J'Ta'ush
J'Ta'ush ambassador; these alien virtual entities can assume a range of sizes
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J'Ta'ushJ'Ta'ush ambassador; these alien virtual entities can assume a range of sizes
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The J'Ta'ush are an unusual group of alifes. They are based on security software created by mysterious xenosophonts. The J'Ta'ush have the distinction of being one of the few known xenosophont virch Clades.
When terragens first arrived at what is now the frontier between terragens space and the Sagittarius Arm they found several systems that were already inhabited. Attempts at communication were met with silence for over 100 years. The first communications to come from the huge habitats consisted of warnings against exploiting the systems' resources. Sporadic communications over the next 37 years finally led to normalized diplomatic relations. Over the course of several decades terragens ambassadors learned that the J'Ta'ush – the beings with whom they had been in contact all this time – had been created for the sole purpose of representing their patron species to the rest of the galaxy. The species' name is derived from their creators' word for "gatekeeper."
J'Ta'ush typically appear as faintly glowing geometric figures – the
exact shapes and colors are purely matters of personal
aesthetics. They extrude tendrils of light when they need to
manipulate virtual objects, and move by levitating. As ambassadors
they prefer a virtual size which matches that of the beings they're
dealing with, but they will often program themselves to appear larger
if intimidation is called for or smaller if there is a need for
ingratiation. No one but the J'Ta'ush and their patrons know
whether or not these simple icons are the "true" shapes of the J'Ta'ush.
As alifes J'Ta'ush have subjective mind speeds much faster than is
possible for unmodified bionts. They also have phenomenal
aptitude for data manipulation, especially as pertains to computerized
security – some terragens theorists believe that J'Ta'ush agents have
broken into a number of nodes on the Known Net. The usual
environments that J'Ta'ush live in are photonic computers. Such
high-speed systems allow for incredibly fast action both virtually and,
on the rare occasions when a J'Ta'ush needs a hardware interface, in
the material world.
The most surprising capability of the J'Ta'ush is their uncanny social
aptitude. They are adept at reading body language and monitoring
physiological cues such as the blink response in human baselines or
nearbaselines; they do this as easily as
baseline humans distinguish between colors. This ability is
optimized for detecting hostility and deceptive intent but doesn't
identify other emotions quite as readily. Sophontologists
theorize that this ability was engineered into the J'Ta'ush as part of
their function – the gatekeepers are sensitive to moods that are likely
to indicate threats and tend to ignore all others. J'Ta'ush are
frighteningly intelligent, and there are reliable reports of
transapient individuals (SI:1 to SI:2).
The primary limitations of the J'Ta'ush are psychological. They
have a strong aversion to using material bodies and will only do so at
great need. They are also secretive by nature; fanatically so in
matters pertaining to their patrons. These qualities are believed
to have been inherited from the patrons, who possess both to an even
greater
degree. J'Ta'ush are also unable to "read" virtual sophonts who
lack the equivalent of body language – many simulations don't code for
such behavior, and
even in those that do the code for it is easily suppressed. For
this reason J'Ta'ush prefer to deal with material sophonts through
J'Ta'ush-made interfaces (which can monitor pulse, respiration and
galvanic skin response in addition to transmitting visual imagery) and
other virches not at all (J'Ta'ush are uncomfortable around beings whom
they cannot "read"). The major exception to this aversion is
sophont simms, whose programming almost always includes kinesic
responses. If J'Ta'ush must deal with someone virtually they
usually insist on inviting the guest into their environments, which do
code for body language and are unusually difficult to break into.
Outsiders know very little about J'Ta'ush culture. Most J'Ta'ush have no desire but to serve their patrons as envoys or majordomos, but a few are chosen to represent their creators' interests in the wider galaxy. These travelers wander the Known Net and other nets, trading for information and goods. J'Ta'ush have few scruples in their trading; they ruthlessly haggle for the most advantageous (to them) terms and don't feel the slightest guilt at selling substandard merchandise if someone is too trusting to check before buying. The only things that they won't sell are their own and their patrons' secrets.
The N'Lu'uj are the patrons of the J'Ta'ush, and that's as much as
anyone knows about them for sure, though some details can be inferred
about them
from observing their tech and from the snippets that the J'Ta'ush have
revealed. The N'Lu'uj possess highly advanced technology (at
least up to the femtotech level) and are capable of megascale
engineering. The ability to construct alifes like the J'Ta'ush
implies the ability to create advanced computronium. Sensor scans
of N'Lu'uj habitats indicate that the interiors are mostly solid
computronium, which suggests that the N'Lu'uj are virch life forms
(possibly descended from xenosophont uploads). Most impressive
are the estimates of N'Lu'uj intelligence; if the few transapient
J'Ta'ush were created in that state the N'Lu'uj themselves, or some of
them, must be at
least SI: 3.
N'Lu'uj culture is a complete mystery except for a few obvious
traits. Their willingness to create an entirely new species to
act as ambassadors to the rest of the galaxy reveals that they are
highly xenophobic without being complete solipsists. The N'Lu'uj
may suffer from sarcophobia in addition
to or instead of
xenophobia. No one aside from the J'Ta'ush knows what the N'Lu'uj
look like or where they came from – and even the J'Ta'ush are likely to
have incomplete if not inaccurate information on these subjects in
light of the N'Lu'uj's secretive nature.
How much the N'Lu'uj know about terragens culture is a matter for
intense debate. The N'Lu'uj had over a century before normalized
relations to study terragens, and their agents have certainly added to
that knowledge since contact. What no outsider knows is what
level of interest the N'Lu'uj have in other sophonts. It's quite
possible, in light of the species' paranoia, that they are only
interested in those aspects of other cultures that are of possible
benefit or that pose potential threats.
