Slaver Mantoids: Difference between revisions
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The '''Slaver Mantoids''' are an intelligent, space-faring race of insectoid origin that are the primary antagonists in [[Ostragoth]]’s ongoing [[WIP|fic-in-progress]], [[Estrangsters]]. The Slaver Mantoids (also known as just 'Mantoids') are known to exist in at least ''three'' universes within the [[Daria Multiverse]]
* in the AU-universe identified as 'D-289' in ''Estrangsters'' (the first universe they were seen to inhabit)
* in a divergent AU-universe of D-289 identified as 'D-15' (the universe viewed in the [[Brother Grimace]] fic [[Behind Enemy Lines]])
* In the [[Legion of Lawndale Heroes]] universe (identified as 'D-247')
('''NOTE:''' The following information is confirmed to apply fully ''only'' to the Mantoid race as seen in 'D-15' and 'D-247'. The Mantoids in 'D-289' are strikingly similar (particularly in their base appetite for consuming humans, and their base psi-ability), but may not possess differing technology/capabilities, background, and motivations.)
==History==
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Nothing of the Slaver Mantoid’s history is known at this point, except that they are a race that lives by enslaving and and using other intelligent and semi-intelligent races to do their bidding. From what has been seen of their vessels (see Spacecraft entry), it is safe to assume that they are a race that has acted to forcibly appropriate advanced technology for their own use, rather than create their own. It is also safe to assume that the Mantoids have been aware of Earth and humans for at least sixty years (as the first reports of 'flying saucers' were in the post World War II period), and have been abducting humans for at least that long, if not longer.
The term 'Slaver Mantoids' was coined by human slaves aboard their vessels. The true name of their race is currently unknown.
==Characteristics==
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*All Mantoids are telepathic.
*All Mantoids possess the ability to form a telepathic link with humans (and possibly other creatures) in order to communicate. This ability can be used through physical contact
*All Mantoids possess the ability to psionically control other creatures. While they can control humans (and other alien races) from an (as-yet unspecified) distance, the control is nearly
*All Mantoids possess the ability to experience the sensory input experienced by other species (especially humans) by means of a sensory link. The Mantoids do not need to be in physical contact, but must be at least within 5-20 feet (roughly the size of a room) of their target to establish the sensory link. It does not seem that the link can be reversed, or that other beings can receive information from the Mantoids through the link.
*All Mantoics seem to have no innate detection abilities to detect human (humanoid?) telepaths, and are incredibly sensitive to the effects of psi-capable humans (this may be one reason why the effort to breed psi-power potentials out if their slave population has come about.
*All Mantoids show evidence of also being capable of a low-level form of broadcast empathy, as they can seem to project their current emotional state while using their mental control.
The Mantoids are currently engaged in a breeding program in order to breed the mental resistance trait out of humans. (See ''Mantoid Breeding Program''.)
===Social/psychological===
The Slaver Mantoids seem to consider all other races they encounter as property or lesser animals with which they can do as they see fit, and seem to harbor no consideration for the self-determination or rights of other races. They have a pronounced interest in humans, as they see the human race as valuable animals; useful for work of various forms, as conscripted combat troops, and as a food source. It is not known if humans are a primary source, but humans are a preferred choice when possible, with newborn infants especially valued as a priced delicacy. Mantoids seem to prefer live prey, and also seem to relish the psychic sensations of fear and terror from their victims as much as consuming their bodies. If a Mantoid has a choice between live prey, deceased beings or flora, they will always choose the live prey, and then fauna. Only Mantoids on the verge of starvation will consume deceased bodies. This seems to be part of their value system, and to do do is a social taboo to the extent that many Mantoids would allow themselves to expire rather than consume the dead (no matter how recent the time of death). Mantoids also consider
While the majority of Mantoids see humans (and other races) as cattle at best, some have a predilection to forcibly use human slaves as an extension of themselves to experience the pleasurable sensations of human sexual activity. This may add to the theory that the Mantoids (like many creatures) are sexually active only for the purposes of reproduction, as most Mantoids and the slave races consider this behavior perverse, and such individuals are considered deviants to normal Mantoid society.
Mantoids prize newborn human infants for their flavor, and engage in ritual fights of dominance for the right to consume them. These fights can take place at any time once a human female begins to go into labor, and are usually fought only to the point of capitulation, as Mantoids do not believe in harming one another. However, since many Mantoids refuse to surrender (it is a point of personal pride to refuse to capitulate), many are wounded or even killed in these fights. The only instances where Mantoids will deliberately execute one of their own is to remove a ‘behavioral deviant’ from the community or to punish a Mantoid for the death of a female human (the Mantoids place supreme value upon the lives of breeder age females – women between the ages of 15 to 35) or of a human infant. (However, exceptions are made with ''females designated as workers'' in order to establish dominance and terror over other humans. This is accepted - albeit grudgingly so - and the Mantoid that does so must share his/her kill with others.) Occasionally, in order to deny a victor the spoils of his honorable victory, a defeated Mantoid will react by killing (or attempting to kill) either the newborn or the woman before she gives birth. This is considered (at present) one of the greatest crimes a Mantoid can commit (for it is considered a waste of food and a strike against the victor's honor), and is punished in the slowest, most grotesque and dishonorable manner possible.
===Luck and other superstitions===
A curious aberration to Mantoid society is that the Mantoids are very superstitious, to the point that it overrides almost everything else about their attitudes. Superstitious beliefs hold a very strong place in Mantoid society; for example, the concept of 'good luck' and 'bad luck' is so strong that a Mantoid who is believed to be possessed of 'bad luck' could possibly be killed by other Mantoids, in order to prevent that bad luck from somehow being transmitted to other Mantoids. Conversely, Mantoids who have managed to demonstrate that they are somehow possessed of 'good luck' are revered and move up in all facets of Mantoid society, including the opportunity to select better breeding partners (in the belief that the offspring will be born with the potential for greater luck).
The Mantoids realize that some humans are possessed of 'good and bad luck' to the point of being considered 'cursed' or 'blessed' beings; in these cases, the Mantoids will either try to keep that human near at all times (in the case of humans with good luck) or simply pretend that the human doesn't exist (in the case of bad luck). However, they will blanch at even the mention of killing that human, for fear of catastrophe; in the case that they capture such a human, he or she is treated as kindly as possible, allowed a measure of free movement and is not allowed to come to any harm, but is not allowed to go free (as the escape of a 'cursed' human is seen as a omen of catastrophe for the Mantoids).
==Consumables==
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===Medical===
The Mantoids have mastered the art and science of human medicine, having the ability to genetically alter human physiological makeup and the psionic potentials inherent within the species, as well as effectively cure the majority of most human ailments and conditions. The Mantoids have the ability to synthesize a solution very similar to [[Delmitrium-157]], which not only purges the human body of all impurities but also (if used to excess) acts as a narcotic with an extremely high potential for addiction.
*Humans who become addicted to the drug ‘purge’ themselves of even decades of contamination, and become as flavorful as newborns to Mantoids. After continued heavy use, their body puts off a strong scent that, to Mantoids, is very intoxicating and indicative of that human’s flavor
*Mantoids have a ‘scale of taste’ concerning humans (much like the USDA scale for grading meat and eggs). In addition, most humans have an unpleasant scent (due to decades of 'chemical contamination' from consuming artificially enhanced foods and drink, as well as being around such things as chlorinated water and second-hand smoke), and so the solution is also
*Non-breeder females who drink the solution when pregnant purify their child’s form of 'contaminants' from the mother's body, making it as flavorful and desirable as a child born to breeders. (They do not develop an addiction because the solution is absorbed
*Non-breeder females can also drink the solution to cleanse themselves of any possible STD or any other disease, which would interfere with childbirth. Unlike men, women can consume the solution for a far longer period without running the risk of addiction, and can tell when they are approaching the point of addiction because they will experience a very heavy menstrual flow outside of their normal cycle.
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===Mantoid Breeding Program===
For at least
Captured humans are given both physical and mental examinations (which are administered by the Gnomes) to rate them on a scale of psionic resistance and taste, and are then marked by the Gnomes with identifying markers that the Mantoids can recognize which signify their ratings. During those examinations, contaminants within the human body can be quickly extracted
Even though a great number of humans are not seen as suitable for the breeding program, the Mantoids still encourage a high level of sexual activity within the human slave population, as it provides a surplus of human infants for
The Mantoids have demonstrated
===Weapons===
The only weapon seen so far in Mantoid use is a device informally named the
===Spacecraft===
There have been only two kinds of Mantoid spacecraft seen to date:
*UFO's - these are small
*The Councilor Vessel - the vessel that [[Daria Morgendorffer]] and her friends are currently housed upon. It is docked with [[The Habitat]], and serves as one of perhaps many vessels used by the Mantoids. It is believed to have been a vessel built by the 'Gnomes', but was
The other space vehicle seen to date is [[The Habitat]]. (See full entry.)
==
===The Gnomes===
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The Gnomes are a technologically advanced race (superior to either human or Mantoid development), and are responsible for maintaining the technology of the Mantoid spacecraft. They are also highly advanced in the field of biotechnology, and were the ones who have created many of the drugs and other bio-advancements that the Mantoids use, including the technology for the Mantoid breeding program.
The Gnomes have a deep-seated hatred of the Mantoids
===The Grays===
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Nothing is known of this race, except that they were also captured and enslaved by the Mantoids due to the Mantoids' psi-abilities.
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