The Deux

[Supplement Four]

I spent some time playing around with my dog last night, and I can only guess that's why I had this idea in a dream.

This is nothing but the barest of bones for an idea of a new alient race. And, maybe, this race is more at home in the Star Trek universe than it is in the universe of Traveller--you'll see why I say that when you read the description.

So, I woke up today with this idea of an alien in my head. I pictured some lower-looking animal (patterned after the Terran dog, but only in silhouette). Paired with it is a humanoid.

Contact with The Deux finds this culture where its humanoids are extremely attached to this particular pet--so much so that it's a capital crime to harm one of the dog-analogues.

Nothing real special about that, eh?

Well, here's the secret. The dog-analogues are the real sentient aliens. The humanoids are just constructs--clones that are controlled by the dog-analogues to speak, use their hands, and interact with the extra-terrestials.

The dog-analogues are highly psionic. They even have the ability to possess humans and other species for a limited time.

But, they've learned that the kind of control they have is scary to outsiders. In order to keep contact with worlds outside of their own, these dog-analogues have created the clones to act as their puppets--not only to do their physical bidding, but also to make offworlders feel more comfortable. For, the other choice is to close their worldly border and hope no others come calling.

The dog-analogues have perpetuated the myth that the clones are the real sentients of their homeworld, and they, themselves, are trusted pets--a pet culture so ingrained in the population that every member of the race has one.

It's the race's dirty secret.

Without the clones, The Deux have no starships--no way to use tools physically. Yes, some of them have telekineses and other powers of the mind. But, it's not enough for a star-spanning civilization.

All outsiders think of The Deux as these humanoids who have a strange, culturally strong, bond with these animals. No one outside the world knows that the animals are the real masters--the humanoids, just tools that are psionically controlled.

 

[Vladika]

Got to say I love it! Consider the idea STOLEN

Likewise RULE 68A

 

[Rigel Stardin]

Oh, make them cute little fur balls with big eyes and a nice pink nose. Plus they purr.

...No one would ever know...

 

[Supplement Four]

Yeah, I've been wondering what they should look like. Jury is still out.

The Deux could be known for the Pairing. Maybe it happens at a certain age--probably young. The humanoid and the dog-analogue grow together, more than brothers, more than best friends....

At least, that's what it looks like to outsiders (with the outsiders not knowing that it's really the dog-analogues controlling the clones).



And, are they really clones? I don't think they can operate independently. They're some sort of biotech that, when psionically controlled by the dog-analogues, everyone thinks is a sentient and his very smart companion/pet.

The dog-analogues could be sought after, off-world, because offworlders believe them to be lower life forms, but very special lower life forms.

Like a human and a master-trained dog.

I'm sure the dog-analogues do things to enhance this reputation. For example, if the dog-analogue is to do something itself, it would psionically control the clone to act as if it were giving an order to the dog-analogue, like a human giving his trained dog a command.



No telling what the dog-analogues need from off-world to manufacture these clones. (Maybe I'll call them "contrivances" instead of "clones".)

Can you imagine discovering a shipment of...humanoid body parts?

Maybe this is why the The Deux have to keep contact with the worlds outside--they need the body parts to construct the contrivances.

It's a vicious circle.




Becoming the dominant species on the world happened as the dog-analogues matured their psionic abilities. They were able to control--possess--enemies for a short time.

But, they didn't evolve much from their animal state. No hands or manipulative appendages. For ages, they controled monkey-analogues to build their cities, eventually using machines, then even jump drive.

Sure, they can fight--as dogs do. But, their historical warriors are the more akin to robot and operator rather than a single centurion, battleing it out with sword in hand.



The culture of The Deux must be pack-like. Outsiders think this is do to the humanoid reverence for their companions--but, in reality, it's a natural out-growth of the dog-analogue psychology.



Offworld, The Deux must be extremely good spies, as a dog-analogue is seen as just another lower life form. Imagine what it hears.

But, it must be careful. People know when they've been possessed. They have memories. And, i don't imagine range is that long at all.





Can you imagine finding a contrivance that you thought was a humanoid that is not controlled by a dog-analogue? It breathes. It's heart pumps. It's warm from blood flow. But, it's just a thoughtless hulk. Probably looks like a human in a coma with its eyes open. Nobody home. No reaction.

If you stab it or shoot it, it bleeds, but there is no reaction at all. No sound. No facial change. No nothing.

All the "life" like signs are provided by the control of the dog-analogue.

A contrivance that is not psionically possessed is just a hulk. A living piece of tissue that has absolutely no brain activity.

 

[Supplement Four]

For ease of reference, I'll call the dog-analogues "The Deux", and I'll call their psionically controlled clone-husks "Contrivances".

Of course, all off-worlders think of the race in different terms--so that can get confusing. People will think of the Contrivances as "The Deux" and the dog-analogues as something else.

Hmmm...maybe I need a name for the dog-analogues, where, together with the Contrivances, the two of them are considered "The Deux".

 

[aramis]

Very close to an alien in one of the Terran Trade Authority manuals.

And another in a novel I once read. (It may have been a Trek novel...)

 

[Supplement Four]

Very close to an alien in one of the Terran Trade Authority manuals.

And another in a novel I once read. (It may have been a Trek novel...)

I'm sure there's some sci-fi out there with the idea. I've never read anything specifically like this. Maybe, I guess, the cats in the Horseclans novels, except they don't control the humans.

In Trek, I haven't seen too many symbiotic relationships. I guess the Trill from DS9 qualify.

But, the Deux really aren't symbiots. They're a devious race of puppet masters.

 

[Supplement Four]

I guess another influence, believe it or not, was the Son of Sam. I don't know much about that killer, but I remember seeing something when I was quite young about the killer (forgot his name) saying that his dog was speaking to him, making him do the kills, or some such or other.

That chilled me back then, and I've kept it with me.

Maybe a part of that came out in my dream I mentioned in the OP, all these years later.

 

[McPerth]

And then a player falls in love with a conrivance of the opposite sex...:devil:

 

[Supplement Four]

And then a player falls in love with a conrivance of the opposite sex...:devil:

Interesting...

I like.

But, this would definitely take duplicitous action from The Deux controlling the Contrivance....

He'd have to be motivated.

 

[tancred]

Soap Opera In Space

And then a player falls in love with a conrivance of the opposite sex...:devil:

Oh, the plot complications that would allow.
Wish I'd thought of that one.

My players will hate you both.

 

[Supplement Four]

The dog-analogues are referred to as Andrils.

Andrils are the pre-sentient beings in the dog-analogue evolutionary chain. The dog-analogues use the name for off-worlders (because they've got to be called something) and it is just another step to hide their sentience.

Andrils may be sought after by some off-worlders, but Andrils are not friendly beasts. They don't wag their tails and welcome their fur being stroked as a regular dog would. They growl.

Again, it's to keep their sentience a secret by keeping distance from other beings.



Contrivances are seen as an intelligent race, and they are, without fail, always seen with their "paired"--that is, they are always seen with an Andril.

"The Deux" is a Solomani term used to describe the tandem race, because the two are always seen together.



It's amazing how still an Andril will sit on it haunches behind its master. It will sit there, masterfully behaved, until its master calls it. That's how trained these Andril are.

That's the off-worlder version.

What's really going on is the Andril is just sitting there psionically controlling its Contrivance.

 

[McPerth]

And what happens to the conrivance should the Andril die?

I ask because it could be a risk to their Masquerade (imagine one Andril dying due to illness or accident while people is near...).

 

[Supplement Four]

And what happens to the conrivance should the Andril die?

It would just go dead--a living husk with no mind.[/quote]

I ask because it could be a risk to their Masquerade (imagine one Andril dying due to illness or accident while people is near...).

It sounds like a huge risk.

I'm guessing the The Deux portray themselves as fairly xenophobic. They probably stick to themselves and don't venture far from their homeworld.

Of course, any trip to anywhere off-world would be a danger.

Maybe they've got some cultural directive that, when in doubt, make it look like the Contrivance is killed, either by suicide or by what looks to be humanoid error.

Then, the Andril can just act like a dog, running off when he can, using his psionic ability to possess creatures, to get himself back home.

"I once saw an Andril in stasis, being shipped to The Deux homeworld...."





I think, if ever an offworlder found a way to go deep into The Deux homeworld (offworlders are probably limited to the starport only), he would probably see some strange sights....

"Is that Andril...smoking a cigarette? And, where is his master?"

I've got this picture in my head of Andril that shave themselves completely hairless and have their bodies tattooed. He uses air conditioning and coverings to keep from getting sunburnt.




Besides their psionics, which has got to be their primary form of communication, I think there's a rudimentary vocal language they use--a type of canine-thieves'-cant.

Off world scientist want to get their hands on an Andril to test them becaus they think the Andril are highly intelligent lower life forms, like dolphins or chimps.




True to other descriptions of Traveller aliens, Andril do not have a cultural need for clothes. They see nothing wrong with seeing others nude.

But, I don't think that they go around sniffing each others' butts.

These are intelligent beings. Strange. Different. And, alien.

 

[Supplement Four]

What if....

Contrivances are expensive. They've got to be. They'd be pushing TL 16 in the OTU. The height of biological science.

Or, would they be? We're able to clone now, in the real world, at TL 9-A.





But...what if...

Many Andril use....real humanoids and turn them into dead-head contrivances. They void the thinking centers of a humanoid's brain then possess what's left psionically.

Now, we've just added a nefarious side to these aliens.

People are kidnapped from offworld, shot up with drugs, shipped cheaply to The Deux homeworld where they are treated to permanent brain damage and the rest of their life as a slave, possessed by an Andril to do its bidding?

 

[MCEvans]

Two thoughts came to me while reading:
One - the Trill from DS9
Two - McCaffrie's Dragon Rider's series

I like the idea of a very strong symbiotic relationship

If the Andril dies the human will go into a fugue state until they can get special counseling on there home world

If the human dies the Andril need to be put in cold sleep ASAP and sent to home world or will commit suicide within 48-72 hrs.

On the home world after counseling, survivors can attempt to rematch. If no rematch happens within 1 year then ...

 

[Rigel Stardin]

You were talking about a darker side for the Andril, what about this...

..."Oh my dear, Andril's are the newest thing at Court." One Countess remarks to another. "Everyone seems to be getting one. Why just last week the Emperor got one..."