Ilwrath
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The Ilwrath are a fictional race of spider-like beings featured in the sci-fi Star Control computer game series. Their ship type, the Avenger, is armed with a short-range flamethrower and a cloaking device, making it one of the trickier ships to pilot and to pilot against.
| Ilwrath | |
|---|---|
| Ship | Avenger |
| Homeworld | Alpha Tauri 1 |
| Contacts | Pkunk, Thraddash, Umgah, Kzer-Za, Humans |
| Quote(s) | "By The Fetid Breath Of Dogar And Kazon!" |
The Ilwrath are spider-like beings who prey on weaker species. They are intensely religious, worshipping two gods called Dogar and Kazon. Other species may take advantage of this by using hyperwave broadcasters to impersonate them and order the Ilwrath around, specifically the Umgah.
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[edit] Physiology
Physically the Ilwrath resemble large red spiders. They have four visible (probably compound) eyes on top of their head, have large mandibles where eyes would usually be in humanoids, and below that a mouth. Their mandibles allow them to eat, communicate, and have uses as weapons. Their appendages will regenerate if lost or damaged, often a result of their many rituals of pain. With their eyes, called their "sensory cluster" by them, they can see and "...Monitor The Whim And Will Of The Deadly Duo In The Complex Sequence Of Events That Leads Us All To Death." When talking, they sound bloodthirsty and sometimes draw words out, and sometimes inhale when talking about their religious tortures with fondness. In the game, every word they speak is capitalized, presumably to simulate their gothic tones.
[edit] History
For eons the Ilwrath lived a sustenance existence ("appendage to mandible"). Thousands of years before the game, the Ilwrath started worshipping Dogar and Kazon. They advanced their technology to create more sophisticated tools for murder. Then, c. 2126, the Ur-Quan improved their starships and weapons and they joined their Hierarchy of Battle Thralls. During the war, the Ilwrath attacked the Humans, and probably also ate them. When Earth fell to the Ur-Quan, their gods made clear their desire for death by the billions. The Ilwrath transported thousands of portable altars and millions of blood gowns and fillet knives to Earth, but were disappointed when the Ur-Quan commanded that the humans be left alive. After the Alliance of Free Stars fell, they used native animals for their religious ceremonies, until all the lifeforms on their planet were extinct, years later. In c. 2147, probably as a joke played on them by the Umgah with their Hyperwave caster, the Ilwrath believed that they received guidance to attack the Pkunk, and use them for their ceremonies. Sometime within the 5-year timespan of Star Control 2 from 2155 to 2159 or 2160, depending on events, the player has the opportunity to use a hyperwave caster to impersonate Dogar and Kazon. If the player orders them to stop attacking the Pkunk and seek other prey, the Ilwrath attack the Thraddash. Strangely, even though the Ilwrath sphere of influence is about three times as big as the Thraddash sphere of influence, when they meet, the spheres of influence get smaller until both either simultaneously disappear or are vastly reduced in size (depending on previous events in the game). In the former case it can be assumed that somehow the two races annihilated each other. Even though the Ilwrath fleet is much larger than the Thraddash fleet, the Thraddash ships probably used their afterburners in battle to create rings of fire and are mentioned to have been much more effective than Ilwrath ships.
[edit] Life cycle
An unknown number of young Ilwrath are born in egg sacs. When the hatchlings are born, by either ceremony or instinct for survival, they start a feeding frenzy which includes the partial or whole consumption of other hatchlings. Some of the hatchlings are stillborn.
[edit] Psyche
The Ilwrath as a whole consider themselves to be evil, believing their gods would never reward a species that wasn't evil with their baleful grace. They say that "Everything About Us, Within And Without, Reeks Of Heinous Deeds, Deceit, And Treachery". Even their house pets are notoriously evil. However since they all do evil things as sanctioned by their culture, paradoxically it would be "bad" to do otherwise. Another facet of their psyche is that the Ilwrath grow extremely angry when people point this out.
The Pkunk have a theory that the Ilwrath were once very kind beings. In fact, they were once so incredibly noble, pure and good that they could get no better. Then they paradoxically did become better which somehow regressed them to being as evil as possible.
[edit] Religion
Religion is the primary factor in Ilwrath society. They worship two gods, Dogar and Kazon. They begin their religion at birth, believing that their first frenzied gorging is the hatchlings showing their respect to the gods. During their "Dark Ages", the Ilwrath worshipped many gods from Awk of the Seds to Zith of the Pelt. After a priestly body was formed, the priests announced that only Dogar and Kazon were the true gods and should be worshipped. All heretics were to be eaten, and all possessions were delivered to holy sites or priestly dwellings. The priests controlled the Ilwraths' method of worshipping until the Ilwrath could "Do No Better". In modern times, the Ilwrath believe their gods speak to them through their hyperwave radio. They believe it is significant that they broadcast on Channel 44 because "Dogar Possesses 44 eyes that see into the 44 planes of existence. and each of Kazon's 44 Sub-Tongues is made of 44 Plump, Writhing Cilia". Also, it was the channel showing their favorite show, 'Captain Satellite'. However, they didn't receive guidance after they were told to attack the Pkunk, until the player commands them to stop. They instead attack the Thraddash.
[edit] Ilwrath Avenger
The Ilwrath Avenger is a dangerous and inexpensive attack craft. Its main weapon is the Hellfire spout - an oversized flamethrower that is extremely destructive, especially when powered by the Avenger's excellent generators. The range, however, is very short, and the speed of the craft is unremarkable. As such, to get in range to employ their weapon, the Ilwrath must either resort to gravity whipping around planets, or by use of their special ability, the cloaking device. Referred to by the Ilwrath themselves as the 'Cloak Of Shadows', it absorbs all incident light, making the craft near impossible to see - though a canny observer can witness stars blinking out as the craft passes over them. The effects also make the cloaked ship completely undetectable by any guided weaponry. An added advantage in the game for the Avenger pilot is that the Avenger will always be facing the target when it uncloaks to fire, thus eliminating any targeting problems that might have arisen otherwise from being unable to see exactly where your craft is at the time.
Avengers can be frustratingly difficult opponents at first, but in fact can be dispatched by Earthling cruisers (and nearly every other ship in the game with a moderate range and moderate speed) by speeding up so that it is going slightly faster than the Avenger can pursue, then turning around and relying upon inertia to continue on the previous path while firing missiles in the last known direction of the Avenger, because the Avenger will always try to get close enough to use its flamethrower. If this is executed correctly, the Avenger will be taken out after having uncloaked to attack only a few times; caution must always be employed, however, as an unexpected planet collision or rogue asteroid impact can suddenly send a ship hurtling into the Ilwrath's field of fire.
