Magog

The Magog are a fearsome parasitic species that features in Andromeda.

History
The origins of the Magog were unknown and neither was the fact as to how their aggressive along with uncooperative nature could produce a species capable of spaceflight as well as advanced technology. This had led to some researchers theorizing that the Magog were not a naturally developed race but rather a bio-engineered weapon designed to replicate itself and destroy anything it came into contact with. But this was only speculation and the true history of the Magog was only known to themselves which meant that their origins were shrouded in mystery. All attempts at uncovering or even tracing the migration path of the Magog back to their homeworld ended in failure. (Website: All Systems University) According to the Magog, they believed that they were created by their own deity which they called the Spirit of the Abyss. At some unknown point, they were responsible for building a massive Worldship whereupon a large number of their species relocated. Following that time, the entire race embarked on their gods mysterious mission to conquer, destroy and pillage with entire galaxies falling before them. (Episode: The Widening Gyre)


 * A comment by Robert Hewitt Wolfe indicated that the Magog were genetically engineered beings with an unknown origin to them.

It was in the year 9766 CY that the next phase in their masters operation came and the Magog attacked in mass against the Systems Commonwealth world of Brandenburg Tor. In the battle, the Magog succeeded in killing around three billion sentient beings with the many scattered survivors returning to the Commonwealth in order to tell their horrific tale of the ruthless parasitic invaders. Over the next fifteen years, the Magog attacked numerous other worlds but these assaults were sporadic at best and no where as devastating as their first assault on Brandenburg Tor. (Website: All Systems Library Timeline) Amongst the worlds they assaulted included the Nietzschean colonies of Dawkinstown, Hawking and Kagame's World. (Episode: Under the Night) During this time, the High Guard dispatched a slipscout which was later followed by the Glorious Heritage class heavy cruiser Andromeda Ascendant on a secret mission to uncover a well travelled slipstream pathway. This journey led the ship all the way to the galaxy known as M86 where the Andromeda Ascendant discovered the Magog Worldship in a galaxy where all the stars had been destroyed. Learning of the magnitude of the threat, the Andromeda Ascendant was attacked and swarmed by Magog with all the crew being killed though the ship managed to escape into slipstream where it was lost for thirteen months before being uncovered by friendly vessels. (Episode: The Widening Gyre)


 * Wolfe clarified that the Magog were designed to destroy any civilization that might pose a threat to the Abyss.

By 9781 CY, the Systems Commonwealth dispatched diplomats in order to negotiate a peace treaty with the Magog in order to end hostilities. This led to the creation of a non-aggression pact that would become known as the Treaty of Antares. Ultimately, this armistice that was negotiated with the race created the Magog Quarantine Zone which served as a boundary which the Magog were not allowed to cross. (Website: All Systems University Timeline) Following their invasions, the Magog controlled large portions of space in both the Andromeda and Milky Way galaxies as a result. However, they were barred from moving any further by the Treaty of Antares which clearly marked the territory of Magog space thus preventing any crossing of the Quarantine Zone. (Website: All Systems University Magog) However, the resultant Nietzschean Uprising against the Commonwealth in CY 9886 severely weakened both sides which led to the Magog emerging from the Quarantine Zone in mass with numbers that had not been previously seen. (Website: All Systems University Timeline) Amongst the first worlds invaded by the Magog was the planet Ne'Holland with the reason for its assault being due to it location on a major slipstream nexus. The planet was later overwhelmed before the Magog began moving to other targets which left Ne'Holland engulfed in anarchy for a century. (Episode: The Prince) The Swarm Fleets attacked both Commonwealth and Nietzschean forces as well as countless worlds leading to the virtual collapse of intergalactic civilization. Their assaults even lead to many raids against the planet Earth by CY 9797 where a human holy man was paralysed and implanted with Magog eggs. Surprisingly, this individual remained conscious during the entire time and spoke to his Magog captors at the time of the incubation period where he spoke of human religions as well as philosophies. His words inspired his victims leading to this group of Magog renouncing violence and founding a religious movement called the People of the Way. Following the man's death by the Magog progeny, the youngborn Magog become the first converts to this religion and attracted many followers from other races including some Magog. (Website: All Systems University Timeline) This Magog thus became known as "the Anointed" and a respected religious leader. (Episode: The Devil Take the Hindmost) On one of these attacks on Earth, the twin cousins of Seamus Harper were infected by Magog eggs leading to his family suffering through the burden of killing Declan and Siobhan rather than allow the eggs to hatch. (Episode: To Loose the Fateful Lightning) The Magog also invaded the planet known as Kingfisher where the Wayist Thaddeus Blake walked amongst the horde and spoke of the Way. This converted the Magog to the peaceful religion within one of the new born Magog being Rev Bem. (Episode: The Devil Take the Hindmost) During the Long Night, no political or military force was strong enough to challenge the Magog attacks except for the worlds of the Than Hegemony and the more powerful Nietzschean Prides which were capable of protecting themselves. Despite the depradations they visited on the many worlds, the Magog seemed content to live largely on their worlds that were located in the collapsed Quarantine Zone. Beyond that, they had not expanded to a great degree beyond transforming several former Commonwealth worlds into breeding grounds for mysterious reasons. These planets Dyhedra, Double Happiness and Zinn's World. (Website: All Systems University Magog) The Dyhedra system was formerly a resort planet filled with hotels that was invaded by the Magog. In addition, another system infested with Magog was included the planet Albadar. Three hundred years after the fall of the Commonwealth, the Dyhedra system was destroyed by the children from Guard Station GS-92196 who deployed a Nova bomb from a slipfighter into the sun. (Epiode: To Loose the Fateful Lightning) On the planet Serendipity, the planet became besieged by slavers who intended to enslave the native Hajira people. Their actions were only haulted when Tiama forcibly impregnated herself with larvae from Rev Bem with the resultant progency maintaining the genetic memory of their Hajira host. These Magog killed the slavers and were about to kill the Hajira Wayists until they were convinced to become their guardians. Thus, was spawned an entire brood of warrior priests that cost the innocency of the Hajira. (Episode: The Devil Take the Hindmost) In the year CY 10087, Captain Dylan Hunt of the Andromeda Ascendant managed to survive the fall of the Systems Commonwealth due to being trapped in the gravitational effects of a black hole for three hundred years. He intended to restore the Commonwealth and during his mission, his vessels artificial intelligence was accidently reverted to an older memory profile which led to the ship being taken to the path of the Magog Worldship. However, the ship was found to be much closer to the Known Worlds than it had previously been during the Magog war. (Episode: Its Hour Come Round at Last) A Nova bomb was deployed at the star powering the Worldship which killed a large number of Magog though failed to destroy the vessel due to the Spirit of the Abyss absorbing the blast. Whilst temporarily crippled, the Abyss began recreating the star of the Worldship and it was expected to complete repairs within two or three years whereupon a month later it would continue on its course for the Known Worlds. This made Captain's Hunts mission to restore the Commonwealth all the more urgent in order to prepare the Known Worlds against the coming threat. (Episode: The Widening Gyre) Afterwards, it was believed that the Magog were secretly providing their advanced technology to planets amongst the Known Worlds in order to set them against each other as a prelude to eventual invasion. This was evidently the case on Machen Alpha where an intact Swarmship along with Point Singularity technology was used by the native species in a conflict against their neighbors. (Episode: All Too Human) One of the worlds invaded by the Magog during this time was Empyrium with a Point Singularity bomb being left behind which later detonated thus slowly destroying the planet. (Episode: What Happens to a Rev Deferred?)

Biology
They were a humanoid species and considered both a frightening as well as formidable adversary faced by the Commonwealth. The Magog are coarse-furred bipeds average 1.5 meters in height. (Website: All Systems University Magog) One of the features evident on their face was a series of distinctive cheek horns present. (Episode: To Loose a Fateful Lightning) Magog possessed razor-sharp claws on their hands that were quite capable of dealing horrifying wounds on organic targets. (Episode: Its Hour Come Round at Last) A Magog has a range of superior senses and include echolation which is used to track prey. (Website: All Systems University Magog) Their sense of smell allowed them to easily detect traces of blood in their environment. (Episode: Under the Night) Their relfexes are swift and have a level of physical strength greater than a Neitzschean. (Website: All Systems University Magog) This allowed them to easily throw or push such opponents far away from them. (Episode: Double Helix) Furthermore, they are incredibly resistant to injury and damage to their forms. (Website: All Systems University Magog) Their physiology included possessing ribs and an unidentified organ which only Magog seemed to hold that was akin to a pancreas. (Episode: To Loose the Fateful Lightning) Their resilience was also noted to the point that some were capable of surviving a shot to the chest from a pistol with them only staggering back before attacking their target. (Episode: The Devil Take the Hindmost) Magog physiology allowed them to easily survive depths in water that would kill either Humans or even Nietzscheans and were able to survive without oxygen for nearly an hour as part of their design to survive in extreme environments. (Episode: All Too Human) They are capable of secreting a paralytic venom from their fangs that was sprayed on a target and left them in an agonising paralysed state for hours. (Episode: An Affirming Flame) This was able to easily disable targets in a fight allowing a Magog to concentrate on another enemy. (Episode: Double Helix) Furthermore, they were capable of spitting out a thick greenish liquid from their mouths that hardened instantly which allowed them to quickly bind prey to the walls. (Episode: The Widening Gyre) Magog tended to possess a high degree of intelligence with their cunning was directed as simply killing other sentient beings and using them as hosts for their offspring. (Website: All Systems University Magog) Typically though all appear to be highly aggressive and hostile to other species though some have the capacity of controlling their instinct and nature. (Episode: To Loose the Fateful Lightning) Genetically, the DNA of a Magog predisposed them to slaughter indiscriminately, eat their victims and lay eggs in the paralysed bodies of innocent beings. (Episode: Double Helix) The Magog are a carnivorous species that require killng their living food in order to begin the digestion process needed to feast on their food. As such, if they did not find live food to kill, their bodies ultimately began to ravage itself and began to digest their own intestines, muscle, bone and nerve endings with the process being quite painful. (Episode: Exist Strategies) Thus comes the second aspect of Magog biology which is their reproductive abilities. All Magog are of a single gender and reproduce by laying eggs in the paralyzed bodies of large organisms which are typically sentient. The "parent" then watches over the host while the young larva take their time to hatch and eat their way through the body which is both a slow and agonizing process that ultimately leads in the hosts death. As part of this lifecycle, the newborn Magog inherit a small amount of DNA from the host. When among various host organisms, a Magog has been known to spray people in order to mark them as potential hosts for the future. (Website: All Systems University Magog) A single Magog was capable of placing up to 13 Magog larvae within a prospective host. (Episode: All Too Human) Once infested, the larvae often wrapped themselves around vital organs and any attempts at removing them led to the larvae harming the host which meant that extraction extremely difficult. Certain individuals were known to barely survive the process whilst others were incapable of having the larvae removed without killing them. It was known that a drug that was a variant of lukaprine was capable of keeping Magog larvae dormant and delayed their maturation. This was only a temporary solution as it would eventually be cease to be effective and meant that unless an alternative means of extraction were found, the prospective host would die a violent death as the larvae ate away through their body. (Episode: The Widening Gyre) Whilst under medication, it was known stress was capable of making the larvae active once more which was why infested hosts needed to stay away from such situations. (Episode: All Too Human) Once infested, the larvaes presence was obvious in the stomach region with movements beneath the skin as the Magog progeny ate away at the hosts body. (Episode: The Devil Take the Hindmost) Those infested by Magog eggs often faced worry from their companions who had the choice of either killing their comrades or letting the eggs hatch which would kill their host whereupon the newborn progeny would voraciously attack any nearby beings. It was believed by some that even dead Magog were capable of infesting living beings but this was considered a myth. (Episode: To Loose the Fateful Lightning) Maturation of the newborn Magog involved the "parent" destroying the remains of the host body allowing the larvae to be freed. They in turn only grew to adulthood depending on the availability of food and were known to mature at an accelerated rate. (Episode: The Devil Take the Hindmost) Ultimately, however, the Magog larvae were able to develop an immunity to such medicines and continued with their maturation process. (Episode: Ouroboros)

A more evolved breed of Magog also exist which seem less feral and more Humanoid in shape as well as characteristics. They are shown to be more intelligent and incredibly fast. They were brought into the timeline by a bridgeway to the future.

Society
At a glance, the Magog seemingly showed the societal characteristics of an aggressive all consuming horde and little else was demonstrated of their culture. They seemingly produced no form of art, music or literature with it not being known how such an aggressive as well as uncooperative species being capable of developing both spaceflight technologies as well as sophisticated equipment. (Website: All Systems University Magog) Amongst certain Magog that lived amongst the Known Worlds and were Wayists, these members of the species believed in the Divine and thought themselves being created by their Supreme Being. They were sure that the Divine had created all aspects of the universe including nightmares as they believed that they themselves were such nightmares. (Episode: Angel Dark, Demon Bright) Little was known of Magog society though amongst the true servants of the Abyss who they considered to be their deity, it was claimed that they possessed their own culture and history. They believed themselves to had been created by the Abyss and were extremely reverent as well as fearful of this being. Those Magog that participated in the invasion of Known Worlds during their initial attacks were described as the first ones who were ignorant of their true heritage for around ten generations by the time of the Long Night. (Episode: Its Hour Come Round at Last) The majority of the Magog race were ruthless and unrepentant over their actions. This was evident in the fact that their massacre of the population of Brandenburg Tor was viewed by their kind as a point of pride due to the brutality of their actions. One of the reasons for this was because of the constant hunger they felt which could only be satiated by attacking living beings for food. (Episode: Harper 2.0) They often communicated with one another on an ultra-sonic level with screech-like sounds that were not understood by those incapable of accessing those frequencies. Constant exposure to these signals by more "peaceful" Magog often made them combat their own instincts and senses. (Episode: Its Hour Come Round at Last) The true Magog that resided on the Worldship were also known to be cannibals and ate their own kind from other broods should the be alone or weak. (Episode: The Widening Gyre) Magog possessed names given to them by their "fathers" which were used to identify themselves which often described their bloodthirsty nature and identified themselves as harbingers of the Abyss. Those Magog that adopted names from other races were considered mere "food names". (Episode: Its Hour Come Round at Last) Prey that were to be used to host their progeny were often fixed onto walls through a binding liquid emitted from their mouths. (Episode: The Widening Gyre) At other times, Magog "parents" were known to watch over the body of an infested being in order to ensure the birth of his "children". (Episode: The Devil Take the Hindmost) The species were known to identify one another through scent. They also did not tolerate signs that indicated weakness which instantly made Magog suspicious and even turn on members of their own kind if they were deemed so. Those Magog equipped with armor were often called Great Ones by the lower ranking Magog which indicated their status in their society and were often offered food due to their positions. (Episode: The Widening Gyre)

Magog seemingly were feral and animalistic which meant that they tended to make use of horde tactics as well as melee combat in order to overwhelm their foes. Despite this being the case, it was known that they at times made use of simple weapons such as spears tore from their surroundings in order to deal with certain goes. Whilst this made them appear as a primitive race, they did make use of advanced technology as well. The more intelligent leader Magog were equipped with armor and utilized rifle weapons that fired lightning blasts capable of knocking out opponents. (Episode: Its Hour Come Round at Last) In addition, a number of them were equipped with kinetic weapons for massed weapon fire. (Episode: The Widening Gyre) In space, the Magog employed the use of small and agile Magog Swarm Ships that were able to puncture through the hull of an enemy vessel and disgorge hordes of Magog into the ship. The largest vessel available to the Magog was their World Ship which served as the heart of their civilization. (Episode: Its Hour Come Round at Last) More smaller capital ships were Magog satellite ships. Amongst their most powerful weapons included Point Singularity Projectors that were able to rip through the hulls of enemy vessels. (Episode: Its Hour Come Round at Last) Magog made use of probes being their smallest recon elements whilst full attack groups were known as an assault horde. (Episode: To Loose the Fateful Lightning) When swarming opponents, Magog often simply devoured their foes but at times they wounded them in order to use them as hosts for their progeny. (Episode: Its Hour Come Round at Last) Standard vessels included Magog assault ships which were seen in battlefield engagements. (Episode: To Loose the Fateful Lightning)