The Arlatans a nomadic race of mollusks that live by invading other worlds and consuming its people and resources.
Biology[]
The eye of an Arlatan
Arlatan bodies are great mounds of thick, black-scaled flesh, like a giant slug that drips slimes from every pore which can be used as an adhesive to crawl on walls or even ceilings. An Arlatan has a grotesque, diamond-shaped jaw containing three rows of razor-like teeth. There are a series of lumps across the top of the head like stump antenna. And three large illuminated red eyes. Having grown accustomed to a lifestyle of technology handling their needs, it has atrophied the use of the Arlatans arms, causing them to lose dexterity, which they hide within their flesh. Arlatans appear to possess psychic abilities to project fear to cause non-Arlatans to become debilitated.
History[]
Sometime in the 21st century the Arlatans invaded Earth, after having studied it for some time. Their invasion proceeded to first destroy all orbiting satellites, moving all their vessels in cloaked orbit around the planet. Their fleet proceeded to cut off all communication networks, isolating all the human communities. Leeches were down to harvest the populations to feed the Arlatans who soon discovered humans to be delicious and their new favorite meat. Some human nation fought back, destroying a few Leeches, though discovered that they were automated and caused the deaths of many humans.
Eventually a bargain was struck with the human governments, composed of the entitled and privileged, in that Earth would lay down its weapons, admitting that they had not feasible way to defeat the aliens. In return for their capitulation, the Arlatans would recognize specific safe zones which their Leeches would ignore and avoid. Furthermore pendants were given to family members and collaborators to exempt them from being harvested.
For three years, unknown to the public, the governments of Earth allowed the masses to be culled and raided. A scientist in the United Kingdom though was researching a weapon to effectively fight the aliens, using the technology that was gleamed from the Leeches, though his research was ordered to be ceased, after the deal with the aliens was made. The said technological weapon were a bunch of blue pills that could turn a human into a living bomb once ingested.
The raids on Earth continued unopposed and the larders of the Prison Ships became filled with not just captives but human servants forced under the rule of the aliens. By happenchance, a human girl named Lola, daughter of the human scientist, had been caught by a Leech after trying to rescue her friend.
While held captive on a Prison Ship, she befriended an alien named Torrin, who grew attracted to her. Unfortunately his affection for her was caught on by the other human captives, having reverted to savagery beat Lola out of anger. Lola was taken out of the cage to be treated by Torrin, but later used the chance to knock him unconscious in order to find her father who had previously been taken. To her horror she found him dead and frozen in Cold Storage. Torrin later fetched Lola and was about to bring her back to her cage, until his superior having noted her rebellious attitude decided to reassign her to Room Zero for the entertainment of the Arlatans.
Just before she was going to perform in front of the aliens, Torrin was caught visiting Lola and was stripped of his worker status and made a part of the spectacle in Room Zero of the Mothership. Before a laughing crowd of Arlatans Lola was made to fight two other human women protecting a tied Torrin. Lola managed to defeat the two and Torrin using his unique abilities burned through his ropes, to the surprise of the Arlatans, who never knew his species could do so. The Arlatans soon turned to devouring the human gladiators, and were about to consume Lola and Torrin, when the human informed the alien masses that she had eaten her father's pill and was now a bomb. She lied to the aliens that Earth had developed the weapons and would soon be using them against the Arlatans
The Arlatans believed her, causing panic for the aliens to evacuate the ship, giving Lola and Torrin time to escape. They were aided by Patrick, Lola's best friend who had been assigned as a Worker on a Control Ship, together they formulated a plan to free one of the Prisons Ships and bring it back down to Earth, fooling the computers in that the ship was due for a cool down in the planet's waters. Due to nothing happening to Lola after she ingested the pill, it was thought that the weapon was a dud. By then the aliens suspected that they were made fools, informed the human leaders that their deal was rescinded all due to Lola, who was made public enemy number one on Earth.
However Patrick who stayed behind on the Arlatan fleet used one of the blue pills, which he ingested correctly, detonated himself, destroying a ship. The destruction of one of their vessels, sent terror throughout the Arlatans who then proceed to have their entire fleet depart Earth's orbit, ending their invasion.
Culture[]
Arlatans appears to be a race without a world, instead maintain a nomadic culture composed of a fleet of ships composed of at least four types of vessels:
- Leeches or Sweepers: Automated ships the size of jumbo jets that raid the surface of planets, sucking any organic creature into its holds, separating intelligent and non-intelligent life. They resemble flying beetles, composed of a black outer shell, that is curved and hard, with a center that contains a large yellow light glowing like an eye. Leeches make up the majority of the fleet, numbering in thousands and surround a target world like Saturn's rings.
- Prison Ships: Huge black barrel-like stations with glass tubes sealed within. They serve the purpose of docking Leeches and also holding their captives to be held.
- Control Ships: Numbering three, these are smaller than the Mother Ship, black oval-shaped and hover just above the bigger vessel. They form an arch over the dome of the Mother Ship. Below each one, set into the main silver dome is an indent for smaller vessels to enter. They administrate control on shuttles and the Prison Ships.
- Mother Ship: A massive silver dome vessel where the Queens and chief Arlatans dwell.
The Arlatans are a highly evolved species with incredible technology at their disposal. Lacking a homeworld, the species travels the stars seeking planets rich in life, intelligent species which they regard as food. Though not out of malice, but merely as a means of survival. Arlatans have extremely big appetites and are always in a need for a constant supply of meat, while traveling to other worlds.
Worlds which they find to possess biological life are studied, in order to find means to render the planet helpless and ripe for the taking. Over the course of many years the Arlatans have pillaged and murdered many species, and planets. Those that they spared are added to their workforce of workers in the fleet, which includes Malion, Kal, humans and even one other species.
When the Arlatans Leeches go down to a planet, they separate biological life that is non-intelligent and intelligent. For the former most animal lifeforms end up being processed into meat for the kitchens, to feed their slaves and works on Prisoner Ships. The food made in the kitchens mostly is composed of brown gloop which contains an amalgamation of animal meat, crackling bulgeweed, powdered bone, salted cream, growth syrup and ground insects.
For the captives, the workers on the Prison Ships, separate specimens who have skills and those that don't using brain scans while at the same time injecting their captives with programs to understand the same language. Those are meet the requirements are added into the workforce and injected with more information to operate the technology. Due to the reliance on technology the Arlatans never question it or its failure. Their assured dominance of their thralls make it so that the thought of workers rebelling is unheard of.
For the unlucky ones that are selected as cattle, they are sent into the pens in the Prison Ships, divided in six different colored cages based on their size. Tiny children go in white, then on to yellow, red, blue, orange, and green. Green categorized for overweight or the obese. Each captive is given a bowl and advances into the next cage with the more weight they gain, and reflected on the colored bands that they wear. Captives are fed gloop which contains an addictive additive that compels them to eat and grow fat for consumption. Those that do not consume the appropriate amount of food, are either eliminated or scrutinized on medical checkups. Sharing food among captives is strongly prohibited and risks punishment. Once the captives reach the green cage, they are taken out to be either eaten by the Arlatans controlling the Prison Ships, or placed in Cold Storage for future consumption.
Arlatans though prefer fresh meat, and find brunt meat to be distasteful. Due to their extreme appetites the Prisoner Ships don't have just slaughterhouses but breeding farms, where thousands of infants are produced on an assembly line. Though to the Arlatans battery farming is considered a last resort as they prefer to get their food straight from the planet, free range if possible.
And although ravenous creatures, they are said to have a taste for the finer things, such as entertainment and culinary arts. Each Prisoner Ship operates a facility called Room Zero, a place where captives are selected to be groomed to be eaten. Similar to how humans create scrumptious and fancy dining platters, beings in Room Zero are prepared to give the Arlatans something to not only eat but visually admire. Participants in Room Zero are made to wear clothes that are impregnated with Arlatan favorite spices and brought to a show before a crowd of the aliens on auspicious occasions such as when a Queen gives birth.
The show is partly a pageant and feast, as Arlatans not only select who to devour but make the participants fight each other to the death to their amusement. The victor usually, but not always is granted a stay from being eaten, while the dead are consumed.
Source[]
- Feed by M. J. Howes