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The Renraku Astropol and the alien races

by The Mad Arab (agable@falcon.lhup.edu)

History

The Astropol, a huge, continually-manned orbital, was constructed by Renraku Corporation in 2056, and to this day it remains the largest continually-manned space station. Located just past Earth’s moon, the Astropol was founded not as a corporate hideaway, but a vast city in space in which any aliens who chose to make contact with us would be accepted. A year after its founding, contact with our “neighbors out there” was finally reached. Contact was first made with the type we had long known as “greys”: the archetypical big-headed, black-eyed alien abductors. As the Greys began to be integrated into the society of Astropol, contact was initiated with other alien species, most notably the so-called “Wookies” and also the “Bats.” These two races, however, were somewhat less friendly towards the human settlers than were the Greys: neither the Wookies nor the Bats took any openly hostile action against the populace, though both displayed a notable dislike for the Grey race.

Society

All three alien races are carefully integrated into Astropol society, each assigned certain tasks to perform.

  • GREYS: These supra-industrious and curious aliens are usually employed as scientists and technicians.
  • WOOKIES: These small, bulky aliens are usually employed as laborers (i.e. construction workers, etc.) or guards.
  • BATS: Along with the Wookies, this race is usually employed as guardsmen.

All the races are at least tolerant of the station’s human inhabitants, although the Wookies are somewhat rebellious and disdainful in nature. It would be a tremendous lie to say that no prejudice or crime exists on the station, although Astropol boasts a very low crime rate. The prejudice that is present is mainly directed towards the Greys, although it also exists among the aliens themselves.

The Aliens

(Author’s Note: The three types of aliens, the “Greys,” “Wookies,” and “Bats,” are all beings that were actually reported at one time or another. “Greys” are the typical aliens you normally see on mass-market books and whatnot; the “Wookies” are similar to those aliens reported in the November-December 1954 flap in and around Caracas, Venezuela; and for “Bats,” think Mothman, seen in 1966-1967 in West Virginia.

I am currently working on stats for other alien races, both actually reported ones and literary/cinematic ones: a few I’m working on include the Species alien, the Predator, the Locusti (from Independence Day), and that lovable Puerto Rican critter, the Chupacabras.)

“GREY” ALIENS

  • Body: 2
  • Quickness: 3 x 4
  • Strength: 4
  • Intelligence: 4 (8 for Build/Repair or Technical skills)
  • Willpower: 7
  • Charisma: 2
  • Essence: 6
  • Reaction: 6 + 1D6
  • Attacks: Humanoid or Claw (9L)
  • Powers: Paralyzing Gaze (can be “shut off” at will)

“WOOKIE” ALIENS

  • Body: 3 / 4
  • Quickness: 2 x 2
  • Strength: 7
  • Intelligence: 2
  • Willpower: 5
  • Charisma: —
  • Essence: 6
  • Reaction: 2 + 1D6
  • Attacks: Humanoid or Claw (6S)
  • Powers: Hardened Armor

“BAT” ALIENS

  • Body: 4
  • Quickness: 2 x 3 (x 5 for flying)
  • Strength: 3
  • Intelligence: 5
  • Willpower: 6
  • Charisma: —
  • Essence: 6
  • Reaction: 4 + 2D6
  • Attacks: None (dependent on special powers)
  • Powers: Electrical Projection*, Fear

*: The Bat has a variant on the “normal” electrical projection power: it radiates a void of null energy, creating the equivalent of a no-tech zone. The area directly below it ((Essence) square meters) is effectively a “dead” zone, and all electrical machinery in that zone fails and is irreperably damaged. The Bat can also project this from its eyes, for a range of (Essence) meters.