u/The_Big_Crouton

Never posted anything like this before. Developing a sci-fi novel outline and this is one of the species I’ve come up with. “The Coalition” is a stand in for the good guy alliance and “The 3,000” is a stand in name for the antagonist group for now and will change. Would love feedback or ideas on these guys! Planning on creating an entire world of different intelligent alien races.

The Vektiti (Native Tongue: Vvvv-T-T )

>A small, blind, arachnid-like species that communicates primarily in the form of percussive noises and clicks derived from their echolocation.

>They possess 7 long legs equidistantly spaced, forming a circle around their main head at their center. Radially symmetrical. No eyes, but covered in hairs of various length.

>Their perception of the world is greyscale and fuzzy, but they can essentially “see” a rough model of their surroundings. This seeing is more of a feeling however. If two Vekti are alone in a silent room together having a conversation, their words will cause the creatures to feel their environmental awareness grow and shrink as sound waves echo around and their words die out.

>This species has hollow bones that transmit sound throughout the body to a specialized central internal organ that processes all sound information. This system also connects to a set of long whisker like stiff hairs all over their bodies that assist in omnidirectional hearing. As a result of this, the Vektiti never developed clothing, as wearing anything impedes their hearing and greatly reduces their “vision” of the world around them.

>Vektiti can detect up to around 0.2 millimeter differences in texture on an object, causing their written communication to be similar to human brail, but more complex. Imagine a brail with Chinese characters instead of the traditional alphabet.

>Since their quality of sound detection is their primary means of survival, the primal Vektiti reproductive rituals revolve around mating songs. The average female Vekti has a wider vocalization and hearing range than their male counterpart. The female searches for a cave or pocket of sorts deep underground in which to lay her eggs. She then stands watch over them, while emitting a series of very low and high pitched hums. These low hums will gradually become higher and the high hums gradually lower until they are heard by a mate. The male Vekti with the largest range of hearing would then follow the sounds of the female until he discovered her nest, where he would fertilize the eggs and stand guard with the female to ward off any other males until the babies hatch.
In modern days, this mating ritual is no longer the case. While the females still do have natural urges to lay eggs in secluded places, they are largely overwritten by self-awareness and improved intelligence. Still, the female laying cycle can often result in aimless sleepwalking like wandering for an up to two week period in some individuals. The males, as a result of their primal biology, feel instinctively drawn to exceptionally low and high frequencies. Though, there is debate that the growing use of “low-hum”technology has begun to cause males to no longer be drawn to low sounds over time.

>Although blind, the Vekti prefer to “see” as much as they can (with the exception of sleeping and physical affection, which is considered to be more intimate in a soundless environment). They have developed elaborate noise generators that produce low humming frequencies outside of their range of speech. This humming bounces around their surroundings, “illuminating” their environment with sound. These devices function as a sort of light switch for them.

>Much like humans, the Vektiti began primarily as cave dwellers and expanded to building homes, towns, cities, and civilization. Standing at only 1 foot tall and 1 1/2 wide, they have still managed to build towering skyscrapers, massive monuments, and advanced technologies. Although, they have not left the comfort of caves, instead preferring to build their homes in the vast cave tunnel network of their home planet.

> Due to their blindness, this race is the only among The Coalition that never developed interstellar travel. They never looked up at the sky and wondered what else was out there or even fully realized the vastness of everything around them. In fact, the species is so non-expansive that the vast majority of citizens on their home planet live in one underground mega city.

>Lack of sight subsequently caused books and reading to remain the primary form of entertainment throughout most of their societies. They possess strong imaginations and oral tradition.

>In Coalition buildings, special technology was implemented from the Vektiti home world to allow them to read what was on the display screens. A series of small blocks below the screens extend themselves from the wall to create a physically translated version of what the screen above says.

The Vektiti were once enslaved by the 3,000 (bad guys, name placeholder) way back at the beginning of the universe when they began their rein of terror against “imperfect” life. The Vektiti, possessing incredible sound processing capabilities, served as a universal translator between races. They were raised up from an early age to learn and understand all languages used within the vast empires of the 3,000 and could be found by one of the ears of their soldiers on the battlefield. After the 3,000 developed their universal language that is still in use today, their need for the Vektiti became limited, and their race became the next target of the 3,000’s cruel manipulation of natural life. Luckily, the species was saved, mostly due to the extended military action of The Coalition to defend them.

The Vektiti since have had a lasting agreement with The Coalition. The Coalition continues to offer protection and aid to The Vektiti in exchange for a selection of their population to remain on the Coalition home planet for the purpose of translation. The Vektiti that serve as translators are often lost in battle and do not achieve the same richness from life as those that remain on their home planet do; but their suffering is seen as a small price to pay for the continued ensured survival of their race.

Those that live free on their home world have produced a culturally rich society. In addition to the magnificent, intricately-carved, acoustic-focused architecture of their cities, they have developed a unique form of art unknown to any other species known as “Soundscaping”. A master of this craft is able to produce sound waves in such a way that their audience begins to “see” things that are not in front of them. Creating giant “holograms” of scenes and objects that don’t exist right in front of them. From large fantasy creatures, to entire armies engaged in battle, there seems to be little limit to what illusions master soundscapes can produce.

Their home planet also has glasses available for alien visitors that interprets audio data to visual data so that they may too see the Vektiti perform.

Would love to hear thoughts and ideas for these guys! And feedback in general. I am new to world-building style of writing and would love to explore this universe more.