Irkens
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Created by Jhonen Vasquez, the Irkens are a fictional race of aliens who wish to conquer the universe. They are humanoid in general shape, range widely in size, and have large glossy eyes of varying colors. Their homeworld is the planet IRK. The Irkens are seen on the Nicktoon show Invader Zim, where the title character is an unsuccessful and psychologically unstable Irken invader, a prestigious elite military class.
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[edit] Irken Morphology
In Irken morphology all Irkens are cyborgs, having Standard-Issue Irken Utility Packs, or PAKs installed into their spines directly after birth. In terms of physiology, Irkens are humanoid, albeit with green skin and some insectile traits—primarily the presence of two antennae instead of hair on the head. An Irken's eyes are large and composed completely of a single colour (save for various points of white, which may be shine), with no distinct pupil or iris. (See section on Eyes below.)
Irkens come in two primary shares of green and a few in-between, suggesting that some Irkens have differing levels of skin pigmentation, and the middle ranges show that different combinations of genes are used in the creation of Irkens.
The episode Dark Harvest shows Zim to have apparently three organs, not including the brain. One, probably the often named Squeedly-Spooch, appears to be the main digestive organ, and this is the largest of the trio. There also seems to be a heart, and an unidentified smaller organ located on the right side of his abdomen. It may be an appendix, or possibly a lung-like organ as Zim does apparently need to breathe. The presence of a heart suggests that Irkens have blood, and the colour of the inside of their mouths and eye sockets indicate that it is red in hue.
Irken jaws feature a bizarre structure in place of teeth, consisting of a strip of enamel-equivalent which protrudes slightly from the flesh of the gum and then rises in an even "peg-like" pattern, very reminiscent of a zipper. Irken tongues are segmented and bear a visual resemblance to earthworms.
Irken fingers (of which they have two to each hand, plus an opposable thumb) seem to bear claws, though these may be part of the gloves that all Irkens wear as part of their uniform. The Irken Tallest are made more distinctive by having two long, spindly fingers and no thumb to each hand. Presumably, this is the result of surgery conducted upon an Irken when it achieves the status of Tallest and serves as a symbol of status.
[edit] The PAK
As documented in Eric Trueheart's unproduced second-season script The Trial, an Irken PAK provides critical life support to its host, augmenting several mental functions including an Irken's personality and memory. A PAK's Memory Drive contains the Irken's memories, knowledge, skills and highest scores. The Atmospheric Processor allows the Irken to breathe in any known atmosphere. Finally, a Charging Cell provides power to the PAK.
An Irken can only live for about 10 minutes when detached from its PAK, with rapidly degrading cognitive function, at which time the Irken will be notified by an additional implanted device called a lifeclock (Rob Hummel's Ten Minutes to Doom script). There may, however, be exceptions to this rule, as throughout the episode Hobo 13, Invader Skoodge is never shown wearing his PAK, though this may have been an error on the part of the cartoonists. The PAK's Memory Drive appears to be the primary brain of an Irken (which may explain why Zim was still able to function, if dazedly, with his brain in his hand at the conclusion of Bad, Bad Rubber Piggy), and because the Irken's personality is stored there permanently, if the PAK is applied to a new host body, the embedded personality will begin to overpower the new host's consciousness (if any). When Dib accidentally had Zim's PAK bonded to him in 10 Minutes to Doom, he shortly began to speak and act like Zim himself.
The PAK attaches to the Irken by means of two spinal plugs or ports embedded in the Irken's back, visible outside their clothing. Two thick cables attach the PAK into its ports. Despite this, an Irken's pak is removable: Dib knocks it off by accident in the 10 Minutes to Doom script, and Zim is seen working on it himself in NanoZim.
The PAK also stores an endless variety of tools and robotic accessories. Most often seen accessories are long extendible spider legs that allow an Irken to move about on walls, ceilings, and in zero-gravity; the spider legs can fire laser-like weapons from their tips, and generate a force field for protection. Other items seen in use include communication devices, space helmets, a weak jet system for use in zero gravity and an organ-harvesting teleporter. Though the teleporter may have other functions.
[edit] Eyes
The insect-like presences of antennae as well as the lack of an iris, pupil and sclera suggest that the Irkens have compound eyes. However, this has not been made clear by the series creator. For instance, when Zim has his disguise on, the "eyes" act very normal, suggesting that Irken eyes rotate and can produce tears. They also seem to be sensitive to irritants: in The Nightmare Begins, Zim seems very agitated by his new contact lenses, complaining that they "are all scratchy" while desperately rubbing at his eyes. Also, in the episode Planet Jackers Zim actually loses an eye for a few seconds; we see that it is like an oblong sphere in shape and attached to a long, thin cord of sinew and muscle which might be the equivalent of the optic nerve. As Zim simply replaces his eye by pushing it back into its socket a moment later with no apparent sign of distress or loss of function, it could also be theorized that the Irken eye is an artificial implant of an unknown nature; an unaired episode, Day of da Spookies, implied as much; yet, in a flashback scene in the episode Parent Teacher Night which apparently shows Zim's birth, he clearly has eyes already in, even before his PAK is attached. It is also noteworthy that in the episode Walk of Doom, Zim mentions having ocular implants which are standard issue for all Irken Invaders (though since Zim is not really an invader, one must question whether he actually has these); in the same episode, Zim temporarily blinds himself by staring too long at the Earth's sun, causing a charred effect over his eyes. He waits about 8 hours for their "skin" to grow back, thus restoring his sight. Also, in Rise of zit boy, Zim implies that he believes eyes to be the organ of respiration, although he may simply be confused.
The majority of Irkens have red, green or purple eyes with red being the most common, followed by purple. An extremely uncommon Irken eye-color was seen in the official design boards for the unused character Invader Dookie: Dookie was shown to have pale brown eyes. A similar eye color was seen on a what appears to be an advisor to the Tallests in Battle of the Planets
[edit] Genders and Reproduction
Irkens apparently have female and male sexes, to reproduce on their own. The number of males seen on Irk appears to be more than double that of females. Perhaps this lack of females is why most of Irken babies, or "Smeets", are produced in cloning facilities, which are located deep beneath the surface of Irk. The Smeets are decanted from a fetus jar by a robot arm.
Female Irkens appear to have different shaped antennae from the males, and more pronounced eyelashes. It is hard to tell whether they are on average shorter than the males, as there are so few for comparison. It is notable that there has been one known female Tallest.
[edit] Weaknesses
There are suggestions that the Irken body is much weaker than the human body genetically. When exposed to identical infusions of bologna-based DNA, Zim notes that the mutation effect occurs much faster in his own cells than within Dib's.
Most food, especially from the “skool” create burns when touched and illness when consumed by Zim. It is not clear if his intensely allergic reactions to Earth food are more related to Irken biology or because, in the timeframe of Invader Zim, the Earth appears to be severely polluted as evidenced by the red sky shown in most episodes. (See also below section on Irken Diet.)
Irkens generally burn on contact with water and Earth meat-based protein, but water's lethality is slightly in question, due to the fact that in several episodes, such as Attack of the Saucer Morons, Zim is dunked in liquid without any apparent ill effect. Although it is said that only water with pollutants will burn Zim, it isn't confirmed if this is true. In The Wettening, Zim actually manages to protect himself from water by coating himself in paste; whether or not this paste was water-based is in question. A theory also exists that certain chemical reactions may prevent water from causing harm to the Irkens. It is also possible that not water itself, but especially earth rain causes problems to the Irken, due to a possible pollution of the earth's atmosphere.
An over-exposure to fatty acids and oils result in horrific acne with apparent hypnotic abilities. These overgrown transparent pimples eventually swell to grotesque sizes and burst.
Once every thousand years, during a galactic eclipse where all galaxies align, all aliens (including Irkens) not living on their own planet go through a few disturbing minutes of deformity called the Molt, as seen in the episode Career Day. During the hours leading up to the Molt, the Irken's skin bubbles and froths; at the actual moment of the Molt, the skin and flesh explode into a horrible mass of pulsating goop for a minute or so.
[edit] Language
'Irken' is also the name of the Irkens' language. It is perceived to the listener as their own native language, therefore has never been documented in its original Irken sounds.
The written form of Irken consists of 40 characters, designating two types (apparently capital and lowercase, though some theorize it to actually represent masculine and feminine) of the first 20 letters of the alphabet (A-T). The rest of the letters have apparently not been developed, leading to controversy as to whether it is the true language at all;[citation needed] it is however possible that the remaining sounds (U,V,W,X,Y,Z) either do not exist, or do not need separate letters in their alphabet, as most of their sounds can be achieved with other letters. Because there is no letter for Z, the main character's name is spelled IM on the DVD subtitles. One possible explanation is that a Z sound is automatically added before any word that begins with a vowel, but this is mere conjecture as there is presently not evidence enough to check against this. Another possibility might be that the correct spelling of ZIM in the Irken language is actually SIM.
The only evidence for the actual sounds of the Irken language are the names of the Irken characters, and what was shown in the episode "Mysterious Mysteries", where Dib recorded a video of Zim and GIR talking in some alien dialect while out of their disguises. It is notable that Zim, when pronouncing his own name, seems to frequently pronounce it zîm, with a somewhat rounded I, and not the more common zĭm, especially when he is alone or talking to himself. If this is done intentionally by the voice actor, it may be an indication of native Irken pronunciation of that vowel -- the pronunciation of the I's in Miyuki and Dookie are likewise similar, as is the sound of the double-E in Spleen. Double-O would appear to represent an ōō in sound, as in Dookie and Skoodge, thus perhaps the lack of need for a letter U in their alphabet. The Irken language does seem to accept multiple consonants side by side.
Following is a list, by no means complete, of Irken names:
Bob, Dookie, Flobee, Gasploogh, Larb, Miyuki, Sizz-lorr, Skoodge, Skutch, Slacks, Spleen, Spork, Stink, Tak, Tenn, Zim.
The names Miyuki, Skutch and Zim all contain letters that appear to not exist in Irken. Miyuki could theoretically be spelled Miooki to achieve the same pronunciation, and a theory on Zim's name can be found above. Skutch might be perhaps Skatch or Sktch; it also could possibly be a variant and/or related name to Skoodge, just as English Mary and Marie are variants on the same name. It is also possible that these names are not native to the Irken language. Since very little is known about Irken naming practices, nothing can be said with any certainty.
It is notable that Irkens do have a diminutive attachment for names in their language, as evidenced in Hobo 13 when Tallest Red addresses Table-Headed Service Drone Bob as "Bobby."
Other evidence for the vocabulary and sentence structure of Irken might perhaps be found in Zim's sometimes odd turns of phrase. (i.e. "arm-control nerve" "noise-tube" "cleansing-chalk" et al.) It is possible that he is using what might be correct terms in Irken, but which translate badly into English. It is also notable that Zim is capable of mistranslating English himself at times, as in Tak, the Hideous New Girl where Dib accuses Zim of being jealous, which Zim apparently interprets to mean gelatinous. It is, however, certainly possible that Zim was simply not paying attention as he is known to do.
[edit] Diet
Irkens are allergic to H2O, though there are some continuity troubles with the matter on the show. Nevertheless, most episodes show Zim suffering pain from contact with water, and it was even the subject of an episode, The Wettening. Zim is made easily sick by virtually all Earth food, and the water content may be the cause of this. Irkens do have beverages on their home planet, but these are almost certainly made from some other liquid substance.
"Snack" foods like donuts, potato chips and candy appear to be the favorite foods of Irkens, and by all outward appearances these foods are made the same on Irk as they are on Earth. This would suggest that carbohydrates are the main fuel for the Irken metabolism, although an Earthly carbohydrate would contain a certain degree of H2O. In the episode Zim Eats Waffles, Zim tries to build up an immunity to Earth food by munching on waffles cooked by GIR. Nevertheless, according to the show's creators, they were made with Irken ingredients, hence his ability to keep them down, at least for a while; the causes of the eventual sickness are explained in the episode.
All evidence has so far shown that meats react badly with Irken skin, creating burns and, in more severe cases, swelling; it is sensible to think the same would happen to their insides were the substance consumed. Whether this means that Irkens are vegetarians, or if it is only Earth meat that creates the problem, is unsure.
[edit] Irken society
The Irken Empire is a height-based social hierarchy, with the leaders being the tallest of all living Irkens. The Tallest presumably did more work in the past, however the current Tallest, Red and Purple, (named for the color of their eyes) tend to just eat snacks, give orders to their subjects, and be lazy. We know little concerning their predecessors, consecutively Almighty Tallest Miyuki (a female Tallest, devoured by a device of Zim's making) and Almighty Tallest Spork (devoured by that same device later).
The current Tallest are more like "figureheads" than actual rulers, and the Irkens seem to rely on powerful supercomputer-like Irken mutations referred to as "Control Brains" to make their more critical decisions, as well as to reproduce more "Smeets" (very young Irkens) and choose their careers. The Control Brains carry all knowledge and memories acquired by Irkens through the recycling of Irken PAKs.
Irken society has several rankings, each one given to an Irken dependant on previous actions and/or height. Some of these ranks include:
- Almighty Tallest
- Invader
- Royal Guard
- Irken Elite
- Slave Driver
- Janitorial drone
- Fry Lord
- Fast-food worker
- Table-Headed Service Drone
It's unclear whether Irkens really enslave other alien species. In some instances subjugation or even contractual employment seem apparent, although mass genocide and extermination of some alien species is also seen. There are low-ranking Irkens (i.e. very short Irkens), regarded as servants or even slaves, which are given menial and degrading tasks, such as food service and cleaning. Such servants may be paid as little as five "monies" every two years, as seen in the episode Hobo 13.
The official currency of Irk is the Monie. The Monies are coins (apparently a copper-like material) with a picture of the current Tallest on it. The value of a Monie compared to a dollar is unclear.
It has also been revealed that they have a policy of eradicating all unintelligent alien life on conquered planets (typically when the leaders visit, so they don't have to come into contact with "unsavory alien filth"). One such planet that was cleansed was the world of Slaughtering Rat People, Blorch.
Despite Irkens apparent devotion to conquering other planets, they have been known to make treaties with certain races, such as the Planet Jackers.
Irkens appear to have a long lifespan, but their time units are the same as Earth's (as mentioned in Frycook What Came from All That Space, where Sizz-Lorr complains about being stuck on Foodcourtia for twenty years). Although Irkens likely measure age in Irk years which may be far longer (or shorter) than Earth years.
Since Irkens are basically programmed, there exists the possibility of there being Defectives. Those Defectives that are discovered undergo an “Existence Evaluation” trial where "Control Brains" decided if the Irken is Defective and therefore a threat to the Irken gene pool. If the trial fails its PAK will be forcibly removed, the Irken will die and its PAK will not be re-assimilated by the Control Brains. A perfect example of a Defective is the main character himself.
[edit] Invaders and Notable Irkens
- Invader Zim - Main character, a disgraced invader 'assigned' to Earth
- Tallest Red and Tallest Purple - Tallest Irkens and leaders of the Irken race
- Invader Skoodge - One of the shortest Irkens. He was assigned to Blorch, home of the Slaughtering Rat People
- Tak - Attempted to take Zim's mission in Tak, the Hideous New Girl. Because of her individuality, not seen in other Irkens, Tak, like Zim may also have been a defective.
- Invader Tenn - Assigned to the planet Meekrob
- Sizz-Lorr - Runs the Shloogorgh's restaurant on Foodcourtia
- Invader Larb - Assigned to the planet Vort, named after the food, Larb. Was originally going to be assigned to Blorch, but was promoted due to increased height
- Tallest Miyuki - the only known female tallest, was eaten by Zim's energy absorbing blob
- Tallest Spork - leader after Miyuki, was also eaten by Zim's creation
- Invader Spleen - Was given his assignment after Larb. Is quite tall due to having a very large head.
- Bob- A short waiter who was forcibly made to bet against Zim's survival chances on Hobo 13. He won the bet but due to his cockiness (and telling the Tallest to get their own drinks), he was strapped to the seat of an Irken vessel, given to Zim as promised by the Tallests, which they had programmed to collide into a star.
