Mecha-Oth

Overview

The Mecha-Oth are a large mechanical being, infused with a consciousness from the Xani-Oth hivemind. Created by the Xani-Oth, Mecha-Oth eventually became the entire race's new form. They are built solely for war, as the Xani-Oth now have no other meaning after the spark of the Occultatum War.

Story

During the Occultatum War, the Xani-Oth made a mistake. They created an experimental lifeform capable of independent thought while still being connected to the hivemind. This was possible through the threading of Xani-Oth brainstems through a very advanced quantum computer, which uses a version of binary 0s and 1s with thousands of variations to each value. This meant it had the same "thinking time" as a sentient brain, yet it could also send and receive information to and from the central consciousness.

This 'perfect' machine meant only one thing for the Xani-Oth: evolution. To become such a powerful creature and retain most of what made them organic and sentient was something that even the advanced races could barely dream of. Previous A.I integrations in other races had failed catastrophically, typically resulting in malfunctioning software, mass rebellions and hysteria. The Xani-Oth had truly accidentally achieved what all other species had failed, but at a cost - everlasting hunger.

Now this isn't standard hunger. These creatures need energy on a scale previously unheard of. An average type 2 civilization would barely be able to keep up. The new Mecha-Oth had to start small, with only a few thousand integrated into the Xani-Oth ranks. But as they grew in number, their empire pushed out further than ever into the galaxy, consuming planets and stars of the other space empires. The machine was perfected, and their downfall now seemed impossible, as they couldn't even stop themselves from moving to the next solar system and harvesting all the resources they could.