that of teaching those with less self awareness to develop a greater sense of self, thereby allowing the universe to perceive the variety in itself far better. In the opening days of the Great War of Supremacy, Jonran would see his school destroyed and his students massacred. Realizing that the Collective saw the members within itself as little more than individual cells of a vast superorganism, Jonran would turn this against them by countering their mass attacks with mass casualties. Using a mecha designed by Varkan, he would wade into the middle of Collective troop formations, unleashing two plasma miniguns or simply smashing troops on the head. He would ultimately be captured with a Restraint Device and used to command the forces of the Collective against the Individuals. Jonran was also the commander of the forces which devastated the Enmalex home world and would lead the Omnos fleet in its “defensive interventions.”      

Krendian

A master geneticist who modified the engineered bodies later used by the Omnos during their evolution towards ascension, Krendian was also responsible for developing horrifying weapons of mass destruction during the Great War of Supremacy. Krendian would work closely with Ainath in attempting to bring an end to the war by threatening to unleash a bioweapon that would destroy all life on the planet if the Collective did not agree to talks. Captured before he could release it, Krendian was forced to render all life immune to the disease. Following Omnos ascension, it is believed that Krendian acted as the Monsos bioengineer Trokos to develop the Anatos Plague in response to the use of World Destroyers. As Monsos was the only Triad member to not develop World Destroyers, Krendian favored their further development over the others in the Second Redemption Plan.      

Narmath

Widely considered a weak pacifist by the other Individuals, Narmath would allow himself to be immediately captured by the Collective in the opening stages of the Great War of Supremacy. However, he would steadfastly call for negotiations, as he saw the conflict as being between the philosophies of Drothan and Esinoth, and believed a compromise could be worked out since the two were not entirely mutually exclusive. Neither side would listen, and his efforts led nowhere. Narmath would be the only Omnos to oppose the extermination of the Enmalex following first contact, and was so vehement in doing so that he was forcibly cut off from the Collective and exiled. His stasis chamber was loaded onto a ship and sent on a random, pilotless jump into deep space. The Omnos themselves have no idea what ultimately became of him.      

Varkan

Known as the “Master Tinkerer,” Varkan was famous for inventing both the converter and the jump drive. During the Great War of Supremacy, he developed weapons for both sides until the Collective forced him into submission. He was also known as “Varkan the Mad” because of the sheer number of experiments that did not work. Among his unusual sayings is “Science is not ruled by laws, because laws can be broken with a penalty. Limits cannot.” Like other Individuals, he had a number of followers, including Tavens.  This is in spite of him reportedly being extremely anti-social and disliking the Collective because it intruded on his own thoughts.