Inyx

Starport	A	Excellent: Starship Construction, Overhaul, Refined fuel
Size	6	Medium (9,600 km, 0.60g - 0.81g)
Atmosphere	6	Standard
Hydrographics	9	Wet World 90%
Population	9	High (7 billion)
Government	2	Participating Democracy
Law	A	Extreme Law (no weapons)
Tech Level	C	Average Stellar (robots)

Primary Star

G7 V

Atmosphere

Standard

Off-world presence

Yes

Zoetic individuals

Yes

Source

Reference

Alien Races 2 135-142.

Canon

Yes

Also see

The Inyx of Matrix (Ahriman ????) are a race of aquatic, parasitic ergivore known for their aptitude for trade and their curious biology. They are a Minor Non-Human Race and technologically advanced sophonts.

Physiology & Environment (Ecology)[edit]

An Inyx resembles a collection of six soap bubbles, joined to form a roughly spherical shape, with one bubble in the center and the others spaced around it. Each bubble is three feet across, and the whole about eight feet wide. Give every surrounding bubble a single opalescent flagellitic tentacle, six feet long, four inches wide at the base, and tapering to a finger's breadth at the tip. The entire object gives off a soft phosphorescent glow. Underwater or in zero gravity, it swims like an octopus, moving with a boneless undulating grace.

Although they are carbon-based life forms utilizing traditional hydrogen-oxygen-carbon biochemistry, the Inyx push the edge of "life as Humans know it." Rather than being carnivores or herbivores, they are ergovores, living storage batteries who use their tentacles to convert electricity directly into the energy needed by their bodies. Even their brains and nervous systems have more in common (by analogy) with a fiber-optic computer than with what Humans expect of "life."

Inyx skin contains many tactile receptors, and is highly sensitive. Much like cats, Inyx enjoy being stroked gently. Along with touch, their other major form of perception is vibrational - their entire skin surface acts as a receptor. They are sensitive enough to notice minute changes in air or water pressure, allowing an Inyx to detect moving objects within 100 yards underwater and 20 yards in a standard atmosphere. They also have good hearing in the same audio ranges as a Human.

History & Background (Dossier)[edit]

Their ancestral hosts were whale-sized sea creatures who could generate electrical currents in the same manner as electric eels. The Inyx attached themselves to their hosts' bodies, feeding off this bio-electricity. To prevent their giant hosts taking offense, the proto-Inyx always trickled back a bit of the electric current they stole, in carefully modulated voltages designed to stimulate the pleasure centers of their hosts' brains, addicting them to the Inyx's presence.

Ecological turmoil resulting from a comet impact on their homeworld led to the rise of predators that found the hosts of the proto-Inyx especially tasty. To protect their hosts, the Inyx had to become more intelligent and cooperative. They developed the rudiments of sentient behavior, took their first steps out on land, developed fire and industry, and created a civilization that eventually reached into space.

Culture & Society[edit]

Inyx are known for their cultural adaptability, market savvy, and lack of territorial ambition.

Language & Letters (Communication)[edit]

Inyx communicate by touching tentacles, sending complex electrical signals into each others bodies. They can exchange information, including what amounts to digital graphics, at about 10 times the speed a Human can talk.

Calendar & Timekeeping[edit]

Very little is known about how the Inyx form a calendar or mark the passing of time although it is assumed that the Inyx calendar is based upon the planetary rotation of their homeworld, Matrix (Ahriman ????).

Technology & Trade[edit]

The Inyx did not discover jump drive, but their slower-than-light (STL) ships reached nearby stars, aided by the species' natural longevity and low life-support requirements. Sometime during the Long Night, they contacted both Aslan and Solomani exploration missions; by carefully playing both sides against one another, they secured a place in the middle, establishing alliances with several Human client states and Aslan Clans rimward of the Hierate.

Today, the Inyx represent a potent economic force on the Rimward edge of known space. Their cultural adaptability, market savvy, and lack of territorial ambition help them secure corporate footholds on hundreds of Human, Aslan, and other worlds.

Military & Intelligence[edit]

Very little is known about the Inyx military. Working through others indirectly seems to be preferred to direct conflict. Mercenaries would be very provocative by their standards.

Astrography[edit]

This race is primarily located in the following areas:

Homeworld[edit]

The homeworld of this race is:

Matrix (Ahriman XXXX)

World Listing: 1105[edit]

Significant communities of this race are known to exist within the following systems and worlds:

1 of 1 World articles in Inyx

Matrix •

startbacknext(1 listed)

References & Contributors (Sources)[edit]

This list of sources was used by the Traveller Wiki Editorial Team and individual contributors to compose this article. Copyrighted material is used under license from Far Future Enterprises or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

Andy Slack, David Thomas, David L. Pulver. Alien Races 2 (Steve Jackson Games, 1999), 135-142.
Compiler: Lord (Marquis) and Master of Sophontology Maksim-Smelchak of the Ministry of Science