In the previous post in this series we discussed the Jötnar species, as it exists in the Ragnarok Conspiracy universe. In this post/chapter we are moving on to the next species, of a sort. Another species inspired by nordic mythology, the Æsir.
Looking at nordic mythology, there is a complicated relationship between the gods (the Æsir and the Vanir) and the Jötnar. In mythology many of the gods have Jötnar as parents and many have offspring with a Jötunn. In the Ragnarok Conspiracy universe the complexity of this relationship is exactly what inspired the details of the Æsir species that as we will see in this post isn’t actually what most would refer to as one species.
When discussing the Æsir we must let go of the traditional notion of species, one evolving cleanly from another with minimal interbreeding between subspecies. The Æsir started out just as three such species:
- The Æs
- The Irr
- The Vall
Three species with different home galaxies coming together forming a political, biological and cultural trinity. When we get to the history of the universe later on in this series, and when we get to the biology sections, the Æsir and their multi-layered symbioticism play a huge role. In this chapter we limit ourselves to the Æsir as (something of a) species.
Before we continue though, we need to look deeper into the three species that together formed the first proto-Æsir and the template for allowing other species the choice of joining the intergalactic Æsir federation.
It is important to note that where the Æs and the Irr in Æsir culture can refer either to the specific original Æs or Irr species, the same designations are also used to denote the symbiotic role of newer species to join the intergalactic Æsir federation.
The Æs
image source pixabay
The original Æs were a technologically highly advanced civilization and the first to discover M-brane folding (a subject we will discuss when we get to technology). While the Æs originated on the planet Helheim, the NGC 1326 galaxy in the Fornax Cluster, they sought out other life, especially intelligent life everywhere that their science and their M-brane folding allowed them to search. Their appearance is humanoid, yet they were a cold blooded species that to the human eye has a reptilian appearance. While smaller than all but the smallest of the Jötnar, the Æs would have been 2.7 up to 3 metres in height. Masters of engineering and mathematics, and the first technologically advanced race on the local M-brane. In modern day Æsir culture there are many species considered Æs species including humanity. Although humanity has formally rejected it’s Æs status.
The Irr
The original Irr species originates from the planet Asgard in the Messier 81 galaxy. Like The Æs the original Irr were humanoid and almost human looking. While not too advanced in most forms of technology, the Irr were masters in genetic engineering and had strong telepathic abilities. At a height of roughly 2.4 metres, the Irr were smaller than Æs but larger than a typical human. Before their first encounter with the Æs, due to the limitations to their genetics driven technology, the Irr had never travelled beyond the moons of their own planet.
The Vall
The original Vall species is not that far removed from the species in current day Æsir. The Vall are not humanoid though some modern Vall by preference choose a humanoid form. We can think of the original Vall as a type of huge hollow sentient space fish or space birds that live in the magnetospheres of planets and neutron stars. While both original Æs the Ir live significantly longer than humans, the Vall live significantly longer than either Æs or Irr. The Vall, prior to their exposure to Æs M-brane folding, had never travelled beyond their home Virgo-A galaxy in the Virgo cluster. The original Vall grew up to roughly 5 metres in length and were roughly shaped like a giant translucent boreal squid. The size and shape of modern day Vall are parameters with a much wider range, ranging from foot long fish shaped up to for example bear shaped Vall the size of a small moon.
Æsir hybrides
While the original Æs and Irr were both separate species and separate roles in the symbiosis of the Æsir trinity, high ranking Æs and Ir in Æsir society are allowed to intermarry and have children that combine the triads of both Æs and Irr.In Ragnarok Conspiracy, the Æsir Thor was such a hybrid, who lived in a state of symbiosis with the Vall named Sleipnir, that was left on earth after the death of Thor 12,000 years ago.
Symbiosis
The symbiosis within the Æsir consists of a melting together of the qualities of the Æs, the Irr and the Vall. The Æs qualities lie in interstellar and intergalactic navigation with the use of M-brane folding. Think of the Æs function in the symbiosis as one close to both pilot and navigator. The Vall part of the symbiosis is that of a proud and highly intelligent living ship. A ship that feels at home mostly navigating the magnetosphere or making multi decade long jumps from star to start, but needs guidance descending to a planet or coordinating M-Brane fold jumps. The Æs and the Vall species were unable to communicate directly, but the Irr were the perfect link or conduit. Like the Irr, the Vall primary mode of communication is telepathic, but unlike the Irr, the Vall are unable to mind-link with an Æs, which they need to. Thus Æs, Irr, and Vall were all needed to complete the symbiosis.
The gifts of the Irr
The Æsir culture centres around three genetic gifts that allow alien races to become part of the Æsir federation.
- The gift of Family
- The gift of Connection
- The gift of Space
All of these three gifts alter the genetics of the candidate species using the Irr genetic technology. While the gifts of Connection and Space are given to single species, the gift of Family is given to all sexually reproducing life forms found in a star system.
The gift of Family biologically enters all the sexually reproducing creatures in a star system into the Æsir gene pool, at least potentially. While species, even sub-species to far apart within the star system still are unable to mutually reproduce, the gift of Family makes it possible that any species from that star system that is sexually compatible with a species from any other star system (given that that species received the gift of Family too) will be able to produce offspring. Both Jötunheimr, the home of the Jötnar and Earth have been gifted the gift of Family by the Æsir.
The gift of Space is a gift of some of the Æs genes, most importantly the genetic material that allows the Æs to conceptualise space as it really exists. If a species, either as a whole, but in many cases on individual basis, joins the intergalactic Æsir federation, this gift allows the bearer of these genes a role in symbiosis. Long before the Jötnar / Æsir wars, the Jötnar were given the gift of Space. During the later days of the war, humanity was given the gift of Space as well.
The last gift is the gift of Connection. Where the gift of Space shares Æs genes with a species, the gift of connection shares some of the powerful telepathic genes of the Irr with the species at hand. One of the species to receive the gift of connection from the Æsir is the Hylobo-Sapiens species; a species we shall discuss in the next chapter.
Candidate species
The Æsir don’t conquer or subdue. They seek out other life. At a given state of development a gift is shared, and individuals may join the Æsir on an individual basis if they embrace Æsir values and culture. A whole species may partition to enter the Æsir too. By partitioning for Æsir membership, a species becomes a candidate species and is assigned a symbiosis peer. A candidate species bearing the Space gift genes is paired up with a candidate species bearing the Connection gift genes. This pairing up is done on both home star systems to allow for a double chance in case of misfortune or natural disaster. After one hundred generations, a time during which the two species are not allowed to structurally interbreed, the two species prepare for the arrival of a pregnant Vall that will act as a gatekeeper for formal entry into the Æsir for both candidate species. Only if full symbiosis is reached between the three species will the Vall give birth, after what, interbreeding between all three species over another hundred generations will conclude the road towards assimilation into the federation.
Full membership of the Æsir
The final step of assimilation into the intergalactic Æsir federation occurs when the new Æs species receives Æs M-brane folding technology. Before that date the candidate species are pretty much confined to a bubble of a few hundred lightyears surrounding their own star system. Given the scarcity of life in the universe, practically a harness little bubble. When this technology however comes available to the new species, the whole of Laniakea and neighbouring M-branes opens up, and the two new species are welcomed as full members of the Æsir.
Guests of Asgard
While individuals from a non-member species may join the Æsir, there are limitations to this. These individuals join the Æsir in the social, cultural and biological sense, and that allows for much. Even their offspring from the second generation will be full members of the Æsir, yet these individuals themselves, as well as first generation offspring are not allowed to participate in symbiotic relationships. These individuals are referred to as Guests of Asgard, and their 1st generation offspring as Honoured Guests of Asgard.
coming up
In the next chapter, the last one in the species series, we will look closer at the Hylobo-Sapiens species, and on other terrestrial species relevant to the lore. After that we will take a deep dive into the Ragnarok Conspiracy astrology and astrophysics world building. We will revisit the Æsir again both in the chapters on the history of the universe and chapters on the hidden history of earth.
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Very cool details. How long did it take for those three species to really reach a symbiosis? I can't imagine that was a quick process... though the benefits are clearly worth whatever struggles they may have had in those early days.
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