| abstract
| - A Gequan is a member of a frog-like sapient species from Planet Algra Geq. They also inhabit Moon 62, Algra Gor, Dupytor, along with twelve of Dupytor's eighty-six moons (Dupytor 1-3, Titanos, Dupytor 5-8, Danlop Duq, Dupytor 17, and Nanajamabosna), all in the 2nd Quadrant. Gequans are quite small, with dexterous hands, and large intellects. They fashioned themselves planet-sized cities such as Gor (Algra Gor's capital), and Promrotos (Titanos' largest, and most-populous city). Outside of Algra Geq, Gequans tend to wear frog mechs, which allow them to function on the larger scales of other species, and with the stronger gravity of other planets. Gequans speak several languages, most notably Seshuan. Unlike most other alien languages, these are deemed unlearnable to off-worlders by the Universal Union ("the W"). In reality, they can be understood by off-worlders, but not spoken, as most of the noises required to speak them are unpronounceable by aliens. These noises include croaks, high-pitched squeals, screeches, and hisses, along with noises simply not audible to most aliens. These noises are often represented by Ks, Qs, and Us in Lobott, making the language somewhat readable - the result is an extremely inaccurate, and heavily accented version of Seshuan which can only barely be understood by Gequans. Gequans can be further subdivided into four races; Toads, Bullfrogs, Eyelids, and Tadpoles. 1.
* Toads are the dominant race of Gequans, and live on every Gequan continent, planet, and city except for Promrotos, and Danlop Duq. They have green-brown skin, with dark brown flecks dotting them. Like all other Gequan races, they have two barbels on both sides of their face, four dexterous, and sticky fingers, a pale underbelly, and a long purple tongue. Their most common eye color is yellow. 2.
* Bullfrogs are a race that resulted from the sexual selection of Toads with red skin, and black flecks on their skin. They are not found in significant numbers outside of Algra Geq, and Algra Gor, but they do make up the majority of Algra Gor's population. Bullfrogs were subject to a mutation that gave them bony growths right above their eyes, horns, lending them the name Bullfrog. Their most common eye color is yellow. 3.
* Eyelids were initially another species, originating from Pringil, a desert on the "continent" of Grand Gatalos, who modified their own genetic code so they could interbreed with Gequans. Eyelids are not found in any significant numbers outside of Algra Geq, but make up the poor majority of Ennotbol, Algra Geq's capital. They have lime green, and fleckless skin. Their barbels are longer than those of other Gequans, while their eyes are smaller than normal. Eyelids have a haw, or third eyelid, which is see-through. Their most common eye color is orange. 4.
* The Tadpoles are a race of Gequan living on Nanajamabosna, and on Danlop Duq. The Tadpoles are the descendants of the first space-faring Geq, and as such, were in space before frog-armor was invented. This meant that their bodies responded to the physical differences of being in space. Gequan females give birth to live-young, releasing tadpoles from their backs. In the Tadpole race, as an effect of being in space, this is delayed by several months, as is the metamorphosis from tadpole to adult. The reason for this is that because of the low gravity on Nanajamabosna, which was similar to the feeling of being above water, which delays births in Gequans. They have tan skin, with brown flecks dotting them. Their most common eye color is lime green. Gequans have modified themselves to the point where they do not really need sleep. Their life signatures are just close enough to that of zebra dolphins on this Earth where they spliced themselves with it, modifying their natural life signatures. They "sleep" for about four hours with half their brains off, and the other half working over time. Not all Gequans are modified, not even on Algra Geq. The modification of their life signature is a social issue. In some of the more rural towns of its offworld colonies, modding your life signature is basically unheard of. Here, the Gequans still sleep in watery sacks. In the past these sacks would be kept outside in the Warm Season to maintain a comfortable temperature, and during winter they'd be kept just a bit away from fires. It is healthier to sleep head up in these sacks, but some Gequans sleep upside-down to "keep their skin oily." Nowadays they're kept at a nice temperature by machines. Gequans can only blink manually, and sleep in these sacks to hydrate their eyeballs. Modded Geqs wear water goggles to overcome the issue of dry eye. Nearsightedness is an issue mostly affecting Algra Gequans, where modding is most common, while offworlders usually have better vision. On the other hand, offworlders make for horrible workers, and usually aren't as physically fit. They are sometimes called "dreamers," which mocks the hopeful nature of the offworlder culture. Kriliki are a another sentient species. They live in tunnel-towns beneath huge ice sheets, and glaciers. They can only survive in dimly lit underground ice forests. Their bodies are super sensitive to temperature, and most of the foods they once relied on to keep their numbers were even more sensitive; the effects of climate change on their environment has already wiped most of their food sources out. Kriliki are also naturally mistrustful of outsiders. The Gequans were not really purposefully wiping them out, but rather upsetting the balance of Kriliki environments. For a short while, however, the Gequans hunted down Kriliki as a delicacy. Nowadays, the Gequans feel somewhat bad for their past actions, and have made attempts to preserve the remaining Kriliki environments, with mixed results. The Kriliki are unlikely to go extinct, but it's also unlikely their past numbers will ever be attained again or at least not for several thousand years. The entry of Algra Geq into the Universal Union ("the W") started off with a coalition of the human 4th Universal Quadrant Company, and the Mur 5th Purple Naval Force invading Planet Algra Geq to stop them from completely wiping out the Kriliki. Within just two millennia (relative to Algra Geq) however, the Gequans had surpassed nearly every other race in importance, and the Kriliki had been reduced to just 2,000 individuals. Gequans are quite scary. Biologically, they are the most dissimilar sapient species to humans. Behaviorally, however, they are very similar to humans, and because of this, their offworld colonies, and empires are second only to those of humans. Gequans typically spend a lot of time underwater, and pregnant Gequan women have to spend at least nine hours a day underwater. Being above water will delay births. When Gequans became a space-faring species, they found that on low-gravity planets, births would often be delayed for months or even years. If a birth is delayed long enough, half-developed tadpoles will simply crawl out of their mothers backs as live births. Over time, other minor differences from living offworld without anti-gravity mechs slowly changed them, and they eventually became their own race, named for the first major difference they developed from other Gequans. In the main Gequan tongue Seshuan (specifically Qurak Seshuan), Amfquro ("Wet-Horns," as the Gequans call themselves Amphor, "Wets") are called Bullfrogs in Lobott because they actually have little antler-like horns above their eyes, as well as whiskers. Bullfrogs are stereotypically more aggressive, and their red skin, and typically yellow eyes don't help. The Master of Algra Geq himself is more aggressive though, mostly because he feels he has something to prove to all the other mostly human-sized aliens. Gequans typically only go offworld in frog mechs, or use frog-shaped human-sized avatars over the Universe Uniting Æthernet.
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