Shikadi

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The Shikadi are a fictional race of energy beings from another galaxy featured in the Commander Keen computer game series. They are the main antagonists in the Commander Keen: Goodbye Galaxy! games. They were invented by Tom Hall.

[edit] Story

The Shikadi are violent race from another galaxy that was somehow contacted by Mortimer McMire, who was able to make them follow him as their leader. As he had previously done with the Vorticon, Mortimer forced them to call him "The Grand Intellect"; however, due to either their limited intelligence or poor language skills, they ended up calling him "The Gannalech". Mortimer convinced the Shikadi to help him destroy the Milky Way, which they would then remake to suit their needs. The Shikadi travelled to the far side of the Milky Way galaxy and built a secret base in the planet Korath III, located in the Korath system. Then they started building the Omegamatic, the machine they would use to destroy the galaxy.

Mortimer knew that Commander Keen may interfere with his plans, so he sent the Shikadi to Gnosticus IV, in order to capture the wise members of the High Council of the Oracle. The Shikadi imprisoned them in the dangerous Shadowlands of the planet, therefore preventing them from activating the powerful Oracle and helping Keen in his quest.

In episode four of the games, Secret of the Oracle, Keen accidentally listens to a radio transmission from the Shikadi, where they are talking about their plans to destroy the galaxy. This prompts Keen to travel to the Oracle of Gnosticus IV, to learn more about them. Upon arriving to the planet, Keen discovers the kidnap, and sets out to free them. After rescuing the Council Members, the Oracle informs Keen that the Shikadi have almost finished building the Omegamatic, and gives him its location.

In episode five of the games, The Armageddon Machine, Keen travels to Korath III to stop the Shikadi from using the Omegamatic. Keen has to fight all their defenses, and the Shikadi themselves, but he is able to defeat them and saves the galaxy. The Shikadi give up and escape back to their galaxy. After destroying the Omegamatic, Keen discovers a note for him written in the Standard Galactic Alphabet by Mortimer. It reveals that the Omegamatic was only a distraction to keep Commander Keen from interfering with Mortimer's real plans, and that he intends to destroy the universe.

The Shikadi are also featured in the Game Boy Color Keen episode where they team up with the Droidicus to try to destroy the galaxy.

[edit] Types

There are at least two different kind of Shikadi: the regular Shikadi, and the electrosphere-casting Shikadi Masters that are able to teleport around. Another energy race related to them are the Shockshund, the Shikadi three-legged dogs.

[edit] The Omegamatic

The Omegamatic (nicknamed The Armageddon Machine) is a large space station built by Vitacorp, and manned by the Shikadi. Its heart is the Quantum Explosion Dynamo (QED), a device capable of creating a "100,000 light year diameter quantum explosion" that could effectively destroy the Milky Way galaxy. The main goal of the game (episode 5) is to stop the Shikadi from activating the QED.

The Omegamatic is composed of several levels. The lower one is the Ion Ventilation System, where Keen docks his spaceship to enter the Omegamatic. Keen has to proceed up through numerous defense systems, to reach the higher part and core of the station, the QED. The middle section ot the Omegamatic is blocked by the Security Center. In that section, there are four machines protecting the elevator shaft to the QED: the Neutrino Burst Injector, the Energy Flow System, the Regulation Control Center and the Brownian Motion Inducer. Each one of them is protected by a Defense Tunnel.

The QED is very difficult to destroy. Unlike the devices protecting the elevator shaft found in earlier levels in the Omegamatic, the QED cannot be destroyed by pogo jumping on it; rather Keen must lure one of the floating bombs over towards it and get it to blow up so the shrapnel can hit it.