Orz (Star Control)

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Orz
The Orz appeared as yellow parrotfish-like creatures in Star Control II.
Ship	Nemesis
Homeworld	Another dimension
Contacts	Humans, Arilou, Androsynth
Quotes	"Here is bright and smooth. Other place is Frumple.", "Hello to our HOUSE. Do you feel BETTER yet? You are CAMPERS and you will enjoy THE CHANGE, but maybe not yet. Let's SPITTING the fun words for several PIECES, and then surprising things!"

The Orz are a fictional race of beings featured in the sci-fi Star Control computer game series.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

1 Physiology
2 Language
3 History
4 Orz Nemesis
5 External link

[edit] Physiology

The Orz are actually manifestations of a single pan-dimensional being, using "*fingers*" to produce the fish-like beings seen on a viewscreen. These manifestations are green and roughly spherical, with a stub too small to be a tail, two eyes on stalks, a large set of gills, four tentacles and a beak. Their ships are filled with liquid ethanol, and they appear to be somewhat similar to parrotfish.

[edit] Language

The Orz language is excessively unorthodox and the translation computers used in the game are not particularly good at deciphering it, having to resort to best-fits denoted by asterisks a good deal of the time. However, the language is internally consistent and with effort from the player at least some degree of understanding can be gained.

There appear to be a few terms in the Orz-language with non-obvious contexts which the player will however understand quickly.

Happy camper or just camper is a friend or an ally, someone the Orz trust/like. Also appears to mean anybody who inhabits the region permanently, or someone who may be inhabited by an Orz *finger* after the *party*.
Sad Animal is someone the Orz do not like (i.e. the Androsynth and the VUX)
Dancing means ship-to-ship combat.
Party is believed to mean an alliance as the Orz are apparently happy to help with parties. There is also a theory that it may mean a great war.
Fingers appear to be the term for the single Orz-entities that the player sees, but the Orz assure that they are "just *fingers*" leading to the (now confirmed) suspicions that the Orz may be a representation of a single being rather than a species.
Smelling refers to a personal encounter or awareness the Orz have with something, be it another race or a facet of TrueSpace.
Frumple, the exact meaning is not clear but appears to mean to get angry, as the Orz *frumple* just before they attack. It is also thought to express a quality of unpleasantness, as applied to their home dimension in the above quote.
Silly cow appears to be the Orz word for other alien races. Extra silly cow specifically refers to the Precursors
Many Bubbles is used to describe the native races of TrueSpace. The Orz point out that the other races are "*Many Bubbles*", and that the Orz not, but are just "Orz". This seems to imply that the other races are made of many beings (hence, Many Bubbles), whereas Orz is only one. This lends credibility to the theory that the Orz are manifestations from a single entity, and are trying to explain that they are not a race of independent individuals.
Heavy space or in the middle both appear to refer to TrueSpace, itself.
Slipping or slippery seem to indicate interdimensional travel, or otherwise indicative of some function between such dimensions; the Orz say that they *slipped* into TrueSpace from their native realm, and the Androsynth are frequently said to have formed *slippery places* before the Orz took substantial notice of their interdimensional experimentation.

This is by no means a complete list of terms, as there are others which are a bit more obscure to refer, such as the listed picture's caption's use of "*bright*" and "*smooth*", as well as terms such as "*enjoy the sauce*". However, listening closely to the Orz, as well as discussing them with the Arilou (who understand them the best of any race), provides a key insight into the Orz's nature and how they view the dimension of TrueSpace (what humans and other races perceive as reality, as opposed to HyperSpace or QuasiSpace).

[edit] History

In Star Control II, the Orz seemed to have displaced the Androsynth, who were apparently conducting experiments with other dimensions. This made them visible to the Orz. As a result, the Androsynth disappeared, leaving only their cities behind in ruins. The Orz are very sensitive about the Androsynth, and will fight when pressured to tell about their fate. According to the Arilou, even knowing too much about other dimensions makes one vulnerable to extra-dimensional dangers, such as the Orz, and the Arilou suggest that this is what happened to the Androsynth.

The relationship between the Orz and the Arilou is never fully explained, although the Orz often expressed anger at the Arilou for "*jumping in front*". The Orz are from a "*below*" dimension disparate from the "*above*" dimension, QuasiSpace, where the Arilou live.

Star Control 3, made without the original designers, provided many answers and additional data - in particular, revealing the Orz to be the thralls of the Eternal Ones - which were promptly rejected by Star Control fans.

[edit] Orz Nemesis

Orz Nemesis

In combat, the Orz use a vaguely manta-like craft design called the Nemesis that's armed with a rotating turret and can launch armored space marines. It is highly regarded by Starbase Commander Hayes in Star Control II.

Discussing the Androsynth with the Orz often leads to combat, or "*dancing*" as the Orz refer to it.

Because of its wide range of combat abilities there are many schools of thought on how to properly use an Orz Nemesis in combat. Against small ships, the Nemesis can simply launch more marines than the enemy has crew and wait for the marines to do their jobs. Against larger ships, it is not unknown for an Orz captain to orient his turret directly behind and try to entice the enemy ship to chase them.

The main questions an Orz commander should ask himself are: