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 Philosophy
The Philosophy of the Irken race, is to conquer the universe, to be dominant over all and to reign supreme over the species of the universe. Since even before the founding of the Irken Empire itself, the Irkens have forever had a sense of superiority to other species, even superiority of themselves to each other, as is shown in their hierarchial system. Throughout the series of Invader Zim, it is strongly hinted that the Irkens feel they should rule over everything. The Tallest, Red and Purple, in ordering 'Operation Impending Doom II', make another bid for the Irkens to dominate the races of the universe. In the episode Battle of the Planets, Invader Skoodge successfully invaded the Planet Blorch, home of the Slaughtering Rat People. When the Tallest arrived with the Irken Armada, the planet was labeled by the Shuvvers of the Armada with a giant Invader symbol emblazoned on its surface, destroying much of the civilization and homes of the rat people. The planet was then hit with a cannon shot from the 'Massive' called the Organic Sweep. The Irkens institute the Organic Sweep when they come into contact with aliens that they deem as unworthy, as they put it 'unsavory alien filth'.
What's most interesting about the Irkens view is the apparent 'need' to conquer the universe. The species of the universe that know of the Irkens refer to them as bloodthirsty, tyrannical and dictatorial, which may be true to an extent. However, the Tallest and the Control Brains determine what the Irken population thinks through PAK programming. Considering Irkens bloodthirsty and tyrannical is a matter of perspective, because Irken thoughts are actually programmed.
Zim is a defect; because of an error in his PAK, he is not programmed like other Irkens. He is still extremely militaristic and feels a need to conquer. Therefore it is logical to assume the Irken mindset is focused on universal domination.
[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. Irkens are physiologically humanoid, 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, glossy, and of a single color, with no distinct pupil or iris. (See section on Eyes below.)
Irkens come in several shades of green; the pigmentation level of the individual appears genetically determined.
The episode Dark Harvest shows Zim to have three organs, not including the brain. The Squeedly-Spooch, appears to be the main digestive organ, and is the largest of the three. There is also a heart, and an unidentified smaller organ located on the right side of his abdomen. It may be an appendix, or a respiratory organ. The presence of a heart suggests that Irkens have blood, and the episode Lice indicates that their blood is green 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, much like a zipper. Irken tongues are segmented and bear a visual resemblance to earthworms.
Irken fingers (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 a surgical modification and is a symbol of "Tallest" 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 extendable 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 signs 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 in his head, 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; 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 the Zit Boy, Zim implies that he believes eyes to be the organ of respiration for humans, although he may simply be confusing human anatomy with his own or said it to distract Dib.
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 adviser to the Tallest 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, although this may simply be only what is seen in the episodes themselves. 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 "cold, unfeeling" robot arms. It is generally assumed that Irkens have since lost the ability to reproduce due to their bizarre dependence/symbiosis with technology (or to allow the leaders better control).
Female Irkens appear to have different shaped antennae from the males (slightly curled), 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, Tallest Miyuki (who was, incidentally, the earliest known Tallest). The only female Irkens seen in the show are Tak (although her status as having failed to achieve a natural status in the Irken civilization, combined with her customized equipment, means that one cannot immediately select her as an example of a typical Irken female), and Invader Tenn, seen only briefly in the episode "Megadoomer." She seems to be a capable invader, only hindered by malfunctioning SIR units. She also has pink eyes, an option possibly only seen in Irken females. Though one seen in the official design boards (Invader Zee) was behind Zim waiting to receive her SIR unit.
[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”, creates burns when touched and causes 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 time frame of Invader Zim, the Earth appears to be severely polluted as evidenced by the red sky shown in most episodes. In The Frycook What Came from All That Space, he picked up a bag containing a jumbo order of "vort-dogs" and nothing happened, either because there was a bag around them or the food was Irken meat. (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. In The Wettening, Zim actually manages to protect himself from water by coating himself in paste. 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 rain causes problems to the Irken, due to a possible pollution of the Earth's atmosphere.
The antennae also seem to be extremely sensitive, as Zim always seems to avoid touching them when placing on headgear. He also squirmed away uncomfortably when GIR poked at one in Walk of Doom. Since they do not have ears, the antennae might be auditory receivers, and when touched produce a loud sound; other theories suggest they might detect smells, or that they are almost like nerve endings and touching them hurts. It may even feel good when they are touched, as Zim seems to show more pleasure than pain when GIR tapped his.
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 ooze for a minute or so.
One of the Irkens' biggest weaknesses is their incapability of disguise themselves very well. This is most likely as much because of any lack of disguise technology as their own vanity. The vanity is apparent in The Nightmare Begins, as Zim is picking his disguise. He goes through two good disguises, but hates them, declaring them to be too ugly and too stinky. However, GIR's costume turned out terribly when he was put into the Voot Cruiser's disguise chamber. Also, the Irkens' lack of disguise is also shown by Invader Flobee in "Planet Jackers."
[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. Although it is possible that the common language of the Invader Zim universe is English, since Dib had heard the transmission of Operation Impending Doom II from planet Conventia and was able to perfectly understand it, and in turn he was understood by the Tallest when he made a transmission to them from Zim's own base in The Frycook What Came from All That Space.
The written form of Irken consists of a series of indistinguishable characters in the show. The show's creator had no Irken character chart in mind when he had Irken letters appear on screens and the opening sequence of the show. The Irken subtitles on the DVDs and the show itself had totally different characters. The ones on the subtitles consist 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. Irken Text http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/8583/irkentextiq5.png
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, Zee
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 Purple 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, or it could be due to his questionable sanity. 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 jelly ("This has nothing to do with jelly!"). It is, however, certainly possible that Zim was simply not paying attention, as he is known to do.
[edit] Diet
Irkens are allergic to water, though there are some continuity troubles with the matter on the show (though they might actually be allergic to the toxins found in earth water). 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. However, in the episode The Frycook What Came from All That Space, when Zim crashes to the Earth after a cab he stole exploded, he lay unconcious on the ground until a man next door sprayed him with a hose. This isn't a certainty that Irkens aren't water intolerant, because in a previous episode, The Wettening, Zim figured out that regular "skool" glue can make him immune to the effects of water, and so could most likely just be coated in paste at that moment. Irkens do have beverages on their home planet, but these are almost certainly made from some other liquid substance.
"Snacks" 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 water. In Zim Eats Waffles, Zim tries to build up an immunity to Earth food by eating 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. However this is disputable, as GIR mentions the waffles were made only with Earth-native peanuts and soap, and that these would make both humans and Irkens sick, inducing such symptoms as vomiting and coughing up soap bubbles.
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.
[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 and uniforms) 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 creature of Zim's making) and Almighty Tallest Spork (devoured by that same creature later).
The current Tallest are more like figureheads than actual rulers, and the Irkens seem to rely on powerful supercomputers 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
Irkens enslave other alien species, partially evidenced by a segment early in the episode "Megadoomer." In some instances subjugation or even contractual employment seem apparent, although mass genocide and extermination of some alien species (like the Slaughtering Rat People) is also seen. There are low-ranking (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.
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. Irkens likely measure age in Irk years which may be far longer (or shorter) than Earth years. According to Jhonen Vasquez, Zim is 15 Irk years, or 159 Earth years. This means that 1 Irk year is equal to 10.6 Earth years. However, this causes confusion, such as in Tak: The Hideous New Girl, Tak mentioned Zim causing a blackout on Planet Devastis 50 years ago. It could be that Tak was simply referring to Earth years.
Since Irken minds are programmed, there exists the possibility of Defectives. The 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.
- Frylord Sizz-Lorr - Runs the Shloogorgh's restaurant on Foodcourtia.
- Invader Larb - Named after the food, Larb. Assigned to the planet Vort (home of the galaxy's most comfortable couch). 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 while touring the planet Vort to inspect the progress on the Irken Armada's Flagship the 'Massive'.
- Tallest Spork - leader after Miyuki, was also eaten by Zim's creation after one day of ruling.
- Invader Spleen - Was given his assignment after Larb. Is quite tall due to having a very large head.
- Bob- A table-headed service drone 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 sun.
