Spathi

The Spathi are a race of "meta-mollusks", self-described as possessing the "best qualities of both the clam and the Dravatz" and are notorious for their pathetic and cowardly nature, only remaining loyal to those who threaten them with the slightest form of harm. According to Fwiffo, the Spathi live in constant fear of an undetectable phantom called the Ultimate Evil, which they are convinced lives just beyond the reaches of their most powerful long-range sensors.

Biology
The Spathi cryptically define themselves as meta-mollusks, a combination of the best features of the clam and the dravatz, which, given the clam's sophisticated habit of gill filtering, does not speak highly of the Spathi. The somewhat snail-like aliens possess a stalked, "gooey" eye, two clawed and jointed arms, and a solid shell, in which the Spathi have been known to hide in for considerable periods. Their retreatist nature is probably a factor of having evolved with a shell, and the Spathi Eluder is the hallmark of cowardly attacks coupled with rapid flight.

The Spathi are said to possess sweet flesh, and their anxious perspiration when confronted with danger (or anything that could be perceived as dangerous, like things with sharp edges) often fills the air with a rankish, sweet odor that humans find distasteful. This is probably a factor of glucocylated mucilage, which earth-type mollusks produce in abundance anyway, although not necessarily with accompanying odor. Spathi lay tremendous clutches of eggs, and juveniles, called 'encrustlings,' develop directly into the adult form with no shell-less dispersal form.

The Spathi, for their own reasons, have exceptional difficulty with foreign words, and mispronounce alien names and star clusters continuously. Whether this is a biologic flaw or an attempt at insult is unknown.

Culture
Societal Structure

Spathi families are very large and the youngsters are called "encrustlings". The Safe Ones claim that the "prognosticators" will lose their tenure, causing the thousands of encrustlings of every one of them to go hungry, because they predicted the The Captain would arrive 30 years later than he actually did. Fwiffo claims to have been "the youngest child of a family of 18,487" and mentions that being called by name by "the female parent" was a special occasion for him. Fwiffo's independence was not a voluntary choice; his parents merely "pried [him] from the doorjamb, and rolled [him] into the street".

Religion

The Spathi have a traditional daily prayer which reflects their general attitude towards life (which they name the "mortal helix"): "..Oh God... please don't let me die today! Tomorrow would be so much better!"

The Spathi seem to have a pre-death ceremony, the ritual of Wezzy-Wezzah. The completion of this short ritual ensures a place in their secure afterlife. A noted attribute of the Spathi's afterworld is the absence of immortal, devouring monsters. However, the ritual of Wezzy-Wezzah is invalid unless performed on the moon of Spathiwa, or so Fwiffo claims — it is a possibility that the whole ritual is made up in order to convince The Captain to take him home.

Leisure activities

A known leisure activity that the Spathi captains practice is playing a certain video game they recently bought, probably from the Melnorme, a game strikingly similar to Star Control II. They mention having been bored until they bought the game.

Government
The Safe Ones are the leaders of the Spathi civilization located first on the moon of Spathiwa, and later on the planet itself. Any alien that wishes to enter into a dialogue with The Safe Ones must first provide the Secret Spathi Cypher, or be destroyed. Little is actually known about the Spathi form of government or how one becomes a Safe One. It is known that The Safe Ones have the power to legislate, and to form interstellar alliances. They are also responsible for leaving behind the Umgah HyperWave Broadcaster for The Captain should the Spathi return to Spathiwa and erect a slave shield around the planet. The Safe Ones are alternatively known as the Spathi Ruling Council, the High Spathi Ruling Council, the High Ruling Council of Spathiwa, and the Spathi High Council. They are known as The Safe Ones most likely because of the Spathi's natural extreme cowardice, wishing little more than to simply be safe for all of their lives.

When the Captain clears the Evil Ones from the surface of Spathiwa, The Safe Ones evasively claim that they will join his alliance as soon as they are all settled back home on Spathiwa. If he asks how long such a process will take, they respond "ten, fifteen years tops," never actually intending to join the New Alliance of Free Stars. However, threatened with unleashing the Evil Ones (which The Captain has in suspended animation), they accept eventually, sending delegates and ships to the Earth Starbase.

History
The Spathi evolved on the lone planet in Epsilon Gruis I; their name for their star is Yuffo and the planet, Spathiwa. About 400 years before the events of Star Control II, when their civilization was still at a Bronze Age level, their home planet has been beleaguered by a race of ravenous creatures called the Evil Ones who enjoyed eating Spathi, accelerating the advancement of their culture greatly — in less than a century, they had reached the Space Age, and finally took refuge from the Evil Ones on the Moon.

Hierarchy Status

When the Spathi first encountered the Ur-Quan Kzer-Za, they wanted to warn them about the peril of the Evil Ones. However, the Ur-Quan broadcasted their usual message, throwing the Spathi Captain into an intense state of panic. In this state of panic, he uttered what happened to be The Words, causing the entire Ur-Quan fleet to stop in space and explain their reasons — though the Spathi didn't understand a word, being hidden under their shells the whole time. After six hours of combat, they surrendered to the Ur-Quan Kzer-Za, who proceeded toward the Spathi temporary homeworld, Epsilon Gruis I-A. They blasted parts of the moon into radioactive dust, and then invited the Safe Ones aboard the command chamber of Lord 1's Dreadnought, where they were offered the same choice given to each race, as dictated by the Path of Now and Forever: be a Fallow Slave (and thus send back a white rod) or Battle Thrall (sending back a black rod). The Spathi actually chose to be fallow slaves, being rather fond of the idea of being forever protected by an impenetrable Slave Shield. However, the Ur-Quan's Umgah servant who was to notify the Ur-Quan of the Spathi's choice mischievously switched the color of the rod. The Spathi attempted to rectify this, but the Ur-Quan would hear none of it - they would be Battle Thralls forever.

According to them, the Spathi attempted to avoid combat as much as possible, only to receive three violent reprimands from the Ur-Quan, "each more strident than the last." When the Spathi learned that they were on the verge of being exterminated outright for their repeated disobedience, they set about their duties as battle thralls "with renewed vigor."

After the war

In the Kessari timeline, after the Second Doctrinal Conflict, the Spathi encased themselves in a slave shield to remain safe from the horrors of the outside universe. Unfortunately for them, the Chmmr arrived in orbit and destroyed the slave shield to free the Spathi. The Spathi didn't take too kindly to this, but weren't in a position to complain, nor would they given their constitution. Instead, with the collapse of Hyperspace, they reluctantly joined the League, figuring it would be safer to fix the galaxy instead of trying to hide from it. Afterwards, they would go back to hiding. However, upon meeting the Hegemonic Crux, the Spathi surrendered on the slightest hint of a threat and reasoned that the League wouldn't follow through on threats of violence, given the more moral nature it possessed. Unfortunately for the Crux, the Spathi acted as the part of unwilling spy for the League, as they divulged information about the Crux and its inner workings to the League out of fear of retribution. The Captain can welcome the Spathi back into the League after the collapse of the Crux, even complimenting them on their work "undercover".