Orz

The Orz (pronounced /ɒz/? or /oɹz/?) are — is — an alien species/projections of an extradimensional entity first encountered by The Captain in the space near where the Androsynth had been known to reside. Despite a notable distaste for the human-derived Androsynth and for the mysterious Arilou, the Orz would happily join with the New Alliance of Free Stars and provide the Captain with their powerful Nemesis starship designs, if desired.

Biology
Orz appear as gill-breathers who resemble yellow parrotfishes with eyestalks, though it is not known if this is their actual true form (or if such terms are actually applicable to them). Direct conversation with Orz, despite the translation difficulties, usually leads to the conclusion that the Orz come from another dimension; additionally the Arilou describe the Orz as "dimensional travellers." When asked about their origins, the Orz explain that, though both the Arilou and the Orz are from the *outside*, the Arilou are from *above* while the Orz are from *below*. The precise meaning of this explanation is still up to debate. There are three possible interpretations — if *above* refers to QuasiSpace, *below* would then likely refer to another, similar dimension located on the "other side" of HyperSpace and TrueSpace; if *outside* refers to QuasiSpace, then *above* and *below* might be regions of QuasiSpace; *above* and *below* may also stand for an obscure characteristic of the Orz in contrast to Arilou.

There has been some discussion — confirmed by Fred Ford and Paul Reiche III — that the Orz as they are seen in normal space are actually a projection of some higher-dimensional being, namely Them. The Orz-entity refers to what is seen of itself in the known dimensions as its *fingers* and explains that it is not like other races who are *many bubbles*. In essence, all Orz may be multiple manifestations of the same creature. The Orz sometimes refer to themselves in the singular third person, although whether this is another quirk of the Orz's odd speech pattern or a reference to their true essence is unclear.

Culture
The Orz are somewhat closed mouthed about themselves, as they seem to tire of talking in *slow-time*. They imply that they may be able to communicate on a higher realm than we do, and that once we come around to their way of thinking, we will not need to question them so much. Still, they are patient, and attempt to explain their thoughts as best as they can, which isn't nearly good enough.

The Orz relate everything in stories. From the Everything Story, they explain how it is they came to be in our reality. The Trusting Story is some babbling narrative about a broken alliance. As they clearly operate on multiple planes, it is hard to tell what they see at any given moment, and their conversations are broken with references to things we cannot understand. The Orz are friendly, too friendly, they insist, and enjoy *play* and *games.* They do not like to be burdened with problems, and insistent conversations about topics they do not wish to discuss end with violence. Once the troublemakers are *dissolved,* the Orz are happy. A very childlike attitude for a very powerful and advanced race.

Conversations with this odd creatures suggest that they always think in present tense. It may be difficult for them to concentrate on memories when they are surrounded by so many vast realities at once, or perhaps they do not comprehend time as a stepwise progression of units. Whatever the case, the Orz often speak of seeing the Taalo, a feat which we cannot accomplish, for the Taalo were wiped out some time ago by the Ur-Quan. If they Orz see different timelines replayed in the same area, and are merely seeing echoes of the Taalo's existence looping back, or if the Taalo really exist on another plane as the Orz suggest, we do not know.

The Orz have a great love of making *play*mates out of *campers*. To this end, they are very willing to share their unique perception with all that they meet, even by dragging hapless Androsynth out of their reality and into some other. If the Androsynth survived this attention, nobody knows. It seems as if the Orz are heedless of the consequences of their actions -- the are Orz, and they do as they please. Perhaps nothing has any consequence to the Orz, as there are always happy times in one reality or another for the zephyrous creatures.

History
The Orz are a newcomer to TrueSpace that appeared suddenly in the vicinity of the Vulpeculae constellation, the adopted homeworlds of the Androsynth. As the Androsynth vanished about the same time the Orz arrived, it is reasonable to think that the Orz did something to them, but asking the Orz about the subject infuriates them. The Melnorme and the Spathi state that the Orz caused the Androsynth disappearance, but both admit that this is their belief and not an actual certainty. Based on comments from the Arilou, it is possible that the Inter-Dimensional Fatigue experiments that were being performed by the Androsynth (and perhaps the Taalo before them) brought the Vulpeculae constellation to the Orz's attention.

Just where the Orz resided before arriving in the area of Vulpeculae is unknown. The Orz indicate that they like TrueSpace and even prefer it over their origin dimension and are now in the process of fully moving into TrueSpace. They also denote that they have no intention of returning at any time to their original home.

The Orz mention an association with the Arilou *quick-babies*, but it is not a benign one. Claiming that the Arilou are always *jumping in front*, it is clear that the Orz have long been kept from entering this reality by their pan-dimensional peers, and resent their meddling. The Orz warn against exploring the Chandrekhasar region of space, for fear that you might stumble into the *reality-slide* and thereby meet the Arilou. The Arilou warn you the same of the Vulpeculae region of space. What they don't know won't hurt them.

Given the Orz' desire to share their reality with other *campers* and that the humans struck an alliance with them, the Orz may well seek to have the humans join them for a *party* in the *middle.* Whether they respect the humans enough to leave them alone or if the Arilou will intervene on our behalf remains to be seen. For right now, the Orz have joined the coreward taskforce for their own reasons.