Taosians

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An alien race flees their home planet of Taos and arrives on Earth before the dawn of human civilization. Respecting all life and refusing to become what they escaped from, the people of Taos (Et Lan Taos) hid within the ocean, avoiding man and avoiding interfering with their development. They are a logical and science focused society of peace, equality, and intellectual advancement.

History

Refugees

Thousands of years ago, the people of Taos were a prosperous society, at least until their solar system was invaded by a interstellar battalion. The invaders never revealed themselves and pushed the Taosian people from their outposts throughout their system back to their planet. The siege last decades as one of the main strengths of the Taosians is their shield technology. Sealing their planet away in an enormous planetary barrier, the invaders lay in waiting to resume their bombardment.

One other technological advancement of the Taosian people is their genetic sciences. Their main weapons being genetically engineered creatures with various abilities from massive strength to pyro-kinesis to mind control. One of these creatures, a raging hulk of physical destruction was accidentally released. Its violent path of chaos resulted in the damaging of one of the planet's shielding pylons. This opened a hole in the barrier protecting the planet and the invaders passed through.

A small convoy of Taosian ships were able to escape and eventually made their way to planet that would later be named Earth. Upon arriving on this planet, the Taosians discovered a tribal species spreading across the world. This species had yet to advance to a point of civilization, not yet even creating a city-state, let alone cities.

Pre-History

Debates within the Taosian society went on for many solar revolutions of this planet, later to be called Earth years or simply years. Do the Taosians compassionately enslave the local inhabitants, using them as labor until they can be taught civilization or do they hide away until these primitives advance to a certain scientific level. Latter was eventually chosen as it best maintained the ethics and morals of their species, while the former would make them invaders.

As the human species advanced over the next several thousand years, from tribes to cities, from cities to city-states and eventually nations, the Taosian people moved farther and farther away, always staying on the fringe of human society. Although they still continued their scientific pursuits, as Taosian curiosity was known throughout their sector of their galactic arm, for being the strongest any would find.

They would study the humans similarly to a sociologist living with tribal people within a rain forest, researching their culture while not tampering with it. The Taosians would, in their language, call themselves "Et Lan Taos", which translates to "the People of Taos".

It would only be a matter of time until the Taosians realized that the primitive species were worshiping them as gods. Their city, on the fringe of human explored territory, became the destination for a holy trek. The Taosians had no choice at this point, but to live where the human population can't follow; deep below the ocean's surface.

And so, after generations and the ever evolving nature of linguistics, the humans still talk of this great city. From Et-Lan-Taos would come At-Lan-Tis, the great city that sank into the ocean.

Modern Era

With the fable of Atlantis being nothing more than a fable to the Earthlings, the Taosians lived in peace and seclusion all through human history. Rarely venturing out and always making sure they are never detected.

The people of Taos live in ocean floor, in large holes or cylinders that go straight down into the rock below. Along the outer edges are homes, storefronts and research labs. Since they exist within a material that allows them to move in all three dimensions, their people technically stay below the rocky surface under the ocean. This has allowed them to remain undetected by modern human scans of the ocean with technological satellites circling the planet's orbit.

Societal Structure

The Taosian society is structured around equality, liberty and scientific advancement.

Governmental

The highest law of the Taosian people is their Constitution of Rights. This lays out the fundamental liberties of not just all Taosians, but of all sentient lifeforms, a notion still not reached by the surface world, whom only enforce rights based on association and membership.

After the Constitution of Rights, their highest governmental body is the Council of Nine. These nine represent the main branches of society. Three council members are from the Ministry of Energy & Defense, three are from the Ministry of Biological Study, and three are from Ministry of Culture. Each council member is elected by popular vote and each electoral candidate originates from the department to which their position covers.

While the Ministry of Energy & Defense and Biological Study are solely academic bodies, the Ministry of Culture houses all lower levels of government within the Taosian societal structure.

The Taosians are a highly democratic society, with most decisions being left to popular vote. The function of the nine is to act as a judicial branch of government.

In rare instances that require more decisive decision making, the council of nine will select one member of each branch to serve on an emergency tribunal. This function has primarily been used during times of war or conflict.

The Three Pillars of Society

Ministry of Energy & Defense

The Ministry of Energy & Defense is one of the Taosian's largest bodies. Energy and Defense refers to all scientific pursuits regarding the Taosians energy production and their shielding technology. Just as on Taos any scientific fields of study and development are placed under this branch of society. This can include quantum physics, astronomy, cosmology, non-organic chemistry, theoretical physics.

Ministry of Biological Study

The Ministry of Biological Study is one of the Taosian's largest bodies. Biological Study covers the physical study of lifeforms, as well as their technological application. This department is in charge of agriculture, medicine and sociological studies and applications.

Ministry of Culture

The Ministry of Culture is the largest of the three Taosian largest bodies. It encompasses local governmental positions (the equivalent of governors and district politicians), political science, and the study of law itself. It also includes economic study and application, the arts and architecture.

Attributes & Abilities

The main difference between Earthlings and Taosians genetic structure is the amount of helix strands their DNA contain. Earthlings have a double Helix DNA structure while the Taosians have a Quadruple Helix structure. This allows for more physical diversity and change from one Taosian to the next, compared to the differences between one Human to the next.

Taosian Transcription Factor: A Marvel of Biology

The Taosians have the ability to acrivate and shut down portions of their DNA. This ability is known as biokinesis, and it is responsible for the Taosian's adaptive nature.

The biokinetic ability functions by unique protein activators being generated within the brain, that almost instantly moves through the body and alters the gene activity of the cell's DNA in the regions of change. These alterations include:

• Breathing Medium - One of the main protein activators changes the inner lining of the lungs, allowing the processing of oxygen in water or in air/vapor.

• Bone Density - Taosians can shift their bone density, hollowing their bones and becoming lighter and more agile. However this mutation requires a secondary change to occur and is always found with another protein. This is because the mass within the bones must go somewhere.

• Flight - One of the mutations that can occur with bone density is flight. The excess mass removed from the Taosian's bones is processed and used to alter their upper limbs, changing their arms to wings. With wings and hollowed bones, the Taosians can fly through the air with ease.

• Size Shift - Another use of bone density's extra mass is to metabolize it to lengthen bones, muscles and the rest of their body to increase their overall size.

• Armor Shell - Material from within the body can be transfered outside to form an armored shell, similiar to crustaceans.

• Claws - Taosian's normally don't have nails, but when needed they can shift material from webbing between feet and hands, or bones to nails, and even large talons.

• Skin Structure - The Taosian skin structure changes depending on the situation. From scales to shark, from fur to bare oiled flesh. Taosians can adapt to the skin for cold, skin for land travel, skin for water and for deep sea.

• Bioluminesence - The ability to glow to see in the dark or to signal for help when lost.

Technology

The Taosians were renown throughout their sector of the galaxy and beyond, for their energy and genetic manipulation technologies.

Shielding

Taosians shielding was known as the strongest and most energy efficient to have ever existed. This persists to this day, thousands of years after they were believed to have been destroyed.

Relics of their shielding technology still exist and are of one of the most expensive available. No other species in this galaxy has been able to match Taosians shielding in both strength and low power consumption.

There are still groups of people searching old Taosians territory, in hopes of finding an undiscovered lab and become wealthy beyond imagination.

Genetic

Unlike the shielding technology that can still be used, but not reproduced, the Taosians technology around genetics has taught the galaxy much. It did not take long for Taosians gene scanners to be reverse-enginnered and spread throughout their galactic arm.

While many of the secrets of genetic manipulation are gone, much of the technology surrounding their skills remain and have helped to accelerated the advancement of many space faring species and organizations, from Planetary Federations to Territorial Confederacies, from Star Empires to Galactic Conglomerates. Unfortunately, it has also lead to many ills, as the technology has been used by some to genetically purify their species, helping them to use tidy minute differences that were before undetectable. It was also used to create the deadly artificial Blare virus and Co-Lar pathogen.

Notable Taosians

Obedience

Designed to be the final weapon against the unknown battalion of invaders. Obedience is a genetically engineered Taosians life form with the power to betray everything the Taosians hold prescious, individuality and free thought. This final weapon would have been used to take control of the all the invader's minds. Much debate occurred over whether such a betrayal of their fundamentals should occur, as well as what to do with the invaders after taken control of. Some wanted to instruct them to fly themselves into their star, while others wanted to enslave them, using them to rebuild all they had destroyed. They were never able to put it to a vote as the battalion took advantage of an accident and made it through the Taosians planetary shield.

Obedience was taken to Earth and remained in suspended animation on a Taosians vessel, on the ocean floor. That is, until the corporation CyCorp found him and attempted to learn all they could from this alien living weapon. A hero unwittingly freed Obedience from his corporate bonds, believing him to be a kidnapped psychic. This lead Obedience on a rampage until the Justice-Knights and CyCorp were able to recontain him.

Obedience would be moved to a secret CyCoro underwater lab, where he would yet again escape. This time, returning to his people and conquering them to his psychic will.

Mez Fermi'z (Mez Merman)

Mez was a Taosians scientist within the Ministry of Biology. After the invasion by the unknown battalion, he volunteered for an experiment. His genetics and his mind would be paired with a biological super weapon, known as Obedience. The Taosians feared Obedience's power and created a fail-safe in Mez. Mez would be completely immune from Obedience's psychic control and be able to stop him, should the creature ever turn against his own people. Side effects included several psychic powers, such as telekinesis and mental communication, but by design prevents any mind control abilities.

He was placed in suspended animation along side Obedience and other genetic weapons for millennia, until CyCorp discovered him and the rest of the "armory". Separated and brought to a hidden lab, it was here he called out for help. It was nearby heroes who responded to his psychic cry and after working together to rescue him, become the hero group the Justice-Knights. Mez acted as a founding member until venturing off to find his people's hidden location.

Author Notes

If the JK were to exist separate from the COH world, many things would be added. Besides the city in which the Knights resid, the Taosians would be responsible for the modern epidemic of mutants/metahumans/ homo-superior. This will be explained here but will not be canon until (if ever) the characters are taken to their own universe separate from CoH or my fellow CCC members whom share the CoH universe with the JK wish to adopt it.

Evolution Gene

While normally, high doses of radiation would kill a lifeform, in the world of superheroes, this often gives them powers. To explain this suspension of logical scientific thought, humans have a dormant gene which the radiation activities. The original of this gene has a direct connection to the Taosians.

During the debate of whether to compassionately enslave the tribal wandering inhabitants of this planet or leave them be, another option arose. Lead by a top scientist within the Ministry of Biology, Eegon Dew'et proposed genetically manipulating the inhabitants so they can advance at an accelerated rate. Ultimately declined by both the Council of Nine and popular vote, Eegon disobeyed and added an evolution gene in the natives. In a matter of a few generations the inhabitants formed cities and city-states.

Periodically throughout history, the gene would become unstable and result in super powered individuals coming forth. Now in the modern era this is occurring again as many superheroes and villains are rising with extraordinary abilities.