Sabmiqys

X160056-H Ni R504 Allegiance: Imperial interdicted

The planet now known as Sabmiqys (Antares/Gimgir-2117)first came into human awareness in -5889, when a Vilani scout from the Ziru Sirka, while conducting a flyby of the planet as a preliminary to contact of a suspected intelligent race, reported several internal explosions in his scout ship. These were followed by the destruction of the ship in a catastrophic explosion. The entire incident was reported as an unfortunate accident, as there was no evidence and no reason to assume that it was caused by hostile action (the Vilani lacked knowledge of meson weapons). Repeated attempts at contact resulted in the same mysterious destruction of the ship, and the Vilani scouts declared the world to be a navigational hazard, and gave it the name "Gashukubi", or "Certain Death".

Centuries later, the Vilani contacted and went to war with other humans, on the other end of the Imperium - the Interstellar Wars against Terra. Near the end of those wars, the Terrans were able to mount shipboard meson guns, and the Vilani again had experience with "Gashukubi" - possibly enough to affect their morale and make it that much easier for the Terrans to achieve victory.

After the fall of the Vilani Imperium and the founding of the Rule of Man, the Vilani quickly realized that the destruction of the scouts in the Gashukubi system was probably caused by meson fire - thus proving that there was a technologically advanced race on the planet, and one which had superior weapons technology to that of the Vilani. Curiosity and speculation abounded about the Gashukubi system, and who the inhabitants were, but the system remained off-limits right through the Long Night, as there was no known defense against meson weapons.

The Sylean Federation was able to develop meson screens; this was the key to surviving contact with Gashukubi. In the 70s and 80s, shortly after the founding of the Third Imperium from the Sylean Federation, two meson-screen-equipped starships landed on the planet. One was destroyed; the other successfully landed, but was never heard from again. This proved beyond doubt that the aliens' weapons were meson guns, and also showed that they could in fact be survived.

In the late 200s and early 300s, the Third Imperium achieved TL13; this proved to be the final piece of the puzzle needed to make contact with the Gashukubi. In 311, the Gem of Fornol, equipped with the latest TL13 meson screens, successfully landed on Gashukubi. They were met by large metal robots, not at all esthetic to look at, and all wielding nasty-looking weapons. Most of the crew was captured and led away, and never seen again; the remainder left before they could be captured as well. The system was classified as a Red Zone, and a notation of an extremely xenophobic race was placed in the file.

A few years later, another attempt at contact was made; this was not met by meson fire. No further information was learned, however; this expedition met the same fate as that of the Gem of Fornol.

During the First Survey, additional attempts to contact the Gashukubi were made; although these had an extremely high attrition rate, some additional information was gained.

The local name of the planet was given as Sabmiqys, the name that appears on charts today. The planet is a desert, with less than 5% of the surface covered by water. There are indications that the planet was once 25% covered, but some prehistoric cataclysm of unknown nature caused the loss of most of that water. The planet's orbit is highly eccentric, resulting in a harsh environment with extreme seasonal variations in climate.

When the Imperial scouts finally learned enough of the language to be able to communicate reasonably easily, they requested to meet "those in charge". The robots, with which they had been dealing, brought them into the presence of the "real" Sabmiqys. These proved to be beings of about 2.5m in height and 100kg mass, apparently descended from omnivore/gatherer stock. They had two legs, four tentacular arms, binocular vision, a thick, spongy, grey hide, and a broad mouth with over 100 teeth. The population was very low, with most of the society and planet being run by robots of many different types. The scouts found it difficult to estimate the tech level, as much of the technology was far enough advanced over that of the Imperium that it was simply incomprehensible.

Over time, more was learned about the Sabmiqys, including the astonishing claim that they replaced parts of their bodies as they wore out. This was certainly possible to medical science in the Imperium, however, it was virtually inconceivable that this should be a routine practice on Sabmiqys. Even more astonishing was the claim that some of the individual Sabmiqys were over 10,000 years old. Verification of the claims was impossible, however, as the Sabmiqys never agreed to allow observation of medical facilities or examination of individuals.

Eventually, the scouts were able to determine that the term used by the Sabmiqys to refer to their ancestors appeared to mean 'our great ancestors who brought down death from the sky'. They were unable to learn the significance of this term, however.

Among other quirks discovered about the Sabmiqys, it appeared that they needed very little sleep, and ate (strictly in private) once per day. Little additional information was gained, as the Sabmiqys were very secretive about themselves and their society. Occasionally, a contact party member would disappear; any attempt to learn the member's fate would result in an offer to show the questioning party member - who would also disappear. When pressed for explanations, the Sabmiqys would lead the questioning member off at gunpoint, and he would also disappear. Attempts at rescue often met the same fate, and over time, the contact parties learned not to inquire after the missing members.

In the late 600s, a scout party accidentally stumbled upon a robot repair facility - where they found a 'living' Sabmiqys undergoing extensive repair. It was quickly learned that the entire 'living' population of Sabmiqys were in fact highly sophisticated pseudo-biological robots. Further investigation led to the story of the 'great ancestors who brought down death from the sky':

Around -8000, shortly after the Vilani invention of jump drive, the Sabmiqys (the original living race) sent a single sub-light exploration ship to a nearby star system one parsec away. The ship returned on autopilot, the entire crew dead of unknown causes. By the time the Sabmiqys discovered the cause of death, they were infected with the virus that caused the deaths. This virus exhibited virtually no symptoms until it had run its course, at which point death was inevitable and sudden. Millions of people who believed that they were fine one day were dead the next, for no apparent reason. The Sabmiqys social system collapsed into anarchy, making it impossible to coordinate effort that might have led to a cure. Six months after the ship returned, study ended, as the deaths started. Ten days later, the planet was dead.

Sabmiqys has been interdicted by the Imperium. The vast majority of travellers violating that interdiction have never returned, and are presumed dead at the hands of the Sabmiqys robots.

Source: CHALLENGE-28, 1115